Resveratrol improves cardiomyopathy in dystrophin-deficient mice through SIRT1 protein-mediated modulation of p300 protein.

Cardiomyopathy is the main cause of death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Here, we show that oral administration of resveratrol, which leads to activation of an NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylase SIRT1, suppresses cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and restores cardiac diastolic function in dystrophin-deficient mdx mice. The pro-hypertrophic co-activator p300 protein but not p300 mRNA was up-regulated in the mdx heart, and resveratrol administration down-regulated the p300 protein level. In cultured cardiomyocytes, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by the α(1)-agonist phenylephrine was inhibited by the overexpression of SIRT1 as well as resveratrol, both of which down-regulated p300 protein levels but not p300 mRNA levels. In addition, activation of atrial natriuretic peptide promoter by p300 was inhibited by SIRT1. We found that SIRT1 induced p300 down-regulation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway by deacetylation of lysine residues for ubiquitination. These findings indicate the pathological significance of p300 up-regulation in the dystrophic heart and indicate that SIRT1 activation has therapeutic potential for dystrophic cardiomyopathy.