Developing a new drug to prevent heart damage in diabetes

Protection against diabetic cardiomyopathy through sequestering of mitochondrial dicarbonyls

Dr Thomas Krieg and his team at the University of Cambridge are testing whether a drug that they have developed protects cells from being damaged by high glucose levels in diabetes. People with diabetes often have high blood sugar peaks, despite taking drugs such as insulin to try and prevent this. Sugars are normally used by mitochondria (the power houses of the cell) to produce energy, but if sugar levels are too high, mitochondrial energy production and other important cell processes can be disrupted. This can lead to a disorder of the heart muscle called diabetic cardiomyopathy, and eventually to heart failure, where the heart can no longer pump blood around the body effectively. Dr Krieg has developed a new drug called MitoGamide that captures toxic sugar by-products that build up inside mitochondria, protecting them from damage. In this project, the researchers will study how the drug protects the mitochondria in a mouse model of diabetes. They will determine if MitoGamide can be used to prevent the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy and heart failure, or even reverse these disorders where they are already occurring. There are currently no treatments to prevent heart failure developing in people with diabetes other than controlling blood glucose. This research takes the first steps towards the development of a drug that may be able to limit heart damage in diabetes.