Targeted pharmacological inhibition of neuraminidase-3 ameliorates vascular dysfunction in diabetic mice

In type 2 diabetes (T2D), endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffening play a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease. A central mediator of vascular dysfunction is degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx, a semipermeable mechanosensitive structure that separates the endothelium from the flow of blood and shear forces associated with it. Neuraminidase, a sialidase that cleaves sialic acid from the terminal branches of glycoproteins and glycolipids, is implicated in glycocalyx degradation. However, its role in mediating vascular dysfunction in the setting of T2D remains relatively unexplored. Herein we tested the hypothesis that increased neuraminidase-3 (Neu3) activity impairs vascular function, while its targeted inhibition improves it in diabetes. In support of this hypothesis, we report that mice overexpressing Neu3 exhibit increased blood pressure and pulse wave velocity, indicative of increased arterial stiffness. Furthermore, we show that pharmacological inhibition of Neu3 for 28 days in diabetic ( i.e., db/db) mice (vs. vehicle control) resulted in reduced pulse wave velocity, with no change in blood pressure. Neu3 inhibition also reduced stiffness in aortic explants, as assessed via atomic force microscopy. Excised arteries were also assessed for flow-mediated dilation and vascular stiffness using pressure myography. Arteries from diabetic mice treated with the Neu3 inhibitor had increased flow-mediated dilation and reduced incremental modulus of elasticity, indicative of improved endothelial function and reduced arterial stiffness. Collectively, these data support the hypothesis that Neu3 is a potential therapeutic target for the amelioration of vascular dysfunction in T2D. National Institutes of Health grant: R01HL153264 to LM-L and JP This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.