Mitochondrial DNA Variations Modulate Alveolar Epithelial Mitochondrial Function and Oxidative Stress in Newborn Mice Exposed to Hyperoxia

Oxidative stress is an important contributor to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a form of chronic lung disease that is the most common morbidity in very preterm infants. Mitochondrial functional differences due to inherited and acquired mutations influence the pathogenesis of disorders in which oxidative stress plays a critical role. We previously showed using mitochondrial-nuclear exchange (MNX) mice that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations modulate hyperoxia-induced lung injury severity in a model of BPD. In this study, we studied the effects of mtDNA variations on mitochondrial function including mitophagy in alveolar epithelial cells (AT2) from MNX mice. We also investigated oxidant and inflammatory stress as well as transcriptomic profiles in lung tissue in mice and expression of proteins such as PINK1, Parkin and SIRT3 in infants with BPD. Our results indicate that AT2 from mice with C57 mtDNA had decreased mitochondrial bioenergetic function and inner membrane potential, increased mitochondrial membrane permeability and were exposed to higher levels of oxidant stress during hyperoxia compared to AT2 from mice with C3H mtDNA. Lungs from hyperoxia-exposed mice with C57 mtDNA also had higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to lungs from mice with C3H mtDNA. We also noted changes in KEGG pathways related to inflammation, PPAR and glutamatergic signaling, and mitophagy in mice with certain mito-nuclear combinations but not others. Mitophagy was decreased by hyperoxia in all mice strains, but to a greater degree in AT2 and neonatal mice lung fibroblasts from hyperoxia-exposed mice with C57 mtDNA compared to C3H mtDNA. Finally, mtDNA haplogroups vary with ethnicity, and Black infants with BPD had lower levels of PINK1, Parkin and SIRT3 expression in HUVEC at birth and tracheal aspirates at 28 days of life when compared to White infants with BPD. These results indicate that predisposition to neonatal lung injury may be modulated by variations in mtDNA and mito-nuclear interactions need to be investigated to discover novel pathogenic mechanisms for BPD.