# Sex differences in exercise-induced mitochondrial function during viral myocarditis

> **NIH NIH R21** · MAYO CLINIC  JACKSONVILLE · 2020 · $289,409

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
An estimated 3.1 million cases of myocarditis/cardiomyopathy were diagnosed in 2017. Patients with
myocarditis are at risk of sudden death from acute heart failure and the incidence and severity of myocarditis is
higher in men than women. Exercise typically improves cardiac function; however, during viral myocarditis
exercise can precipitate heart failure leading to current guidelines recommending that patients abstain from
exercise for 3-6 months after diagnosis. Enteroviruses including coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) are a common
cause of myocarditis in the US. Although several studies published 30 years ago found that exercise increased
viral replication and death in mice with viral myocarditis, no recent studies have examined the reason for heart
failure following exercise. We recently published that in normal, healthy mice exercise induces mitochondrial
fission through β1 adrenergic receptor (AR) signaling resulting in fragmented mitochondria (i.e., smaller, more
circular) with enhanced energy production compared to sedentary mice. Additionally, we found that CVB3
requires mitochondrial fission for viral replication. The overall goal of this proposal is to determine whether sex
differences in β1AR-induced mitochondrial fission with exercise in cardiomyocytes or mice with CVB3
myocarditis lead to increased viral replication, mitochondrial dysfunction, cardiomyocyte cell death, and
bioenergetic failure resulting in heart failure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10073054
- **Project number:** 1R21AI154927-01
- **Recipient organization:** MAYO CLINIC  JACKSONVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** DeLisa Fairweather
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $289,409
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10073054

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10073054, Sex differences in exercise-induced mitochondrial function during viral myocarditis (1R21AI154927-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10073054. Licensed CC0.

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