%0 Journal Article
%T Astaxanthin alleviates PM2.5-induced cardiomyocyte injury via inhibiting ferroptosis.
%A Ren J
%A Yin B
%A Guo Z
%A Sun X
%A Pei H
%A Wen R
%A Wang Z
%A Zhu S
%A Zuo J
%A Zhang Y
%A Ma Y
%J Cell Mol Biol Lett
%V 28
%N 1
%D 2023 Nov 25
%M 38007415
%F 8.702
%R 10.1186/s11658-023-00513-1
%X BACKGROUND: Long-term exposure of humans to air pollution is associated with an increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Astaxanthin (AST), a naturally occurring red carotenoid pigment, was proved to have multiple health benefits. However, whether or not AST also exerts a protective effect on fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-induced cardiomyocyte damage and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
METHODS: In vitro experiments, the H9C2 cells were subjected to pretreatment with varying concentrations of AST, and then cardiomyocyte injury model induced by PM2.5 was established. The cell viability and the ferroptosis-related proteins expression were measured in different groups. In vivo experiments, the rats were pretreated with different concentrations of AST for 21 days. Subsequently, a rat model of myocardial PM2.5 injury was established by intratracheal instillation every other day for 1 week. The effects of AST on myocardial tissue injury caused by PM2.5 indicating by histological, serum, and protein analyses were examined.
RESULTS: AST significantly ameliorated PM2.5-induced myocardial tissue injury, inflammatory cell infiltration, the release of inflammatory factors, and cardiomyocyte H9C2 cell damage. Mechanistically, AST pretreatment increased the expression of SLC7A11, GPX4 and down-regulated the expression of TfR1, FTL and FTH1 in vitro and in vivo.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggest that ferroptosis plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of cardiomyocyte injury induced by PM2.5. AST may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for mitigating cardiomyocyte injury caused by PM2.5 through the inhibition of ferroptosis.