Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 6 pp 4836—4865
Nrf2 deficiency aggravates PM2.5-induced cardiomyopathy by enhancing oxidative stress, fibrosis and inflammation via RIPK3-regulated mitochondrial disorder
- 1 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Medicinal Resources in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing 400067, PR China
- 2 Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
- 3 Research Center of Brain Intellectual Promotion and Development for Children Aged 0-6 Years, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing 400067, PR China
Received: November 13, 2019 Accepted: February 5, 2020 Published: March 17, 2020
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102906How to Cite
Copyright © 2020 Ge et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
PM2.5 is a well-known air pollutant threatening public health, and long-term exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Nrf2 plays a pivotal role in the amelioration of PM2.5-induced lung injury. However, if Nrf2 is involved in PM2.5-induced heart injury, and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been explored. In this study, wild type (Nrf2+/+) and Nrf2 knockout (Nrf2-/-) mice were exposed to PM2.5 for 6 months. After PM2.5 exposure, Nrf2-/- mice developed severe physiological changes, lung injury and cardiac dysfunction. In the PM2.5-exposed hearts, Nrf2 deficiency caused significant collagen accumulation through promoting the expression of fibrosis-associated signals. Additionally, Nrf2-/- mice exhibited greater oxidative stress in cardiac tissues after PM2.5 exposure. Furthermore, PM2.5-induced inflammation in heart samples were accelerated in Nrf2-/- mice through promoting inhibitor of α/nuclear factor κB (IκBα/NF-κB) signaling pathways. We also found that Nrf2-/- aggravated autophagy initiation and glucose metabolism disorder in hearts of mice with PM2.5 challenge. Cardiac receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) expression triggered by PM2.5 was further enhanced in mice with the loss of Nrf2. Collectively, these results suggested that strategies for enhancing Nrf2 could be used to treat PM2.5-induced cardiovascular diseases.