Potential of natural drug modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the treatment of myocardial injury

Ligustrazine nano-drug delivery system ameliorates doxorubicin-mediated myocardial injury via piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1-prohibitin 2-mediated mitochondrial quality surveillance

BACKGROUND

Doxorubicin (DOX) demonstrates significant therapeutic and anticancer efficacy. Nevertheless, it demonstrates significant cardiotoxicity, resulting in permanent cardiac damage. Ligustrazine (LIG) is a bioactive alkaloid derived from the rhizome of the medicinal plant Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. The alkaloid has exhibited cardioprotective properties. The therapeutic application of LIG is constrained by inadequate water solubility, fast breakdown, and low bioavailability. Nanoparticle drug delivery technologies effectively address these constraints by encapsulating LIG into nanocarriers, significantly enhancing its solubility and bioavailability, hence maximizing its therapeutic efficacy. Consequently, this study employed tetrahedral backbone nucleic acid molecules as LIG carriers. Furthermore, animal models and single-cell sequencing analyses were employed to forecast the mechanisms and targets of pertinent studies. A mouse model genetically modified for the piezo type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1 (PIEZO1), transmembrane BAX inhibitor motif containing 6 (TMBIM6), and prohibitin 2 (PHB2), along with an in vivo and in vitro model of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC), was established, and a gene-modified cellular system comprising upstream genes and downstream effector targets was constructed. The mechanism of LIG was validated by molecular biology and integrated pharmacology with the implementation of the LIG nano-drug loading method.

RESULTS

LIG nano-delivery enhanced DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction and mitochondrial impairment by modulating the PHB2Ser91/Ser176 phosphorylation axis through PIEZO1-TMBIM6, and significantly suppressed cardiomyocyte pyroptosis resulting from mitochondrial homeostasis dysregulation. The findings indicate that LIG nano-delivery is a promising therapeutic approach for addressing DIC.

CONCLUSION

The PHB2Ser91/Ser176 phosphorylation axis regulated by PIEZO1-TMBIM6 is an important target for LIG nano-drug delivery systems to improve mitochondrial damage in DIC.

SIRT6 mitigates doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy via amelioration of mitochondrial dysfunction: A mechanistic study implicating the activation of the Nrf-2/FUNDC1 signaling axis

Doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury, characterized by myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure (HF), represents a primary contributor to end-stage cardiovascular mortality associated with anthracycline drugs. Prior research has elucidated that SIRT6-mediated oxidative processes and mitochondrial metabolic reprogramming are pivotal in sustaining energy metabolism during mitochondrial damage in cardiomyocytes. In the aftermath of doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury, myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis exacerbate the impairment of cardiac ejection function, resulting in elevated myocardial oxygen consumption. This condition is accompanied by disrupted ATP production, diminished mitochondrial biogenesis, and inadequate synthesis of new mitochondrial DNA, collectively triggering necroptosis and apoptosis pathways. Our preliminary experimental results have confirmed that SIRT6, associated with traditional medicine, exerts cardioprotective effects. Nevertheless, the interaction between SIRT6 and Nrf-2-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis in the context of doxorubicin-induced HF and myocardial hypertrophy remains inadequately understood. The generation of mitochondria is a key mechanism that is involved in DNA repair and cell cycle management.