Isorhapontigenin alleviates acetaminophen-induced liver injury by promoting fatty acid oxidation

Abstract

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic medicine. It is frequently employed to alleviate pain and mitigate fever-related symptoms, but it can cause liver injury or even liver failure when overdosed. Isorhapontigenin, a compound derived from Chinese herbs and grapes, has been demonstrated to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study focused on evaluating the effect of isorhapontigenin in alleviating APAP-induced liver injury. In the study, a single intraperitoneal administration of APAP was employed to induce liver injury, and isorhapontigenin was given orally 3 days before or 1 h after APAP administration. The results revealed that isorhapontigenin significantly mitigated liver injury by effectively inhibiting APAP-induced apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Furthermore, transcriptomic RNA sequencing of liver tissues indicated that isorhapontigenin probably protected against APAP-induced liver injury by promoting fatty acid oxidation. Pharmacological experiments also demonstrated that isorhapontigenin treatment led to a significant reduction in triglyceride accumulation, increased ATP levels and direct fatty acid oxidation activity, as well as enhanced expression of proteins associated with fatty acid oxidation, including PPAR-α, PGC-1α, and CPT-1A. Moreover, the protective effects of isorhapontigenin against APAP-induced liver injury were abolished by a CPT-1A inhibitor, etomoxir. Notably, we found that combining isorhapontigenin with NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) resulted in a more significant alleviation of APAP-induced liver injury compared to NAC alone. In conclusion, our study indicates that isorhapontigenin is a potential therapeutic strategy that works by regulating fatty acid oxidation to alleviate APAP-induced liver injury.