Fenofibrate ameliorates LPS-induced cardiac injury through alleviation of ferroptosis.

Abstract

Background: Ferroptosis-associated insults play a critical role in the pathological development of septic cardiomyopathy. Fenofibrate (Feno) is a fibrate drug used to treat high triglycerides and high cholesterol, however its pharmacological function in septic cardiomyopathy is not well understood.

Materials and methods: We allocated 36 male C57BL/6J mice into four groups (n = 9/group): Vehicle, Feno, LPS, and LPS+Feno. Techniques included hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, LDH assay, ELISA, echocardiography, measurement of MDA, GSH, Fe2⁺, real-time PCR, and western blot analysis.

Results: Administration of Feno significantly mitigated myocardial injury by reducing serum CK-MB levels from 963.8 U/L to 512.5 U/L, cTnI from 0.65 g/L to 0.36 g/L, and LDH from 552.4 U/L to 372.1 U/L. Feno improved cardiac function by increasing ejection fraction from 65.5% to 78.5% and fractional shortening from 42.3% to 57.3%. Feno also inhibited inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α, reduced MDA levels, increased GSH levels, and restored GPX4, FTH1, and SLC7A11 expression. The protective effects of Feno may be associated with the YAP1 signaling pathway.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Feno has the potential to protect against LPS-induced cardiac injury through the alleviation of ferroptosis, offering a promising therapeutic strategy for septic cardiomyopathy. However, the study is limited by the use of a single animal model and the lack of translational data in humans.