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Cardioprotective Potential of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil against Isoproterenol-induced Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy: Possible Involvement of NLRP3 Inflammasome and Oxidative Phosphorylation Complex Subunits

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Abstract

Objective

Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf is a medicinal and edible herb that is widely used for the treatment of gastric, nervous and hypertensive disorders. In this study, we investigated the cardioprotective effects and mechanisms of the essential oil, the main active ingredient of Cymbopogon citratus, on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.

Methods

The compositions of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil (CCEO) were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cardiomyocytes were pretreated with 16.9 µg/L CCEO for 1 h followed by 10 µmol/L ISO for 24 h. Cardiac hypertrophy-related indicators and NLRP3 inflammasome expression were evaluated. Subsequently, transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and target verification were used to further explore the underlying mechanism.

Results

Our results showed that the CCEO mainly included citronellal (45.66%), geraniol (23.32%), and citronellol (10.37%). CCEO inhibited ISO-induced increases in cell surface area and protein content, as well as the upregulation of fetal gene expression. Moreover, CCEO inhibited ISO-induced NLRP3 inflammasome expression, as evidenced by decreased lactate dehydrogenase content and downregulated mRNA levels of NLRP3, ASC, CASP1, GSDMD, and IL-1β, as well as reduced protein levels of NLRP3, ASC, pro-caspase-1, caspase-1 (p20), GSDMD-FL, GSDMD-N, and pro-IL-1β. The RNA-seq results showed that CCEO inhibited the increase in the mRNA levels of 26 oxidative phosphorylation complex subunits in ISO-treated cardiomyocytes. Our further experiments confirmed that CCEO suppressed ISO-induced upregulation of mt-Nd1, Sdhd, mt-Cytb, Uqcrq, and mt-Atp6 but had no obvious effects on mt-Col expression.

Conclusion

CCEO inhibits ISO-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome expression and the regulation of several oxidative phosphorylation complex subunits.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Xiao-yun Ding, Hao Zhang, Yu-mei Qiu, Meng-die Xie, Hu Wang, Zheng-yu Xiong, Ting-ting Li, Chun-ni He & Xi-lan Tang

  2. Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang, 330004, China

    Wei Dong & Xi-lan Tang

  3. Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Evaluation, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Xi-lan Tang

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  1. Xiao-yun Ding
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  2. Hao Zhang
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Correspondence to Wei Dong or Xi-lan Tang.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization or corporation or individual that can inappropriately influence this work.

Additional information

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81960732 and 82060733), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No. 20224BAB206111), the Science and Technology Plan of Jiangxi Provincial Health Commission (No. 202311141), the Open Project of Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Evaluation (No. JKLDE-KF-2101), and the Open Project of Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of TCM, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine (No. TCM-201911).

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Ding, Xy., Zhang, H., Qiu, Ym. et al. Cardioprotective Potential of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil against Isoproterenol-induced Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy: Possible Involvement of NLRP3 Inflammasome and Oxidative Phosphorylation Complex Subunits. CURR MED SCI 44, 450–461 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-024-2851-9

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