Sweroside alleviates pressure overload-induced heart failure through targeting CaMKⅡδ to inhibit ROS-mediated NF-κB/NLRP3 in cardiomyocytes

Ongoing inflammation in the heart is positively correlated with adverse remodeling, characterized by elevated levels of cytokines that stimulate activation of cardiac fibroblasts. It was found that CaMKIIδ response to Ang II or TAC triggers the accumulation of ROS in cardiomyocytes, which subsequently stimulates NF-κB/NLRP3 and leads to an increase in IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-18. This is an important causative factor in the occurrence of adverse remodeling in heart failure. Sweroside is a biologically active natural iridoids extracted from Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. It shows potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in various cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we found that sweroside inhibited ROS-mediated NF-κB/NLRP3 in Ang II-treated cardiomyocytes by directly binding to CaMKIIδ. Knockdown of CaMKⅡδ abrogated the effect of sweroside regulation on NF-κB/NLRP3 in cardiomyocytes. AAV-CaMKⅡδ induced high expression of CaMKⅡδ in the myocardium of TAC/Ang II-mice, and the inhibitory effect of sweroside on TAC/Ang Ⅱ-induced elevation of NF-κB/NLRP3 was impeded. Sweroside showed significant inhibitory effects on CaMKIIδ/NF-κB/NLRP3 in cardiomyocytes from TAC/Ang Ⅱ-induced mice. This would be able to mitigate the adverse events of myocardial remodeling and contractile dysfunction at 8 weeks after the onset of the inflammatory response. Taken together, our findings have revealed the direct protein targets and molecular mechanisms by which sweroside improves heart failure, thereby supporting the further development of sweroside as a therapeutic agent for heart failure.