Puerarin Protects against Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Inhibiting Ferroptosis

This study investigated whether pretreatment with puerarin could alleviate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in a cardiomyocyte oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) model and in a mouse I/R injury model. For in vitro experiments, H9C2 cells were divided into control, erastin, OGD/R, OGD/R + puerarin, and OGD/R + ferrostatin (Fer)-1 groups. Parameters related to ferroptosis included levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), ATP, reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase (Ptgs) 2 mRNA, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) 4 protein and iron. In H9C2 cells, puerarin or Fer-1 pretreatment reduced ferroptosis, as indicated by decreased ROS and increased GSH, ATP levels. In vivo, wild-type mice were randomly divided into sham, I/R + vehicle, I/R + puerarin, and IR + Fer-1 groups. The I/R model was established by 30 min of left anterior descending artery occlusion followed by 24 h of reperfusion. Pretreatment with puerarin or Fer-1 significantly reduced infarct size in I/R mice, and decreased the activities of Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and cardiac enzymes such as creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) compared to those in the vehicle-treated group. Puerarin also reduced the production of MDA and 4-HNE, reduced the mRNA expression of Ptgs2 mRNA, and increased GPX4 protein expression. These results showed that puerarin exerted protective effects against myocardial I/R injury by inhibiting ferroptosis and inflammation, and therefore may have therapeutic potential for treatment of acute myocardial infarction.