Taxifolin ameliorates DEHP-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via attenuating mitochondrial dysfunction and glycometabolism disorder in chicken

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a prevalent environmental contaminant that severely impacts the health of human and animals. Taxifolin (TAX), a plant flavonoid isolated from yew, exerts protective effects on cardiac diseases. Nevertheless, whether DEHP could induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and its mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to highlight the specific molecular mechanisms of DEHP-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the protective potential of TAX against it. Chicken primary cardiomyocytes were treated with DEHP (500 μM) and/or TAX (0.5 μM) for 24 h. The levels of glucose and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were detected, and cardiac hypertrophy-related genes were validated by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB) in vitro. The results showed that DEHP-induced cardiac hypertrophy was ameliorated by TAX, as indicated by the increased cardiomyocyte area and expression of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), natriuretic peptides A-like (BNP) and β-myosin heavy cardiac muscle (β-MHC). Furthermore, DEHP induced cardiac hypertrophy via the interleukin 6 (IL-6)/Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway in vitro. In addition, DEHP disrupted mitochondrial function and glycometabolism by activating the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1)/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs)/PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) pathway to induce cardiac hypertrophy in vitro. Intriguingly, those DEHP-induced changes were obviously alleviated by TAX treatment. Taken together, cardiac hypertrophy was induced by DEHP via activating the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway, triggering glycometabolism disorder and mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro, can be ameliorated by TAX. Our findings may provide a feasible molecular mechanism for the treatment of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by DEHP.