Chlorogenic acid alleviates hyperglycemia-induced cardiac fibrosis. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Chlorogenic Acid Alleviates Hyperglycemia-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis through Activation of the NO/cGMP/PKG Pathway in Cardiac Fibroblasts.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2020 Nov 17:e2000810. Epub 2020 Nov 17. PMID: 33200558
Linhui Qin
SCOPE: Hyperglycemia-induced cardiac fibrosis is one of the main causes of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DM). Chlorogenic acid (CGA) found in many foods has excellent hypoglycemic effectiveness, but it is not known whether CGA can improve DM by inhibiting cardiac fibrosis caused by hyperglycemia.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Type I diabetic mice were induced by streptozotocin, and after treatment with CGA for 12 weeks, cardiac functions and fibrosis were determined. CGA significantly attenuated hyperglycemia-induced cardiac fibrosis and improved cardiac functions. The mechanism of CGA on fibrotic inhibition was further studied by immunofluorescence, western blot and RNA interference technology in vivo and in vitro. The results showed CGA exerted its anti-fibrotic effects through activating the cyclic GMP/protein kinase G pathway (cGMP/PKG) to block hyperglycemia-induced nuclear translocation of p-Smad2/3, and then inhibiting pro-fibrotic gene expression in cardiac fibroblasts without depending on its hypoglycemic function. Moreover, the data also revealed that CGA increased cGMP level and activated PKG in cardiac fibroblasts by enhancing endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity and NO production.
CONCLUSION: Besides lowering blood glucose, CGA also has an independent ability to inhibit cardiac fibrosis. Therefore, long-term consumption of foods rich in CGA for diabetic patients will have great benefits to improve diabetic cardiomyopathy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.