Protective effects of rutin on lipopolysaccharide-induced heart injury in mice

Abstract

Rutin has a wide range of beneficial health properties in the amelioration of multi-organ injury owing to its various biological effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rutin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced heart injury and clarify its potential cardioprotective mechanism. The mouse model of heart injury was intraperitoneal infection with LPS, and rutin was orally administered for 8 consecutive days. One day after LPS injection, heart histopathology, cardiac marker enzymes and cardiac fibrosis related genes were determined to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of rutin. In addition, oxidative parameters and inflammatory cytokines were tested to explore its possible underlying mechanism. The presented results showed that rutin significantly improved morphological changes of myocardium and relieved cardiac marker enzymes [creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] level to protect heart in LPS-induced sepsis. And more, rutin observably mitigated fibrosis related genes [matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9)] expression in the heart to prevent against LPS-induced cardiac fibrosis. In addition, rutin markedly increased antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)] activity, and improved oxidative production [malondialdehyde (MDA) and H₂O₂] level to balance the oxidation and anti-oxidation systems in the heart. Lastly, rutin dramatically ameliorated [tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6)] activity to restrain inflammatory responses in the heart. In conclusion, rutin possessed anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to improve LPS-induced heart injury, which suggested rutin could be used as a potential cardioprotective medicine in sepsis.