Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis

Abstract Sodium aescinate (SA), a natural plant extract with various bioactivities, is widely used to treat oedema and inflammation in clinics. However, adverse events, including liver injury, kidney injury, and phlebitis, have been reported in patients with SA in recent years. In this study, we use...

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Main Authors: Chen Xi, Jie Zhou, Xin Zheng, Xiaoyi Fu, Minjuan Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79723-2
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author Chen Xi
Jie Zhou
Xin Zheng
Xiaoyi Fu
Minjuan Xie
author_facet Chen Xi
Jie Zhou
Xin Zheng
Xiaoyi Fu
Minjuan Xie
author_sort Chen Xi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Sodium aescinate (SA), a natural plant extract with various bioactivities, is widely used to treat oedema and inflammation in clinics. However, adverse events, including liver injury, kidney injury, and phlebitis, have been reported in patients with SA in recent years. In this study, we used BALB/c mice and L02 cells to evaluate the role of ferroptosis in SA-induced liver injury. SA significantly increased AST, ALT, MDA and Fe2+, decreased GSH levels, and induced pathological changes in the liver in vivo. SA also reduced the viability of L02 cells and induced LDH release, intracellular cysteine reduction, GSH depletion, iron accumulation, ROS production, and lipid peroxidation, indicating that SA causes ferroptosis. In addition, SA inhibited transcriptional activity of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and subsequently reduced the expression of the downstream genes xCT (solute carrier family 7a member 11, SLC7A11) and Cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH) which play vital roles in GSH biosynthesis. Interestingly, the cytotoxic effects of SA were effectively attenuated by ATF4 overexpression, while they were significantly aggravated by ATF4 silencing. These results revealed that SA triggers hepatocyte ferroptosis by inhibiting the activity of ATF4, which causes an oxidative imbalance.
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spelling doaj-art-b8a9416b0af945aeaaf8b707e3d679f72025-01-12T12:23:42ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111510.1038/s41598-024-79723-2Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosisChen Xi0Jie Zhou1Xin Zheng2Xiaoyi Fu3Minjuan Xie4Pharmaceutical Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversitySchool of Medicine, Yichun UniversitySchool of Medicine, Yichun UniversitySchool of Medicine, Yichun UniversitySchool of Medicine, Yichun UniversityAbstract Sodium aescinate (SA), a natural plant extract with various bioactivities, is widely used to treat oedema and inflammation in clinics. However, adverse events, including liver injury, kidney injury, and phlebitis, have been reported in patients with SA in recent years. In this study, we used BALB/c mice and L02 cells to evaluate the role of ferroptosis in SA-induced liver injury. SA significantly increased AST, ALT, MDA and Fe2+, decreased GSH levels, and induced pathological changes in the liver in vivo. SA also reduced the viability of L02 cells and induced LDH release, intracellular cysteine reduction, GSH depletion, iron accumulation, ROS production, and lipid peroxidation, indicating that SA causes ferroptosis. In addition, SA inhibited transcriptional activity of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and subsequently reduced the expression of the downstream genes xCT (solute carrier family 7a member 11, SLC7A11) and Cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH) which play vital roles in GSH biosynthesis. Interestingly, the cytotoxic effects of SA were effectively attenuated by ATF4 overexpression, while they were significantly aggravated by ATF4 silencing. These results revealed that SA triggers hepatocyte ferroptosis by inhibiting the activity of ATF4, which causes an oxidative imbalance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79723-2Sodium aescinateATF4GSHFerroptosisHepatotoxicity
spellingShingle Chen Xi
Jie Zhou
Xin Zheng
Xiaoyi Fu
Minjuan Xie
Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
Scientific Reports
Sodium aescinate
ATF4
GSH
Ferroptosis
Hepatotoxicity
title Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
title_full Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
title_fullStr Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
title_full_unstemmed Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
title_short Sodium aescinate-induced hepatotoxicity via ATF4/GSH/GPX4 axis-mediated ferroptosis
title_sort sodium aescinate induced hepatotoxicity via atf4 gsh gpx4 axis mediated ferroptosis
topic Sodium aescinate
ATF4
GSH
Ferroptosis
Hepatotoxicity
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79723-2
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AT xinzheng sodiumaescinateinducedhepatotoxicityviaatf4gshgpx4axismediatedferroptosis
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