5-Azacytidine modulates interferon regulatory factor 1 in macrophages to exert a cardioprotective effect

Macrophages are actively involved in inflammatory responses during the progression of cardiac injury, including myocardial infarction (MI). A previous study showed that 5-azacytidine (5AZ), a DNA methylation inhibitor, can ameliorate cardiac injury by shifting macrophages toward an anti-inflammatory phenotype via iNOS inhibition. Here, we show that the beneficial effect of 5AZ is associated with sumoylation of interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF1) in macrophages. IRF1 is a critical transcription factor for iNOS induction and is antagonized by IRF2. In the stimulated macrophages, IRF1 accumulated in the nucleus without degradation by 5AZ treatment. In animal study, 5AZ administration resulted in significant improvements in cardiac function and fibrosis. IRF1-expressing macrophages were more abundant in the 5AZ-treated MI group than in the PBS-treated MI group. Because sumoylated IRF1 is known to mimic IRF2, we examined the IRF1 sumoylation. Sumoylated IRF1 was resistant to degradation and significantly increased in the 5AZ-treated MI group. Collectively, 5AZ had a protective effect after MI by potentiation of IRF1 sumoylation and is suggested as a novel therapeutic intervention for cardiac repair.