Wogonin reduces cardiomyocyte apoptosis from mitochondrial release of cytochrome c to improve doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity

Doxorubicin (DOX) has powerful anticancer properties, but its clinical application is affected by its serious cardiotoxicity. Wogonin (WG) has been shown to have marked cardiovascular protection potential. However, it is not known whether this potential can protect the heart from DOX damage. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether WG could ameliorate the cardiotoxicity of DOX. DOX and WG were used to establish a model of cardiac damage. Echocardiography, brain natriuretic peptide, creatine kinase MB and cardiac troponin T were used to detect the degree of cardiac damage. The levels of superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, glutathione and catalase in serum were measured to observed oxidative stress state. The mRNA levels of cyclophilin D, voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 and adenine nucleotide transporter 1 were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of cytochrome c in mitochondria and cytoplasm and cleaved-caspase-9 and pro/cleaved-caspase-3 in cytoplasm in cardiac tissue and primary cardiomyocytes to verify the related signaling pathways. DOX rats showed a series of cardiac damage. However, these damages were alleviated following WG treatment. Further studies showed that WG antagonized DOX cardiotoxicity through inhibiting the release of cytochrome c. WG protected rat heart from DOX damage. The mechanism may be closely related to inhibiting the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis caused by caspase activation.