Thukham-Mee Wipawee, Wattanathorn Jintanaporn, Palachai Nut
Integrative Complementary Alternative Medicine Research and Development Center in the Research Institute for Human High Performance and Health Promotion, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 16;26(12):5759. doi: 10.3390/ijms26125759.
Cardiovascular injury caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure is an escalating public health concern due to its role in triggering systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. This study elucidates the sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-mediated epigenetic mechanisms underlying the protective effects of phytosome-encapsulated L. var. tassel extract (PZT) in a rat model of PM2.5-induced cardiovascular inflammation. Male Wistar rats were pretreated with PZT (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight) for 21 days before and throughout a 27-day PM2.5 exposure period. SIRT1 expression and associated inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were evaluated in cardiac and vascular tissues. The findings revealed that PZT significantly upregulated SIRT1 expression, a key epigenetic regulator known to modulate inflammatory and antioxidant pathways. The activation of SIRT1 inhibited the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway, leading to a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) within cardiac tissue. In vascular tissue, treatment with PZT reduced the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), thereby mitigating inflammatory and fibrotic responses. Furthermore, SIRT1 activation by PZT enhanced the antioxidant defense system by upregulating superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), which was associated with a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation. Collectively, these results demonstrate that PZT confers cardiovascular protection through SIRT1-dependent epigenetic modulation, mitigating PM2.5-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and tissue remodeling. The dual anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions of PZT via SIRT1 activation highlight its potential as a functional food-based preventative agent for reducing cardiovascular risk in polluted environments.
由于细颗粒物（PM2.5）暴露引发全身炎症和氧化应激，其导致的心血管损伤日益成为公共卫生关注的焦点。本研究阐明了在PM2.5诱导的心血管炎症大鼠模型中，植物胶囊包裹的玉米须提取物（PZT）发挥保护作用的沉默调节蛋白1（SIRT1）介导的表观遗传机制。雄性Wistar大鼠在27天的PM2.5暴露期之前及整个期间，用PZT（100、200和400mg/kg体重）预处理21天。评估心脏和血管组织中SIRT1的表达以及相关的炎症和氧化应激标志物。研究结果显示，PZT显著上调了SIRT1的表达，SIRT1是一种已知可调节炎症和抗氧化途径的关键表观遗传调节因子。SIRT1的激活抑制了核因子-κB（NF-κB）信号通路，导致心脏组织中促炎细胞因子如肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和白细胞介素-6（IL-6）水平降低。在血管组织中，PZT处理降低了肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）的水平，从而减轻了炎症和纤维化反应。此外，PZT激活SIRT1通过上调超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）增强了抗氧化防御系统，这与脂质过氧化标志物丙二醛（MDA）的减少有关。总体而言，这些结果表明，PZT通过SIRT1依赖的表观遗传调节赋予心血管保护作用，减轻PM2.5诱导的炎症、氧化应激和组织重塑。PZT通过激活SIRT1产生双重抗炎和抗氧化作用，突出了其作为功能性食品预防剂在污染环境中降低心血管风险的潜力。
