Yao Huan, He Qingman, Wei Shujun, Xiang Li, Luo Yuanyuan, Huang Cong, Liu Weiwei, Zheng Chuan, Li Xueping, Gao Yongxiang
Sichuan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Innovative Re-Development of Famous Classical Formulas, Tianfu TCM Innovation Harbour, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611930, China.
Sichuan Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Natural Small Molecule Drug, Tianfu TCM Innovation Harbour, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611930, China.
Acta Pharm Sin B. 2025 Aug;15(8):4030-4046. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2025.06.014. Epub 2025 Jun 25.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) acts as a damage-associated molecular pattern to activate the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling in macrophages, promoting tissue inflammation. However, its role in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear. Macrophage-specific knockout mice were used to validate STING's pathological role in AMI. Cardiac and liver mtDNA were used to activate macrophages in co-culture systems with cardiomyocytes to assess fibrosis and hypertrophy. Panaxatriol saponin (PTS) was tested for its ability to block mtDNA-driven macrophage activation and subsequent cardiomyocyte damage. STING-PTS binding ability was analyzed. AMI rats received PTS to evaluate its effects on myocardial inflammation and ventricular remodeling. , macrophage-specific knockout reduced myocardial inflammation and injury after AMI. , mtDNA-activated macrophages induced cardiomyocyte fibrosis and hypertrophy through STING signaling. PTS suppressed mtDNA-driven macrophage activation by directly binding STING, thereby blocking inflammatory cascades. In AMI rats, PTS treatment attenuated acute inflammation and reversed ventricular remodeling. These findings establish the mtDNA-STING axis in macrophages as a critical driver of post-AMI inflammation and identify pharmacological STING inhibition with PTS as a promising therapeutic strategy. The study bridges genetic validation with translational applications, highlighting macrophage STING as a novel target for ischemic heart disease management.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024-1-16