Ferulic acid protects HepG2 cells and mouse liver from iron-induced damage

Tugba Kose; Jorge Moreno-Fernandez; Mayra Vera-Aviles; Paul A Sharp; Gladys O Latunde-Dada

doi:10.1016/j.bbrep.2023.101521

Ferulic acid protects HepG2 cells and mouse liver from iron-induced damage

Biochem Biophys Rep. 2023 Jul 31:35:101521. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2023.101521. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Tugba Kose¹, Jorge Moreno-Fernandez^{1

2}, Mayra Vera-Aviles^{1

3}, Paul A Sharp¹, Gladys O Latunde-Dada¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Course and Population Sciences, King's College London, Franklin-Wilkins-Building, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, UK.
² Department of Physiology, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.
³ Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Sherrington Building, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PT, UK.

Abstract

Liver as iron storage organ is particularly susceptible to oxidative stress-induced injury from excess iron. Thus, antioxidant therapies are often used to reverse oxidative damage and protect cells and tissues. This study investigated the protective effects of phenolic acids; ferulic acid (FA) and its metabolite, ferulic acid 4-O-sulfate disodium salt (FAS) against oxidative stress under iron overload conditions in mouse and HepG2 cells. Cells were exposed to FA or FAS and then treated with iron-induced oxidative stress complex of 50 μmol/L FAC and 20 μmol/L of 8-hydroxyquinoline 8HQ (8HQ-FAC). Iron dextran was injected intraperitoneally on alternate days for 10 days to induce the iron overload condition in BALB/c mice. The study revealed that the phenolic acids were protective against ROS production, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant depletion in HepG2 cells and liver tissues of BALB/c mice during iron-induced oxidative stress. The protective function of phenolic acids was achieved by the transcriptional activation of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) to regulate antioxidant genes. In conclusion, the study provides evidence that FA has the potential as a therapeutic agent against iron-related diseases such as T2D.

Keywords: Ferulic acid; Iron; Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2; Oxidative stress.