Mitochondria and NLRP3 inflammasome in cardiac hypertrophy

Abstract

Cardiac hypertrophy is the main adaptive response of the heart to chronic loads; however, prolonged or excessive hypertrophy promotes myocardial interstitial fibrosis, systolic dysfunction, and cardiomyocyte death, especially aseptic inflammation mediated by NLRP3 inflammasome, which can aggravate ventricular remodeling and myocardial damage, which is an important mechanism for the progression of heart failure. Various cardiac overloads can cause mitochondrial damage. In recent years, the mitochondria have been demonstrated to be involved in the inflammatory response during the development of cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo. As the NLRP3 inflammasome and mitochondria are regulators of inflammation and cardiac hypertrophy, we explored the potential functions of the NLRP3 inflammasome and mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiac hypertrophy. In particular, we proposed that the induction of mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiomyocytes may promote NLRP3-dependent inflammation during myocardial hypertrophy. Further in-depth studies could prompt valuable discoveries regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy, reveal novel anti-inflammatory therapies for cardiac hypertrophy, and provide more desirable therapeutic outcomes for patients with cardiac hypertrophy.

Keywords: Cardiac hypertrophy; Inflammation; Mitochondrial dysfunction; NLRP3 inflammasome.