Engeletin alleviates erastin-induced oxidative stress and protects against ferroptosis via Nrf2/Keap1 pathway in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Ferroptosis is a novel form of cell death, which is a unique modality of cell death and closely associated with iron concentrations, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and accumulation of the lipid reactive oxygen species. In the present study, the anti-ferroptosis effects of Engeletin was studied in erastin-induced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). After treatment with Engeletin, cell viability was determined by CCK-8 assay. The production of ROS, malonaldehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and glutathione peroxidase (GSH) were detected by using commercially-available kits. Ferroptosis-related proteins (GPX4, SLC7A11, TFR1, FPN1, Nrf2, Keap1) were evaluated by Western blotting. Osteogenic capacity was evaluated by ALP staining and ARS staining. The expression of osteogenic-related proteins (OPN, Runx2, OCN) were evaluated by Western blotting and changes in mRNA (ALP, BMP-2, COL-1, Osterix) were evaluated by RT-PCR. Consistent improvements in angiogenesis are observed with Engeletin in the presence of erastin. Engeletin significantly alleviated erastin-induced oxidative damage and protected against ferroptosis in BMSCs. Ferroptosis was inhibited by Engeletin, leading to decreasing reducing accumulation of ROS and lipid peroxidation products. Moreover, Engeletin promoted osteogenic differentiation in BMSCs and angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Taken together, these findings indicate that Engeletin can protect BMSCs from erastin-induced ferroptosis through the Nrf2/Keap1 antioxidant pathway and identify Engeletin as a novel ferroptosis inhibitor, suggesting that Engeletin may promote resistance to ferroptosis and enable osteogenic function of BMSCs.

Keywords: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; Engeletin; Erastin; Ferroptosis.