Inflammatory response and cell death play key roles in the mechanism of myocardial cell injury induced by heat stroke (HS) in rats. Ferroptosis is a newly discovered regulatory type of cell death, which is involved in the occurrence and development of various cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of ferroptosis in the mechanism of cardiomyocyte injury caused by HS remains to be clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and potential mechanism of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in cardiomyocyte inflammation and ferroptosis under HS conditions at the cellular level. The HS cell model was established by exposing H9C2 cells at 43 °C for 2 h and then recovering at 37 °C for 3 h. The association between HS and ferroptosis was investigated by adding the ferroptosis inhibitor, liproxstatin-1, and the ferroptosis inducer, erastin. The results show that the expressions of ferroptosis-related proteins recombinant solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were decreased, the contents of glutathione (GSH) were decreased, and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and Fe2+ were increased in H9C2 cells in the HS group. Moreover, the mitochondria of the HS group became smaller and the membrane density increased. These changes were consistent with the effects of erastin on H9C2 cells and were reversed with liproxstatin-1. The addition of TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 or NF-κB inhibitor PDTC reduced the expressions of NF-κB and p53, increased the expressions of SLC7A11 and GPX4, reduced the contents of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, increased the content of GSH and reduced MDA, ROS, and Fe2+ levels in H9C2 cells under the HS condition. TAK-242 may improve the mitochondrial shrinkage and membrane density of H9C2 cells induced by HS. In conclusion, this study illustrated that inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway can regulate the inflammatory response and ferroptosis induced by HS, which provides new information and a theoretical basis for the basic research and clinical treatment of cardiovascular injuries caused by HS.
Keywords: HS; TLR4; cardiomyocytes; ferroptosis; inflammatory response.