Ferrostatin-1 Blunts Right Ventricular Hypertrophy and Dysfunction in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension by Suppressing the HMOX1/GSH Signaling

Abstract

Ferroptosis plays a critical role in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-induced right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, but key genes remain largely unclear. We here identified HMOX1 as an essential ferroptosis-related differentially expressed gene in PAH by bioinformatic analysis using FerrDb, GSE119754, and GSE3675 datasets, respectively. Notably, there were marked increases in HMOX1 and iron levels in RV of monocrotaline-induced PAH rats with reduced TAPSE levels. More importantly, treatment with ferrostatin-1 effectively attenuated RV hypertrophy, remodeling, myocardial fibrosis, and dysfunction in PAH rats. In cultured H9C2 cells and primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, pretreatment with ferrostatin-1 and knockdown HMOX1 by siRNA strikingly blunted hypoxia-induced promotion of lipid peroxidation, ferroptosis, and cardiomyocyte injury by potentiating glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide signaling, respectively. In summary, ferrostatin-1 attenuates RV hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction in PAH by suppressing the HMOX1/GSH signaling. Targeting HMOX1 ferroptosis signaling functions as a potential therapeutic strategy for patients with PAH.

Keywords: Differentially expressed genes; Ferroptosis; Heme oxygenase-1; Pulmonary arterial hypertension; Right ventricular remodeling.