The effect of HMGA1 in LPS-induced Myocardial Inflammation

Aims: The High Mobility Group A1 (HMGA1) proteins, serving as a dynamic regulator of gene transcription and chromatin remodeling, play an influential part in the pathological process of a large number of cardiovascular diseases. However, the precise role of HMGA1 in sepsis induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) remains unintelligible. This research was designed to illustrate the effect of HMGA1 involved in SIC. Methods and Results: Cardiomyocyte-specific HMGA1 overexpression was obtained using an adeno-associated virus system with intramyocardial injection in mice heart. The model of SIC in mice was constructed via intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 6h. H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes was stimulated with LPS for 12h. HMGA1 expression was upregulated in murine inflammatory hearts as well as LPS stimulated H9c2 cardiomyocytes. HMGA1-overexpressing exhibited aggravated cardiac dysfunction, cardiac inflammation as well as cells apoptosis following LPS treatment both in vivo and in vitro experiment. Interestingly, HMGA1 knockdown in H9c2 cardiomyocytes attenuated LPS-induced cardiomyocyte inflammation, but aggravated cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, we found that overexpression of HMGA1 induced increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). COX-2 inhibitor alleviated the aggravation of inflammation and apoptosis in HMGA1 overexpressed H9c2 cardiomyocytes whereas HMGA1 knockdown induced a reduction in signal transducer and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) expression. STAT3 agonist reversed HMGA1 silence induced anti-inflammatory effects, while ameliorated cell apoptosis induced by LPS. Conclusion: In conclusion, our results suggest that overexpression of HMGA1 aggravated cardiomyocytes inflammation and apoptosis by up-regulating COX-2 expression, while silence of HMGA1 expression attenuated inflammation but aggregated cell apoptosis via down-regulation of STAT3.