Wogonin Ameliorated Obesity-Induced Lipid Metabolism Disorders and Cardiac Injury via Suppressing Pyroptosis and Deactivating IL-17 Signaling Pathway

Obesity leads to structural and functional changes in the heart and has become a global burden of disease. Wogonin is a natural flavonoid which possesses cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-cancer properties. However, the effects of wogonin on obesity-induced cardiac injury remain unclear. In this study, the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice model was successfully established. Moreover, HFD induced a fat mass and cardiac injury in mice. More importantly, wogonin treatment reduced fat mass and improved cardiac function of HFD mice. Consistently, wogonin ameliorated myocardial lipid metabolism in HFD-induced obese mice by reducing triglyceride (TC), total cholesterol (TG), and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels in serum, as well as the TG and free fatty acids (FFA) levels in heart tissues. Interestingly, wogonin treatment alleviated myocardial pyroptosis in HFD-induced obese mice. Through bioinformatic analysis, the IL-17 signaling pathway was predicted to be modulated by wogonin. Results showed that wogonin deactivated the IL-17 signaling pathway in HFD mice. These findings suggested that wogonin ameliorated obesity-induced disorders of lipid metabolism and cardiac injury via suppressing pyroptosis and deactivating the IL-17 signaling pathway, which provided a novel therapeutic strategy for HFD-induced cardiac injury.