Inhibition of ferroptosis alleviates atherosclerosis through attenuating lipid peroxidation and endothelial dysfunction in mouse aortic endothelial cell

Atherosclerosis (AS) is the fundamental pathological state of many serious vascular diseases, characterized by disorders of lipid metabolism. Ferroptosis is a type of regulated cell death that is mainly mediated by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. In this study, whether ferroptosis has occurred in AS and the potential effects of ferroptosis on AS were investigated. Ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) was administered to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced AS in ApoE−/- mice. The results showed that Fer-1 could alleviate AS lesion in HFD-fed ApoE−/- mice. Additionally, Fer-1 partially inhibited the iron accumulation, lipid peroxidation and reversed the expressions of ferroptosis indicators SLC7A11 and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) in HFD-fed ApoE−/- mice. Next, we evaluated the effects of inhibition of ferroptosis on oxidized-low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced mouse aortic endothelial cells (MAECs). Results showed that Fer-1 increased cell viability and reduced cell death in ox-LDL-treated MAECs. Moreover, Fer-1 decreased iron content and lipid peroxidation and up-regulated the levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4. Additionally, Fer-1 down-regulated the expressions of adhesion molecules and up-regulated eNOS expression. Iron chelator deferoxamine was used to demonstrate ferroptosis could be partially inhibited by iron complexation in ox-LDL-treated MAECs. Our results indicated that ferroptosis might occur during the initiation and development of AS. More importantly, inhibition of ferroptosis could alleviate AS through attenuating lipid peroxidation and endothelial dysfunction in AECs. Our findings might contribute to a deeper understanding regarding the pathological process of AS and provide a therapeutic target for AS.