EPHB2 Knockdown Mitigated Myocardial Infarction by Inhibiting MAPK Signaling

Abstract Myocardial infarction (MI) is a common type of cardiovascular disease. The incidence of ventricular remodeling dysplasia and heart failure increases significantly after MI. The objective of this study is to investigate whether erythropoietin hepatocellular receptor B2 (EPHB2) can regulate myocardial injury after MI and explore its regulatory pathways. EPHB2 is significantly overexpressed in the heart tissues of MI mice. The downregulation of EPHB2 alleviates the cardiac function damage after MI. Knockdown EPHB2 alleviates MI‐induced myocardial tissue inflammation and apoptosis, and myocardial fibrosis in mice. EPHB2 knockdown significantly inhibits the activation of mitogen activated kinase‐like protein (MAPK) pathway in MI mice. Moreover, EPHB2 overexpression significantly promotes the phosphorylation of MAPK pathway‐related protein, which can be reversed by MAPK‐IN‐1 (an MAPK inhibitor) treatment. In conclusion, silencing EPHB2 can mitigate MI‐induced myocardial injury by inhibiting MAPK signaling in mice, suggesting that targeting EPHB2 can be a promising therapeutic target for MI‐induced myocardial injury.