Myocardial-Targeting Tannic Cerium Nanocatalyst Attenuates Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Medications or surgery have been considered as effective protocols to treat IHD for decades. Yet the reperfusion of the blood flow frequently leads to the generation of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing prominent and irreversible damage to the cardiomyocytes. In the present work, tannic acid-assembled tetravalent cerium (TA-Ce) nanocatalysts with appealing cardiomyocyte-targeting and antioxidation capability have been synthesized and applied for the effective and biocompatible ischemia/reperfusion injury therapeutics. TA-Ce nanocatalysts could effectively rescue the cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress induced by H2O2 challenge as well as oxygen-glucose deprivation in vitro. In the murine ischemia/reperfusion model, cardiac accumulation and intracellular ROS scavenging could be achieved against the pathology, substantially reducing the myocardial infarct area and recovering heart functionality. This work illuminates the design of nanocatalytic metal complexes and their therapeutic prospects in ischemic heart diseases with high effectiveness and biocompatibility, paving the way for the clinical translation from bench to bedside.

Automated summary

Ischemic heart disease is a major cause of death worldwide. This study focuses on the synthesis of tannic acid-assembled tetravalent cerium nanocatalysts for the treatment of ischemia/reperfusion injury. The nanocatalysts effectively rescue cardiomyocytes from oxidative stress and reduce myocardial infarct area in a murine model. This research highlights the potential of nanocatalytic metal complexes as a therapeutic approach for ischemic heart diseases.