IFN-g-STAT1-ERK Pathway Mediates Protective Effects of Invariant Natural Killer T Cells Against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyocyte Death

Doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiomyopathy has poor prognosis, and myocardial inflammation is intimately involved in its pathophysiology. The role of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells has not been fully determined in this disease. We here demonstrated that activation of iNKT cells by a-galactosylceramide (GC) attenuated DOXinduced cardiomyocyte death and cardiac dysfunction. aGC increased interferon (IFN)-g and phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 (STAT1) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Administration of anti-IFN-g neutralizing antibody abrogated the beneficial effects of aGC on DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction. These findings emphasize the protective role of iNKT cells in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy via the IFN-g-STAT1-ERK pathway. (J Am Coll Cardiol Basic Trans Science 2023;8:992-1007)& COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study found that activation of iNKT cells attenuated Doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocyte death and cardiac dysfunction. This effect may be mediated through increased interferon-γ and phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 1 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase.