Phillyrin, a well-known natural compound from the dried fruits of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl., has shown anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant and anti-virus activities as well as renal protective effects on
diabetic nephropathy. In this study, we investigated whether
phillyrin attenuated
cardiac hypertrophy induced by
catecholamine in vivo and in vitro, and explored the underlying mechanisms.
Cardiac hypertrophy was induced in C57BL/6 mice by
subcutaneous injection of
norepinephrine (NE, a key
catecholamine), and in rat cardiomyoblasts (H9c2) by stimulation with NE in vitro. Our results showed that administration of
phillyrin (100 mg/kg, i.p. for 15 days) significantly improved cardiac function, histopathological changes,
cardiac hypertrophy and decreased the upregulated hypertrophic markers (
ANP, BNP, and β-MHC). Moreover, treatment with
phillyrin obviously reduced the infiltration of the CD68 positive macrophages and the
mRNA expression of proinflammatory genes (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in left ventricular tissue. In addition, treatment with
phillyrin markedly inhibited the phosphorylation of
p38 MAPK, ERK1/2, AKT, and NF-κB p65 in heart tissues. Furthermore, in NE-treated H9c2 cells, pretreatment with
phillyrin clearly attenuated cardiomyocyte
hypertrophy, reduced ROS production and inhibited the phosphorylation of
p38 MAPK, ERK1/2, AKT, and NF-κB p65 in vitro. Collectively, our results demonstrate that
phillyrin effectively alleviates NE-induced
cardiac hypertrophy and inflammatory response by suppressing
p38 MAPK/ERK1/2 and AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways.