Dunaliella salina Alga Protects against Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Attenuating TLR4 Signaling

Abstract

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is marked by rapid increase in inflammation and not only results in myocardial apoptosis but also compromises the myocardial function. Dunaliella salina (D. salina), a halophilic unicellular microalga, has been used as a provitamin A carotenoid supplement and color additive. Several studies have reported that D. salina extract could attenuate lipopolysaccharides-induced inflammatory effects and regulate the virus-induced inflammatory response in macrophages. However, the effects of D. salina on myocardial I/R injury remain unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cardioprotection of D. salina extract in rats subjected to myocardial I/R injury that was induced by occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery for 1 h followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Compared with the vehicle group, the myocardial infarct size significantly decreased in rats that were pre-treated with D. salina. D. salina significantly attenuated the expressions of TLR4, COX-2 and the activity of STAT1, JAK2, IκB, NF-κB. Furthermore, D. salina significantly inhibited the activation of caspase-3 and the levels of Beclin-1, p62, LC3-I/II. This study is the first to report that the cardioprotective effects of D. salina may mediate anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities and decrease autophagy through the TLR4-mediated signaling pathway to antagonize myocardial I/R injury.

Microalgae as a Sustainable Source of Antioxidants in Animal Nutrition, Health and Livestock Development

“…Carotenoids are abundant in microalgae [21,22]. These colorful compounds are well known for their antioxidant properties [14,[23][24][25]. They are used as natural colorants [26][27][28] and as food and feed additives or health supplements.…”

“…They are divided into two groups: carotenes and xanthophylls. The former group of compounds are oxygen-free hydrocarbons, such as α-carotene and β-carotene, while the latter compounds are oxygenated derivatives of carotenes (including lutein, violaxanthin, zeaxanthin, fucoxanthin, and astaxanthin) [25,29]. The main sources of carotenoids are microalgae belonging to the Chlorophyceae.…”

AEBP1 exacerbates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via inhibition of IκBα

“…Myocardial inflammation after MIRI exerts a crucial role in aggravating cardiac dysfunction and results in a bad prognosis of myocardial infarction patients. Thus, anti-inflammatory therapy represents a main strategy to attenuate MIRI [25]. AEBP1 is a transcriptional regulator that is implicated in the modulation of various biological processes including inflammation [26].…”

Marine Microalgal Products with Activities against Age-Related Cardiovascular Diseases

“…A group of rats was subjected to surgical procedures for inducing myocardial I/R injury. D. salina extract treatment (0.1 mg/kg) was able to decrease myocardial infarct size and attenuate the expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and the activity of STAT1, janus kinase 2 (JAK2), inhibitor of IκB, NF-κB [61]. Yang et al [62] showed that Chlorella pyrenoidosa was able to lower the blood pressure in rats fed a diet containing N ω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME), which induced endothelial dysfunction (40 mg/kg).…”