3.7 Leonurine alleviates iron accumulation in CI-AKI
Based on the critical ability of iron to initiate ferroptosis, we next assessed the changes in renal iron deposition. Compared to the control, cisplatin induced iron deposition, and both low-dose and high-dose leonurine significantly alleviated the increase in the iron deposition (Fig. 7A). We next found that the renal iron levels were increased by cisplatin treatment but reversed by leonurine treatment (Fig. 7B). The expression level of TFR, a membrane protein affecting iron transport, was significantly increased in the model group and inhibited by leonurine treatment. Moreover, the expression levels of FTH-1 and FTL were upregulated in cisplatin-treated mice but downregulated by leonurine treatment (Fig. 7C-D). Similar to the protein trends, the mRNA levels of TFR and FTH-1 were increased after cisplatin administration and decreased after leonurine treatment (Fig. 7E-F).