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).