Attenuation of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by cryptotanshinone detected through association analysis of transcriptomic profiling and KEGG pathway

OBJECTIVE The cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin (DOX) reduces the quality of life and prognosis of cancer patients, and therefore its clinical application has been largely restricted. This study aimed to assess the effects of cryptotanshione (CPT) on DOX-induced rat cardiac insufficiency. RESULTS CPT treatment significantly suppressed apoptosis in vitro. The oral administration of CPT significantly improved cardiac function in the rat model, reduced collagen production and suppressed apoptosis and the production of reactive oxygen species in the heart tissue. Transcriptomic profiling and its relevant bioinformatics analysis showed that CPT suppressed doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by inhibiting p53 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION Transcriptomic profiling and bioinformatics analysis can be used to evaluate the cardio-protective effect of CPT through inactivating p53 signaling pathway in the doxorubicin-mediated myocardial damage model. METHODS F-actin staining and flow cytometry were used to assess the effects of CPT on cardiomyocytes. In vivo, echocardiography and hemodynamic evaluation were used to assess the effects of CPT on the cardiac dysfunction in rats. Furthermore, transcriptomic profiling and bioinformatics analysis, as well as western blot analysis, were used to determine that CPT induced changes in the signaling pathways in the model.