Oleic acid mitigates TNF-α-induced oxidative stress in rat cardiomyocytes

Some of the effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) are suggested to be mediated by oxidative stress. It has also been reported that dietary supplements of olive oil result in a reduction in LDL, oxidative stress, and blood pressure and these effects are attributed to oleic acid (OA)—a major component of olive oil. The objective of this study was to examine the beneficial effects of OA against TNF-α-induced oxidative stress and cardiomyocytes injury. Isolated cardiomyocytes from adult rat hearts were treated as follows: (A) control; (B) OA (50 μM); (C) TNF-α (10 ng/ml); and (D) TNF-α + OA. After 4 h of the treatment, cells were assessed for oxidative stress, cellular damage, viability, and apoptosis. Cardiomyocytes treated with TNF-α showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in reactive oxygen species, decrease in the viability of cells, and increase in creatine kinase release. All these TNF-α-induced changes were prevented by OA. TNF-α also caused a significant increase in the expression of apoptotic proteins Bax, Caspase 3 and PARP cleavage, Bnip3, and TGF-β , whereas OA modulated these changes. It is suggested that TNF-α induced oxidative stress mediates cardiomyocyte cell damage which is prevented by OA.