TRPV1/cPLA2/AA pathway contributes to ferroptosis-mediated acute liver injury in heatstroke

Abstract

With the increasing frequency of global heatwaves, the incidence of heatstroke (HS) is significantly rising. The liver plays a crucial role in metabolism and is an organ highly sensitive to temperature. Acute liver injury (ALI) frequently occurs in patients with HS, yet the exact mechanisms driving ALI in HS are still unknown. In this basic study, we investigated the specific molecular mechanisms by which cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) mediates ferroptosis, contributing to the development of ALI following HS. We utilized a mouse model of HS and divided the mice into healthy control and HS groups for a series of experiments. Firstly, we assessed oxidative damage markers in tissues and cells, as well as ferroptosis biomarkers. Additionally, we conducted a non-targeted metabolomics analysis to validate the role of key enzymes in metabolism and the ferroptosis pathway. Our results indicated that ferroptosis contributed to the progression of ALI after HS. Administering the ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 (10 mg/kg) post-HS onset significantly inhibits HS-induced ALI progression. Mechanistically, heatstroke triggered cPLA2 activation and increased the levels of its metabolic product, arachidonic acid, thereby further promoted the occurrence of ferroptosis. Furthermore, heatstroke mediated cPLA2 activation might involve enhancing transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) receptor function. Overall, these results highlighted the critical role that cPLA2-mediated ferroptosis plays in the development of ALI following HS, indicating that inhibiting cPLA2 may present a novel therapeutic approach to prevent ALI after HS by limiting liver cell death.