LOXL2 silencing suppresses angiotensin II-induced cardiac hypertrophy through the EMT process and TGF-β1/Smad3/NF- ΚB pathway

Objective(s): Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia with atrial myocyte hypertrophy linked with stroke, heart failure, and increased mortality. Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) involves the crosslinking of collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM). In the present study, we investigated the roles and underlying mechanisms of LOXL2 on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Materials and Methods: The expression of LOXL2 mRNA and protein were detected in angiotensin II (Ang II) treated rat cardiomyocytes H9c2 by RT-qPCR and western blot. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) mediated LOXL2 gene silencing was used to evaluate cardiac hypertrophy and related markers. Also, the protein expression of EMT markers and Smad3/NF-KB pathway was determined by western blot. Results: Ang II significantly increased mRNA and protein expressions of LOXL2 and increased mRNA levels of myocardial hypertrophy markers, including ANP, BNP, and 0-MHC in H9c2 cells. Silencing of LOXL2 significantly suppressed Ang II-induced hypertrophy and reversed the increase in ANP, BNP, and 0-MHC mRNA levels. Also, EMT markers' expressions, as evidenced by increased E-cadherin and decreased vimentin, a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA), fibroblast-specific protein (FSP), and collagen 1A1. Mechanistically, we found that LOXL2 silencing suppressed protein expressions of TGF-01, p-Smad3, and p-NF-KB in Ang II-stimulated H9c2 cells. LOXL2 silencing also attenuated Ang II-induced increased expression and content of proinflammatory cytokines IL-10 (H) and TNF-a. Conclusion: Our data speculated that LOXL2 might be a potential contributing factor to Ang IIinduced cardiac hypertrophy, and TGF-01/Smad3/NF-KB is involved in a signal axis and might be a potential strategy in treating cardiac hypertrophy.