"The Ameliorative Effect of Interleukin-17A Neutralization on Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity by Modulating the NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β Signaling Pathway in Rats"

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX) is used as a chemotherapeutic drug for treating cancer. Nevertheless, it causes damage to the heart by activating inflammatory pathways, resulting in cardiotoxicity. Imbalance in cytokine production is a crucial component that might trigger the initiation of inflammatory processes. Inflammatory cytokines could be targeted therapies against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a cytokine that promotes inflammation and stimulates harmful immunological reactions. The objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of secukinumab (SEC), a completely human monoclonal IgG1/κ antibody that targets IL-17A, in ameliorating DOX-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC). We administered 2.5 mg/kg of DOX intraperitoneally to male Wistar rats three times a week for 2 weeks and simultaneously administered 0.9 mg/kg of SEC along with 2.5 mg/kg of DOX injection three times a week for a duration of two weeks. The findings indicated that DOX induced damage to the heart tissue, resulting in a significant rise in indicators of cardiotoxicity (P < 0.001), as well as oxidative stress and inflammation. DIC may have arisen from DOX's activation of the Pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and the nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) pathway. The co-administration of SEC successfully reversed all DOX-induced abnormalities by restoring cardiac functions to their baseline levels, decreasing levels of inflammatory mediators such as IL-17A and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and improving oxidative stress by reducing levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing levels of reduced glutathione (GSH). Furthermore, it mitigated the heightened activation of the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway caused by DOX. This study shows that IL-17A neutralization can prevent DIC by regulating the NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β pathway to be used as potential therapeutic target for CVDs.