Naoxintong/PPARγ Signaling Inhibits Cardiac Hypertrophy via Activation of Autophagy

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Naoxintong capsule (NXT) has been approved by China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), which is used for cardiocerebrovascular disease treatment. Here we found that NXT extract significantly promoted H9c2 cardiomyocyte cell autophagy involved in increased autophagy-associated gene expression leading to inhibition of mTOR signaling. Moreover, NXT extract increased PPAR gamma protein expression and transcription activity of H9c2 cell. Consistent with this, in PPAR gamma gene silenced H9c2 cells, NXT had no effect on autophagy and mTOR signaling. Furthermore, NXT/PPAR gamma-mediated H9c2 autophagy led to inhibition of cardiomyocyte cell hypertrophy. These findings suggest that the extract of NXT inhibited H9c2 cardiomyocyte cell hypertrophy via PPAR gamma-mediated cell autophagy.