Fisetin mitigates hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating GSK3β/AMPK/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway

Background: Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury (IRI) represents a crucial challenge in liver transplantation. Fisetin has anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and anti-oxidative properties. This study aimed to examine whether fisetin mitigates hepatic IRI and examine its underlying mechanisms. Methods: Sham or warm hepatic I/R operated mice were pretreated with fisetin (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg). Hepatic histological assessments, TUNEL assays and serum aminotransferase measurements were performed. An in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model using RAW264.7 macrophages pretreated with fisetin (2.5, 5 or 10 mu mol/L) was also used. Serum and cell supernatant concentrations of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Protein levels of p-GSK3 beta, p-AMPK and NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3)-associated proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results: Compared with the I/R group, fisetin pretreatment reduced pathological liver damage, serum aminotransferase levels, serum concentrations of IL-1 beta, IL-18 and TNF-alpha in the murine IRI model. Fisetin also reduced the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome-associated proteins (NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1, IL-1 beta and IL-18) in I/R-operated liver. The experiments in vitro showed that fisetin decreased the release of IL-1 beta, IL-18 and TNF-alpha, and reduced the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome-associated proteins in H/R-treated RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, fisetin increased the expressions of p-GSK3 beta and p-AMPK in both models, indicating that its anti-inflammatory effects were dependent on GSK3 beta/AMPK signaling. The antiinflammatory effects of fisetin were partially inhibited by the AMPK specific inhibitor compound C. Conclusions: Fisetin showed protective effects against hepatic IRI, countering inflammatory responses through mediating the GSK3 beta/AMPK/NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. (C) 2021 First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.