Silence of MLK3 alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced lung epithelial cell injury via inhibiting p53-mediated ferroptosis

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. The injury and apoptosis of lung epithelial cells play crucial roles in the progression of ALI. Mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3) has been reported to be involved in the regulation of cellular biological functions, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis and ferroptosis. However, the effect of MLK3 exerted on ALI has not been reported. Here, LPS-stimulated MLE12 pulmonary epithelial cells were used as an in vitro model for ALI. In this research, LPS elevated the expression of MLK3 in MLE12 cells. The silence of MLK3 alleviated LPS-induced cell injury. Notably, LPS promoted ferroptosis through enhancing GSH depletion and the productions of MDA and iron, which was attenuated by MLK3 knockdown. Moreover, the silence of MLK3 inhibited p53 expression in LPS-induced cells along with a decrease in the expressions of p21 and Bax, while overexpressing p53 reversed these effects of MLK3 silence. Meanwhile, p53 overexpression reversed the positive effects of MLK3 knockdown on LPS-induced cell ferroptosis and injury. Together, our results confirmed that the silence of MLK3 alleviated LPS-induced lung epithelial cell injury by inhibiting p53-mediated ferroptosis.