The Role of Nrf2 in D-Galactose-Induced Cardiac Aging in Mice: Involvement of Oxidative Stress

Introduction: Cardiac aging is the major risk factor for advanced heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in developed countries, accounting for >30% of deaths worldwide.

Objective: To discover the detailed mechanism of cardiac aging and develop an effective therapeutic candidate drug to treat or delay cardiac aging.

Methods: We used D-galactose to induce cardiac aging in Nrf2+/+ and Nrf2-/- mice, and then treated these mice with vehicle or the Nrf2 activator, CDDO-imidazolide (CDDO-Im).

Results and conclusions: D-galactose injection significantly induced cardiac aging, cell Apoptosis, and oxidative stress in Nrf2+/+ mice, all of which were further exacerbated in Nrf2-/- mice. CDDO-Im treatment can effectively weaken oxidative stress and enhance the activities of antioxidant enzymes, but CDDO-Im lost its antioxidative effect in the Nrf2-/- mice. Nrf2 activator CDDO-Im could therefore effectively protect against D-galactose-induced cardiac aging by inhibiting oxidative stress, suggesting that CDDO-Im might be a potential and promising therapeutic candidate drug to treat cardiac aging.