Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids prevent cardiomyocytes against sepsis by A2AR-induced activation of PI3K and PPARγ.

Although epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) have multiple protective effects against different diseases, whether they can improve the pathogenesis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic cardiac dysfunction remains unknown. We investigated the effects of EETs on the LPS-induced inflammatory response in myocardial dysfunction mice and H9c2 cardiac myocytes. Cardiac-specific CYP2J2 transgenic mice (Tr) showed improved cardiac function and reduced inflammation response after administration with LPS, while the protective effects were not observed in A2A adenosine receptor (A2AR/ADORA2A)-deficient mice (knockout/KO). In vitro, EETs prevented LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis in the cardiomyocytes via A2AR activation. Moreover, ZM241385 (A2AR inhibitor) attenuated the cardioprotective properties of EETs. Further investigation demonstrated that A2AR signal pathway activation partly regulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) expression. This is the first report on EETs exerting cardioprotective effects against LPS-induced cardiomyocyte injury via A2AR activation.