C1q/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related protein 12 (CTRP12) plays a crucial part in cardiovascular diseases especially the coronary artery disease. Nonetheless, it is unrevealed that whether the CTRP12 participates in the progress of cardiac fibrosis. In this study, we investigated whether CTRP12 regulates pathological myocardial fibrosis. We isolated neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts were cultured with recombination CTRP12 followed by stimulating with Isoproterenol (ISO, 100 µM) for 24 h. Then the adenovirus were used to achieve the CTRP12-overexpressed fibroblasts. In vivo, the C57/B6 mice were subjected to recombinant human CTRP12 (0.2 µg/g/d) for 2 weeks after injected with Isoproterenol (ISO, 10 mg/kg/d for 3 d then 5 mg/kg/d for 11 d, subcutaneously (s.c.), 2 weeks) and mice were also subjected to adenovirus with P38 overexpressing system to explore the mechanism. As a result, CTRP12 significantly inhibit the transformation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and the transcription of cardiac fibrosis-related proteins induced by ISO in vitro. The administration of CTRP12 can effectively reduce the cardiac fibrosis and enhance the cardiac function in mice hearts. The treatment with CTRP12 did not change the expression level of phosphorylated (p)-smad2, smad4, p-extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2, but it suppressed the activation of p38. Cardiac overexpression of p38 could abolish this kind of cardioprotective effects by CTRP12. In summary, the CTRP12 protect against the ISO induced cardiac fibrosis via suppressing the p38 signal pathway.
Keywords: C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 12 (CTRP12); cardiac fibrosis; fibroblast; isoproterenol; p38.