Ginsenoside Rb1 mitigates atherosclerosis in part through modulating FTO-mediated m6A RNA modification in NETs-induced endothelial activation

Zhenni Yang; Minqi Xiong; Xinmiao Tang; Peiwei Wang; Jingang Cui; Yu Chen; Teng Zhang

doi:10.3389/fphar.2025.1631076

Ginsenoside Rb1 mitigates atherosclerosis in part through modulating FTO-mediated m⁶A RNA modification in NETs-induced endothelial activation

Front Pharmacol. 2025 Jul 23:16:1631076. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1631076. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Zhenni Yang¹, Minqi Xiong^{1

2}, Xinmiao Tang¹, Peiwei Wang^{1

2}, Jingang Cui^{1

2}, Yu Chen^{1

2

3}, Teng Zhang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Clinical Research Institute of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Laboratory of Clinical and Molecular Pharmacology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) exerts pharmacological effects in attenuating the progression of atherosclerosis. However, whether the anti-atherosclerotic effects of Rb1 involve suppressing neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)-induced endothelial activation and whether N⁶-methyadenosine (m⁶A) RNA modification is mechanistically implicated in this process remain unknown.

Methods: High fat diet (HFD)-fed Apoe ^-/- mice were subjected to histological, immunohistological and molecular biological analyses. Moreover, NETs-induced endothelial activation and m⁶A RNA methylation were assessed in human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs).

Results: Rb1 mitigated atherosclerotic lesions and endothelial activation in vivo. Rb1 diminished adhesion of neutrophils and monocytes to NETs-stimulated HAECs, offset NETs-upregulated endothelial expression of ICAM1, VCAM1, SELE and SELP, and counteracted NETs-induced endothelial barrier impairment in vitro. NETs exposure significantly decreased the level of m⁶A RNA methylation and increased the expression of demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) in HAECs, whereas Rb1 treatment enhanced m⁶A RNA methylation and reduced FTO expression in the NETs-stimulated HAECs. Overexpression of FTO abrogated the protective effects of Rb1 against NETs-induced endothelial activation in HAECs. Furthermore, Fto overexpression in endothelial cells partially abolished Rb1-confered attenuation of atherosclerotic pathologies and the aortic expression of Vcam1 in HFD-fed Apoe ^-/- mice.

Conclusion: The work here demonstrates that Rb1 mitigates atherosclerosis in part by suppressing NETs-induced endothelial activation. Mechanistically, the pharmacological effects of Rb1 in attenuating NETs-induced endothelial activation are in part mediated by modulating FTO-mediated m⁶A RNA demethylation in endothelial cells.

Keywords: Ginsenoside Rb1; atherosclerosis; endothelial activation; fat mass and obesity-associated protein; neutrophil extracellular traps.