Correlation between Nrf2‑GPX4 signaling pathway and patients with coronary heart disease

Objective:To analyze the correlation between serum Nrf2 and GPX4 activity levels with coronary heart disease(CHD)and the severity of coronary artery disease,and to explore the role of ferroptosis mediated by its signaling pathway in the progression of CHD.Methods:A total of 540 patients suspected of CHD were selected for coronary angiography,of which 360 patients were diagnosed with CHD.The activity levels of Nrf2 and GPX4 in the serum of CHD patients were detected by ELISA,and the differences in the activities of Nrf2 and GPX4 in the presence or absence of CHD were statistically analyzed.Western blot detection of Nrf2 protein expression of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCS)in the control(CON)and CHD groups(90 cases each).The expression and significance of its signaling pathway in CHD patients were analyzed.Results:The activity levels of Nrf2 and GPX4 in the CHD group were lower than those in the CON group(P<0.05),and the expression levels of Nrf2 in PBMCs of the two groups were detected by Western blot.The protein expression level of Nrf2 in the CHD group(0.25±0.05)was down‑regulated compared with CON group(0.87±0.16)(P<0.05),indicating that Nrf2 protein expression level was low in CHD patients.Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum Nrf2 and GPX4 levels were negatively correlated with Gensini score(Nrf2:r=‑0.347,P<0.001;GPX4:r=-0.423,P=0.001).Nrf2 and GPX4 were negatively correlated with TG(Nrf2:r=-0.284,P<0.001;GPX4:r=-0.275,P=0.001),Nrf2 and GPX4 levels were negatively correlated with LDL(Nrf2:r=-0.418,P<0.001)0.05;(GPX4:r=-0.426,P<0.05),Nrf2 and GPX4 levels were positively correlated with HDL(Nrf2:r=0.318,P<0.05;GPX4:r=0.428,P<0.05),and Nrf2 was positively correlated with GPX4(r=0.456,P<0.01).Conclusion:The ferroptosis pathway mediated by the Nrf2‑GPX4 signaling pathway is closely related to the degree of coronary artery disease and the pathogenesis of CHD,and its mechanism may be related to the down‑regulation of the Nrf2‑GPX4 signaling pathway.