IMR Press / FBL / Volume 29 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2905201
Open Access Original Research
Ibrutinib Contributes to Atrial Arrhythmia through the Autophagic Degradation of Connexins by Inhibiting the PI3K-AKT-mTOR Signaling Pathway
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Affiliation
1 Division of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 211166 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 211166 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
3 Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 211166 Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
*Correspondence: cuichang@njmu.edu.cn (Chang Cui); wangzidun@njmu.edu.cn (Zidun Wang)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2024, 29(5), 201; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2905201
Submitted: 11 December 2023 | Revised: 14 March 2024 | Accepted: 29 March 2024 | Published: 22 May 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Ibrutinib could increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. However, the precise mechanism underlying ibrutinib-induced AF remains incompletely elucidated. Methods: We investigated the proportion of ibrutinib-treated CLL patients with new-onset AF. Optical mapping was conducted to reveal the proarrhythmic effect of ibrutinib on HL-1 cells. Fluorescence staining and western blot were used to compare connexins 43 and 40 expression in ibrutinib-treated and control groups. To identify autophagy phenotypes, we used western blot to detect autophagy-related proteins, transmission electron microscopy to picture autophagosomes, and transfected mCherry-GFP-LC3 virus to label autophagosomes and lysosomes. Hydroxychloroquine as an autophagy inhibitor was administered to rescue ibrutinib-induced Cx43 and Cx40 degradation. Results: About 2.67% of patients developed atrial arrhythmias after ibrutinib administration. HL-1 cells treated with ibrutinib exhibited diminished conduction velocity and a higher incidence of reentry-like arrhythmias compared to controls. Cx43 and Cx40 expression reduced along with autophagy markers increased in HL-1 cells treated with ibrutinib. Inhibiting autophagy upregulated Cx43 and Cx40. Conclusions: The off-target effect of ibrutinib on the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway caused connexin degradation and atrial arrhythmia via promoting autophagy. Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR2100046062, https://clin.larvol.com/trial-detail/ChiCTR2100046062.

Keywords
ibrutinib
atrial fibrillation
connexins 43
connexins 40
autophagy
Funding
82100338/ National Nature Science Foundation of China
Figures
Fig. 1.
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