Abstract
Septic cardiomyopathy is linked to a dysregulation in mitochondrial integrity and elevated mortality rates, for which an efficacious treatment remains elusive. PDS is a panaxadiol saponin extracted from ginseng stem and leaf. This study identified the protective effects of PDS and DEX in LPS-induced cardiomyopathy and explored the mechanism of them treating LPS-induced cardiomyopathy from the perspectives of mitochondrial quality control. DEX and PDS enhance antioxidant defense by degrading Keap1 to activate Nrf2; activate mitochondrial occurrence protein PGC-1α and fusion protein OPA1, Mfn1, and Mfn2 expression; and inhibit phosphorylation of mitochondrial fission protein Drp1, aiming to maintain normal structure and function of mitochondrial, thereby preserving oxidative phosphorylation capacity. In summary, our findings highlighted the protective efficacy of PDS and DEX in maintaining mitochondrial in LPS-induced cardiomyopathy, and mechanism improving mitochondrial quality control at least in part by promoting Nrf2 activation.