β-elemene alleviates hyperglycemia-induced cardiac inflammation and remodeling by inhibiting the JAK/STAT3-NF-κB pathway

•Inflammation plays a critical role in diabteic cardiomyopathy (DCM).•β-elemene alleviates HG-induced adverse cardiac injuries in diabetic mice.•β-elemene inhibites NF-κB activation and JAK/STAT3 pathway in DCM.•β-elemene is expected to be a therapeutic candidate for DCM. Hyperglycemic induced cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac inflammation are important pathological processes in diabetic cardiomyopathy. β-elemene (Ele) is a natural compound extracted from Curcuma Rhizoma and has anti-tumor effects. It also has therapeutic effects in some inflammatory diseases. However, the therapeutic effect of Ele on diabetic cardiomyopathy is not clear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Ele on hyperglycemia-caused cardiac remodeling and heart failure. C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin to induce DCM, and Ele was administered intragastric after 8 weeks to investigate the effect of Ele. RNA sequencing of cardiac tissue was performed to investigate the mechanism. Ele markedly inhibited cardiac inflammation, fibrosis and hypertrophy in diabetic mice, as well as in high glucose-induced H9c2 cells. RNA sequencing showed that cardioprotective effect of Ele involved the JAK/STAT3-NF-κB signaling pathway. Ele alleviated heart and cardiomyocyte inflammation in mice by blocking diabetes-induced JAK2 and STAT3 phosphorylation and NF-κB activation. The study found that Ele preserved the hearts of diabetic mice by inhibiting JAK/STAT3 and NF-κB mediated inflammatory responses, suggesting that Ele is an effective therapy for DCM. [Display omitted]