Integrative in silico-in vivo modeling identifies apigenin modulation of TGF-β1/SMAD2 in methotrexate-induced cardiotoxicity

Methotrexate (METX) is a widely used chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive agent, frequently employed as a first-line treatment for various malignancies and autoimmune disorders. Despite its clinical efficacy, METX is known to induce cardiotoxicity primarily through mechanisms involving oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Apigenin (API), a natural dietary flavonoid, exhibits potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The current study evaluated the protective effects of API against METX-induced cardiotoxicity in mice, focusing on the modulation of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/(SMAD2) signaling. Molecular docking was done to investigate the possible inhibition of TGF-β by API and bioinformatic tools were utilized to investigate the correlation between the target proteins. Male Swiss albino mice were randomly distributed to four groups: Group I: a saline group, Group II: a METX control group (20 mg/kg, per week), Group III: METX + API (40 mg/kg, per day) and Group IV: METX + API (80 mg/kg, per day, <i>via</i> oral gavage); the study continued for three weeks. Our findings suggest that API administration significantly mitigated METX cardiotoxicity and serum CK-MB, likely through attenuation of the inflammatory cytokines (NF-κB, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) and suppression of cardiac TGF-β/SMAD2 signaling. The congruence between bioinformatics and experimental validation findings strongly highlighted API as a promising therapeutic candidate for alleviating METX cardiotoxicity. While the current data reveals key underlying molecular mechanisms for API's cardioprotective effect, further comprehensive studies across diverse cardiotoxicity models are essential to fully elucidate cardioprotective effect of API.