Ethanolamine is a novel STAT-3 dependent cardioprotective agent

Ethanolamine is a biogenic amine found naturally in the body as part of membrane lipids and as a metabolite of the cardioprotective substances, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and anandamide. In the brain, ethanolamine, formed from the breakdown of anandamide protects against ischaemic apoptosis. However, the effects of ethanolamine in the heart are unknown. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT-3) is a critical prosurvival factor in ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Therefore, we investigated whether ethanolamine protects the heart via activation of STAT-3. Isolated hearts from wildtype or cardiomyocyte specific STAT-3 knockout (K/O) mice were pre-treated with ethanolamine (Etn) (0.3 mmol/L) before I/R insult. In vivo rat hearts were subjected to 30 min ischaemia/2 h reperfusion in the presence or absence of 5 mg/kg S1P and/or the FAAH inhibitor, URB597. Infarct size was measured at the end of each protocol by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Pre-treatment with ethanolamine decreased infarct size in isolated mouse or rat hearts subjected to I/R but this infarct sparing effect was lost in cardiomyocyte specific STAT-3 deficient mice. Pre-treatment with ethanolamine increased nuclear phosphorylated STAT-3 [control 0.75 ± 0.08 vs. Etn 1.50 ± 0.09 arbitrary units; P < 0.05]. Our findings suggest a novel cardioprotective role for ethanolamine against I/R injury via activation of STAT-3.