Exploring heparin’s protective mechanism against AGEs induced endothelial injury

Summary: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in diabetes can cause endothelial damage. Heparin, widely known as a recognized anticoagulant, is also a multifunctional therapeutic drug. This study investigated whether heparin could ameliorate AGEs-induced endothelial injury. Remarkably, heparin effectively attenuated this cellular damage and assumed a reparative role. Furthermore, heparin inhibited the AGEs-RAGE-NFκB axis, thereby mitigating endothelial inflammatory injury. Comprehensive proteome and knockdown experiments suggested that heparin may exert a positive influence on cell growth and further alleviate pathological damage by upregulating the expression of LYAR (cell growth-regulating nucleolar protein). Diabetic mouse model was also used to further verify the changes of endothelial tissue in diabetic state and heparin intervention. In summary, these findings demonstrate that heparin has the potential to ameliorate AGEs-induced endothelial injury, opening new avenues for exploring the expanded therapeutic roles of heparin and its potential application in the management of diabetes and its associated complications.