Background/Objectives: Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) contributes significantly to cardiomyocyte death following myocardial infarction, largely through sustained inflammatory signaling. This study aimed to identify stress-responsive deubiquitinating enzymes involved in cardiomyocyte injury under ischemic stress. Methods: HL-1 cardiomyocytes were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R), followed by transcriptomic analysis, genetic manipulation of Usp31, biochemical assessment of p65 ubiquitination, NF-κB reporter assays, and in vitro deubiquitinase activity assays using sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS). Results: Usp31 was persistently upregulated in HL-1 cardiomyocytes after OGD/R. Depletion of Usp31 improved cell viability and reduced lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release under OGD/R conditions. Mechanistically, Usp31 stabilized p65 and supported NF-κB activation, whereas Usp31 deficiency increased p65 ubiquitination and limited NF-κB transcriptional activity. STS inhibited recombinant Usp31 enzymatic activity under the experimental conditions tested and reduced Usp31-associated NF-κB activation and cardiomyocyte injury in cellular assays. Conclusions: These findings identify Usp31 as a candidate regulator of NF-κB-associated inflammatory responses in cardiomyocytes and support STS as a pharmacological modulator of Usp31-associated signaling with potential relevance to myocardial ischemic injury.
Usp31 Promotes Cardiomyocyte Injury Under Ischemic Stress and Is Inhibited by Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate
Zikan Zhong·Juan Xu·Xudong Li·Longzhe Gao·Yutong Ye·Lin Liang·Tong Wei·Xiaofeng Lu·Jun Li·Shaowen Liu·Songwen Chen·Chenyang Jin

