Cardiomyocyte-derived Wnt5a drives doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy by amplifying cellular senescence
Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anthracycline chemotherapeutic agent, but its use is limited by cardiotoxicity that can progress to cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Cellular senescence contributes to DOX-induced cardiac injury, yet the upstream signals that initiate and propagate senescence in the injured heart remain unclear. Here, we identify Wnt5a, a non-canonical Wnt ligand, as a mediator of anthracycline cardiomyopathy. WNT5A was increased in serum from cancer patients receiving anthracycline therapy and in a pathologic human cardiomyocyte population in the context of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. In mouse hearts, DOX induced early cardiomyocyte-enriched Wnt5a expression before overt cardiac dysfunction. Cardiomyocyte-specific Wnt5a deletion attenuated DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction, fibrosis and senescence marker induction, whereas recombinant Wnt5a and cardiomyocyte-targeted Wnt5a overexpression were sufficient to promote cardiomyocyte senescence and cardiac dysfunction. Mechanistically, DOX activated a Wnt5a-Fzd2 feed-forward axis that amplified Wnt5a expression in cardiomyocytes and propagated senescence to neighboring fibroblasts. Genetic disruption of this pathway in cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts or senescent cells reduced DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. Pharmacological inhibition of Wnt5a signaling with secreted frizzled-related protein 5 suppressed DOX-induced cardiac injury without compromising the anticancer efficacy of DOX. These findings identify Wnt5a-Fzd2 signaling as a senescence-amplifying mechanism in anthracycline cardiomyopathy and suggest a therapeutic strategy to mitigate DOX cardiotoxicity.