scholarly journals The Protective Effects of Shengmai Formula Against Myocardial Injury Induced by Ultrafine Particulate Matter Exposure and Myocardial Ischemia are Mediated by the PI3K/AKT/p38 MAPK/Nrf2 Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Chen ◽  
Yuan Guo ◽  
Shuiqing Qu ◽  
Kai Li ◽  
Ting Yang ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: Ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM) induces oxidative stress (OS) and is considered to be a risk factor of myocardial ischemia (MI). Shengmai formula (SMF) is a traditional Chinese medicine with antioxidant properties and has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases for a long time. The aim of this study was to explore the protective role of SMF and the mechanism by which it prevents myocardial injury in UFPM-exposed rats with MI.Methods: An MI rat model was established. Animals were randomly divided into five groups: sham, UFPM + MI, SMF (1.08 mg/kg⋅d) + UFPM + MI, SMF (2.16 mg/kg⋅d) + UFPM + MI, and SMF (4.32 mg/kg⋅d) + UFPM + MI. SMF or saline was administrated 7 days before UFPM instillation (100 μg/kg), followed by 24 h of ischemia. Physiological and biochemical parameters were measured, and histopathological examinations were conducted to evaluate myocardial damage. We also explored the potential mechanism of the protective role of SMF using a system pharmacology approach and an in vitro myoblast cell model with small molecule inhibitors.Results: UFPM produced myocardial injuries on myocardial infarct size; serum levels of LDH, CK-MB, and cardiac troponin; and OS responses in the rats with MI. Pretreatment with SMF significantly attenuated these damages via reversing the biomarkers. SMF also improved histopathology induced by UFPM and significantly altered the PI3K/AKT/MAPK and OS signaling pathways. The expression patterns of Cat, Gstk1, and Cyba in the UFPM model group were reversed in the SMF-treated group. In in vitro studies, SMF attenuated UFPM-induced reactive oxygen species production, mitochondrial damage, and OS responses. The PI3K/AKT/p38 MAPK/Nrf2 pathway was significantly changed in the SMF group compared with that in the UFPM group, whereas opposite results were obtained for pathway inhibition.Conclusion: These findings indicate that SMF prevents OS responses and exerts beneficial effects against myocardial injury induced by UFPM + MI in rats. Furthermore, the PI3K/AKT/p38 MAPK/Nrf2 signaling pathway might be involved in the protective effects of SMF.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Youyou Du ◽  
Guanghui Liu ◽  
Luosha Zhao ◽  
Rui Yao

The toxicity of doxorubicin (DOX) limits its clinical application. Nevertheless, at present, there is no effective drug to prevent DOX-induced cardiac injury. miR-204 is a newly discovered miRNA with many protective effects on cardiovascular diseases. However, little research has been done on the effects of miR-204 on DOX-induced cardiac injury. Our study is aimed at investigating the effect of miR-204 on DOX-induced myocardial injury. An adenoassociated virus system was used to achieve cardiac-specific overexpression of miR-204. Two weeks later, the mice were intraperitoneally injected with DOX (15 mg/kg) to induce cardiac injury. H9c2 myocardial cells were used to validate the role of miR-204 in vitro. Our study showed that miR-204 expression was decreased in DOX-treated hearts. miR-204 overexpression improved cardiac function and alleviated cardiac inflammation, apoptosis, and autophagy induced by DOX. In addition, our results showed that miR-204 prevented DOX-induced injury in cardiomyocytes by directly decreasing HMGB1 expression. Moreover, the overexpression of HMGB1 could offset the protective effects of miR-204 against DOX-induced cardiac injury. In summary, our study showed that miR-204 protected against DOX-induced cardiac injury via the inhibition of HMGB1, and increasing miR-204 expression may be a new treatment option for patients with DOX-induced cardiac injury.


2019 ◽  
Vol 244 (7) ◽  
pp. 602-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Hu ◽  
Tianyu Li ◽  
Zixiang Bo ◽  
Feixiang Xiang

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the most common cardiovascular disease and is the main cause of death and disability worldwide. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury has been linked to IHD-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis and tissue damage. Recently, it has been reported that carnosic acid (CA) may function as a potent antioxidant in liver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). However, whether it regulates I/R in the heart remains unclear. Here, we elucidated the emerging role of CA in MI/R under diabetic myocardial conditions. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced in mice by consumption of a high-fat diet for 16 weeks. To create the I/R in mice, the left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded for 30 min, and then occlusion was released to reperfuse the heart for 3 or 24 h. In diabetic myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (DMI/R) mice, pre-treatment with CA suppressed the overgeneration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and production of cytokine. Importantly, the activation of autophagy was significantly increased by CA treatment, as assessed by p62 degradation and LC3-II/LC3-I conversion, as well as by phosphorylation of AMPKα, Akt, and mTOR. Interestingly, all of the protective effects of CA were impeded by the treatment with chloroquine, which is an autophagy inhibitor. These studies suggest that CA prevents DMI/R injury via regulation of autophagy. In conclusion, our findings indicate that CA has potential as a novel therapeutic to prevent DMI/R injury. Impact statement We have provided, for the first time, evidence that carnosic acid (CA) attenuates ischemia–reperfusion injury of diabetic myocardium, i.e. diabetic myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (DMI/R) injury, via enhancement of autophagy. A greater understanding of the target molecule in CA-enhanced autophagy is necessary for the development of potential chemotherapy for DMI/R injury.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 515-519
Author(s):  
Lokman Alpsoy ◽  
Elif Kotan ◽  
Abdulgani Tatar ◽  
Guleray Agar

Aflatoxins have been shown to be hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic to different species of animals. Besides, at low concentrations, Selenium (Se4+) is antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic while it is toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic at high concentrations. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of Se4+ against aflatoxin GAFG1 (AFG1) on blood cultures in relation to induction of sister chromatid exchange (SCE). The results showed that at 0.4 and 0.8 parts per million (ppm) concentration of AFG1, the frequency of SCE increased in cultured human lymphocytes. When different concentration of Se4+ (0.08 and 8 ppm) were added to AFG1, the frequencies of SCE decreased. Howewer, when 800 ppm concentration of Se4+ together with 0.08 ppm AFG1 were added to cell division inhibited in the cultures. Results suggested that Se4+ could effectively inhibit AFG1-induced SCE. Besides, the protective role of Se4+ against AFG1-induced SCE is probably related to its doses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Peibiao Lv ◽  
Tufeng Chen ◽  
Peibin Liu ◽  
Lei Zheng ◽  
Jingling Tian ◽  
...  

Patients with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) frequently develop acute gut injury (AGI), and dexmedetomidine (Dex) has been reported to exert a protective effect against AGI. We investigated whether Dex protects against AGI through antioxidative stress effects by the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidative signaling pathway. Rats were randomly allocated into a sham group and six orthotopic autologous liver transplantation (OALT) groups receiving different doses of Dex together with/without α2-adrenergic receptor (AR) blockers. Intestinal tissues were collected to visualize the barrier damage and to measure the indexes of oxidative stress. For in vitro studies, rat intestinal recess epithelial cells (IEC-6) underwent hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), and the protective role of Dex was evaluated after α2A-AR siRNA silencing. OALT resulted in increased oxidative stress, significant intestinal injury, and barrier dysfunction. Dex attenuated OALT-induced oxidative stress and intestinal injury, which was abolished by the pretreatment with the nonspecific α2A-AR siRNA blocker atipamezole and the specific α2A-AR siRNA blocker BRL-44408, but not by the specific 2B/C-AR siRNA blocker ARC239. Silencing of α2A-AR siRNA also attenuated the protective role of Dex on alleviating oxidative stress in IEC-6 cells subjected to H/R. Dex exerted its protective effects by activating Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidative signaling. Collectively, Dex attenuates OALT-induced AGI via α2A-AR-dependent suppression of oxidative stress, which might be a novel potential therapeutic target for OALT-induced AGI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Yadong Yuan ◽  
Xiaowei Gong ◽  
Jianjun Mao

Abstract Background: SIRT1 has anti-proliferation effects on cells through regulating the expression and activity of FOXOs. Estrogen (E2) has protective effects against hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH), but the involvement of SIRT1 and FOXOs in the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and contribution to the effects of E2 on HPH are poorly understood. To use E2 to explore the roles of SIRT1 and FOXO3a in the pathogenesis and progression of HPH and pulmonary vascular remodeling (PVR) in vivo and in vitro.Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats with bilateral ovariectomy were randomized to normoxia, normoxia+E2, hypoxia, and hypoxia+E2. Serum E2 levels, hemodynamic, and pulmonary vascular pathomorphology were assessed. The anti-proliferation effect of E2 was determined in human PASMCs under hypoxia/normoxia. Immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and real-time PCR were used to assess SIRT1, FOXO3a, and PCNA in rat pulmonary artery and hPASMCs. SIRT1 activity was assayed.Results: Hypoxia increased mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), medial width of pulmonary arterioles, right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI), decreased expression SIRT1 and FOXO3a and increased PCNA expression in rats; E2 alleviated these changes. In vitro, E2 significantly inhibited hypoxia-induced hPASMCs proliferation, associated with improvements in SIRT1 and FOXO3a expression, consistent with the in vivo results. SIRT1 inhibition attenuated the effects of E2 on hPASMCs proliferation and the expression of FOXO3a. A SIRT1 activator mimicked the effects of E2 on hPASMCs proliferation and the expression of FOXO3a.Conclusions: Upregulation of SIRT1 and FOXO3a contributes to the protective role of estrogen on HPH in rats, as supported by in vitro results using hPASMCs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (23) ◽  
pp. 3175-3193
Author(s):  
Xue-qi Liu ◽  
Ling Jiang ◽  
Lei Lei ◽  
Zhen-yong Nie ◽  
Wei Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes and the main cause of end-stage nephropathy (ESRD). Inflammation and fibrosis play key roles in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. By using in vivo and in vitro DN models, our laboratory has identified the protective role of carnosine (CAR) on renal tubules. Our results showed that carnosine restored the onset and clinical symptoms as well as renal tubular injury in DN. Furthermore, carnosine decreased kidney inflammation and fibrosis in DN mice. These results were consistent with high glucose (HG)-treated mice tubular epithelial cells (MTECs). Using web-prediction algorithms, cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) and molecular docking, we identified glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) as a carnosine target. Importantly, we found that GNMT, a multiple functional protein that regulates the cellular pool of methyl groups by controlling the ratio of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), was down-regulated significantly in the serum of Type 1 DM patients and renal tissues of DN mice. Moreover, using cultured TECs, we confirmed that the increased GNMT expression by transient transfection mimicked the protective role of carnosine in reducing inflammation and fibrosis. Conversely, the inhibition of GNMT expression abolished the protective effects of carnosine. In conclusion, carnosine might serve as a promising therapeutic agent for DN and GNMT might be a potential therapeutic target for DN.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaodan Wang ◽  
Yantao Zhao ◽  
Xiuhui Zhong

The study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of Baicalin on decidual cells of LPS-induced abortion mice. In thein vitroexperiment, the decidual cells were cultured by uterus tissue mass cultivation sampled at day 6 of pregnancy, and gradient concentrations of LPS were used to determine the optimal LPS concentration of the injured decidual cells model. The injured decidual cells were treated with Baicalin (4 μg/mL) to determine the protective role of Baicalin. In thein vivoexperiment, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected intravenously via the tail vein to induce abortion at day 6 of pregnancy, and the mice were given different concentrations of Baicalin by oral gavage consecutively at days 7 to 8 of pregnancy. On day 9 of gestation, the mice were sacrificed. The TNF and progesterone contents in the serum were assayed by ELISA. The results clearly revealed that Baicalin can prevent the injury to decidual cells from LPS dose dependently, TNF was decreased significantly(P<0.01)compared to LPS group, and there was no effect on the progesterone. These findings suggest that Baicalin has protective effects on the injured decidual cells in the pregnant mice.


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