Salvia miltiorrhiza treatment during early reperfusion reduced postischemic myocardial injury in the rat

Study on therapeutic mechanism of total salvianolic acids against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental study

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae, also known as Danshen in Chinese, effectively activates the blood and resolves stasis. Total salvianolic acids (SA) is the main active ingredient of Danshen, and related preparations, such as salvianolate injection are commonly used clinically to treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). However, the potential targets and key active ingredients of SA have not been sufficiently investigated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of action of SA in treating MIRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques were used to predict SA targets against MIRI. The key acting pathway of SA were validated by performing experiments in a rat MIRI model.

RESULTS

Twenty potential ingredients and 54 targets of SA in treating MIRI were identified. Ingredient-target-pathway network analysis revealed that salvianolic acid B and rosmarinic acid had the highest degree value. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that SA may regulate MIRI through the IL-17 signaling pathway, and this result was confirmed in the rat MIRI experiment.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study indicate that SA may protect MIRI by regulating the IL-17 pathway.

Perspectives for Forkhead box transcription factors in diabetic cardiomyopathy: Their therapeutic potential and possible effects of salvianolic acids

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic cardiovascular complications, which initially manifests as cardiac hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, dysfunctional remodeling, and diastolic dysfunction, followed by systolic dysfunction, and eventually end with acute heart failure. Molecular mechanisms underlying these pathological changes in diabetic hearts are complicated and multifactorial, including but not limited to insulin resistance, oxidative stress, lipotoxicity, cardiomyocytes apoptosis or autophagy, inflammatory response, and myocardial metabolic dysfunction. With the development of molecular biology technology, accumulating evidence illustrates that members of the class O of Forkhead box (FoxO) transcription factors are vital for maintaining cardiomyocyte metabolism and cell survival, and the functions of the FoxO family proteins can be modulated by a wide variety of post-translational modifications including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, arginine methylation, and O-glycosylation. In this review, we highlight and summarize the most recent advances in two members of the FoxO family (predominately FoxO1 and FoxO3a) that are abundantly expressed in cardiac tissue and whose levels of gene and protein expressions change as DCM progresses, with the goal of providing valuable insights into the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiovascular complications and discussing their therapeutic potential and possible effects of salvianolic acids, a natural product.

Noninvasive Real-Time Characterization of Renal Clearance Kinetics in Diabetic Mice after Receiving Danshensu Treatment

Danshensu (DSS) is an active ingredient extracted from the root of the Danshen that could ameliorate oxidative stress via upregulation of heme oxygenase- (HO-) 1. Little is known about the treatment effects of DSS on kidney function in diabetic mice. Therefore, the primary aim of the present study was to characterize the renal clearance kinetics of IRdye800CW in db/db mice after DSS treatment. The secondary aim was to measure several biomarkers of renal function and oxidative stress (urinary F2-isoprostane, HO-1 in kidney and serum bilirubin). Fourteen db/db diabetic mice were randomly assigned into two groups and received either DSS treatment (DM + DSS) or vehicle treatment (DM). A third group that comprised of db/+ nondiabetic mice (non-DM control) received no DSS treatment and served as the nondiabetic control. At the end of a 3-week intervention period, serum and urinary biomarkers of renal function and oxidative stress were assessed and the renal clearance of IRdye800CW dye in all mice was determined noninvasively using Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography. The major finding from this study suggested that DSS treatment in db/db mice improved renal clearance. Increased expression of HO-1 after DSS treatment also suggested that DSS might represent a potential therapeutic avenue for clinical intervention in diabetic nephropathy.

Effects and mechanisms of chinese herbal medicine in ameliorating myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MIR) injury is a major contributor to the morbidity and mortality associated with coronary artery disease, which accounts for approximately 450,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. Chinese herbal medicine, especially combined herbal formulations, has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of myocardial infarction for hundreds of years. While the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine is well documented, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. In this review, we highlight recent studies which are focused on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms using extracted compounds, single herbs, or herbal formulations in experimental settings. These studies represent recent efforts to bridge the gap between the enigma of ancient Chinese herbal medicine and the concepts of modern cell and molecular biology in the treatment of myocardial infarction.

N-acetylcysteine and allopurinol confer synergy in attenuating myocardial ischemia injury via restoring HIF-1α/HO-1 signaling in diabetic rats

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether or not the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and allopurinol (ALP) confer synergistic cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury by stabilizing hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) signaling in diabetic myocardium.

METHODS

Control or diabetic [streptozotocin (STZ)-induced] Sprague Dawley rats received vehicle or NAC, ALP or their combination for four weeks starting one week after STZ injection. The animals were then subjected to thirty minutes of coronary artery occlusion followed by two hours reperfusion in the absence or presence of the selective HO-1 inhibitor, tin protoporphyrin-IX (SnPP-IX) or the HIF-1α inhibitor 2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME2). Cardiomyocytes exposed to high glucose were subjected to hypoxia/re-oxygenation in the presence or absence of HIF-1α and HO-1 achieved by gene knock-down with related siRNAs.

RESULTS

Myocardial and plasma levels of 15-F2t-isoprostane, an index of oxidative stress, were significantly increased in diabetic rats while cardiac HO-1 protein and activity were reduced; this was accompanied with reduced cardiac protein levels of HIF-1α, and increased post-ischemic myocardial infarct size and cellular injury. NAC and ALP given alone and in particular their combination normalized cardiac levels of HO-1 and HIF-1α protein expression and prevented the increase in 15-F2t-isoprostane, resulting in significantly attenuated post-ischemic myocardial infarction. NAC and ALP also attenuated high glucose-induced post-hypoxic cardiomyocyte death in vitro. However, all the above protective effects of NAC and ALP were cancelled either by inhibition of HO-1 or HIF-1α with SnPP-IX and 2ME2 in vivo or by HO-1 or HIF-1α gene knock-down in vitro.

CONCLUSION

NAC and ALP confer synergistic cardioprotection in diabetes via restoration of cardiac HIF-1α and HO-1 signaling.

Extract of Paris polyphylla Simth protects cardiomyocytes from anoxia-reoxia injury through inhibition of calcium overload

OBJECTIVE

To assess any direct effect of extract of Paris polyphylla Simth (EPPS), a Chinese plant, on a cardiomyocyte subject to ischemia-reperfusion injury and to further elucidate its protective effect against myocardium ischemia on the cellular level.

METHODS

Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were isolated and subjected to an anoxia-reoxia injury simulating the ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo in the presence or absence of EPPS or diltizem, a positive control. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in culture supernatants and cell viabilities were analyzed using the enzymatic reaction kinetics monitoring-method and MTT method, respectively. Free intracellular calcium concentrations and activities of Na(+)-K(+) ATPase and Ca(2+) ATPase in cells were also measured with laser confocal microscopy and the inorganic phosphorus-transformation method, respectively.

RESULTS

In cardiomyocytes subject to anoxia-reoxia injury, EPPS at 50-400 mg/L showed a concentration-dependent inhibition on LDH leakage and maintenance of cell viability, and the effect was significant at 275 and 400 mg/L (both P<0.01). In addition, EPPS at 275 and 400 mg/L significantly inhibited the increase in intracellular free calcium (both P<0.01) as well as decreased the activities of Na(+)-K(+) ATPase and Ca(2+) ATPase (P<0.01, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

EPPS prevents anoxia-reoxia injury in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in vitro by preservation of Na(+)-K(+) ATPase and Ca(2+) ATPase activities and inhibition of calcium overload. The direct protective effect on cardiomyocytes may be one of the key mechanisms that underlie the potential therapeutic benefit of EPPS against myocardium ischemia.

Antiapoptotic potential of herbal drugs in cardiovascular disorders: an overview

Cardiomyocyte apoptosis has been reported in a number of cardiovascular disorders, including myocardial infarction, ischemia-reperfusion, end-stage heart failure, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, and adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy. Prevention of myocyte apoptosis has emerged as a potential new target in a multimodel therapeutic approach to cardiac disease. Herbal therapy may be an alternative strategy for the prevention and treatment of heart disease. The present review summarizes the list of plants/herbal formulations studied for their antiapoptotic activity in cardiovascular disorders. However, despite extensive positive research data from experimental studies for herbal drugs in cardiovascular disorders, and the anecdotal clinical experience of many practitioners and patients, its potential in the field of cardiac apoptosis remains largely untapped, and large scale clinical trials are needed to explore the potential of herbal medicines as a new treatment regime for targeting cardiovascular apoptosis.

The protective effect of Daming capsule on heart function in streptozocin-induced diabetic rats with hyperlipidemia

Impaired heart function is the main reason for increased mortality of diabetes mellitus. Development of drugs with cardioprotective effects against diabetic myocardiopathy would benefit patients with diabetes. In this study, we tested the cardioprotective effects of Daming capsule (DMC), a traditional Chinese formula, on heart function in streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats with high fat-diet (HFD). DMC 100 mg/kg/d markedly decreased fasting blood glucose (FBG) and total cholesterol (TC), but did not affect triglycerides (TG) in diabetic rats at 30 d. The decreased heart rate (HR) and prolonged QT and PR interval induced by diabetes mellitus were significantly reversed by DMC (p<0.05). The mechanism may involve that DMC attenuated L-type calcium channel alpha(1c) subunit increasing and Kv4.2 decreasing at both mRNA and protein level in diabetic rats. Additionally, DMC could obviously ameliorate the impaired heart function of diabetic rats by decreasing elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and increasing the attenuated maximum change velocity of left ventricular pressure in the isovolumic contraction or relaxation period (+/-dp/dt(max)). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that myocardium injury was attenuated by DMC (100 mg/kg/d) in STZ-induced diabetic rats with HFD. In conclusion, DMC could recover the prolonged QT interval and PR interval and elevated diastolic and systolic function of diabetic heart. This protective effect may partially be mediated through affecting the mRNA and protein expression of Kv4.2 and alpha(1c) as well as preventing cardiomyocyte morphological remodeling.