Nuciferine improves cardiac function in mice subjected to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by upregulating PPAR-γ
Ruisha Li,
Xichun Qin,
Lijun Yue,
Wenxue Liu,
Yaxuan Gao,
Feng Zhu,
Dongjin Wang,
Qing Zhou
Affiliations
Ruisha Li
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Xichun Qin
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Lijun Yue
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Wenxue Liu
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Yaxuan Gao
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Feng Zhu
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Dongjin Wang
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Corresponding author. Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Qing Zhou
Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Cardiothoracic Vascular Disease, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Corresponding author. Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu, China.
Ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction contribute to the leading cause of death in worldwide. The prevention and management of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is an essential part of coronary heart disease surgery and is becoming a major clinical problem in the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Nuciferine has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress effects, but its role in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) is unclear. In this study, we found that nuciferine could reduce the myocardial infarct size in a mouse myocardial ischemia-reperfusion model and improve cardiac function. Furthermore, nuciferine could effectively inhibit hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R) stimulated apoptosis of primary mouse cardiomyocytes. In addition, nuciferine significantly reduced the level of oxidative stress. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) inhibitor GW9662 could reverse the protective effect of nuciferine on cardiomyocytes. These results indicate that nuciferine can inhibit the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by upregulating PPAR-γ and reducing the I/R-induced myocardial injury in mice.
