Protective effect of atrovastatin against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and on liver and kidney functions in aged rats / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of atorvastatin against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and its protective effect on liver and kidney functions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ten-month-old Wistar rats were fed to the age of 20 months, and atorvastatin statins gavage was administered till 24 months. The rats were divided into high-dose statin group, small-dose statin group, aged control group and young control group. The myocardial ischemia-reperfusion model was established by ligating the coronary artery. The mortality, hemodynamic changes, infarct size and liver and kidney functions of the rats were recorded or measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the aged control group, the young control group and high-dose statin group showed significantly lower mortality rate, reduced hemodynamic abnormalities, and smaller myocardial infarct size following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (P<0.05). The liver and kidney functions of the young control group and high-dose statin group underwent no significant deterioration after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, but those in the small-dose statin group and aged control group showed significant deteriorations (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Atorvastatin offers protective effects on the heart, liver, and kidney in the event of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in aged rats.</p>

Evaluation on left ventricular function by non-invasive transient deceleration wave intensity (W2) of carotid artery / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate transient deceleration wave intensity (W2) of carotid artery on left ventricular diastolic function.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>40 patients with hypertension and 43 healthy volunteers were enrolled and W2 of carotid artery of the both sides were measured. The parameters of left ventricular diastolic function by traditional and tissue Doppler imaging and NT-proBNP (N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide) were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) W2 is not different between two sides of carotid artery. W2 in hypertension was lower than the control, especially in left side(1126 +/- 996 mmHg x m/s3 vs 1690 +/- 1126 mmHg x m/s3, P < 0.01). (2) The correlation of W2 and else parameters were analyzed. There were notably decreasing in left ventricular diastolic function of the hypertensive group than the control, for example, the ratio of peak velocity of early filling of mitral flow to peak early diastolic motion velocity of mitral annulus (E/Em, 9.37 +/- 3.32 vs 7.39 +/- 1.83, P < 0.01) and NT-proBNP (94.6 +/- 48.5 vs 45.2 +/- 13.8, P < 0.01). (3) The correlation analysis showed negative relation between W2 and E/Em (r = - 0.46, P < 0.05) and negative relation between W2 and NT-proBNP (r = -0.21, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>New carotid W2 by non-invasive technology for hemodynamics is a deserving parameter in early evaluating left ventricular diastolic function.</p>

Clinical usefulness of carotid arterial wave intensity in noninvasively assessing left ventricular performance in different hypertensive remodeling hearts / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate wave intensity (WI) on left ventricular (LV) performance in the different hypertensive remolding hearts.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>105 hypertensive and 98 control subjects were underwent noninvasive evaluation of carotid arterial wave intensity, LV structure and function.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) There were increasing trends in the levels of blood pressure, LV end-diastolic diameter and LV mass index in the control, normal geometry group, concentric remodeling group, concentric and eccentric hypertrophy group. LV ejection fraction increased in the concentric hypertrophy group and decreased in the eccentric hypertrophy group in which mid-wall fractional shortening showed a decreasing trend. LV diastolic filling pressure presented increased progression accompanied by LV remodeling (P < 0.05). (2) Transient acceleration wave intensity (W1) in hypertensive subjects were higher than that in the control (P < 0.05). Transient deceleration wave intensity (W2) was lower than that in the control (P < 0.05). (3) W1 in the concentric hypertrophy group was higher and lower in the eccentric hypertrophy, compared with that in the control group, normal geometry group and concentric remodeling group (P < 0.05). W2 was lower in concentric hypertrophy group and eccentric hypertrophy group than that in the control, normal geometry group and concentric remodeling group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>WI is a noninvasively obtained, clinically useful parameter for evaluation of LV performance.</p>

Effect of pioglitazone on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury and protein kinase C expression in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of pioglitazone on hypoxia/reoxygenation injury and the expression of protein kinase C (PKC) in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat cardiomyocytes in primary culture were treated with pioglitazone or GW9662 for 24 h prior to hypoxia/reoxygenation injury. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was evaluated with Hoechst33258 staining and the expression of PKC was detected using Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the early stage of hypoxia/reoxygenation injury, the apoptosis rates of the cardiomyocytes increased significantly from (0.20∓0.03)% of the control level to (12.22∓1.45)% (P<0.05). Pretreatment with pioglitazone significantly lowered the apoptosis rate of the cardiomyocytes with hypoxia/reoxygenation injury to (8.32∓0.89)%, and this effect was antagonized by GW9662, a specific blocker of peroxisome proliferators activated receptors γ (PPARγ). Pioglitazone did not cause increased expression of PKC in the cardiomyocytes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Pioglitazone can ameliorate neonatal rat cardiomyocyte injury induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation partially by activating PPARγ and does not increase the expression of PKC in the cells.</p>