ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore protective effect of atorvastatin preconditioning on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (MIRI) in rats. Methods: A total of 175 20-week old Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (n=55), ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) group (n=60) and atorvastatin group (n=60). MIRI model in rat was established after 7d continuous fasting gavage. Levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) and high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) were measured and compared among three groups; after another 28d continuous gavage, left and right ventricular mass and interventricular septal thickness (IVST) were compared among three groups. Results: Compared with sham operation group on 180min after I/R, there were significant rise in levels of LDH [(583. 15±73. 16) U/L vs. (1537. 67±280. 73) U/L vs. (1035. 07±137. 92) U/L], CK [(932. 72±62. 82) U/L vs. (2872. 45±136. 3) U/L vs. (2434. 07±192. 81) U/L]and hsCRP [(20. 98±1. 86) mg/L vs. (48. 39±1. 31) mg/L vs. (40. 29±2. 33) mg/L]in I/ R group and atorvastatin group, but those of atorvastatin group were significantly lower than those of I/R group (P＜0. 05 or＜0. 01). Compared with sham operation group on 28d after I/R, there were significant rise in left ventricular relative mass [(1. 21±0. 17) mg/g vs. (1. 94±0. 33) mg/g vs. (1. 53±0. 35) mg/g], right ventricular relative mass [(0. 16± 0. 12) mg/g vs. (0. 39±1. 21) mg/g vs. (0. 27±0. 07) mg/g]and IVST [(1. 26±0. 35) mm vs. (2. 03±0. 38) mm vs. (1. 65±0. 38) mm]in I/R group and atorvastatin group, but those of atorvastatin group were significantly lower than those of I/R group, P＜0. 01 all. Conclusion: Atorvastatin preconditioning can significantly relieve myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury and improve ventricular remodeling.