Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pill Allieviates Heart Failure via Extracellula Matrix-Receptor Interaction Pathways Based on RNA-Seq Transcriptomics and Experimental Studies / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the protective mechanisms of Chinese medicine Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pills (STDP) on heart failure (HF).@*METHODS@#Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced HF rat model and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced neonatal rat cardiac fibroblast (CFs) model were used in the present study. HF rats were treated with and without STDP (3 g/kg). RNA-seq was performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's stainings were taken to assess cardiac fibrosis. The levels of collagen I (Col I) and collagen III (Col III) were detected by immunohistochemical staining. CCK8 kit and transwell assay were implemented to test the CFs' proliferative and migratory activity, respectively. The protein expressions of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, Col I, and Col III were detected by Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#The results of RNA-seq analysis showed that STDP exerted its pharmacological effects on HF via multiple signaling pathways, such as the extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction, cell cycle, and B cell receptor interaction. Results from in vivo experiments demonstrated that STDP treatment reversed declines in cardiac function, inhibiting myocardial fibrosis, and reversing increases in Col I and Col III expression levels in the hearts of HF rats. Moreover, STDP (6, 9 mg/mL) inhibited the proliferation and migration of CFs exposed to Ang II in vitro (P<0.05). The activation of collagen synthesis and myofibroblast generation were markedly suppressed by STDP, also the synthesis of MMP-2 and MMP-9, as well as ECM components Col I, Col III, and α-SMA were decreased in Ang II-induced neonatal rats' CFs.@*CONCLUSIONS@#STDP had anti-fibrotic effects in HF, which might be caused by the modulation of ECM-receptor interaction pathways. Through the management of cardiac fibrosis, STDP may be a compelling candidate for improving prognosis of HF.

Impaired tricarboxylic acid cycle flux and mitochondrial aerobic respiration during isoproterenol induced myocardial ischemia is rescued by bilobalide / 药物分析学报

There is an urgent need to elucidate the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia (MI) and potential drug treatments.Here,the anti-MI mechanism and material basis of Ginkgo biloba L.extract (GBE) were studied from the perspective of energy metabolism flux regulation.Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) was performed to investigate energy metabolism flux disorder and the regulatory nodes of GBE components in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced ischemia-like cardiomyocytes.It showed that[U-13C]glucose derived m+2 isotopologues from the upstream tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites were markedly accu-mulated in ISO-injured cardiomyocytes,but the opposite was seen for the downstream metabolites,while their total cellular concentrations were increased.This indicates a blockage of carbon flow from glycolysis and enhanced anaplerosis from other carbon sources.A Seahorse test was used to screen for GBE components with regulatory effects on mitochondrial aerobic respiratory dysfunction.It showed that bilobalide protected against impaired mitochondrial aerobic respiration.MFA also showed that bilobalide significantly modulated the TCA cycle flux,reduced abnormal metabolite accumulation,and balanced the demand of different carbon sources.Western blotting and PCR analysis showed that bilobalide decreased the enhanced expression of key metabolic enzymes in injured cells.Bilobalide's efficacy was verified by in vivo experiments in rats.This is the first report to show that bilobalide,the active ingredient of GBE,protects against MI by rescuing impaired TCA cycle flux.This provides a new mechanism and potential drug treatment for MI.It also shows the potential of MFA/Seahorse combi-nation as a powerful strategy for pharmacological research on herbal medicine.

The alteration of Ca2+-activated K+ channels in coronary arterial smooth muscle cells isolated from isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy in rabbit

It has been proposed that Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa) channels play an essential role in vascular tone. The alterations of the properties of coronary KCa channels have not been studied as a possible mechanism for impaired coronary reserve in cardiac hypertrophy. The present studies were carried out to determine the properties of coronary KCa channels in normal and hypertrophied hearts. These channels were measured from rabbit coronary smooth muscle cells using a patch clamp technique. The main findings of the present study are as follows: (1) the unitary current amplitudes and the slope conductance of coronary KCa channels were decreased without changes of the channel kinetics in isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy; (2) the sensitivity of coronary KCa channels to the changes of intracellular concentration of Ca2+ was reduced in isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy. From above results, we suggest for the first time that the alteration of KCa channels are involved in impaired coronary reserve in isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy.