ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription on cell apoptosis in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). MethodSixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, low-, medium-, and high-dose groups of modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription, and a simvastatin group. Except for the blank group, a rat model of MIRI was prepared by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. Starting from the first day after successful modeling, the blank group (1.0 mL·kg-1 physiological saline), model group (1.0 mL·kg-1 physiological saline), low-, medium-, and high-dose groups of modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription (1.031, 2.063, and 4.126 g·kg-1 Shenhong Tongluo prescriptiona standard concentrate), and simvastatin group (0.71 mg·kg-1 simvastatin) were orally administered once daily for 2 weeks. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes of cardiomyocytes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the levels of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling(TUNEL) staining was used to detect the apoptosis rate of rat cardiomyocytes. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and caspase-3. ResultCompared with the blank group, in the model group, HE staining showed disturbed arrangement of cardiomyocytes, incomplete fibers, focal necrosis of cardiomyocytes, and inflammatory cell infiltration; serum CK-MB, IL-6, and TNF-α levels were significantly increased (P<0.05); apoptosis rate of cardiomyocytes was significantly increased (P<0.01), with significantly increased expression levels of Bax and Caspase-3 proteins, and significantly decreased Bcl-2 expression (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the low-, medium-, and high-dose groups of modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription significantly reduced CK-MB, IL-6, and TNF-α levels (P<0.05), significantly downregulated cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate (P<0.05), significantly decreased Bax and Caspase-3 proteins, and significantly increased Bcl-2 expression levels (P<0.01). In the modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription groups, the expression levels of Bax and Caspase-3 proteins significantly decreased with increasing dosage, while the expression level of Bcl-2 significantly increased with increasing dosage of modified Shenhong Tongluo prescription (P<0.05). ConclusionShenhong Tongluo prescription can alleviate myocardial tissue pathological damage and reduce myocardial cell apoptosis, possibly by inhibiting Caspase-3 and Bax expression and promoting Bcl-2 expression.