Effects of Modulation of Ion Channel Currents by Salidroside in H9C2 Myocardial Cells in Hypoxia and Reoxygenation.

Salidroside, a phenyl-propanoid glycoside isolated from the medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea, has potent cardioprotective effects, especially against myocardial hypoxia and reoxygenation injury. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its action is still unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of salidroside on sodium channel current (INa) and transient outward potassium channel current (Ito) in H9C2 cardiomyocytes. H9C2 cells were subcultured under anoxic conditions to mimic myocardial hypoxia and subsequently treated with salidroside. Whole cell patch clamp was performed to determine the effect of hypoxia/reoxygenation and salidroside on myocardial electrophysiological properties. In the differentiated H9C2 cells, hypoxia/reoxygenation reduced INa and Ito amplitude, while salidroside significantly restored both and altered the INa and Ito activation/inactivation kinetics in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings demonstrate that salidroside protects myocardial cells against hypoxia-reoxygenation by restoring the function of sodium and potassium channels.

Chinese medicine syndromes in congestive heart failure: A literature study and retrospective analysis of clinical cases.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the characteristics of Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome factors and distribution of congestive heart failure (CHF), and provide a basis for the diagnosis criteria of essential syndromes. METHODS: Based on databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1980-2012) and Chinese Journal of Chongqing VIP Database (1989-2012), the eligible studies in CHF and extracted factors associated with compound syndromes were analyzed. All the syndromes were classified into deficiency, excess, and deficiency-excess in complexity syndrome were classified. Compound syndromes were separated into syndrome factors including single, double, three or four factors, along with the frequency of occurrence. The relation of CHF syndromes with age, gender, primary disease, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and cardiac functional grade was studied in 1,451 CHF cases (between December 2010 and September 2012), and the clinical distribution of common CHF syndromes was summarized. RESULTS: The literature study involved 6,799 CHF cases in 66 literatures after screening. Of the different factors affecting CHF, qi deficiency was the most important one. In deficiency syndrome, Xin (Heart)-qi-deficiency was the most common single factor, and deficiency of both qi and yin was the most common double factor. The retrospective analysis involved 1,451 CHF cases (431 cases with test results of BNP). The xin blood stasis and obstruction and deficiency of both qi and yin syndrome were mostly seen in female patients, and phlegm-blocking-Xin-vessel and qi-deficiency-blood-stasis syndrome mostly in males. Xin-qi-deficiency and qi-deficiency-blood-stasis syndrome were mostly seen in patients aged 50-60 years. Patients aged over 60 years likely manifest deficiency of both qi and yin and Xin blood stasis and obstruction syndrome. The severity of syndrome is aggravated with increased BNP and cardiac functional grade. CONCLUSIONS: The essential syndromes of CHF include qi-deficiency-blood-stasis and deficiency of both qi and yin. The clinical distribution is linked to patients' age and gender. BNP and cardiac functional grade is closely related to CHF syndromes, which may indicate the severity of CM syndromes of CHF.

Glutathione reverses peroxynitrite-mediated deleterious effects of nitroglycerin on ischemic rat hearts.

This study examined the potential deleterious effect of high-dose nitroglycerin (NTG) on cardiac function and cellular injury after ischemia (30 min) and reperfusion (120 min) in isolated perfused rat hearts. Low-dose (0.75 microg/h), medium-dose (3.75 microg/h), high-dose (15 microg/h) NTG or high-dose NTG plus glutathione (GSH, 1 mmol/L) was administrated at the time of reperfusion. Administration of high-dose NTG significantly exacerbated cardiac reperfusion injury as evidenced by increased creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activity in coronary effluent, increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis and necrosis, and decreased cardiac function recovery after reperfusion. Compared with the vehicle group, formation of nitrotyrosine, a footprint for peroxynitrite (ONOO) production, was markedly increased in the hearts treated with medium-dose or high-dose NTG. Most interestingly, cotreatment with GSH blocked high-dose NTG-induced ONOO formation and attenuated myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Taken together, our present results demonstrated that administration of high-dose NTG aggravated, rather than attenuated myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury likely via increasing ONOO formation. Coadministration of GSH may reverse the advert action of high-dose NTG.