Visnagin ameliorates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury through the promotion of autophagy and the inhibition of apoptosis

Abstract

Visnagin is a furanochromone and one of the main compounds of Ammi visnaga L. that had been used to treat nephrolithiasis in Ancient Egypt. Nowadays, visnagin was widely used to treat angina pectoris, urolithiasis and hypertriglyceridemia. The potential mechanisms of visnagin involved in inflammation and cardiovascular disease were also identified. But the protective effect of visnagin on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury has not been confirmed. Our aim was, for the first time, to investigate the potential protective effect of visnagin on cardiac function after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model, and to identify its underlying mechanism involving the inhibition of apoptosis and induction of autophagy. Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into sham group, ischemia/reperfusion group (IR), ischemia/reperfusion with visnagin (IR + visnagin) group. Myocardial ischemia/Reperfusion injury model was established. Hemodynamic measurements and echocardiography were used to analyze cardiac function, TUNEL staining and caspase activity, LC3 dots were detected with immunofluorescence staining, LC3 expression was evaluated by western blot analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to detect autophagosomes. Compared with the sham group and visnagin group, the cardiac dysfunction, LC3II, autophagy flow in the IR+ visnagin group increased significantly (P<0.01), but the activity of caspase-3 and caspase-9 and the apoptotic in the IR + visnagin group decreased significantly (P<0.01). In conclusion, visnagin may play a protective role in ischemia/reperfusion injury by inducing autophagy and reducing apoptosis.

Potential relationship between autophagy and ferroptosis in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury

“…Many pharmacologic interventions (e.g., visnagin, alliin, resveratrol, and hydrogen-rich saline) have been found to protect the heart from IRI by enhancing autophagy flux. 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 Some medications (e.g., calreticulin, geniposide, berberine, and tetramethylprazine) have been found to protect the heart by inhibiting autophagy or improving impaired autophagy flux. 28 , 44 , 45 , 46 In addition, some non-coding RNAs targeting autophagy have also been shown to play important roles in MIRI.…”

Shenxiong glucose injection inhibits oxidative stress and apoptosis to ameliorate isoproterenol-induced myocardial ischemia in rats and improve the function of HUVECs exposed to CoCl2

“…In this study, ISO induced an increase in the cardiac damage biomarkers cTnT and cTnI, which was significantly suppressed by SGI treatment. LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction during MI has emerged as an important indicator of cardiac function ( Zhang et al, 2016 ; Fu et al, 2020 ). In echocardiography, EF(%) and FS(%) values were decreased and LV systolic dysfunction was observed in the MI rats.…”

The association between ferroptosis and autophagy in cardiovascular diseases

“…In the study of acute myocardial ischemia‐reperfusion injury, it was found that the autophagy level of rats treated with CoQ10 was improved, the antioxidant capacity was enhanced, and the cardiac function was improved, suggesting that CoQ10 may alleviate acute myocardial ischemia‐reperfusion injury through antioxidant and autophagy pathways 153 . Visnagin has been proved to be closely related to the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases 154 . It can alleviate myocardial ischemia‐reperfusion injury and has a potential protective effect on cardiac function.…”