humanin and Myocardial-Ischemia

What is the central question of this study? Myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury causes interference in the systemic circulation and damages not only the heart but also several vital organs, including the brain. Recently, a novel peptide called humanin has been shown to exert potent neuroprotective effects. However, the effect of humanin on the brain during cardiac I/R injury has not yet been investigated. What is the main finding and its importance? The I/R injury caused blood-brain barrier breakdown, increased brain oxidative stress and resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction. Only the humanin treatment before ischaemia attenuated brain mitochondrial dysfunction, but it did not prevent blood-brain barrier breakdown or brain oxidative stress. Humanin treatment during ischaemia and in the reperfusion period provided no neuroprotection. These findings indicate that humanin exerted neuroprotection during cardiac I/R injury via improved brain mitochondrial function. Myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury causes interference in the systemic circulation and damages not only the heart but also several vital organs, including the brain. Nevertheless, limited information is available regarding the effect of cardiac I/R injury on the brain, including blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, brain oxidative stress and mitochondrial function. Recently, a novel peptide called humanin has been shown to exert potent neuroprotective effects. However, the effect of humanin on the brain during cardiac I/R injury has not yet been investigated. Forty-two male Wistar rats were divided into the following two groups: an I/R group, which was subjected to a 30 min left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by 120 min reperfusion (I/R group; n = 36); and a sham group (n = 6). The I/R group was divided into six subgroups. Each subgroup was given either vehicle or humanin analogue (84 μg kg(-1) , i.v.) at three different time points, namely before ischaemia, during ischaemia or at the onset of reperfusion. At the end of the experimental protocol, animals were killed and the brains removed for determination of mitochondrial function, oxidative stress and Western blot analyses. The I/R injury caused BBB breakdown, increased brain oxidative stress and resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction. Only the humanin treatment before ischaemia attenuated brain mitochondrial dysfunction, but it did not prevent BBB breakdown or brain oxidative stress. Humanin treatment d

Topics: Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Brain; Coronary Artery Disease; Coronary Vessels; Disease Models, Animal; Heart; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Male; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Diseases; Myocardial Ischemia; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury; Myocardium; Oxidative Stress; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Humanin (HN), an endogenous antiapoptotic peptide, has previously been shown to protect against Alzheimer's disease and a variety of cellular insults. We evaluated the effects of a potent analog of HN (HNG) in an in vivo murine model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.. Male C57BL6/J mice (8 to 10 week old) were subjected to 45 minutes of left coronary artery occlusion followed by a 24-hour reperfusion. HNG or vehicle was administered IP 1 hour prior or at the time of reperfusion. The extent of myocardial infarction per area-at-risk was evaluated at 24 hours using Evans Blue dye and 2-3-5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. Left ventricular function was evaluated at 1 week after ischemia using high-resolution, 2D echocardiography (VisualSonics Vevo 770). Myocardial cell signaling pathways and apoptotic markers were assessed at various time points (0 to 24 hours) following reperfusion. Cardiomyocyte survival and apoptosis in response to HNG were assessed in vitro. HNG reduced infarct size relative to the area-at-risk in a dose-dependent fashion, with a maximal reduction at the dose of 2 mg/kg. HNG therapy enhanced left ventricular ejection fraction and preserved postischemic left ventricular dimensions (end-diastolic and end-systolic), resulting in improved cardiac function. Treatment with HNG significantly increased phosphorylation of AMPK and phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the heart and attenuated Bcl-2-associated X protein and B-cell lymphoma-2 levels following myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. HNG improved cardiomyocyte survival and decreased apoptosis in response to daunorubicin in vitro.. These data show that HNG provides cardioprotection in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion potentially through activation of AMPK-endothelial nitric oxide synthase-mediated signaling and regulation of apoptotic factors. HNG may represent a novel agent for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction.

Topics: AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; Animals; Apoptosis; bcl-2-Associated X Protein; Cell Survival; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Myocardial Ischemia; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury; Myocytes, Cardiac; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Peptides; Signal Transduction