Original Article

Restoration of autophagic flux in myocardial tissues is required for cardioprotection of sevoflurane postconditioning in rats

Yu-lin Zhang, Yun-tai Yao, Neng-xin Fang, Cheng-hui Zhou, Jun-song Gong, Li-huan Li
DOI: 10.1038/aps.2014.20

Abstract

Yu-lin ZHANG1, 2, Yun-tai YAO1, 2, Neng-xin FANG1, 2, Cheng-hui ZHOU1, 2, Jun-song GONG1, 2, Li-huan LI1, 2, *
1State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital, Beijing 100037, China

Aim: Sevoflurane postconditioning (SpostC) has been shown to protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. In this study, we examined whether SpostC affected autophagic flux in myocardial tissues that contributed to its cardioprotective effects in rats following acute I/R injury.
Methods: SD rats underwent 30 min of left anterior descending coronary artery ligation followed by 120 min of reperfusion. The rats were subjected to inhalation of 2.4% (v/v) sevoflurane during the first 5 min of reperfusion, and chloroquine (10 mg/kg, ip) was injected 1 h before I/R. Myocardial infarct size was estimated using TTC staining. Autophagosomes in myocardial tissues were detected under TEM. Expression of LC3B-II, beclin-1, p62/SQSTM1, cathepsin B, caspase-3 and cleaved PARP was assessed using Western blot analysis. Plasma cardiac troponin I was measured using ELISA. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis was evaluated with TUNEL staining.

Results: I/R procedure produced severe myocardium infarct and apoptosis accompanied by markedly increased number of autophagosomes, as well as increased levels of LC3B-II, beclin-1 and p62 in myocardial tissues. SpostC significantly reduced infarct size, attenuated myocardial apoptosis, restored intact autophagic flux and improved the lysosomal function in myocardial tissues. Administration of chloroquine that blocked autophagic flux abrogated the cardioprotective effects of SpostC.

Conclusion: SpostC exerts its cardioprotective effects in rats following I/R injury via restoring autophagic flux in myocardial tissues.


Keywords: sevoflurane; inhalation anesthetics; postconditioning; heart; ischemia-reperfusion injury; cardioprotection; autophagy; chloroquine

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 81070098 and 81200109).
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail llhfwmz@163.com
Received 2013-11-08 Accepted 2014-03-04
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