What is the central question of this study? In a rat model of acute
myocardial infarction (AMI), we investigated the effect of
Tongxinluo (TXL) treatment. Does TXL activate autophagy and attenuate apoptosis of cardiomyocytes through the AMPK pathway to facilitate survival of cardiomyocytes and improve cardiac function? What is the main finding and its importance? Major findings are as follows: (i) TXL treatment preserved cardiac function and reduced ventricular remodelling,
infarct size and
inflammation in rat hearts after AMI; (ii) TXL treatment dramatically increased autophagy and inhibited apoptosis in myocardium; and (iii) the AMPK signalling pathway played a crucial role in mediating the beneficial effects of TXL.
Tongxinluo (TXL) has been demonstrated to have a protective role during ischaemia-reperfusion after acute
myocardial infarction, but the long-term effects and underlying mechanisms are still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether TXL could have an effect on apoptosis or autophagy of cardiomyocytes through the
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 75) were randomly divided to
sham, control, TXL (4 mg kg-1 day-1 orally), compound C (i.p. injection of 10 mg kg-1 day-1 ) and TXL + compound C groups. The extent of
fibrosis,
infarct size and angiogenesis were determined by pathological and histological studies. Four weeks after acute
myocardial infarction, TXL treatment significantly increased ejection fraction, promoted angiogenesis in the peri-
infarct region and substantially decreased
fibrosis and the size of the infarcted area (P < 0.05). Treatment with TXL also increased AMPK/mTOR phosphorylation, upregulated expression of the autophagic
protein LC3 and downregulated expression of the apoptotic
protein Bax in the infarcted myocardium (P < 0.05). Addition of the AMPK inhibitor, compound C, counteracted these beneficial effects significantly (P < 0.05). The cardioprotective benefits of TXL against
myocardial infarction are related to the inhibition of apoptosis and promotion of autophagy in rat hearts after acute
myocardial infarction. This effect may occur through the AMPK signalling pathway.