IMR Press / RCM / Volume 25 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2502067
Open Access Original Research
A Novel Postconditioning Approach Attenuates Myocardial Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats
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1 Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410013 Changsha, Hunan, China
2 Reproductive Medicine Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410013 Changsha, Hunan, China
3 Department of Cardiology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410013 Changsha, Hunan, China
4 Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Changsha, 410005 Changsha, Hunan, China
*Correspondence: huihui667013@163.com (Hui Luo)
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2024, 25(2), 67; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2502067
Submitted: 11 August 2023 | Revised: 27 September 2023 | Accepted: 10 October 2023 | Published: 18 February 2024
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is the damage that occurs when blood flow is restored to a tissue or organ after a period of ischaemia. Postconditioning is a therapeutic strategy aimed at reducing the tissue damage caused by IRI. Postconditioning in rodents is a useful tool to investigate the potential mechanisms of postconditioning. Currently, there is no convenient approach for postconditioning rodents. Methods: Rats were subjected to a balloon postconditioning procedure. A balloon was used to control the flow in the vessel. This allowed for easy and precise manipulation of perfusion. Evans blue and triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) double staining were used to determine the infarct size. Apoptosis in the myocardium was visualised and quantified by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Western blotting was performed to assess the expression of key apoptotic proteins, i.e., B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 Associated X (Bax), and cleaved caspase-3. Results: The balloon control approach to postconditioning provided accurate control of coronary blood flow and simplified the postconditioning manipulation. Infarct size reduction was observed in IRI rats after post-conditioning. There was a decrease in cardiac apoptosis in IRI rats after conditioning, as detected by TUNEL staining. IRI rats showed increased Bcl-2 levels and decreased Bax and cleaved caspase-3 levels in the myocardium. Conclusions: Postconditioning was successfully applied in rats using this novel approach. Postconditioning with this approach reduced infarct size and apoptosis in the area at risk.

Keywords
postconditioning
ischaemia-reperfusion injury
apoptosis
Funding
kq2208349/Changsha Natural Science Foundation
2020JJ4634/Natural Science Foundation Project of Hunan province
2023JJ40917/Natural Science Foundation Project of Hunan province
81873416/National Natural Science Foundation of China
Figures
Fig. 1.
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