| Objective To investigate the effects of betaine on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury and the involved mechanisms.Methods Eighteen male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operate group (SO, n=6), IR group (n=6) and betaine group (450 mg/kg, IG, n=6). Left anterior descending branch was not ligated in SO group, but it was performed occlusion for 30 min followed a reperfudion for 4h in IR and betaine group. Myocardial injury markers [(creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI)] and inflammatory cytokines [high mobility group box protein 1(HMGB1), interleukin-17A (IL-17A), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)] were detected by Elisa kits; cardiac apoptotic proteins [cleaved-caspase-3, B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and Bax] were detected by Western blot. Results Compared with SO group, the expression of myocardial injury markers (CK, LDH and cTnI), inflammatory cytokines (HMGB1, IL-17A, IL-6 and TNF-α) and apoptotic proteins all significantly increased in IR group. Betaine could sufficiently reduce the expression of myocardial injury markers, inflammatory cytokines and apoptotic proteins. Conclusion The present study indicates that betaine could attenuate myocardial IR injury via suppressing inflammatory responses and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. |
