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Icariin Acts as a Potential Agent for Preventing Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

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Abstract

Myocardial infarction is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although essential for successful recovery, myocardium reperfusion is associated with reperfusion injury. Icariin, a major flavonoid of Epimedium koreanum Nakai, has been proven to exert efficacy for improving cardiovascular function. We investigated the molecular effect and signal pathway of icariin on cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury. In an in vivo model of infarct in rats, icariin (10 mg/kg) significantly attenuated myocardial infarct size induced by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). From the TUNEL assay, icariin reduced the apoptotic cell induced by I/R and decreased blood indicators of creatine kinase, ischemia-modified albumin, and lactate dehydrogenase. All this effect was antagonized by the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. Meanwhile, icariin activated the PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 suppressed icariin-mediated protective effect. These results suggest that icariin protects against myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rats by activating the PI3K/Akt/eNOS-dependent signal pathways and may be a useful drug for angiogenic therapy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, No. 2011AA02A111).

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, The People’s Hospital of Liaoning Province, 33 Wenyi Road, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Minghe Zhai, Liang He, Xingai Ju, Guang Li, Yunli Zhang, Yanjiao Liu & Hongmei Zhao

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, The People’s Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Ling Shao

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  1. Minghe Zhai
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  2. Liang He
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  3. Xingai Ju
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  4. Ling Shao
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  7. Yanjiao Liu
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  8. Hongmei Zhao
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Correspondence to Hongmei Zhao.

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Zhai, M., He, L., Ju, X. et al. Icariin Acts as a Potential Agent for Preventing Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury. Cell Biochem Biophys 72, 589–597 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-014-0506-3

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