title: Inhibition of p53 by pifithrin-alpha reduces myocyte apoptosis and leukocyte transmigration in aged rat hearts following 24 hours of reperfusion.
abstract: Ischemic heart disease is a common age-related disease. Apoptotic cell death and inflammation are the major contributors to I/R injury. The mechanisms that trigger myocyte apoptosis and inflammation during myocardial I/R (MI/R) remain to be elucidated. Published data from our laboratory demonstrated that pretreatment of MI/R rats with pifithrin-alpha (PFT), a specific p53 inhibitor, reduced myocyte apoptosis and improved cardiac function compared with MI/R rats pretreated with saline at 4 h of reperfusion. In the present study, we investigated the effects of PFT on the occurrence of myocyte apoptosis and leukocyte transmigration in the later period of reperfusion. Aged (20-month-old) male F344 rats were subjected to 30 min of myocardial ischemia via ligature of the LCA, followed by 24 h of reperfusion. Pifithrin-alpha (2.2 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) or saline was administered to rats before ischemia. The results indicate that pretreatment of MI/R rats with PFT significantly decreased the percentage of infarct area to ischemic area (33 +/- 8 vs. 54 +/- 9, P < 0.05) and improved cardiac output (79 +/- 11 vs. 38 +/- 9 mL/min per 100 g body weight, P < 0.05) when compared with rats pretreated with saline at 24 h of reperfusion. The protective effects of PFT may involve the p53/Bax-mediated apoptosis because treatment of MI/R rats with PFT attenuated the ratio of Bax to Bcl2 (0.97 +/- 0.1 vs. 2.1 +/- 0.2, P < 0.05) and reduced myocyte apoptosis. Interestingly, inhibition of p53 transcriptional function by PFT alleviated leukocyte infiltration into the ischemic area of the heart (339 +/- 37 vs. 498 +/- 75 cells/10 high-power fields, P < 0.05). These data suggest that inhibition of p53 transcriptional function by PFT attenuates myocyte apoptosis and alleviates leukocyte transmigration at 24 h of reperfusion. The mechanisms by which p53 modulates leukocyte transmigration require further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and New Jersey Institute of Successful Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, New Jersey, USA. liupe@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Peitan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Baohuan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Cavalieri
authors.forename: Carl E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D052160:Benzothiazoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D032342:Muscle Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D014050:Toluene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D052160:Benzothiazoles; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D014050:Toluene; C121565:pifithrin