title: Icariin protects rat cardiac H9c2 cells from apoptosis by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress.
abstract: Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is one of the mechanisms of apoptotic cell death. Inhibiting the apoptosis induced by ERS may be a novel therapeutic target in cardiovascular diseases. Icariin, a flavonoid isolated from Epimedium brevicornum Maxim, has been demonstrated to have cardiovascular protective effects, but its effects on ERS are unknown. In the present study, we focused on icariin and investigated whether it might protect the cardiac cell from apoptosis via inhibition of ERS. In H9c2 rat cardiomyoblast cells, pretreatment of icariin significantly inhibited cell apoptosis by tunicamycin, an ERS inducer. Icariin also decreased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of caspase-3. Moreover, icariin inhibited upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum markers, GRP78, GRP94 and CHOP, elicited by tunicamycin. These results indicated that icariin could protect H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells from ERS-mitochondrial apoptosis in vitro, the mechanisms may be associated with its inhibiting of GRP78, GRP94 and CHOP and decreasing ROS generation directly. It may be a potential agent for treating cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chinese Herbal Pharmacology, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan 442000, China.
authors.forename: Qiufang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yibin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Xuanbin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; D059865:Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; D005419:Flavonoids; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C056599:icariin