title: Ghrelin Administration Increases the Bax/Bcl-2 Gene Expression Ratio in the Heart of Chronic Hypoxic Rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Programmed cell death or apoptosis, is a biochemical procedure that initiates due to some conditions, including hypoxia. Bax and Bcl-2 are among the agents that regulate apoptosis. The amplification of the first one triggers the initiation of apoptosis, and the second one prevents it. Ghrelin is an endogenous peptide that antiapoptosis is its new effect. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of ghrelin on the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty four wistar rats were divided randomly in three groups; control, hypoxic + saline and hypoxic + ghrelin. Hypoxic animals lived in O2 11% for 2 weeks and received either saline or ghrelin subcutaneously daily. The bax and Bcl-2 gene expression were measured by Real-Time RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic hypoxia increased the Bax gene expression significantly compared with normal animals (P = 0.008), but the Bcl-2 was not affected by hypoxia. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio also amplified significantly (P=0.005). Ghrelin administration significantly increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in the hypoxic animals compared to the hypoxic + saline and normal groups (p=0.042 and P= 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, animals' treatment with ghrelin leads to an increment of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, which indicates a controversy related to cardioprotection of ghrelin.
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Aliparasti
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Alipour
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Shohreh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feizi
keywords: Bax; Bcl-2; Chronic Hypoxia; Ghrelin; Heart