Therapeutic effects of Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill on myocardial injury induced by chronic hypoxia in rats.
The present study was designed to determine the effects of a traditional Chinese medicine, called Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill on chronic hypoxia-induced myocardial injury. To establish a rat chronic hypoxia model to be used in the evaluation of the therapeutic effects of the Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups: the control, model, and treatment groups (n = 10 per group). The animals were housed in a plexiglass container. The control animals were under normal oxygen concentration and the model and treatment groups were exposed to air and nitrogen for 5 weeks. The rats in the treatment group were orally administered the Qishen Yiqi Dropping pill (35 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)) for 5 weeks. After the treatment, the cardiac function and morphology were analyzed, and the expression levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) were determined using Western blotting. Our results indicated that the cardiac function was impaired, cell apoptosis was enhanced, and HIF-1α expression was up-regulated in the model group, compared to the control group. These changes were ameliorated by the treatment with the Qishen Yiqi Dropping Pill. In conclusion, Qishen Yiqi Dropping pill can ameliorate myocardial injury induced by chronic hypoxia, improve cardiac function, and decrease myocardial cell apoptosis, which may provide a basis for its clinical use for the treatment of chronic cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular Institute, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
Fu-Chao
FC
Yu
Nanjing Official Hospital, Nanjing 210000, China.
Yan-Juan
YJ
Xu
Cardiovascular Institute, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: jytong88@163.com.
Jia-Yi
JY
Tong
Cardiovascular Institute, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
Zhou-Zhou
ZZ
Lu
Cardiovascular Institute, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
Xiao-Hui
XH
Zhang
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000860:Hypoxia; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; C528580:qishen yiqi; D010100:Oxygen
Chronic hypoxia; HIF-1α; Myocardial injury; Qishen Yiqi Dropping pill