title: Shensongyangxin protects against pressure overload‑induced cardiac hypertrophy.
abstract: Shensongyangxin (SSYX) is a medicinal herb, which has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Various pharmacological activities of SSYX have been identified. However, the role of SSYX in cardiac hypertrophy remains to be fully elucidated. In present study, aortic banding (AB) was performed to induce cardiac hypertrophy in mice. SSYX (520 mg/kg) was administered by daily gavage between 1 and 8 weeks following surgery. The extent of cardiac hypertrophy was then evaluated by pathological and molecular analyses of heart tissue samples. In addition, in vitro experiments were performed to confirm the in vivo results. The data of the present study demonstrated that SSYX prevented the cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis induced by AB, as assessed by measurements of heart weight and gross heart size, hematoxylin and eosin staining, cross‑sectional cardiomyocyte area and the mRNA expression levels of hypertrophic markers. SSYX also inhibited collagen deposition and suppressed the expression of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), connective tissue growth factor, fibronectin, collagen Ⅰα and collagen Ⅲα, which was mediated by the inhibition of the TGFβ/small mothers against decapentaplegic (Smad) signaling pathway. The inhibitory action of SSYX on cardiac hypertrophy was mediated by the inhibition of Akt signaling. In vitro investigations in the rat H9c2 cardiac cells also demonstrated that SSYX attenuated angiotensin II‑induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. These findings suggested that SSYX attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in the pressure overloaded mouse heart. Therefore, the cardioprotective effect of SSYX is associated with inhibition of the Akt and TGFβ/Smad signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Di-Fei
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qing-Qing
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: The Integration of Traditional and Western Medical Research Academy of Hebei, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050035, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: The Integration of Traditional and Western Medical Research Academy of Hebei, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050035, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Meng-Qiao
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhou-Yan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qi-Zhu
authors.initials: QZ
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D051379:Mice; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011312:Pressure; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D051899:Smad2 Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D051899:Smad2 Protein; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; C530959:shensongyangxin