title: Danshen improves damaged cardiac angiogenesis and cardiac function induced by myocardial infarction by modulating HIF1α/VEGFA signaling pathway.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The traditional Chinese medicinal Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), has long been used to treat cardiovascular diseases, however, the mechanism underlying its effects remain unclear. Here, this study would to investigate the effects of Danshen injection on myocardial infarction-induced cardiac damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Danshen was injected into mice models at low dose (3 g/kg per day) or at high dose (6 g/kg per day) after left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation. After 4 weeks, cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography. Paraffin sections of the hearts were used for isolectin GS-IB4 staining. Protein and mRNA expression levels of HIF1α and VEGFA were evaluated by western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hearts showed significantly impaired angiogenesis and slightly increase of HIF1α and VEGFA expression after LAD ligation. The angiogenesis defect and heart failure were partially rescued in Danshen treatment mice with great increase of HIF1α and VEGFA mRNA levels and protein expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results illustrated that the protective effects of Danshen injection in responsive cardiac angiogenesis were at least in part due to increased HIF1α and VEGFA expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Manhua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Guizhong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhenxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, The Central Hospital of Wuhan, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan 430014, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Danshen; HIF1α; VEGFA; cardiac angiogenesis; heart failure