Shensong Yangxin capsules prevent ischemic arrhythmias by prolonging action potentials and alleviating Ca2+ overload.
Shensong Yangxin capsules (SSYX) are an effective traditional Chinese medicine that has been used to treat coronary heart disease clinically. The present study aimed to establish whether SSYX prevent ischemic arrhythmias in rats, and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Male rats were pretreated with distilled water, SSYX and amiodarone for one week. Acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) was performed to induce ischemic arrhythmias. The incidence and severity of ischemic arrhythmias were evaluated. The action potential, transient outward K+ current (Ito) and inward rectifier K+ current (IK1) of rat cardiomyocytes were measured using the patch‑clamp technique. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration of the cardiomyocytes was measured using a laser scanning confocal microscope. The results revealed that SSYX lowered the incidence of arrhythmia markedly during AMI. Furthermore, SSYX delayed the appearance, and reduced the severity, of ischemic arrhythmias compared with the control. In addition, SSYX markedly decreased the ratio of the myocardial infarction region to the whole heart. In an in vitro study, SSYX prolonged the action potential duration of rat cardiomyocytes, and inhibited Ito and IK1 markedly. Additionally, SSYX inhibited Ca2+ elevation induced by KCl in cardiomyocytes. These results suggested that SSYX prevents ischemic arrhythmia, and the underlying mechanism responsible for this process may include prolonging the action potential and alleviating Ca2+ overload.
Department of Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, P.R. China.
Yixiu
Y
Zhao
Department of Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, P.R. China.
Feng
F
Gao
Department of Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, P.R. China.
Yong
Y
Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Collateral Disease Research and Innovation Medicine, Hebei Yiling Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China.
Hongtao
H
Wang
Department of Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, P.R. China.
Jiuxin
J
Zhu
Graduate School, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China.
Liping
L
Chang
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150086, P.R. China.
Zhimin
Z
Du
Department of Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150081, P.R. China.
Yan
Y
Zhang
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C530959:shensongyangxin; D002118:Calcium