title: [Role of autophagy in fasudil-induced Rho kinase inhibition for protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the changes of autophagy in ischemic myocardium of rats treated with fasudil for inhibiting Rho kinase.
  
  
  METHODS
  The hearts isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 30 min of occlusion of the left anterior descending artery followed by 120 min of reperfusion with or without treatment with fasudil or fasudil+Wort. The left ventricular hemodynamics were continuously recorded, and the coronary effluent was collected during the reperfusion to determine lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels. The mRNA expressions of autophagy-related genes Atg5 and Beclin1 and apoptosis-related genes bax and bcl-2 were detected by RT-PCR, and the protein expression of caspase-3 was detected by Western blotting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with I/R group, fasudil significantly improved the left ventricular developed pressure, maximal rise/fall rate of left ventricular pressure and rate pressure product, reduced LDH release during reperfusion, increased Atg5 and Beclin1 mRNA expression and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, and lowered caspase 3 protein expression. The autophagy inhibitor Wort significantly attenuated the effect of fasudil in the rat hearts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fasudil treatment for inhibiting Rho kinase promoted autophagy in ex vivo rat heart to protect against myocardial ischima-reperfusion injury possibly by reducing apoptosis of the cardiac myocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233030, China. E-mail: yehongwei223@163.com.
authors.forename: Hong-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Ting-Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Xiao-Yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guang-Yu
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D019307:1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001343:Autophagy; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000378:metabolism*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac; D020011:Protective Agents; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020011:Protective Agents; D019307:1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3; C049347:fasudil