Paeonol protects H9C2 cardiomyocytes from ischemia/reperfusion injury by activating Notch1 signaling pathway in vitro

Objective: To investigated the protective effects of paeonol on simulated ischemia/reperfusion treated cardiomyocytes in vitro. Methods: In this research, the rat cardiomyocyte line, H9c2, was treated with hypoxia/ reoxygenation as an I/R model in vitro. Cell viability was assayed by CCK-8 kit; cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and protein expression was assayed by western blot. Results: SIR injury can decrease the viability of the H9c2 cells and significant increase the apoptosis-related protein bax, caspase-3 and down regulation of the antiapoptosis-related protein bcl-2. Paeonol can down regulated the expression of apoptosis-related protein following SIR injury and restored the viability of the H9c2 cells. A signifiant increase in Notch1 protein levels were observed in the H9c2 cells treated with both paeonol and SIR injury. However, the anti-apoptotic effect conferred by paeonol was blocked by DAPT (the specific inhibitor of Notch1 signaling) in the cultured H9c2 cells. Conclusion: The findings of our study suggest that paeonol protects the H9c2 cells against SIR injury-induced injury through the activation of the Notch1 signaling. These results provide new evidence for the potential protective effects of paeonol.