Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ros) is implicated in the process of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, known to be induced by different stimuli, like angiotensin ii, pressure overload and phenylephrine (pe). Although targeting adrenoreceptors and therefore sharing common signaling processes, recent studies point to different mechanisms activated by these stimuli, in which different no...

Aconitine (ACO), a highly toxic diterpenoid alkaloid, is recognized to have effects on cardiac voltage-gated Na(+) channels. However, it remains unknown whether it has any effects on K(+) currents. The effects of ACO on ion currents in differentiated clonal cardiac (H9c2) cells and in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were investigated in this study. In H9c2 cells, ACO suppressed ultra...

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress is a major mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. It can trigger inflammatory cascades which are primarily mediated via nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). The NF-κB transcription factor family includes several subunits (p50, p52, p65, c-Rel, and Rel B) that respond to myocardial ischemia. It has been proved that persistent myocyte NF-κB p65 activati...

BACKGROUND Cardiac cell transplantation is limited by poor graft viability. We aimed to enhance the survival of transplanted cardiomyoblasts using growth factor-supplemented collagen matrices. METHODS AND RESULTS H9c2 cardiomyoblasts were lentivirally transduced to express firefly luciferase and green fluorescent protein (GFP). Lewis rats underwent ligation of the left anterior descending art...

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a critical role in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. So mitochondria are emerging as one of the important druggable targets in the management of cardiac hypertrophy and other associated complications. In the present study, effects of ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa (BDE), a green leafy vegetable against mitochondrial dysfunction in...

BACKGROUND Quercetin is the most abundant flavonoid in fruit and vegetables and is believed to attenuate cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that quercetin inhibits cardiac hypertrophy by blocking AP-1 (c-fos, c-jun) and activating PPAR-γ signaling pathways. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The aim of this study was to identify the mechanism underlying quercetin-mediated attenuation of card...

Background: Sepsis is a common cardiovascular complication that can cause heart damage. The regulatory role of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 13 (USP13) on erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) has been reported, but its in septic cardiomyopathy remains unclear.Methods: Sprague Dawley (SD) rat model myocardial injury was constructed by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) an...

OBJECTIVE Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anticancer drug but its clinical application is limited because it induces apoptosis in cardiomyocytes and leads to permanent degenerative cardiomyopathy and heart failure possibly due to oxidative stress. Recent studies showed that Capparis spinosa (C. spinose) exhibits potent antioxidant activity. So, in this study, we explored the protective effect...

Introduction: Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) a gluconeogenic enzyme accumulates in the nucleus of proliferating cells, however its physiological role is not elucidated. In heart muscle cells localize on the Z-line, in the nuclei and in the intercalated discs. Accumulation of FBPase on the Z-line is important for proceeding of glyconeogenesis – the synthesis of glycogen from noncarbohydrat...

3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is the major product of the acid-catalyzed condensation of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a component of extracts of Brassica food plants. Numerous studies have suggested that DIM has several beneficial biological activities, including elimination of free radicals, antioxidant and anti-angiogenic effects and activation of apoptosis of various tumor cells. In the present st...