Abstract
Objective It has been shown that angiogenesis is a desirable treatment for patients with ischemic heart disease. We set out to investigate the impact of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and berberine supplementation on the gene expression of angiogenesis-related factors and caspase-3 protein in rats suffering from myocardial ischemic-reperfusion injury. Methods Fifty rats were divided into the following groups: (1) trained, (2) berberine supplemented, (3) combined, and (4) IR. Each cohort underwent five sessions of HIIT per week for a duration of 8 weeks followed by induction of ischemia. Seven days after completion of reperfusion, changes in the gene expression of angiogenesis-related factors and caspase-3 protein were evaluated in the heart tissue. Results We observed a significant difference between four groups in the transcript levels of vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), and thrombospondin-1(TSP-1) (p ≤ 0.05). However, the difference in endostatin (ENDO) levels was not significant among the groups despite a discernible reduction (p ≥ 0.05). Moreover, caspase-3 protein and infarct size were significantly reduced in the intervention groups (p ≤ 0.05), and cardiac function increased in response to these interventions. Conclusion The treatments exert their effect, likely, by reducing caspase-3 protein and increasing the expression of angiogenesis-promoting factors, concomitant with a reduction in inhibitors of the process.
Highlights
Previous works have shown that the reperfusion of blood in ischemic heart tissue is an effective method to treat acute myocardial infarction
We investigated the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and berberine as preconditioning factors, solely or in combination, on changes in the expression of angiogenesis-promoting and angiogenesisinhibiting molecular components (VEGF, fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), TSP-1, and ENDO) and caspase-3 protein one week after IR
Stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), fractional shortening (FS), and ejection fraction (EF) had a significant increase in three intervention groups compared to IR group (p = 0:01)
Summary
Previous works have shown that the reperfusion of blood in ischemic heart tissue is an effective method to treat acute myocardial infarction. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, is indispensable for revascularization and cardiac remodeling following myocardial ischemia [4, 5]. Rehabilitation of the myocardium ischemic region involves the activation of several stimulatory and inhibitory modulators of angiogenesis; the most notable of which are vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), endostatin (ENDO), and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) [6]. VEGF is one of the major regulators of angiogenesis, which performs its duties by BioMed Research International stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of vascular endothelial cells, increasing the permeability and reducing the apoptosis of endothelial cells through activating nitric oxide (NO). ENDO, a 20 kDa fragment of the C-terminal of type XVIII collagen, is an inhibitor of angiogenesis, hampering endothelial cell proliferation, VEGF-induced migration, and endothelial duct formation [9]
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