The role of autophagy in cardiac hypertrophy induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia and the therapeutic effect of resveratrol

Abstract

Objective To examine whether autophagy plays a role in the development of chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced cardiac hypertrophy, whether resveratrol can reverse the process by modulating autophagy and what molecular pathways are involved. Methods Rats were randomly divided into four groups.Eight rats were treated with normoxia (control group), eight were exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) (CIH group), eight were exposed to CIH plus resveratrol (RSV) (CIH+RSV group) and eight were exposed to CIH, RSV and chloroquine (Cq) (CIH+RSV+Cq group). After treatment for seven weeks, the levels of LC3, Beclin, P62, ANP, β-MHC, AMPK, P-AMPK, mTOR, P-mTOR and cleaved-caspase 3 were detected by Western blot.The area of cardiomyocytes and the ratio of brotic area to the total area were obtained by HE and Sirius Red staining. Results Rats in the CIH+RSV group were associated with an increased ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ, increased Beclin levels and decreased P62 levels, compared with those in the control and CIH groups (all P 0.05). Conclusions Chronic intermittent hypoxia and resveratrol can affect the level of cardiac hypertrophy by autophagy through activating the AMPK/mTOR pathway. Key words: Sleep apnea, obstructive; Cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic; Autophagy