大蒜素对病毒性心肌炎小鼠的治疗作用

目的:观察大蒜素(garlicin,Gal)注射液对病毒性心肌炎(viral myocarditis,VMC)小鼠的作用并探讨其可能的作用机制。方法:将40只BALB/c健康小鼠随机分为4组:正常组(control组)、VMC模型组以及大蒜素低剂量组(Gal-L组)与高剂量组(Gal-H组);经相应处理后,HE染色观察心肌组织形态;比色法检测血清中乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)、天门冬氨酸氨基转移酶(AST)和肌酸激酶(CK)的水平;Western blot检测心肌组织中Bcl-2、Bax、cleavedcaspase-9、cleaved-caspase-3、cleaved-PARP与cleaved-caspase-8的蛋白水平。结果:HE染色结果显示大蒜素能减少病毒性心肌炎小鼠心肌组织的坏死与炎性细胞的浸润;与VMC组相比,大蒜素呈浓度依赖性降低血清中LDH、AST和CK的水平,同时,降低心肌组织中Bax、cleaved-caspase-9、cleaved-caspase-3和cleaved-PARP的蛋白表达水平,升高Bcl-2的蛋白表达水平,而cleaved-caspase-8的蛋白水平不变。结论:大蒜素能有效改善病毒性心肌炎小鼠的心肌损伤,降低血清中LDH、AST和CK的水平,其可能的作用机制可能与内源性细胞凋亡通路有关。

Effect of garlicin on viral myocarditis in mice

AIM: To investigate the effect of garlicin on mouse viral myocarditis and to explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: Forty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, viral myocarditis group, low-dose garlicin group and high-dose garlicin group. The morphological changes of the myocardium were observed with HE staining. The levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) were measured by colorimetric method. The protein levels of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-PARP and cleaved-caspase-8 in the myocardial tissues were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The morphological observation with HE staining showed that garlicin inhibited the necrosis of the myocardium and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Compared with viral myocarditis group, garlicin dose-dependently decreased the levels of LDL, AST and CK. Moreover, garlicin treatment decreased the protein levels of Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP, accompanied with an increase in Bcl-2 expression. However, garlicin had no effect on the protein level of cleaved-caspase-8. CONCLUSION: Garlicin effectively attenuates the myocardial damage in mice with viral myocarditis through inhibition of intrinsic apoptosis pathway.