Study on the Protective Mechanisms of Rosiglitazone on Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Rabbits

OBJECTIVE To explore the mechanisms and protective effect of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ(PPAR-γ) agonist on myocardial ischemia reperfusion(I/R) injury rabbits by observation the size of myocardial infarction and the histopathological changes. METHODS Forty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into five groups(n=8): sham group, model group, low dose of rosiglitazone group, high dose of rosiglitazone group and high dose of rosiglitazone+GW9622 group. Thoracotomy and threading of the coronary artery without ligation was performed in sham group, whereas the coronary artery was ligated for 30 min, under 120 min reperfusion in othe groups. Plasma concentration of NO, T-SOD and serum inflammatory cytokines IL-6 were tested after 1 h of I/R. The heart were harvested after I/R for pathological and ultrastructure analysis, and the areas of myocardial infarction were assessed. RESULTS Compared with model group and high dose of rosiglitazone+GW9622 group, in low dose of rosiglitazone group and high dose of rosiglitazon group, the plasma concentration of NO and IL-6 decreased, T-SOD significantly increased; the size of myocardial infarct decreased, and myocardial pathological and ultrastructure changes significantly improved. CONCLUSION The results indicate that PPAR-γ agonist of rosiglitazone can attenuate myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury, improve myocardial pathological and ultrastructure, reduce infarct size by mitigating oxidative stress and reducing the inflammatory response.