Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of dexmedetomidine pretreatment on a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Jingxia Chen¹, Wenyan Liu¹, Shuzhen Wang², Zidong Zhang¹, Weiguo Li¹

¹Department of Anesthesiology; ²Department of Operating Room, The Eighth People's Hospital of Hengshui City, Hengshui 253800, Hebei Province, China.

For correspondence:- Weiguo Li Email: ddzt38@163.com

Accepted: 26 May 2021 Published: 30 June 2021

Citation: Chen J, Liu W, Wang S, Zhang Z, Li W. Effect of dexmedetomidine pretreatment on a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(6):1179-1184 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i6.12

© 2021 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To study the effect of dexmedetomidine pretreatment on a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)

Methods: Three groups of SD rats (n = 48; mean body weight = 275 ± 25 g) were used (16 rats each): sham, IRI, and dexmedetomidine groups. Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) was established via ligation of left anterior coronary artery. Rats in dexmedetomidine group were treated with single i.p. injection of dexmedetomidine (100 μg/kg) 30 min before induction of IRI. Serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blotting was used to determine the protein expressions of bcl-2 and bax, while histopathological changes in rat myocardial tissue were determined with H&E staining.

Results: Serum TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels were significantly up-regulated in IRI rats, relative to sham rats, but were decreased by dexmedetomidine (p < 0.05). Dexmedetomidine significantly reduced the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in myocardial tissues of IRI rats, but it increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (p < 0.05). It also markedly increased bcl-2 protein level, while the protein expression of bax was decreased (p < 0.05). Results of H & E staining showed that dexmedetomidine significantly mitigated IRI-induced damage.

Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine mitigates myocardial IRI in rats through suppression of inflammatory and apoptotic changes, and enhancement of physiological antioxidant potential. This finding may be useful for the management of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Keywords: Apoptosis, Dexmedetomidine, Inflammatory cytokines, Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, Oxidative stress