Higenamine protects ischemia/reperfusion induced cardiac injury and myocyte apoptosis through activation of β2-AR/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Cardiomyocyte apoptosis contributes to ischemic cardiac injury and the development of heart failure. Higenamine is a key component of the Chinese herb aconite root that has been prescribed for treating symptoms of heart failure for thousands of years in the oriental Asian countries. It has been shown that higenamine has anti-apoptotic effects in a few cell types including cardiomyocytes. However, the pharmacological target and molecular mechanism of higenamine in the heart are still not fully illustrated. Herein, we report that higenamine protected myocyte apoptosis and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury through selective activation of beta2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR). In particular, we show that higenamine significantly reduced I/R-induced myocardial infarction in mice. In both primary neonatal rat and adult mouse ventricular myocytes, we show higenamine inhibited cell apoptosis and also reduced biochemical markers of apoptosis such as cleaved caspase 3 and 9. More importantly, we show that the anti-apoptotic effects of higenamine in cardiomyocytes were completely abolished by β2-AR but not β1-AR antagonism. Furthermore, we confirmed that higenamine attenuated I/R-induced myocardial injury and reduced cleaved caspases in a β2-AR dependent manner in intact mouse hearts. Higenamine stimulated AKT phosphorylation and required PI3K activation for the anti-apoptotic effect in cardiomyocytes. These findings together suggest that anti-apoptotic and cardiac protective effects of higenamine are mediated by the β2-AR/PI3K/AKT cascade.

Wu MP ，Zhang YS ，Zhou QM ，Xiong J ，Dong YR ，Yan C ... -  《-》

Higenamine inhibits apoptosis and maintains survival of gastric smooth muscle cells in diabetic gastroparesis rat model via activating the β2-AR/PI3K/AKT pathway.

Diabetic gastroparesis (DGP) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). The numerous clinical symptoms of DGP and the great cost on the treatment of DGP seriously lowered the patients' life quality. However, the pathogenic mechanism of DGP is still elusive till now. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of higenamine on the proliferation and apoptosis of gastric smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in DGP rat model. The DGP rat model was built by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (STZ) into male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Compared with the healthy control group, the level of DGP indicator c-kit was strongly suppressed and the level of Gsα was largely elevated in the STZ-induced model group. By contrast, the addition of higenamine obviously counteracted the effect of STZ on the expression of c-kit and Gsα. Besides that, higenamine improved the decreased emptying ability of the stomach. In addition, the number of gastric SMCs was strongly decreased and cell morphology became irregular in STZ-induced model group. The treatment of higenamine weakened the harm of STZ on the number and morphology of gastric SMCs. Beyond that, higenamine promoted gastric SMCs proliferation and inhibited gastric SMCs apoptosis in DGP model. Further research revealed that higenamine regulated cell proliferation and apoptosis via activating the β2-AR/PI3K/AKT pathway. Taken together, our research revealed that higenamine maintained the survival of gastric SMCs in DGP rat model via the β2-AR/PI3K/AKT pathway, providing a new sight for the treatment of DGP.

An X ，Long C ，Deng X ，Tang A ，Xie J ，Chen L ，Wang Z ... -  《-》

Cardioprotective effect of breviscapine: inhibition of apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes via the PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway following simulated ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Wang J ，Ji SY ，Liu SZ ，Jing R ，Lou WJ ... -  《PHARMAZIE》

Higenamine reduces apoptotic cell death by induction of heme oxygenase-1 in rat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Lee YS ，Kang YJ ，Kim HJ ，Park MK ，Seo HG ，Lee JH ，Yun-Choi HS ，Chang KC ... -  《APOPTOSIS》

Higenamine reduces HMGB1 during hypoxia-induced brain injury by induction of heme oxygenase-1 through PI3K/Akt/Nrf-2 signal pathways.

Ha YM ，Kim MY ，Park MK ，Lee YS ，Kim YM ，Kim HJ ，Lee JH ，Chang KC ... -  《-》