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©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Qingyi decoction protects against myocardial injuries induced by severe acute pancreatitis
Lei Li, Yong-Qi Li, Zhong-Wei Sun, Cai-Ming Xu, Jun Wu, Ge-Liang Liu, Ahmed MH Bakheet, Hai-Long Chen
Lei Li, Department of Vascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, Liaoning Province, China
Lei Li, Zhong-Wei Sun, Cai-Ming Xu, Hai-Long Chen, Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116011, Liaoning Province, China
Yong-Qi Li, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 3058575, Japan
Zhong-Wei Sun, Department of Emergency Medicine, The Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian 116001, Liaoning Province, China
Cai-Ming Xu, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dalian Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Dalian 116021, Liaoning Province, China
Jun Wu, Department of Ultrasound, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, Liaoning Province, China
Ge-Liang Liu, Department of Urology Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116027, Liaoning Province, China
Ahmed MH Bakheet, Department of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of San Yet-sen University, Guangzhou 510360, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Li YQ and Li L contributed equally to this work. Li L, Li YQ, and Chen HL designed the research; Li L, Li YQ, Sun ZW, and Xu CM performed the research; Wu J and Liu GL contributed new reagents; Xu CM, Wu J, and Bakheet AMH analyzed the data; Li L and Li YQ wrote the paper.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No, 81573751.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: Forty adult healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing between 180-220 g, were obtained from the Specific Pathogen Free Animal Department of Dalian Medical University (Dalian, China), and the study protocol followed the ethical guidelines approved by the Dalian Medical University Animal Care and Use Committee.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Long Chen, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, No. 222 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116011, Liaoning Province, China. hailongchen2018@163.com
Received: December 6, 2019
Peer-review started: December 6, 2019
First decision: January 16, 2020
Revised: February 21, 2020
Accepted: March 10, 2020
Article in press: March 10, 2020
Published online: March 28, 2020
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a common acute abdominal inflammatory disease which can lead to multiple organ dysfunction syndromes including myocardial dysfunction. Qingyi decoction (QYD), a Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been used to treat acute pancreatitis in animal models. Previously we reported that QYD reduced lung injury and protected pulmonary function in patients with SAP.
Research motivation
The protective functions of Qingyi decoction against myocardial injuries induced by SAP will provide new therapeutic information on SAP.
Research objectives
To study the function and mechanism of QYD in the treatment of myocardial injuries induced by SAP.
Research methods
We established a SAP model with Sprague-Dawley rats. Echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function before the rats were euthanized. After euthanizing, hematoxylin and eosin staining of myocardial tissue was performed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to estimate the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling was carried out to assess apoptosis. Real-time PCR was used to determine STIM1 and Orai1 gene expression. STIM1 and Orai1 protein expression was analyzed by Western blot. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the location of STIM1 and Orai1 in myocardial tissue.
Research results
In the present study, our SAP model shows that QYD treatment effectively reduces SAP-induced myocardial injury (MI) associated morbidity and mortality. QYD treatment restores physiological heart function and reverses myocardial tissue damage and improves immunity in the SAP rat model. Our study shows that the STIM1/Orai1-SOCE pathway is mitigated by QYD treatment.
Research conclusions
QYD treatment is able to play a double role as a preventive and curative agent for myocardial injuries induced by acute severe pancreatitis via the STIM1/Orai1-SOCE pathway.
Research perspectives
This study provides insight into the function and mechanism of QYD in the treatment of SAP-induced MI in a rat model, suggesting that QYD might also be used in patients with SAP-induced MI.
