DL-3-n-butylphthalide protects H9c2 cardiomyoblasts from ischemia/reperfusion injury by regulating HSP70 expression via PI3K/AKT pathway activation

Exp Ther Med. 2021 Sep;22(3):1008. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10441. Epub 2021 Jul 15.

Abstract

DL-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) is commonly used to treat ischemic strokes due to its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study aimed to examine the protective effects of NBP on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) by establishing a MIRI model in H9c2 cells. Cell viability assay using Cell Counting Kit-8, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity and lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde (MDA) content were assessed to detect cell activity, degree of cell injury and oxidative stress reaction. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to quantify the expression of inflammatory factors in H9c2 cells. Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the protein expression of PI3K/AKT and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). The present results indicated that NBP significantly increased cell viability during ischemia-reperfusion. Moreover, NBP inhibited the release of LDH and the production of MDA. NBP treatment also significantly decreased the expression of inflammatory factors at the mRNA level. Additionally, NBP activated the PI3K/AKT pathway and upregulated the expression of HSP70 compared with cells in the MIRI model. LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, reversed the protective effects of NBP and suppressed the expression of HSP70. The present study demonstrated that NBP protected H9c2 cells from MIRI by regulating HSP70 expression via PI3K/AKT pathway activation.

Keywords: H9c2 cells; PI3K/AKT; dl-3-n-butylphthalide; heat shock protein 70; myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Grants and funding

Funding: The present work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 81870593) and Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (grant nos. ZR2018MH008 and ZR2019PH037).