Danhong Injection Up-regulates miR-125b in Endothelial Exosomes and Attenuates Apoptosis in Post-Infarction Myocardium

• Published in: Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2023-12, Vol.29 (12), p.1099-1110
• Main Authors: Li, Si-nai, Liu, Zi-hao, Zhou, Ming-xue, Liu, Wei-hong, Lai, Xiao-lei, Li, Ping, Zhang, Lei, Shang, Ju-ju, Qiu, Sheng-lei, Lou, Yan, Tan, Yu-pei, Xing, Wen-long, Liu, Hong-xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article
• ISSN: 1672-0415; 1993-0402
• DOI: 10.1007/s11655-023-3647-7

Objective To investigate the involvement of endothelial cells (ECs)-derived exosomes in the anti-apoptotic effect of Danhong Injection (DHI) and the mechanism of DHI-induced exosomal protection against postinfarction myocardial apoptosis. Methods A mouse permanent myocardial infarction (MI) model was established, followed by a 14-day daily treatment with DHI, DHI plus GW4869 (an exosomal inhibitor), or saline. Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-induced ECs-derived exosomes were isolated, analyzed by miRNA microarray and validated by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR). The exosomes induced by DHI (DHI-exo), PBS (PBS-exo), or DHI+GW4869 (GW-exo) were isolated and injected into the peri-infarct zone following MI. The protective effects of DHI and DHI-exo on MI hearts were measured by echocardiography, Masson’s trichrome staining, and TUNEL apoptosis assay. The Western blotting and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to evaluate the expression levels of miR-125b/p53-mediated pathway components, including miR-125b, p53, Bak, Bax, and caspase-3 activities. Results DHI significantly improved cardiac function and reduced infarct size in MI mice ( P