Liqi Huoxue Dripping Pill protects ischemia and reperfusion-induced myocardial injury through mechanism involving inhibition of necroptosis in rat.

Liqi Huoxue Dripping Pill (LHDP), a traditional Chinese herbal formulation, has been shown in recent studies to possess cardioprotective effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of LHDP on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) in rats and their underlying mechanisms. MIRI model rats were administered varying doses of LHDP or Necrostin-1 (Nec-1s, an inhibitor of necroptosis) for 7 days. Echocardiography was performed to observe ventricular remodeling and systolic function. The infarct and fibrosis sizes were evaluated by pathological staining. The serum inflammatory factor levels were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To investigate the effects of LHDP on necroptosis in I/R-treated hearts, we conducted analysis with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and Western blotting (WB). LHDP not only alleviated adverse ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction induced by I/R, but also reduced inflammatory factor levels the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Moreover, LHDP suppressed the expression of necroptosis-related molecules and these functions like Nec-1s. The study demonstrates that treatment with LHDP was conducive to reducing the inflammatory response and improving myocardial function following MIRI. The myocardial protective function of LHDP may be associated with the inhibition of necroptosis.