Protective effect and possible mechanisms of salvianolate in diabetic cardiomyopathy

Objective To explore salvianolate protective effect and the possible mechanism of diabetic cardiomyopathy in diabetic rats.Methods Forty rats were randomly divided into normal control,diabetic control group,low-dose salvianolate( 5 mg·kg- 1·d- 1) treatment group and high-dose salvianolate( 15 mg·kg- 1·d- 1) treatment group( n = 10),wherein the three groups( DC,HT,LT) diabetic animal models were induced by intraperitoneal injection streptozotocin( STZ). After the models were constructed successfully,in treatment group salvianolate was given by intraperitoneal injection,NC and DC rats were given saline. Eight weeks later,heart function was detected by Doppler echocardiography,and transferase-mediated nick end labeling( TUNEL method) was used to detect cardiac myocyte apoptosis,and immunohistochemical staining used to detect the level of Bcl-2,Caspase-3. Results Compared with NC group,DM group( PC)rat cardiac myocyte apoptosis was significantly increased( P 0. 05); Bcl-2 expression was decreased( P 0. 05); Caspase-3 expression was significantly increased( P 0. 05). In treatment group,compared with the DM group,the number of apoptotic cells reduced( P 0.05),Bcl-2 expression increased( P 0. 05),Caspase-3 expression diminished( P 0. 05). After the salvianolate treatment,which can effectively improve heart function,the role of HT group was more obvious than that of the LT group,with statistically significant difference( P 0. 05). Conclusions The heart function of diabetic control group is significantly decreased. Salvianolate can improve the heart function by enhancing the expression of Bcl-2,and inhibiting Caspase-3 expression,and reduce myocardial apoptosis,which is more obvious in high-dose group.