Vanillic Acid Alleviates Acute Myocardial Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress

Abstract

Oxidative stress is an important factor of myocardial hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury. Our research focuses on how to reduce the cardiac toxicity caused by oxidative stress through natural plant extracts. Vanillic acid (VA) is a phenolic compound found in edible plants and rich in the roots of <i>Angelica sinensi</i>s. Experimental studies have provided evidence for this compound's effectiveness in cardiovascular diseases; however, its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, molecular mechanisms related to the protective effects of VA were investigated in H9c2 cells in the context of H/R injury. The results showed that pretreatment with VA significantly increased cell viability and decreased the percentage of apoptotic cells, as well as lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase activity, in the supernatant, accompanied by reduced levels of reactive oxygen species and reduced caspase-3 activity. VA pretreatment also restored mitochondrial membrane potentials. Moreover, preincubation with VA significantly attenuated mitochondrial permeability transition pore activity. VA administration upregulated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase <i>α</i>2 (AMPK<i>α</i>2) protein expression, and interestingly, pretreatment with AMPK<i>α</i>2-siRNA lentivirus effectively attenuated the cardioprotective effects of VA in response to H/R injury.