| Abstract: | AIM: To observe the effect of simvastatin on myocardial tissue after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and its mechanism. METHODS: A rat model of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury was prepared by clamping the bilateral renal arteries for 45 min. The rats (n=36) were randomly divided into sham operation group, renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) group and simvastatin group with 12 rats in each group. The content of serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and myocardial tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), the myocardial activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the myocardial protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected. RESULTS: Compared with sham operation group, the content of SCr, BUN and myocardial MDA, and the myocardial activity of LDH and CK in I/R group were significantly increased (P<0.05), and the activity of SOD was significantly decreased (P<0.05). Compared with I/R group, the content of SCr, BUN and myocardial MDA, and the myocardial activity of LDH and CK in simvastatin group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while SOD activity was enhanced (P<0.05). The protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in sham operation group was less than that in I/R group (P<0.05), and the protein level of Bax in simvastatin group was significantly lower than that in I/R group (P<0.05), while the protein level of Bcl-2 was increased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Simvastatin has a protective effect on the myocardium of the rats with renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the protective mechanism may be related to the elimination of free radicals by simvastatin, increase in the protein expression of Bcl-2 and decrease in the protein expression of Bax. |
