Effects of Tongxinluo on expression of apoptotic factors in cerebral tissues of hypoxic preconditioned mice

AIM: To observe the effects of Tongxinluo (TXL), a Chinese medicine, on hypoxic tolerance and expression of Bcl-associated X (Bax) and B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) in hypoxia-preconditioned mice. METHODS: The mice were randomly divided into groups of hypoxia preconditioning without (control group) or with TXL treatment (TXL group). The mice in TXL group were administered with TXL at dose of 1.52 g·kg^-1·d^-1 crude drug for 5 days. The mouse was exposed to normoxia (0 run, H₀) and acute repetitive hypoxia for 1-5 runs (H₁-H₅) by placing the animal in an air-sealed jar. The hypoxic environment was established in the jar through consumption of the oxygen by the respiration of the mouse. A gasp breath was regarded as the hypoxic tolerant limit of the mouse and the animal was then transferred to another new jar. The mouse was exposed to hypoxia in this way for 5 times. In each run of hypoxic exposure, the time of hypoxic tolerance was measured. Western blotting was used to measure the protein levels of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), Bax and Bcl-2 in the cerebral cortex. RESULTS: The hypoxic tolerance time in control and TXL groups was gradually increased run by run (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The protein levels of HIF-1α and Bcl-2 in the two groups were gradually increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Bax in control and TXL groups was significantly increased in H₁. After H₁, Bax was decreased run by run (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Compared with control group, the tolerance time, the expression of HIF-1α and Bcl-2 in the cerebral cortex in TXL group were increased in H₁,H₃ and H₅. However, the expression of Bax was lower than that in control group in every run. CONCLUSION: Hypoxia preconditioning makes the organism produce a strong adaptive response. The increase in Bcl-2 and the decrease in Bax may be involved in the mechanism of adaptation. TXL obviously increases the adaptive ability of the mice to hypoxia.