Effect of garlicin on viral myocarditis in mice

AIM: To investigate the effect of garlicin on mouse viral myocarditis and to explore the possible mechanisms. METHODS: Forty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, viral myocarditis group, low-dose garlicin group and high-dose garlicin group. The morphological changes of the myocardium were observed with HE staining. The levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK) were measured by colorimetric method. The protein levels of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-PARP and cleaved-caspase-8 in the myocardial tissues were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The morphological observation with HE staining showed that garlicin inhibited the necrosis of the myocardium and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Compared with viral myocarditis group, garlicin dose-dependently decreased the levels of LDL, AST and CK. Moreover, garlicin treatment decreased the protein levels of Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP, accompanied with an increase in Bcl-2 expression. However, garlicin had no effect on the protein level of cleaved-caspase-8. CONCLUSION: Garlicin effectively attenuates the myocardial damage in mice with viral myocarditis through inhibition of intrinsic apoptosis pathway.