Aloperine Alleviates Myocardial Injury Induced by Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion by Activating the ERK1/2/β-catenin Signaling Pathway

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury can cause severe cardiac damage. Aloperine is a quinolizidine alkaloid found in the leaves and seeds of Sophora alopecuroides L. It has been recognized that aloperine has organ-protective properties; however, its role in cardioprotection is poorly characterized. This study aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of aloperine against myocardial I/R injury in vivo.

Adult male Sprague‒Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, control, and aloperine groups. All rats except for the sham-operated rats were subjected to 45 min of myocardial ischemia (by left anterior descending ligation) followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Aloperine (10 mg/kg) was given intravenously at the onset of reperfusion. The cardioprotective effects of aloperine were evaluated by determining infarct size, hemodynamics, histological changes, cardiac biomarkers, and cardiac apoptosis.

Aloperine limited infarct size; improved hemodynamics; attenuated myocardial I/R-induced histological deterioration; decreased serum LDH, CK-MB, and α-HBDH levels; and inhibited apoptosis after myocardial I/R injury. Moreover, aloperine stimulated the phosphorylation of ventricular ERK1/2, which is a major module of MAPK signaling pathways. Furthermore, aloperine increased the ventricular expression levels of β-catenin. Pharmacological inhibition of ERK1/2 diminished aloperine-induced cardioprotection and blocked ERK1/2/β-catenin signaling.

These data support the cardioprotective effect of aloperine against myocardial I/R injury, which is mediated, at least in part, by the ERK1/2/β-catenin signaling pathway.