Abstract

Background:

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death worldwide. Hypoxia-mediated apoptosis in cardiomyocytes is a major cause of cardiovascular disorders. Treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein has been tested but operational difficulties have limited its use. However, with the advancements of gene therapy, interest has risen in VEGF-based gene therapy in cardiovascular disorders. However, the precise mechanism by which VEGF replenishment rescues post-hypoxia damage in cardiomyocytes is not known.

Objectives:

To investigate the effect of post-hypoxia VEGF121 expression using neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Methods:

Cardiomyocytes isolated from neonatal rats were used to establish an in vitro model of hypoxia-induced cardiac injury. The effect of VEGF overexpression, alone or in combination with small-molecule inhibitors targeting calcium channel, calcium sensitive receptors (CaSR), and calpain on cell growth and proliferation on hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte injury were determined using an MTT assay, TUNEL staining, Annexin V/PI staining, lactate dehydrogenase and caspase activity. For statistical analysis, a value of P<0.05 was considered to be significant.

Results:

The effect of VEGF121 was found to be mediated by CaSR and calpain but was not dependent on calcium channels.

Conclusions:

Our findings, even though using an in vitro setting, lay the foundation for future validation and pre-clinical testing of VEGF-based gene therapy in cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords:
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Calcium Sensing Receptors; Cardiovascular Disease