Study on changes of Fas, p-BAD and caspase-8 expression in acute myocardial infarction rats treated by Guanxin decoction

Objective: To study the expression change of Fas, p-BAD and caspase-8 in rats with Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) treated with Guanxin decoction. Methods: 45 male SD rats were randomly divided into control group, decoction group and shamoperated group. The sham-operated group were treated only with thread without ligation, while rat model of acute myocardial infarction in the other 2 groups were made by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery, arched ST segment elevation in electrocardiogram suggested that the model was successful. The decoction group was treated with Guanxin decoction 14 g/kg daily, the shamoperated group and the control group were given distilled water 2 ml/d at the same time. The expression change of apoptotic genes Fas, p-BAD and caspase-8 in the sham-operated group (10 rats), the mixture group (13 rats) and the control group (10 rats) were compared. Results: After the acute myocardial infarction, the positive expression of Fas, p-BAD and caspase-8 decreased in the decoction group, and the difference was statistically significant compared with the model group (t=4.885, P=0.036; t=7.115, P=0.001; t=5.003, P=0.044). Conclusion: Guanxin decoction can reduce the positive expression of Fas, p-BAD and caspase-8, and improve the cardiac function of myocardial infarction rats