The mechanism of positive effect of tanshinone IIA on cardiac hypertrophy

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect and the mechanism of tanshinone ⅡA(TSN) on the hypertrophy induced by angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ) in the primary culture of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.MethodsAs the index of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy,cellular protein content of cardiomyocyte was analysed with flow cytometric analysis.The proto-oncogene c-fos mRNA expression was assessed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and [Ca~ 2+]_I was measured by fluorescent spectromicroscope system.ResultsCellular protein content and proto-oncogene c-fos mRNA expression of cardiomyocytes and [Ca~ 2+]_I increased significantly after AngⅡ treatment,and TSN inhibited these effects of AngⅡ.ConclusionTSN can prevent the hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes induced by AngⅡ,which may relate to the decreased expression of proto-oncogene c-fos mRNA which resulted from decreased [Ca~ 2+]_I by TSN.