Phosphorylation of NF-κB and expression of inflammatory factors in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice

Objective To investigate the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and the expression of inflammatory factors after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice. Methods The model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion was established with 15 mice by coronary artery ligation and reperfusion as observation group, and another 15 mice were used as control group. Four hours after reperfusion injury, the mice were killed. The pathological changes of myocardial tissue were analyzed by HE staining, and the changes of NF-κB signal pathway were analyzed by Western blot. The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1 β and IL-6 in peripheral blood and myocardium were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results A large number of inflammatory cells infiltrated after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. Compared with the control group, the level of NF-κB in the nucleus and p-IκBα in the cytoplasm increased significantly (F values were 30.497 and 17.501 respectively, both P values< 0.05). The expression level of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the peripheral blood of the observation group were also significantly increased than the control group [(373.12±25.19) pg/mL vs (178.53±16.01) pg/mL, (919.43±29.88) pg/mL vs (119.15±18.09) pg/mL, (519.44±20.14) pg/mL vs (136.65±12.41) pg/mL, t values were 25.250, 88.735 and 62.670, respectively, all P values < 0.05]. The inflammatory factor TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the myocardium were significantly increased in the observation group compared with the control group[(100.52±10.23) pg/mL vs (19.32±4.87) pg/mL, (159.44±12.43) pg/mL vs (34.65±8.33)pg/mL, (159.39±14.29) pg/mL vs (20.48±8.32) pg/mL, t values were 27.757, 32.300 and 32.536, respectively, all P values< 0.05]. Conclusion NF-κB is activated after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion, which leads to the release of downstream inflammatory factors and increases the burden of myocardial cells. Key words: Myocardial ischemia reperfusion; Nuclear factor-kappa B; Inflammatory factors; Perfusion injury