Osthole ameliorates acute myocardial infarction in rats by decreasing the expression of inflammatory-related cytokines, diminishing MMP-2 expression and activating p-ERK.

Osthole, the active constituent of Cnidium monnieri extracts, has been shown to have a diverse range of pharmacological properties. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of osthole in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The rats with AMI were treated with 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg of osthole or the vehicle for 4 weeks. The infarct size of the rats with AMI was measured, and casein kinase (CK), the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) activities in the rats with AMI were analyzed using commercially available kits. The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor‑α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 levels in whole blood from rats with AMI were also detected using commercially available kits. The levels of Toll-like receptors 2/4 (TLR2/4) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1/2 (NOD1/2) were also detected by RT-qPCR. Moreover, the protein expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), as well as matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were all assayed by western blot analysis. Our results revealed that osthole markedly reduced the infarct size, and the levels of CK, CK-MB, LDH and cTnT in the rats with AMI, and that these cardioprotective effects may be associated with the inhibition of inflammatory reactions, the reduction in MMP-2 activity and the activation of MAPK cascades.