Ginsenoside Rg1 ameliorates diabetic cardiomyopathy by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress‐induced apoptosis in a streptozotocin‐induced diabetes rat model

摘要

Ginsenoside Rg1 has been demonstrated to have cardiovascular protective effects. However, whether the cardioprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 are mediated by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced apoptosis remain unclear. In this study, among 80 male Wistar rats, 15 rats were randomly selected as controls; the remaining 65 rats received a diet rich in fat and sugar content for 4?weeks, followed by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 40?mg/kg) to establish a diabetes model. Seven days after STZ injection, 10 rats were randomly selected as diabetic model (DM) controls, 45 eligible diabetic rats were randomized to three treatment groups and administered ginsenoside Rg1 in a dosage of 10, 15 or 20?mg/kg/day, respectively. After 12?weeks of treatment, rats were killed and serum samples obtained to determine cardiac troponin (cTn)-I. Myocardial tissues were harvested for morphological analysis to detect myocardial cell apoptosis, and to analyse protein expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and Caspase-12. Treatment with ginsenoside Rg1 (10–20?mg/kg) significantly reduced serum cTnI levels compared with DM control group (all P