Pre- and postconditioning the heart with hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) against ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo: a systematic review and meta-analysis

摘要

Abstract Conditioning-like infarct limitation by enhanced level of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) has been demonstrated in many animal models of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) in vivo. We sought to evaluate the effect of H 2 S on myocardial infarction across in vivo pre-clinical studies of MIRI using a comprehensive systematic review followed by meta-analysis. Embase, Pubmed and Web of Science were searched for pre-clinical investigation of the effect of H 2 S on MIRI in vivo. Retained records (6031) were subjected to our pre-defined inclusion criteria then were objectively critiqued. Thirty-two reports were considered eligible to be included in this study and were grouped, based on the time of H 2 S application, into preconditioning and postconditioning groups. Data were pooled using random effect meta-analysis. We also investigated the possible impact of different experimental variables and the risk of bias on the observed effect size. Preconditioning with H 2 S ( n ?=?23) caused a significant infarct limitation of ??20.25% (95% CI ??25.02, ??15.47). Similarly, postconditioning with H 2 S ( n ?=?40) also limited infarct size by ??21.61% (95% CI ??24.17, ??19.05). This cardioprotection was also robust and consistent following sensitivity analyses where none of the pre-defined experimental variables had a significant effect on the observed infarct limitation. H 2 S shows a significant infarct limitation across in vivo pre-clinical studies of MIRI which include data from 825 animals. This infarct-sparing effect is robust and consistent when H 2 S is applied before ischemia or at reperfusion, independently on animal size or sulfide source. Validating this infarct limitation using large animals from standard medical therapy background and with co-morbidities should be the way forward.