Abstract
Myocardial infarction (MI) patients are at high risk of potential lethal arrhythmia. Gap junction and microRNA-1 (miR-1) are both arrhythmia generating conditions. The present study investigated whether Wenxin Granules (Wenxin-Keli, WXKL) could prevent potential lethal arrhythmia by improving gap junctions and miR-1 following MI. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into control, model, metoprolol, low dose WXKL, and high dose WXKL groups. The MI rat model was created by coronary artery ligation. Treatments were administrated intragastrically to the rats for 4 weeks. Conventional transmission electron microscopy was performed to observe the ultrastructure of gap junctions. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting were used to detect the expression of miR-1, protein kinase C (PKC), and related proteins. Additionally, a programmatic electrophysiological stimulation test was performed to detect the ventricular fibrillation threshold (VFT). WXKL protected the ultrastructure of the gap junctions and their constituent Cx43 by regulating miR-1 and PKC mediated signal transduction and increased the VFT significantly in the rat MI model. The results suggested that WXKL is an effective alternative medicine to prevent potentially lethal arrhythmia following MI.