system
Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Animals, Apoptosis, Biomarkers, Blood Pressure, C-Reactive Protein, Creatine Kinase, Disease Models, Animal, Heart Rate, Humans, In Situ Nick-End Labeling, Inflammation, Male, Myocardial Reperfusion Injury, Myocytes, Cardiac, Protein C, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Recombinant Proteins, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha.
user
Does recombinant human-activated protein C inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis in a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion? Context: Myocardial apoptosis is recognized as a major mechanism of cell death during ischemia-reperfusion. In this study, we assessed the hypothesis that activated protein C may have a cardioprotective effect via preventing apoptosis in a rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized, instrumented for hemodynamic measurements and ventilated mechanically. Twenty rats were subjected to 20 min of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and 2 h of reperfusion. They were randomly assigned to receive intravenous Ringer lactate (vehicle) or activated protein C (2 mg/kg/h) 10 min after occlusion and during reperfusion. The other 10 rats were sham-operated. At the end of the reperfusion period, serum samples were obtained for evaluation of creatine kinase, C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Apoptosis was measured quantitatively by the terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling method. Serum creatine kinase, C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha values and percentage of terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling- positive myocyte nuclei demonstrated negligible myocardial injury in sham-operated controls. During reperfusion, mean arterial pressures were significantly higher in activated protein C-treated rats than in the control group (68.2+/-10.3 vs. 55.4+/-11.6 mmHg, P=0.01). Number of apoptotic cells was significantly reduced from 47.7 to 24.8% with activated protein C administration (P=0.008). No difference was seen between activated protein C-treated and untreated animals with respect to creatine kinase, C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels.
assistant
Treatment with activated protein C significantly improved hemodynamics after ischemia-reperfusion and reduced ischemia-reperfusion-induced myocardial apoptosis in rats. Final Decision: yes