Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of pioglitazone on the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
gamma co-activator lα (PGC-lα) in rat myocardium following myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods
Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into 4 equal groups, namely I/R group, pioglitazone (5 mg/kg daily) group,
pioglitazone (10 mg/kg daily) group, and pioglitazone (10 mg/kg) + peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ
(PPARγ)-specific antagonist GW9662 group. Myocardial I/R injury was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending
coronary artery for 30 min and reperfusion for 120 min. Myocardial apoptosis following I/R injury was examined with TUNEL
assay; RT-PCR and Western blotting were employed to detect the expression of PGC-lα mRNA and protein, respectively.
Results Pioglitazone treatment significantly suppressed myocardial apoptosis (21.4%±8.8%、17.3%±8.7%、40.1%±12.3%, P<0.05)
following I/R injury and up-regulated myocardial PGC-lα expression at both the mRNA and protein levels (P<0.05), but these
effects were antagonized by GW9662 (P<0.05). Conclusion Pioglitazone can inhibit myocardial apoptosis induced by I/R injury
and up-regulate myocardial PGC-lα expression, and these effects are mediated by PPARγ.