ISSN 2326-7267
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology ISSN: 2326-7267 Vol. 6 (12), pp. 001-009, December, 2017. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Aconitine mediates connexin43 and PKC phosphorylation status in cultured ventricular myocytes of neonatal rats
Yan Liu1, Man Liang1, Shi-wei Zhang2, Lan Zhou3, Chuan-hong Zhu4 and Liang Liu5*
1Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
2Zhongshan Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430033, China.
3Institute of Forensic Science, Bureau of Public Security for Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210024, China.
4Wuhan Municipla Public Security Bureau, Wuhan 430029, China.
5Key Laboratory of Evidence Science (China University of Political Science and Law), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100040, China.
Accepted 25 April, 2017
Abstract
Aconitine, a strong poisonous type of alkaloid, has a pharmaceutical effect in stimulating the membranes of cardiomyocyte. However, other effects of aconitine on the Connexin43 (Cx43) and PKC expression on cardiomyocyte are unknown. In this study, we investigated whether aconitine also mediates the phosphorylation status of Cx43 and PKC in cultured ventricular myocytes of neonatal rats. The band intensity of phosphorylated Cx43 and nonphosphorylated Cx43 in cultured and aconitine-treated cardiomyocytes were determined by Western blot analysis. The changes in phosphorylation status occurring in PKC in cultures were revealed by quantitative immunofluorescent microscopy. A decreased band intensity (0.37±0.04) of phosphorylated Cx43 (P-Cx43) and a concomitant increased band intensity (3.56 ± 0.65) of nonphosphorylated Cx43 (NP-Cx43) were found, compared to the controls (1.00 for P-Cx43 and NP-Cx43). It also revealed that, after aconitine treatment, the amount of phosphorylated PKC (P-PKC ) decreased significantly. Similar changes were revealed in phosphorylation status occurring in PKC in the cultures under the same treatment conditions. These observations suggest that aconitine not only induces dephosphorylation of Cx43, but also alters expression of P-PKC in cultured cardiomyocytes.
Key words: Aconitine, cardiomyocyte, connexin 43 (Cx43), protein kinase C- (PKC ), protein phosphorylation.