Survivin: A novel player in insulin cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury

►We found that myocardial SVV was up-regulated following I/R, possibly serving as a self-protective mechanism. ►Our data showed that treatment with insulin during reperfusion significantly increased myocardial SVV expression through a PI3K/Akt- and mTOR-dependent mechanism. ►RNAi-mediated SVV knockdown facilitated I/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis whereas SVV overexpression reduced SI/R-induced cardiomyocytes from apoptosis. ►Most importantly, SVV knockdown significantly blunted an insulin-induced anti-apoptotic effect.►Our study demonstrates that SVV is a novel player in insulin-induced cardioprotection in MI/R.