Qiliqiangxin regulates the balance between tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-10 and improves cardiac function in rats with myocardial infarction

The study investigated the effects of traditional Chinese drug Qiliqiangxin on cardiac function and the expression of pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α/IL-10 in rats with myocardial infarction (MI). Rats with MI were randomly divided into drug-treated group (MI-Q) and control group (MI-C) compared with sham-operated group (S). Rats in the MI-Q group were treated with crude drug of oral Qiliqiangxin 24 h after operation at the dosage of 4 g/kg/day for 4 weeks, while in MI-C group and S group were treated with normal saline at the same time. Echocardiography and hemodynamic parameters, histopathologic changes and the expression of myocardial cytokines including TNF-α and IL-10 were assessed 4 weeks after the drug therapy. The results indicated that rats of the MI-C group exhibited decreased cardiac function and increased ratio of TNF-α/IL-10 which principally secreted by myocardium compared with those of the S group and Qiliqiangxin treatment significantly improved cardiac function and histopathologic changes with down-regulated ratio of TNF-α/IL-10. These data suggests that Qiliqiangxin may improve cardiac function of rats with MI through regulation the balance between TNF-α and IL-10.