Abstract:Objective To investigate the specific molecular mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning (HBO-PC) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Methods HBO-PC and hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) models were performed in cardiomyocytes. Commercial kits were used to analyze the content of MDA, SOD, LDH, and NO. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of pro-/anti-apoptotic proteins, and the levels of protein kinase C ε (PKCε), caveolin (Cav)-3 and reperfusion injury salvage kinase (RISK) pathway related proteins. The combination of PKCε and Cav-3 was determined by co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining. At the same time, cardiomyocytes were treated with the inhibitors of PKC (Chelerythrine, CHE) and RISK pathway to confirm the mechanism of HBO-PC on myocardial IR injury. Results The HR model mimicked the process of IR injury. HBO-PC decreased the levels of MDA and LDH, caspase-3 activity and Bax expression, and increased the levels of SOD, NO and Bcl-2, which suggested that HBO-PC dampened myocardial cell apoptosis and IR injury. In addition, HPO-PC promoted the binding of PKCε to Cav-3 and up-regulated the levels of Cav-3, p-ERK1/2, p-Akt, p-PI3K and p-GSK3β; while CHE inhibited the effect of HPO-PC. RISK pathway inhibitors increased caspase-3 activity and Bax expression, reduced Bcl-2 expression, which showed RISK inhibitors attenuated the effect of HBO-PC on myocardial cell apoptosis. Conclusions HBO-PC may protect the heart from myocardial IR injury through regulating PKCε/Cav-3/RISK pathway and subsequently inhibiting myocardial cell apoptosis.