Prolonged exercise and exercise training can adversely affect cardiac function in some individuals.
QiShenYiQi Pills (QSYQ), which are a compound Chinese medicine, have been previously shown to improve pressure overload-induced
cardiac hypertrophy. We hypothesized that QSYQ can ameliorate as well the
fatigue-induced
cardiac hypertrophy. This study was to test this hypothesis and underlying mechanism with a focus on its role in energy regulation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to establish exercise adaptation and
fatigue model on a motorized rodent treadmill. Echocardiographic analysis and heart function test were performed to assess heart systolic function. Food-intake
weight/body weight and heart
weight/body weight were assessed, and
hematoxylin and
eosin staining and immunofluorescence staining of myocardium sections were performed.
ATP synthase expression and activity and
ATP,
ADP, and
AMP levels were assessed using Western blot and ELISA. Expression of
proteins related to energy metabolism and IGF-1R signaling was determined using Western blot. QSYQ attenuated the food-intake
weight/body weight decrease, improved myocardial structure and heart function, and restored the expression and distribution of myocardial
connexin 43 after
fatigue, concomitant with an increased
ATP production and a restoration of metabolism-related
protein expression. QSYQ upgraded the expression of IGF-1R, P-AMPK/AMPK,
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α, nuclear respiratory factor-1, P-
phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/PI3K, and P-Akt/Akt thereby attenuated the dysregulation of IGF-1R signaling after
fatigue. QSYQ relieved
fatigue-induced
cardiac hypertrophy and enhanced heart function, which is correlated with its potential to improve energy metabolism by regulating IGF-1R signaling. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Prolonged exercise may impact some people leading to pathological
cardiac hypertrophy. This study using an animal model of
fatigue-induced
cardiac hypertrophy provides evidence showing the potential of
QiShenYiQi Pills, a novel
traditional Chinese medicine, to prevent the cardiac adaptive
hypertrophy from development to pathological
hypertrophy and demonstrates that this effect is correlated with its capacity for regulating energy metabolism through interacting with
insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor.