Berberine (BBR) is routinely prescribed in many Asian countries to treat diarrhea. Evidence from both animal and clinical investigations suggests that BBR exerts diverse pharmacological activities, including antidiabetic, antineoplastic, antihypertensive, and antiatherosclerotic effects. This study aimed to explore the cardioprotective mechanisms of BBR and to elucidate the modulations between autophagy and mitochondrial function during hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) in H9c2 cells. The degree of autophagic flux was assessed by pretreating H9c2 cells with BBR prior to H/R exposure and measuring the expression levels of Beclin-1 and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled LC3B fusion proteins as well as the LC3II/LC3I ratio. The mitochondrial membrane potential (△Ψm) in H9c2 cells was evaluated by detecting rhodamine-123 fluorescence using flow cytometry. The results revealed that pretreatment with BBR upregulated autophagic flux and protected against the loss of the △Ψm in H9c2 cells subjected to H/R. We conclude that BBR attenuates mitochondrial dysfunction by inducing autophagic flux.

中文翻译：

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小檗碱通过在心肌缺氧/复氧损伤中诱导自噬通量来减轻线粒体功能障碍。


在许多亚洲国家，小檗碱 (BBR) 是治疗腹泻的常规处方。来自动物和临床研究的证据表明，BBR 具有多种药理活性，包括抗糖尿病、抗肿瘤、抗高血压和抗动脉粥样硬化作用。本研究旨在探讨 BBR 的心脏保护机制，并阐明 H9c2 细胞缺氧/复氧（H/R）期间自噬和线粒体功能之间的调节。通过在 H/R 暴露之前用 BBR 预处理 H9c2 细胞并测量 Beclin-1 和绿色荧光蛋白 (GFP) 标记的 LC3B 融合蛋白的表达水平以及 LC3II/LC3I 比率来评估自噬通量的程度。使用流式细胞仪检测罗丹明-123荧光来评估H9c2细胞中的线粒体膜电位（△Ψm）。结果表明，BBR 预处理可上调 H/R 处理的 H9c2 细胞的自噬通量，并防止 ΔΨm 丢失。我们得出结论，BBR 通过诱导自噬流减轻线粒体功能障碍。