Activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway underlies a novel inhibitory role of ring finger protein 182 in ventricular remodeling after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is a major cause of cardiovascular disease, leading to mortality and disability associated with coronary occlusion worldwide. A correlation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway has been observed with brain damage resulting from myocardial ischemia. Therefore, by establishing MIRI rat model, this study aimed to explore whether ring finger protein 182 (RNF182) regulates the mTOR signaling pathway affecting MIRI. Initially, MIRI rat model was successfully established, followed by either treatment of shRNF182 or phosphoesterase (PITE) (inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway). Then, the serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) were determined, followed by detection of myocardial infarct sizes and myocardial cell apoptosis. Moreover, the levels of related genes/proteins were determined to further determine the mechanisms of RNF182 in MIRI. First, RNF182 was upregulated in MIRI. Another key observation of this study was that rats with shRNF182 presented with downregulated SOD, GSH-Px, and MDA in serum, accompanied by decreased levels of LVEF, LVFS, LVSP, and LVEDP. In addition, both reduced myocardial infarct sizes and apoptosis of myocardial cells were observed after silencing RNF182. Furthermore, silencing of the RNF182 was observed to downregulate Bcl 2-associated X and cysteine proteinase 3 but upregulate mTOR, ribosome protein subunit 6 kinase 1, eukaryotic elongation factor 2, and B-cell lymphoma-2. Importantly, the effects of RNF182 silencing were reversed after PITE treatment. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that RNF182 silencing can prevent ventricular remodeling in rats after MIRI by activating the mTOR signaling pathway.