Effects of high-mobility group box 1 on the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3 proteins following hypoxia and reoxygenation injury in rat cardiomyocytes.

The mechanisms underlying autophagy during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion remain unclear. The present study investigated the relationship between high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) and autophagy in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were treated with recombinant HMGB1 (200 ng/L) or ammonium glycyrrhizinate (100 μM) at appropriate concentrations. Cell viabilities and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) activity levels were measured. HMGB1, LC3 and Beclin-1 expression were assessed by Western blot. The results demonstrated that HMGB1-induced myocardial cells have increased levels of Beclin-1 protein and even higher levels of LC3 protein, while HMGB1-inhibited myocardial cells have decreased levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 proteins. In addition, HMGB1 induction significantly increased LDH and CK levels in the cell culture medium; the inhibition of HMGB1 significantly reduced LDH and CK expression in cardiomyocyte culture medium. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that HMGB1 is able to regulate Beclin-1 and LC3 levels following hypoxia and reoxygenation injury in rat cardiomyocytes.