Effect of Ghrelin on Aldolase Gene Expression in the Heart of Chronic Hypoxic Rat

Background: chronic hypoxia causes apoptosis of cardiac myocytes, however, energy production by anaerobic glycolysis protects myocardium against hypoxia injuries. aldolase a is a well-characterised key enzyme of the glycolysis pathway . ghrelin, a 28-aminoacid peptide, synthesizes in the stomach and has protective roles in cardiovascular systems and also affects metabolic pathways. objectives: therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ghrelin on aldolase a gene expression after chronic hypoxia in the rat hearts materials and methods: twenty four adult male wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. hypoxic rats with saline or ghrelin treatment were placed in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (o2 11 %), for two weeks. controls remained in room air. aldolase a gene expression was measured by real-time rt-pcr. results: the transcriptiom rate of aldolase a in hypoxic animals did not change significantly compared to negative control ones. during chronic hypoxia, ghrelin treatment increased the amount of heart aldolase a gene expression compared to negative controls (p = 0.029). hypoxic animals that were treated with ghrelin were significantly more polycythemic than the controls and even hypoxic with saline treated rats (p < 0.001). conclusions: it seems that ghrelin interferes in the cardiac metabolism through upregulation of glycolytic enzymes. in other words, it may protect heart from possible hypoxia induced damages.