Insulin-induced myocardial protection in isolated ischemic rat hearts requires p38 MAPK phosphorylation of Hsp27

Six hours after insulin treatment, hearts express heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and have improved contractile function after ischemia-reperfusion injury. In this study we examined hearts 1 h after insulin treatment for contractile function and for expression of Hsp70 and Hsp27. Adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to groups: 1) sham, 2) control, 3) insulin injected (200 μU/g body wt), 4) heat shock treated (core body temperature, 42°C for 15 min), and 5) heat shock and insulin treated. At 1 h after these treatments, hearts were isolated, equilibrated to Langendorff perfusion for 30 min, and then subjected for 30 min no-flow global ischemia (37°C) followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Insulin-treated hearts had significantly increased contractile function compared with control hearts. At 1 h after insulin treatment, a minimal change in Hsp70 and Hsp27 content were detected. By 3 h after insulin treatment, a significant increase in Hsp70, but not Hsp27, was detected by Western blot analysis. By immunoflu...