Effects of Epinephrine on Inflammation-Related Gene Expressions in Cultured Rat Cardiomyocytes

Epinephrine, a non-specific adrenergic agonist, is one of the most commonly used inotropes perioperatively. Recent studies have shown that inflammatory response in cardiac surgery could result in hypoperfusion, dysrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, and other pathophysiological alterations in the postoperative period. These alterations might be contributing to the adverse clinical outcome. Although epinephrine has been shown to have effects on the immune system, how epinephrine affects inflammatory response is unclear. We hypothesized that epinephrine exposure may alter the inflammatory response which may potentially contribute to the adverse clinical outcomes. We used cultured rat cardiomyocytes (H9C2) with epinephrine exposure in this study. The expression of mRNA for inflammation-related genes was quantitated for the comparison of experimental group (with epinephrine) and control group (without epinephrine). The results demonstrated significant changes of inflammation-related gene expressions in cardiomyocytes after epinephrine administration. The clinical implications of the gene expression changes in cardiomyocytes are unclear.