Recent studies have revealed that geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (GGPPS), a key enzyme involved in protein prenylation, plays a critical role in postnatal heart growth by regulating cardiomyocyte size. However, the role of GGPPS in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MIR) injury is still not clear. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of GGPPS on MIR injury in H9c2 cells subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) to mimic MIR. Prior to HR, the cells were transfected with GGPPS, shGGPPS, or shGFP. The results showed that cell viability was reduced, and cell injury and cell apoptosis were increased as a result of overexpression of GGPPS. Knockdown of GGPPS improved cell viability, and decreased cell injury and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, overexpression of GGPPS increased Rac1 activity and ROS generation, while GGPPS silencing decreased Rac1 activity and ROS generation. Based on these findings, we propose that the alteration of GGPPS expression changed the Rac1 activity and ROS production, and finally led to the different severity of HR-induced injury in H9c2 cells. These findings indicate that GGPPS might be a potential target in preventing H9c2 cells from HR-induced injury.
Keywords: NADPH oxidases; Rac1; Reactive oxygen species.