AAV9-mediated CIRP gene transfer protects against cardiac dysfunction and remodelling in a rat model of myocardial infarction

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) is a stress–response protein that has been shown to protect cardiomyocytes under a variety of stress conditions from apoptosis. Our recent study showed that the expression of CIRP protein in the heart was downregulated in patients with heart failure and an animal model of ischaemia heart failure, but its role in heart failure is still unknown. The present study aimed at evaluating the potential role of CIRP on the heart in an animal model of myocardial infarction (MI). MI model of rats was induced by the ligation of the left coronary artery. CIRP overexpression was mediated by direct intracardiac injection of adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) vectors carrying a CIRP coding sequence with a cardiac-specific promoter before the induction of the MI model. The effects of CIRP elevation on MI-induced heart were analysed through echocardiographic, pathological and molecular analysis. Our results showed that the intracardiac injection of AAV9 successfully mediated CIRP upregulation in cardiomyocytes. Upregulation of cardiac CIRP prevented MI-induced cardiac dysfunction and adverse remodelling, coupled with the reduced inflammatory response in the heart. Collectively, these results demonstrated the beneficial role of intracellular CIRP on the heart and suggest that CIRP may be a therapeutic target in ischaemic heart disease.