Evaluating the Cardioprotective Effect of MK-677 with a Hypoxic Model in H9c2 Cells

Growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) are a class of molecules that have an important role in not only appetite regulation but also cardioprotective effects and angiogenesis in cardiac tissues. GHSs act as an agonist to growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHSRs) in the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and cardiac tissues leading to the activation of anti-apoptotic intracellular pathways such as Akt and MAPK. MK-677 is a non peptidyl GHS that is commonly used as a performance enhancing drug for increased muscle mass and recovery. This study aims to validate the cardioprotective effect of MK-677 with a hypoxic model in H9c2 cells by characterizing the impact on cell survival and morphology. Previous research indicates the cardioprotective effect of ghrelin, peptidyl GHSs such as hexarelin, and non peptidyl MK-677. This study aims to validate the cardioprotective effect of MK-677 using a novel low cost hypoxic cell culture model. Using the H9c2 cardiomyocyte cell line, the cardioprotective effect of MK-677 was investigated through cell culture, cell viability and morphology analysis. This study also aims to determine if the low cost hypoxic cell culture model is effective in maintaining a sterile and hypoxic environment for cell culture. The results of this study prompts further investigation of the cardioprotective effects of MK-677 and other growth hormone secretagogues.