Fasudil reduces myocardial infarct size and apoptosis after I/R through leukocyte infiltration.

<p>Representative examples of myocardial infarction stained with Evans blue (EB) and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) 24 h after reperfusion (A). Infarct area is marked with yellow lines. Risk area is marked with white line. The area at risk (AAR) was expressed as a percentage of the left ventricle (LV) (B). Myocardial infarct size expressed as a percentage of AAR (C). Representative photographs of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining in heart tissues obtained from mice that were subjected to 30-min ischemia and 24-h reperfusion and treated with vehicle (V) or fasudil (F), neutrophil depletion, or neutrophil depletion + fasudil. Fasudil reduces the I/R-induced increase in the number of TUNEL-positive myocytes (D). Quantitative measurement of the percentage of apoptotic myocytes (E). Data represent means from at least 5 mice each. ** p<0.01, compared with I/R+V; ## p<0.01, compared with the sham-operated group.