Acetylcholine from vagal stimulation protects cardiomyocytes against ischemia and hypoxia involving additive non-hypoxic induction of HIF-1α

Electrical stimulation of the vagal efferent nerve improves the survival of myocardial infarcted rats. However, the mechanism for this beneficial effect is unclear. We investigated the effect of acetylcholine (ACh) on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α using rat cardiomyocytes under normoxia and hypoxia. ACh posttranslationally regulated HIF-1α and increased its protein level under normoxia. ACh increased Akt phosphorylation, and wortmannin or atropine blocked this effect. Hypoxia-induced caspase-3 activation and mitochondrial membrane potential collapse were prevented by ACh. Dominant-negative HIF-1α inhibited the cell protective effect of ACh. In acute myocardial ischemia, vagal nerve stimulation increased HIF-1α expression and reduced the infarct size. These results suggest that ACh and vagal stimulation protect cardiomyocytes through the PI3K/Akt/HIF-1α pathway.