The present study was aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of clopidogrel against isoproterenol induced Myocardial Infarction (MI) in rats. Rats were pretreated with Clopidogrel (25 mg/kg/day, p.o) for a period of 14 days. ISO (85mg/kg, s.c) was injected on 13th and 14th day of the treatment to induce MI. rats pretreated with clopidogrel significantly diminished the myocardial enzymes including creatine kinase (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Decrease in ST segment elevation as well as amelioration in left ventricular dysfunction were also found in clopidogrel-treated groups. In addition, it also prevented alteration in the levels of electrolytes. Treatment with clopidogrel remarkably inhibited the protein level of caspase-3 in infarcted rats by ELISA analysis. Furthermore, clopidogrel exhibited down regulation in mRNA of IL-6, TNF-α and histopathological changes. The finding suggests that the cardioprotection of clopidogrel associate with its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties in myocardial infarction of rats.
