ABC | Volume 112, Nº2, February 2019

Original Article Arq Bras Cardiol. 2019; 112(2):154-162 Naderi et al Garlic and exercise increase cardiac angiogenesis Figure 4 – Effects of garlic treatment and voluntary exercise on angiogenesis in different experimental groups. The intensity of the staining was scored as: 0 (<10%); 1 (10-25%); 2 (25-50%); 3 (50-75%); and 4 (75-100%). The values represent means ± S.E.M for 7 animals. **p < 0.01 vs control group and $$$ p < 0.001 vs diabetes group. 3.5 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 2.5 1.5 0.5 Grade ** $$$ $$$ $$$ Control Diabetes Diabetes+Garlic Diabetes+Exercise Diabetes+Garlic+Exercise Figure 3 – Immunohistochemical detection of CD31 in myocardial vessels of different groups. Brown stained tissues show CD-31 immunostained endothelial cells in: (A) Control; (B) Diabetes; (C) Diabetes+Garlic; (D) Diabetes+Exercise; and (E) Diabetes+Garlic+Exercise. The intensity of immunostaining for CD31 (arrow head) decreased in the diabetes group compared to the control group. Garlic treatment and exercise alone or combined increased angiogenesis in diabetes compared to the diabetes group (Magnification was 400x). There is a variety of miRs in the heart tissue, and these tiny regulators are recognized as novel targets/drugs in numerous fields, including cardiology. 12 MiR-126 is known as an endothelial- specific miR that modulates angiogenesis in vivo. Several studies have shown miR-126 to support endothelial homeostasis and angiogenesis, 12,13,15 which is mediated by SPRED1 and PIK3R2 to promote VEGF signaling. 15 In addition, miR-126 activates survival kinases such as ERK and Akt by downregulating its targets and promoting the action of VEGF. 26 Osipova et al reported in their study that urinary miR-126 levels were reduced in the patients with diabetes; however, circulating miR-126 levels in plasma showed no significant difference. 1 158