Preferred Label : Flumazenil Cardioprotection Pathway;
NCIt related terms : Cardiac Protection Against ROS;
Alternative definition : BIOCARTA: Flumazenil is a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist. It is used clinically
to reverse the effects of benzodiazepines in conscious sedation, general anesthesia,
and management of suspected benzodiazepine overdose. Kochs and colleagues reported
that flumazenil might be beneficial in protecting against cerebral ischemia. Rapid
administration of flumazenil produced minimal coronary and left ventricular hemodynamic
responses. Thus this agent may be a potential candidate for clinical application in
patients with ischemic heart diseases if it can mimic preconditioning to protect the
heart. The study by Zhang and Yao indicates that flumazenil mimics preconditioning
in cardiomyocytes via the generation of H2O2 as the reactive oxygen species (ROS).
H2O2 opens mitochondrial KATP channels and inhibits GABA receptors via protein kinase
C-epsilon in cardiomyocytes inducing ischemic preconditioning. This signal transduction
and preconditioning protects ischemic cardiomyocytes. Zhang et al. indicate that the
potential beneficial effects of Allitridum appear to mimic the same effects as flumazenil,
to precondition cardiomyocytes, via the stimulation of PKC. Allitridum is an extract
of garlic taken as a medicine in China for over 3000 years. (This definition may be
outdated - see the DesignNote.);
NCIt note : The BIOCARTA Definition (ALT_DEFINITION) for this pathway concept was provided by
BioCarta. This property was not created by, nor is it maintained by the NCI Thesaurus
staff. Additionally, BioCarta is no longer updating its pathway data; thus, the BIOCARTA
Definition might be outdated or inaccurate. Please see the Terms and Conditions for
Use at http://www.biocarta.com/.;
Biocarta ID : h_flumazenilPathway;
Origin ID : C39081;
UMLS CUI : C1517222;
Semantic type(s)
- has_gene_product_element
- pathway_has_gene_element
