Late onset oral treatment with tranilast following large myocardial infarction has no beneficial effects on cardiac remodeling and mortality in rats

Tranilast (Tra) reduces intracardiac interstitial fibrosis in the animal models of hypertensive heart failure and diabetic cardiomyopathy by inhibiting cardiac fibroblasts. The present study examined whether Tra has long-term effects on the cardiac remodeling in the remote area of the left ventricle (LV) following myocardial infarction (MI) in the rat. Treatment with Tra (n=40; 150 mg/kg twice daily) or placebo (Plac, n=36) was started at day 28 after induction of a large MI or sham-operation (ShO, n=18) in female Lewis rats. Collagen content was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Large MI led to a significant hypertrophy of the two ventricles, a severe dilatation of the LV and a shift of the chamber stiffness variables in the pressure volume curves. The six-month survival rates were Tra, 62.5%; Plac, 75%; and ShO, 100%. No significant difference was identified between Tra and Plac regarding survival rate and collagen content. Treatment with the anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic drug, Tra, started four weeks after the induction of a large MI in the rat, did not attenuate or positively influence remodeling in chronic ischemic heart failure and survival. Further studies are required to explore the effects of Tra on cardiac myocytes post-MI in more detail.