Atorvastatin attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in rats

Cardiotoxicity is one of the negative effects of doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline treatment that works well. Beyond decreasing cholesterol, atorvastatin (ATOR) has shown pleiotropic benefits, including cardioprotective qualities. There were four groups used: control, ATOR-treated, DOX-treated, and DOX/ATOR-treated. For a month, DOX (4 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally once a week, and ATOR (20 mg/kg) was administered daily in addition to DOX injections. Biochemical analysis of serum cardiac biomarkers and inflammatory mediators were used to evaluate heart function and injury. Elevated cardiac biomarkers show that the DOX treatment caused severe heart damage. In the rats given DOX, treatment with the ATOR considerably decreased cardiotoxicity and enhanced cardiac functioning. a notable reduction in the cardiac expression levels of the p53 and TGF-β1 genes in the DOX-injected group receiving ATOR treatment. Rats given DOX were treated with ATOR, which significantly increased the expression of the Smad-7 and Mdm-2 genes in the heart. According to these results, ATOR may be a useful supplemental treatment to lessen the cardiotoxic side effects of DOX.