Impact of ethyl pyruvate on Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy in rats

Figures

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  Figure 1.. Results of echocardiography indicate that EP can improve the heart functions of rats damaged by ADR. (A) Two-dimensional (upper panel) and M-mode (lower panel) short-axis views of the left ventricle at the level of the papillary muscles in four different animals from the control (first), EP (second), ADR (third) and EP + ADR (last) groups, respectively. Results of (B) EF, (C) FS, (D) LVIDS and (E) ESV in the four groups. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups, *P<0.05 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin; EF, ejection fraction. FS, fractional shortening; LVIDS, left ventricular internal dimension systole; ESV, end systolic volume.

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  Figure 2.. Differential effects of ADR and EP on oxidative stress-related molecules. (A) SOD activity and (B) MDA levels in myocardial tissue. (C) Western blot results for Nox4 and Nox2 in each group, and quantified results for (D) Nox4 and (E) Nox2. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups, *P<0.05 vs. ADR group, $P<0.01 vs. control and EP groups, &P<0.01 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin; SOD, superoxide dismutase; MDA, malondialdehyde; Nox2, NADPH oxidase-2; Nox4, NADPH oxidase-4.

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  Figure 3.. EP reduces ADR-induced myocardial cell apoptosis. (A) Images of TUNEL staining in which the arrows point to apoptotic myocardial cells. (B) Statistical results for cardiomyocyte apoptosis rate in the ADR and EP + ADR groups. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups; *P<0.05 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin; TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling.

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  Figure 4.. Effect of EP on expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins. (A) Western blots of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax from myocardial tissue and the quantified expression levels of (B) caspase-3, (C) Bcl-2 and (D) Bax. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups, *P<0.05 vs. ADR group. &P<0.01 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin.

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  Figure 5.. Histological analyses of picrosirius red staining. (A) Images of stained tissue and (B) quantified collagen volume fraction. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups, *P<0.05 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin.

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  Figure 6.. Results of RT-PCR analysis. The mRNA level of (A) TGF-β1, (B) Colla1 and Colla3, (C) TIMP1 and TIMP2, (D) MMP2 and (E) MMP9, and the ratios of (F) MMP9/TIMP1 and (G) MMP2/TIMP2, respectively. #P<0.05 vs. control and EP groups, *P<0.05 vs. ADR group. EP, ethyl pyruvate; ADR, Adriamycin; TGFβ-1, transforming growth factor-β1; Colla1, collagen type 1 α 1; Colla3, collagen type 1 α 3; MMP2, matrix metalloproteinase-2; MMP9, matrix metalloproteinase-9; TIMP1, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1; TIMP2, inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2.