Involvement of the Endothelin Receptor Type A in the Cardiovascular Inflammatory Response Following Scorpion Envenomation

Figures

• 

  Figure 1. Androctonus australis hector (Aah) venom induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) production in sera in the presence or absence of the endothelin A (ETA) receptor inhibitor. Data are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) (n = 3). ** p ˂ 0.01, *** p ˂ 0.001 compared with control; # p ˂ 0.05, ## p ˂ 0.01 compared with envenomed animals.

• 

  Figure 2. Aah venom induced neutrophil infiltration and gelatinase overexpression in the presence or absence of the ETA receptor antagonist. (A) Activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the cardiac and aortic homogenates. (B) Expression of metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 into cardiac and aortic tissue homogenates of mice. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 3). * p ˂ 0.05, ** p ˂ 0.01, compared with control group; ## p ˂ 0.01 compared to envenomed animals.

• 

  Figure 3. Aah venom induced oxidative stress imbalance with or without BQ123, the ETA receptor antagonist pretreatment. (A) Nitrite levels, (B) H2O2 amounts, (C) MDA levels, (D) level of glutathione (GSH), and (E) activity of catalase in homogenates of the heart and the aorta. Values are represented as the mean ± SEM (n = 3). * p ˂ 0.05, ** p ˂ 0.01, *** p ˂ 0.001 compared with controls; # p ˂ 0.05, ## p ˂ 0.01, ### p ˂ 0.001 compared with envenomed animals.

• 

  Figure 4. Evaluation of the cardiac function. (A) Histological analysis of the myocardium (A’: control, A’’: envenomed or A’’’: pretreated of envenomed mice with the ETA receptor antagonist). H: hemorrhage, Htrph: hypertrophy, IC: immune cell, IE: interstitial edema, MF: myocardial fiber, N: nuclei. (B) Enzyme activities of some cardiac markers in the sera and the cardiac homogenates (B’ control, B’’ envenomed mice, B’’’ mice pretreated with the ETA receptor antagonist). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 3). * p ˂ 0.05, ** p ˂ 0.01, *** p ˂ 0.001 compared with control group; ## p ˂ 0.01, ### p ˂ 0.001 compared with envenomed animals, NS: non-significant.

• 

  Figure 5. Histological sections of aorta of control and envenomed animals, in the presence and absence of BQ123, 24 h after envenoming. Thin sections of 5 μm. (A) Control. (B) Aortic tissue of mice injected with scorpion venom. (C) Aortic tissue of envenomed mice pretreated with BQ123, the ETA receptor antagonist. A: adventice, EL: elastic lamellae, Htrp: hypertrophy, IC: immune cell, In: intima; Ln: lumen M: media; SMC: smooth muscle cells. Hematoxylin–eosin stain, A, B, C magnification 400×. A′, B′, C′ magnification 1000×.