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Anti‐inflammatory effects of eplerenone on viral myocarditis
Author(s) -
Xiao Jie,
Shimada Miho,
Liu Wenling,
Hu Dayi,
Matsumori Akira
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of heart failure
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.149
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1879-0844
pISSN - 1388-9842
DOI - 10.1093/eurjhf/hfp023
Subject(s) - eplerenone , medicine , mineralocorticoid receptor , inflammation , fibrosis , myocarditis , aldosterone , cardiac fibrosis , viral myocarditis , endocrinology , spironolactone , proteases , pharmacology , immunology , biology , enzyme , biochemistry
Aims Inflammation contributes to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. The aim of this study was to investigate whether eplerenone, a selective aldosterone receptor antagonist, has anti‐inflammatory effects on viral myocarditis. Methods and results Four‐week‐old inbred male DBA/2 mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 10 plaque‐forming units (pfu) of the encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus. Mice were fed with standard chow (control) or with chow containing 2.5 mg/kg of eplerenone, starting either on day 0 (inoculation) or day 7. Survival at 28 days was significantly higher in the mice which started eplerenone treatment on day 0 (35 vs. 15% in controls, each n = 40, P < 0.05). The area of myocardial fibrosis on day 28 was significantly smaller in the eplerenone‐treated mice than in controls (19.8 ± 2.6%, n = 14, vs. 33.4 ± 5.4%, n = 6, mean ± SEM, P < 0.05). Gene expression of mouse mast cell proteases‐4 and ‐5, matrix metalloproteinase‐9, and type I procollagen on day 6 after EMC virus inoculation was significantly decreased in the hearts of eplerenone‐treated mice. Conclusion These results suggest that eplerenone has anti‐inflammatory effects, and exerts its beneficial effects on viral myocarditis by suppression of genes related to mast cells and cardiac remodelling in the hearts of mice.