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Immunoregulatory Effects of Carvedilol on Rat Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis
Author(s) -
Liu H.,
Li W.,
Gu W.,
Kong Y.,
Yang N.,
Chen L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2009.02347.x
Subject(s) - carvedilol , myocarditis , medicine , blood pressure , heart rate , antagonist , hemodynamics , diastole , endocrinology , cardiology , receptor , heart failure
The cardioprotective effects of carvedilol were studied in a rat model of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM). After immunization, rats were orally administered 10 mg/kg/day carvedilol (group C, n = 15) or a vehicle control (Group V, n = 12) for 3 weeks. On day 21, echocardiography and haemodynamic parameters, myocarditis areas, and cytokine concentrations were measured. Serum carvedilol concentrations ranged from 10.5 ± 2.6 to 31.7 ± 9.3 ng/ml over a 24 h period on day 20. Carvedilol decreased the myocarditis areas (23.07 ± 1.6 versus 33.65 ± 2.71%, P < 0.0001). The left ventricular fractional shortening and the absolute value of +d P /d t or –d P /d t were significantly higher in Group C. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular end‐diastolic pressure and central venous pressure were significantly lower in Group C. The serum and mRNA levels of interleukin (IL)‐1 β (53.58 ± 6.42 versus 98.75 ± 6.53 pg/ml, P < 0.0001 and 0.298 ± 0.04 versus 0.818 ± 0.252, P < 0.0001, respectively) and TNF‐ α (14.82 ± 1.95 versus 29.52 ± 3.7 pg/ml, P = 0.0008 and 0.088 ± 0.006 versus 0.168 ± 0.072, P = 0.0051, respectively) were markedly decreased, whereas IL‐10 (24.92 ± 2.94 versus 15.25 ± 3.13 pg/ml, P = 0.015 and 0.302 ± 0.022 versus 0.107 ± 0.02, P < 0.0001, respectively) and IL‐1 receptor antagonist (1.95 ± 0.28 versus 0.52 ± 0.10 pg/ml, P < 0.0001 and 0.112 ± 0.009 versus 0.051 ± 0.002, P < 0.0001, respectively) were markedly increased in the Group C. These results indicate that in rats carvedilol protects against EAM.