1. Resveratrol Reverses Functional Chagas Heart Disease in Mice
- Author
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Vitor Coutinho Carneiro, Daniel F. Feijó, Joseli Lannes-Vieira, José Roberto Meyer-Fernandes, Isalira Peroba Ramos, Naira Ligia Lima Giarola, Amanda Roberta Revoredo Vicentino, Hilton Antônio Mata-Santos, Emiliano Medei, Marcelo T. Bozza, Heitor A. Paula-Neto, Claudia N. Paiva, and Glaucia Vilar-Pereira
- Subjects
Chagas Cardiomyopathy ,Male ,0301 basic medicine ,Heart disease ,Cardiovascular Medicine ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Resveratrol ,Pharmacology ,Antioxidants ,Mice ,Electrocardiography ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,Stilbenes ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Biology (General) ,Protozoans ,Trypanosoma Cruzi ,Mice, Inbred BALB C ,Ejection fraction ,Heart ,Metformin ,Bioassays and Physiological Analysis ,Cardiovascular Diseases ,Benznidazole ,Female ,Anatomy ,Research Article ,Neglected Tropical Diseases ,medicine.drug ,Chagas disease ,Cardiac function curve ,Trypanosoma ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Myocarditis ,Cardiac Ventricles ,QH301-705.5 ,Immunology ,Research and Analysis Methods ,Microbiology ,Cyclic N-Oxides ,03 medical and health sciences ,Virology ,Internal medicine ,Parasitic Diseases ,Genetics ,medicine ,Animals ,Chagas Disease ,Molecular Biology ,Protozoan Infections ,business.industry ,Electrophysiological Techniques ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Cell Biology ,RC581-607 ,Tropical Diseases ,medicine.disease ,Parasitic Protozoans ,Disease Models, Animal ,Oxidative Stress ,030104 developmental biology ,Endocrinology ,chemistry ,Cardiovascular Anatomy ,Spin Labels ,Parasitology ,Cardiac Electrophysiology ,Immunologic diseases. Allergy ,business - Abstract
Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) develops years after acute infection by Trypanosoma cruzi and does not improve after trypanocidal therapy, despite reduction of parasite burden. During disease, the heart undergoes oxidative stress, a potential causative factor for arrhythmias and contractile dysfunction. Here we tested whether antioxidants/ cardioprotective drugs could improve cardiac function in established Chagas heart disease. We chose a model that resembles B1-B2 stage of human CCC, treated mice with resveratrol and performed electrocardiography and echocardiography studies. Resveratrol reduced the prolonged PR and QTc intervals, increased heart rates and reversed sinus arrhythmia, atrial and atrioventricular conduction disorders; restored a normal left ventricular ejection fraction, improved stroke volume and cardiac output. Resveratrol activated the AMPK-pathway and reduced both ROS production and heart parasite burden, without interfering with vascularization or myocarditis intensity. Resveratrol was even capable of improving heart function of infected mice when treatment was started late after infection, while trypanocidal drug benznidazole failed. We attempted to mimic resveratrol’s actions using metformin (AMPK-activator) or tempol (SOD-mimetic). Metformin and tempol mimicked the beneficial effects of resveratrol on heart function and decreased lipid peroxidation, but did not alter parasite burden. These results indicate that AMPK activation and ROS neutralization are key strategies to induce tolerance to Chagas heart disease. Despite all tissue damage observed in established Chagas heart disease, we found that a physiological dysfunction can still be reversed by treatment with resveratrol, metformin and tempol, resulting in improved heart function and representing a starting point to develop innovative therapies in CCC., Author Summary Protection against functional damage, i.e. disease tolerance, is a successful strategy against pathogens the immune system fails to eliminate. In Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi infects the heart and many years after parasite burden is reduced to a minimum by the immune response, a cardiomyopathy ensues, often accompanied by electrical abnormalities and occasionally progressing to heart failure. Most attempted therapies targeted parasite elimination, failing to protect against progression of heart disease. Here we attempted to treat Chagas heart disease in mice with cardioprotectors/ antioxidants, since the parasite is known to promote tissue damage by oxidative stress. Our results show this strategy can partially reverse functional Chagas heart disease even when started late after disease onset, opening a new perspective for Chagas disease therapy.
- Published
- 2016
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