Abstract
Objective. To investigate the effects of low dose ethanol feeding in diabetic rats and analyze its underlying mechanisms. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups: control (Con), diabetes at 4 weeks (DM4W), diabetes at 8 weeks (DM8W), and EtOH + DM8W. After 8 weeks, hemodynamic parameters were recorded and heart weight/body weight (H/B) and hydroxyproline (Hp) content in myocardium were measured. Morphology of collagen in myocardial tissue was observed with Masson's trichrome staining method and collagen volume fraction (CVF) was analysed. The mRNA expression of ALDH2 was assessed with Real-Time PCR. The protein expressions of p-JNK and JNK were evaluated using western blot. Results. In contrast to Con group, there was no difference in hemodynamic parameters in DM4W group, but mean arterial pressure and heart rate were decreased in DM8W group, and the ratios of H/B, Hp, and CVF were markedly increased. ALDH2 mRNA expression was decreased, while the ratio of p-JNK/JNK were increased. Compared with DM8W group, the above indexes were improved in EtOH + DM8W group. Conclusion. With low dose ethanol intervention, enhanced ALDH2 expression can antagonize the happening of myocardial fibrosis in diabetic rats, which may be relevant with downregulating the JNK pathway.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major public health problems around the world [1]
Compared with Con group, there was no significant difference about the ratio of heart weight to body weight (H/B) and hydroxyproline (Hp) content in myocardial tissue in diabetic rat in DM4W group; with extended duration, heart weight/body weight (H/B) ratio and myocardial Hp content were increased in DM8W group, and the difference was statistically significant (Table 2)
Excessive deposition of myocardial interstitial collagen and myocardial fibrosis often leads to cardiac hypertrophy and decrease of heart function, which play a vital role in the occurrence and development of diabetic cardiomyopathy [23]
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major public health problems around the world [1]. According to the compiled data of the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 150 million people have diabetes mellitus worldwide, and this number of diabetic patients may be doubled by the year 2025 [2]. Ethanol is a very commonly used chemical substance and has dose-related effect on cardiac events. Epidemiological studies suggest that light to moderate alcohol consumption decreases the risk of cardiovascular events, that is, 1-2 drinks per d or 3–9 drinks per wk (one beer, one glass of wine, or one glass of spirit was approximated to one standard drink defined as 1.5 cL or 12 g of pure ethanol [7]). Moderate drinking can activate metabolism of ethanol by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-2 generation [3] to reduce the incidence of diabetic cardiomyopathy [8, 9]
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