Vericiguat preserved cardiac function and mitochondrial quality in a rat model of mitral regurgitation
Issued Date
2023-09-01
Resource Type
ISSN
00243205
eISSN
18790631
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85164444474
Journal Title
Life Sciences
Volume
328
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Life Sciences Vol.328 (2023)
Suggested Citation
Jungtanasomboon P., Nussaro S., Winwan H., Suebthawinkul P., Boonpala P., Dong V.N.K., Saengklub N., Kumphune S., Panyasing Y., Kijtawornrat A. Vericiguat preserved cardiac function and mitochondrial quality in a rat model of mitral regurgitation. Life Sciences Vol.328 (2023). doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121929 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/87982
Title
Vericiguat preserved cardiac function and mitochondrial quality in a rat model of mitral regurgitation
Author's Affiliation
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Aims: New drugs for heart failure (HF) that target restoring the impaired NO-sGC-cGMP pathway are being developed. We aimed to investigate the effects of vericiguat, an sGC stimulator, on cardiac function, blood pressure (BP), cardiac mitochondrial quality, and cardiac fibrosis in rat models of chronic mitral regurgitation (MR). Materials and methods: We surgically induced MR in 20 Sprague-Dawley rats and performed sham procedures on 10 rats (negative control). Four weeks post-surgery, we randomly divided the MR rats into two groups: MR group and MR + vericiguat group. Vericiguat (0.5 mg/kg, PO) was administered once a day via oral gavage for 8 weeks, while the sham and MR groups received equivalent volumes of drinking water instead. We took echocardiography and BP measurements at baseline (4 weeks post-surgery) and at the end of study (8 weeks after treatment). At the study end, all rats were euthanized and their hearts were immediately collected, weighed, and used for histopathology and mitochondrial quality assessments. Key findings: Vericiguat preserved cardiac functions and structural remodeling in the MR rats, with significantly lower systolic BPs than baseline values (P < 0.05). Additionally, vericiguat significantly improved the mitochondrial quality by attenuating ROS production, depolarization and swelling when comparing the values in both groups (P < 0.05). The fibrosis area also significantly decreased in the MR + vericiguat group (P < 0.05). Significance: Vericiguat demonstrated cardioprotective effects on cardiac function, BP, and fibrosis by preserving mitochondrial quality in rats with HF due to MR.