1. Tolvaptan attenuates atrial remodeling in rats undergoing chronic intermittent hypoxia via miRNA-21
Zuowang MA ; Kai ZHANG ; Weiding WANG ; Ruimeng LIU ; Yuanyuan XU ; Yue ZHANG ; Meng YUAN ; Guangping LI
Chinese Journal of Cardiology 2019;47(8):614-621
Objective:
To investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of tolvaptan on chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced atrial remodeling in rats.
Methods:
A total of 45 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups by the random number table: control group, CIH group (6 h/d for 30 days), CIH plus tolvaptan group (8 mg·kg-1·d-1 per gavage for 30 days). Echocardiography examination was performed after 30 days. Thereafter, 5 rats were randomly chosen for histology evaluation, 5 for molecular biological examinations and another 5 rats underwent isolated heart electrophysiology study in each group. Protein and mRNA expression levels of miRNA-21, Spry1, PTEN, ERK/p-ERK, MMP-9, PI3K, AKT/p-AKT were detected.
Results:
Compared to the rats in control group, rats in the CIH group showed higher atrial interstitial collagen deposition (