Objective: Tribbles, a protein family controlling mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, might contribute to the remodeling process in dilated cardiomyopathy. We investigated the gene expression of Tribble 3 (TRB(3)), cardiac function and collagen changes in rats with diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) and the modulating effects of valsartan on them.
Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed with high cholesterol diet throughout the study period, streptozocin (30 mg/kg, i.p) was given at the 28th day, valsartan (30 mg.kg(-1).d(-1), n = 13) or placebo (n = 11) was administered at the 35th day to rats with fasting blood glucose > or = 11.1 mmol/L per gavage for another 12 weeks. Control rats (n = 8) were fed with regular chow. Fasting blood glucose was monitored throughout the study, left ventricular function was determined by echocardiography, myocardial collagen content quantified after Masson-staining and myocardial mRNA expression of TRB(3) detected by quantification real-time RT-PCR at the end of study.
Results: Cardiac function was significantly improved (EF: 74% +/- 10% vs. 66% +/- 7%, P < 0.05), myocardial collagen content decreased (13.23 +/- 3.14 vs. 16.92 +/- 3.18, P < 0.05) in rats with DCM treated with valsartan. Moreover, TRB(3) mRNA was significantly increased in rats with DCM compared to control rats (0.0198 +/- 0.0082 vs. 0.1108 +/- 0.0933, P < 0.05) and the increase could be significantly attenuated by valsartan (0.0367 +/- 0.0234, P < 0.05 vs. DCM). A significant positive correlation was observed between myocardial TRB(3) mRNA and myocardial collagen content (r = 0.67, P < 0.05) and between TRB(3) mRNA and fasting blood glucose (r = 0.69, P < 0.05) in rats with DCM.
Conclusion: Our results show for the first time that myocardial TRB(3) mRNA is upregulated in rats with DCM and which could be down-regulated by valsartan.