Research Article

Investigation of the Effect of the Antiaggregant Agent Ticagrelor on the Electrical and Mechanical Activities of Rat Heart With Type 1 Diabetes

10.4274/atfm.galenos.2021.98216

  • Ayşegül Durak
  • Erkan Tuncay
  • Sinan Değirmenci
  • Belma Turan

Received Date: 17.11.2020 Accepted Date: 13.02.2021 J Ankara Univ Fac Med 2021;74(2):206-212

Objectives:

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is presently a worldwide health problem and leads to high risks for cardiovascular disfunction. Besides vascular disorders in dependent diabetic-cardiomyopathy, high thrombocyte reactivity is developed in DM. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of P2Y12 receptor blocker ticagrelor (TICA) on heart function of DM rats.

Materials and Methods:

DM was induced by a single-dose of streptozotocin (STZ) injection in 3-month-old Wistar male rats (250-300g) and confirmed by blood glucose level, 48-hour following STZ-injection. After DM confirmation, those animals were kept for 8 weeks and then, they were divided into two groups. One half DM rats was treated with TICA (150 mg/kg/day, orally) for 4 weeks (DM+TICA group), while the second half group was treated with water (DM group). A third group of rats was treated with only water (Con-group). In situ electrocardiography (ECG)-recording was performed under mild anesthesia and mechanical activities of isolated hearts were examined by Langendorff-perfusion-system.

Results:

The body weight of the DM group was significantly reduced compared to the Con group (p<0.05), while their blood glucose level was about 4-fold higher than the Con-group. However, TICA treatment of the DM group had no significant effect on both low body weight and high blood glucose level. The calculated values for QT- and RR-intervals from ECGs and low heart-rate in the DM group could not be recovered with TICA treatment (p>0.05). Furthermore, TICA treatment did not affect reduced left ventricular pressure and increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure of the DM group. However, TICA treatment was further prolonged half relaxation time of left ventricular pressure, which was also prolonged in the DM group (p<0.05). Moreover, the β-adrenergic response of left ventricular pressure was even further reduced in TICA-treated DM group compared to the untreated DM group.

Conclusion:

Our data demonstrated that TICA treatment could not improve the depressed electrical and mechanical activity of DM rat heart, even with some negative effects. Overall, our study emphasized the importance of performing additional TICA treatment experiments either with different doses, different treatment periods, or both to clarify its effects on cardiovascular system function.

Keywords: Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Ticagrelor, P2Y12 Receptor, ECG, Contractility

Full Text (Turkish)