Alcohol-Induced Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Structural Changes in Rat Cardiomyocytes

Abstract

The aim of the study is to reveal the ethanol effects on the expression of hypoxia-associated factors (HIF-1α, VEGF-A) and structural changes in cardiomyocytes of healthy rats.
 Materials and methods. Ethanol-induced structural changes in cardiomyocytes were studied in 60 outbred mature rats. Control animals were intragastrically injected with sterile 0.9% saline, experimental animals – with 40 % ethanol. Ethanol exposure on myocardium lasted 4 and 8 days. Morphological study of the heart was carried out after decapitation preceded by ether anesthesia. PCR tests were used to determine mRNA expression of HIF-1α and VEGF-A genes from the left ventricle and serum concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor. Morphological studies of the left ventricle myocardium were carried out on histological sections using light microscopy.
 Results. A short ethanol exposure was accompanied by fatty and granular cytoplasm degeneration of cardiomyocytes with erythrocyte stasis in capillaries, arterioles and venules. VEGF-A serum concentration in control rats was lower if compared with ethanol-induced rats. Gender differences to ethanol response were revealed, in particular, a more pronounced HIF-1α and VEGF-A mRNA expression in females compared to males on the background of 4-day ethanol exposure, which correlated with VEGF-A level in blood serum. 8-day alcohol exposure was accompanied by an increase in VEGF-A mRNA expression in both female and male rats.
 Conclusion. Ethanol exposure causes activation of HIF-1α and VEGF-A transcription factors in cardiomyocytes of rats. It can be regarded as a mechanism of urgent adaptation without the development of pronounced structural maladaptive changes of the myocardium.