Comparative Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Hydrogen Sulfide Separately or in Combination with some Antioxidants against myocardial dysfunction in Irradiated Rats

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is an endogenously produced gaseous second messenger capable of mitigating pathological cardiac remodeling by regulating several cellular processes including fibrosis, hypertrophy, apoptosis, and inflammation. This study was dedicated to determine the cardio-protective efficacy of hydrogen sulfide alone or in combination with L-carnitine, co-enzyme Q 10 or alpha lipoic acid against cardiovascular disease that occurred as a result of γ-irradiation in male albino rats. The obtained results revealed a remarkable change in all studied parameters after exposure to γ-radiation. However, irradiated rats treated by H 2 S showed a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the activities of serum cardiac enzymes (CK, CK-MB, LDH & AST) and in the concentration of heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and endothelin-1 as well as the levels of cytokines profile (IL-1β, IL-10 & TNF-α) associated with a remarkable decrease in the level of heart TBARS than those in irradiated rats. On the other hand, H 2 S caused a significant (p<0.05) increase in the level of serum TNO as well as in the heart GSH content and GPx activity than those of irradiated rats. Additive of L-carnitine or Co-Q 10 to H 2 S produced considerable improvement in all studied parameters, which become more pronounced in case of Lcarnitine but less in case of Co-Q 10 while, the addition of α-lipoic acid did not induce any noticeable changes. It is concluded that the use of L-carnitine increases efficacy of H 2 S and could exhibit modulatory effects on γ-radiation-induced cardiovascular disease in rats