Protective effect of vitamin B₆ against doxorubicin‐induced cardiotoxicity by modulating NHE1 expression

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX) has been used to treat various types of cancer, but its application is limited due to its heart toxicity as well as other drawbacks. Chronic inhibition of Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE1) reduces heart failure and reduces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS); vitamin B6 (VitB6) has been demonstrated to have a crucial role in antioxidant mechanism. So, this study was designed to explore the effect of VitB6 supplement on the DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity and to imply whether NHE1 is involved. Ultrasonic cardiogram analysis revealed that VitB6 supplement could alleviate DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity; hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson's staining further confirmed this effect. Furthermore, VitB6 supplement exhibited significant antioxidative stress and antiapoptosis effect, which was evidenced by decreased serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) content, and decreased Bcl‐2‐associated X protein/B‐cell lymphoma‐2 ratio, respectively. Collectively, VitB6 supplement may exert antioxidative and antiapoptosis effects to improve cardiac function by decreasing NHE1 expression and improve DOX‐induced cardiotoxicity.