Effect of N-acetyl-l-cysteine on proliferation and collagen synthesis of cardiac fibroblasts

Objective:To investigate the effect of N-acetyl-l-cysteine(NAC) on the proliferation and synthesis of collagen in cultured rat cardiac fibroblasts(CFs) and to explore its potential role in the process of cardiac remodeling.Methods:Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat cardiac fibroblasts were isolated,cultured and treated in vitro with different concentrations of NAC.48 hours later,the proliferation of CFs was determined by MTT assay and the collagen synthesis was analyzed by 3H-proline incorporation.Results:The proliferation level and 3H-proline incorporation of CFs decreased by NAC,which was concentration-dependent(p0.05).Conclusion:NAC can decrease the proliferation and collagen synthesis of neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat cardiac fibroblasts to some extent,which sug-gested it may play a protective role in cardiac remodeling.