Effect of fenofibrate on left ventricle remodeling in rats with chronic heart failure after aorta constriction

Aim To investigate the effects of fenofibrate on left ventricle remodeling in in rats with chronic heart failure after aorta constriction.Methods Sixty-five 8-week-old male wistar rats were randomized to two groups: Sham group(n=15) and Model group(n=50).An abdominal aorta constricted(AAC) model of pressure-overloaded heart was created in M group.After the surgery for 8 weeks,thirty-eight living rats in M group were randomly assigned to the following subgroups: group F(n=18) or group C(control group,n=20).Fenofibrate(fenofibrate 150 mg·kg-1·d-1) or equivalent physiological saline was administered to the rats in group F and control group respectively for 10 weeks.Results Eight weeks postoperatively,the LVEF,FS%,±dp/dtmax were decreased(P0.05),and the LVEDd,LVEDs,LVSP,LVEDP were increased in group F or group C compared with those in Sham group(P0.05).These parameters were not significantly different between group F and group C(P0.05).At the end of study,the LVW/BW and CVF in group C and group F were significantly increased compared with those in Sham group(P0.05).Compared with group C,the LVW/BW was increased and the CVF was decreased in group F(P0.05).The level of ET-1 mRNA in left ventricle in group C and group F was higher than that in group Sham(P0.05),but it was lower in group F than in group C(P0.05).The expression of eNOS in left ventricle was decreased in group F and group C,but group F showed a higher level of eNOS than group C(P0.05).Conclusions Fenofibrate has a potential effect on inhibiting the progression of the myocardial fibrosis in rats with chronic heart failure due to pressure overloaded,but it has no effect on improving cardiac function.The mechanism that fenofibrate prevents the progression of chronic heart failure is probably through either inhibiting the expression of ET-1 mRNA or upregulating the level of eNOS in myocardium.