Correlation of the Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction and Ventricular Depolarization in a Post-Infarction Model of Chronic Heart Failure.

The body surface potential mapping of the heart during the period of ventricular depolarization and the inotropic function of the ventricles were studied in rats under conditions of a translational model of post-infarction chronic heart failure developed by us. We revealed a statistically significant (p<0.001) correlation between the left-ventricular ejection fraction and the values of the maximum positive and negative extrema of the cardioelectric field on the body surface of rats with post-infarction chronic heart failure caused by anterior transmural myocardial infarction. The calculated linear regression equations have high predictive efficiency, which makes it possible to use the amplitude characteristics of the heart cardioelectric field as a marker of the development of chronic heart failure.

Changes in Microcirculation in the Brain, Heart, and Liver in Female Rats with Translational Model of Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy.

We studied some features of blood and lymph microcirculation in the brain, heart, and liver of female rats with developed alcoholic cardiomyopathy. In female rats after 24-week forced consumption of 10% ethanol solution, the size and inotropic function of the heart were measured by echocardiography. Microcirculation in the brain, myocardium, and liver was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry using LAKK-OP2 and LAZMA-D computerized laser analyzers. Using spectral wavelet analysis, we determined the absolute and normalized to total perfusion amplitudes of microcirculation oscillations reflecting various regulatory mechanisms. Intact animals served as controls. In rats of the experimental group, alcoholic cardiomyopathy completely developed. Under these conditions, the index of microcirculation in the brain, myocardium, and liver significantly decreased. At the same time, there was a redistribution in the brain between shunting and nutritive blood flow in favor of the latter. In the myocardium and liver, this ratio did not change.

To the Mechanism of the Antiarrhythmic Action of Compound ALM-802: the Role of Ryanodine Receptors.

The effect of the compound N1-(2,3,4-trimethoxy)-N2-{2-[(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)amino]ethyl}-1,2-ethane-diamine (code ALM-802) on the amplitude of the Ca2+ response in the cell was studied in in vitro experiments. The concentration of intracellular calcium was assessed using a Fura-2 two-wave probe. The experiments were performed on a culture of isolated rat hippocampal neurons. The effect of compound ALM-802 on the activity of ryanodine receptors (RyR2) was studied on an isolated strip of rat myocardium. The compound ALM-802 (69.8 µM) in hippocampal neurons causes a significant decrease in the amplitude of the Ca2+ response induced by addition of KCl to the medium. Experiments performed on an isolated myocardial strip showed that compound ALM-802 (10-5 M) almost completely blocked the positive inotropic reaction of the strip to the RyR2 agonist caffeine (5×10-5 M). The data obtained indicate that the decrease in the concentration of Ca2+ ions in the cell caused by ALM-802 is due to its ability to block RyR2 located on the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which can be associated with the antiarrhythmic activity of the compound.

Dynamics of the Cardioelectric Field on the Body Surface during Atrial Depolarization in Rats with Experimental Holiday Heart Syndrome.

In model experiments reproducing the holiday heart syndrome in rats, a discrepancy between the depolarization of the right and left atria has been revealed, which manifested by an atypical arrangement of positive and negative cardiopotentials in the cardioelectric field on the body surface during the P wave and the absence of inversion of the areas of cardioelectric potentials before the onset of P waves in lead II ECG from the limbs.

Analysis of Electrophysiological Mechanisms of N-Deacetyllapaconitine Monochlorhydrate, the Main Metabolite of Lappaconitine Hydrobromide.

In in vitro experiments on isolated rat hippocampal neurons, we studied the electrophysiological mechanisms of the antiarrhythmic effects of N-deacetyllappaconitine monochlorhydrate (DALCh), active metabolite of lappaconitine hydrobromide (allapinin). Electrical activity of neurons was recorded by the patch-clamp method in the whole cell configuration. It was shown that DALCh increased the duration of both slow and fast depolarization phases and decreased the amplitude of the action potential. DALCh effectively inhibited transmembrane currents of Na+ ions and partially K+ ions through the corresponding transmembrane voltage-gated ion channels. Thus, DALCh, in contrast to lappaconitine hydrobromide, belongs not to 1C, but to the 1A class of antiarrhythmics according to the Vaughan-Williams classification.

Mechanisms Underlying the Antiarrhythmic Action of Compound ALM-802.

The mechanisms underlying the antiarrhythmic action of compound trihydrochloride N1-(2,3,4-trimethoxy)-N2-{2-[(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)amino]ethyl}-1,2-ethane-diamine (code ALM-802) were studied in vitro. The experiments were performed on a culture of rat hippocampal neurons. The electrical activity of neurons was recorded by the patch-clamp method in the whole cell configuration. It is shown that the compound ALM-802 effectively blocks potential-dependent Na+ and K+ channels and does not affect the activity of potential-dependent Ca2+ channels. The inhibition of currents through these channels is dose-dependent; the IC50 of Na+ and K+ channels were 94±4 and 67±3 µM, respectively. These findings indicate that compound ALM-802 combines the properties of class I and class III antiarrhythmic agents according to the Vaughan-Williams classification.

On the Mechanism of Cardioprotective Effect of Fabomotizole in Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the cardioprotective effect of fabomotizole were studied using the translational rat model of alcoholic cardiomyopathy developed by us. It was shown that intraperitoneal administration of fabomotizole (15 mg/kg) for 28 days to animals with alcoholic cardiomyopathy contributes to normalization of the expression of mRNA of genes of regulatory proteins СаМ (p=0.00001), Ерас1 (p=0.021), and Ерас2 (p=0.018) and receptors RyR2 (p=0.0031) and IP3R2 (p=0.006) in the myocardium of the myocardium of the left ventricle that is enhanced in control animals (p<0.05). These changes were accompanied by echocardiographically documented decrease in the degree of left ventricle remodeling and improvement of its inotropic function.

Choice of Tactics for Experimental Therapy of Chronic Heart Failure with ALM-802 Compound.

The cardioprotective activity of ALM-802 compound was demonstrated in model experiments simulating postinfarction chronic heart failure in rats forming in 90 days after anterior transmural myocardial infarction. ALM-802 decreased the left ventricle and improved its inotropic function (p=0.038). This effect was observed in case of systematic administration of ALM-802 over 28 days (starting from day 91 after infarction modeling). This is apparently the minimum time for the cardioprotective effect of ALM-802 to prevent or treat the resulting heart failure, because short-term systematic therapy (15 days) produced no positive effect.

Experimental Evaluation of Anxiolytic and Analgesic Properties of a New Linear Methoxyphenyltriazaalkane Derivative with Cardiotropic Activity.

The anxiolytic and analgesic properties of compound ALM-802, a cardiotropic linear methoxyphenyltriazaalkane derivative, combining pharmacophore elements of p-FOX inhibitors trimetazidine and ranolazine were studied in vivo. In the elevated plus-maze test, ALM-802 after acute intraperitoneal administration in doses of 1-8 mg/kg dose-dependently prevented the development of anxiety in BALB/c mice. Chronic intraperitoneal administration of ALM-802 in a dose of 2 mg/kg to alcohol-preferring rats attenuated anxiogenesis induced by ethanol withdrawal. ALM-802 demonstrated antinociceptive activity in C57BL/6 mice during thermal stimulation of nociceptors in the hot plate test and during modeling of visceral pain in the acetic acid writhing test. Thus, ALM-802 exhibits anxiolytic and analgesic properties in the dose range corresponding to its anti-ischemic and antiarrhythmic effects.

Influence of Social Isolation Stress on Age-Related Changes in Functional Activity and Expression of Receptors of Endogenous Vasoconstrictors in Rat Aorta.

Social isolation stress was modeled by long-term isolation of 12-month-old rats in individual cages over 28 weeks. It was found that sensitization of blood vessels to the vasoconstrictor action of serotonin due to overexpression of 5HT2A-type receptor genes, as well as an imbalance in the expression level of endothelin ETA- and ETB-receptors (55 and 153%, respectively) are the early signs of vascular aging. A significant contribution to the development of age-related changes in the contractile properties of blood vessels is made by the stress component, which is manifested at the level of glucocorticoid-dependent mechanisms of regulation of gene expression. The decrease in the expression of glucocorticoid receptors caused by isolation stress leads to a decrease in the expression of the genes responsible for the synthesis of V1A-R and ATII-R and to the development of vascular hyporeactivity to the vasoconstrictor action of ATII and AVP. In the aorta of stressed rats, the α1-AR mRNA level increases by 3 times. At the same time, stress did not affect the dynamics of age-related changes in the expression of genes encoding 5HT2A-R and ETA/ETB-R.

Depolarization of the Rat Atria in Experimental Simulation of the Holiday Heart Syndrome.

In the study of the sequence of depolarization of the atrial subepicardium of rats in the short-term alcohol consumption model (the "Holiday heart" syndrome), the localization of the sources of atrial arrhythmias was determined for the first time. The difference in the excitation of the right and left atria was discovered: the right atrium is activated anterogradely from the sinoatrial node, whereas the left atrium is activated retrogradely from the ectopic focus located in the left auricular appendage.

Cardioprotective Effects of Metalloproteinase Inhibitor 1-({4-[(4-Chlorobenzoyl)amino]phenyl}sulfonyl-L-Proline in Modeled Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Cardioprotective effect of 1-({4 [(4 chlorobenzoyl)amino]phenyl}sulfonyl-L-proline (compound AL-828) was studied in rats with modeled acute myocardial infarction. The test compound was administered intragastrically in a dose of 30 mg/kg/day for 3 days prior to infarction modeling. Metalloproteinase inhibitor antibiotic doxycycline served as the reference drug and was administered in a dose of 40 mg/kg/day by the same schedule. It was shown that AL-828 similar to doxycycline significantly reduced the intensity of myocardial remodeling and maintained the inotropic function of the myocardium in the acute phase of myocardial infarction. By the 20th minute of ischemia, the end-systolic dimension of the left ventricle in control animals increased from 1.98±0.12 to 3.84±0.16 mm, while in animals treated with AL-828, this increase was significantly (p=0.007) less pronounced (from 1.84±0.07 and 2.87±0.21 mm, respectively). The ejection fraction characterizing the inotropic status of the left ventricle in animals treated with AL-828 was significantly higher (p=0.02). By its cardioprotective activity, AL-828 was not inferior to the reference drug doxycycline. It can be assumed that the cardioprotective activity of compound AL-828 is related to suppression of MMP-9 expression and/or inhibition of its activity as was previously demonstrated by us.

Anti-Ischemic Activity of Fabomotizole Hydrochloride under Conditions of Endothelial Dysfunction.

Anti-ischemic activity of fabomotizole hydrochloride was studied on the model of subendocardial ischemia in rats with endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction was modeled by intragastric administration of methionine (3 g/kg, once a day for 7 days). Acute subendocardial ischemia was induced in narcotized rats by intraperitoneal injection of isoproterenol (20 µg/kg/min over 5 min). Fabomotizole hydrochloride (intraperitoneally, 15 mg/kg) significantly reduced isoproterenol-induced ST segment depression in animals with endothelial dysfunction and with intact vasculature.

Examination of Cardioprotective Effects of Fabomotizole Hydrochloride in Translational Rat Model of Chronic Heart Failure.

A translational rat model of chronic heart failure was employed to examine the cardioprotective effect of fabomotizole hydrochloride. Fabomotizole therapy for 28 days (15 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally) restored inotropic function of the left ventricle and increased ejection fraction from 54±3 to 65±3% (p=0.001). The inotropic function returned to normal against the background of significantly reduced myocardial expression of angiotensin (p=0.01) and glucocorticoid (p=0.03) receptors and significant increased expression of sigma-1 receptors (p=0.04). Inhibition of abnormal expression of angiotensin and glucocorticoid receptors responsible for activation of the pathological cascades underlying the postinfarction remodeling of the left ventricle as well as activation of the expression of cytoprotective sigma-1 receptors are viewed as the key features of the cardioprotective action of fabomotizole hydrochloride.

A Translational Model of Chronic Heart Failure.

We created a translational model of chronic heart failure in rats that developed in 3 months after reproducing experimental anterior transmural myocardial infarction. The model simulated the basic clinicodiagnostic criteria of this disease: impaired contractility and dilatation of heart ventricles, signs of venous congestion, elevated plasma content of biochemical markers, and abnormal overexpression of AT1aR and ß-adrenoceptors.

Anti-Ischemic Activity of Triamine ALM-802 under Conditions of Endothelial Dysfunction.

Anti-ischemic activity of N1-(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)-N2-{2-[(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)amino] ethyl}-1,2-ethanediamine (ALM-802) based on the structure of standard p-FOX inhibitors trimetazidine and ranolazine was studied on the model of endocardial ischemia in intact rats and animals with endothelial dysfunction. Acute endocardial myocardial ischemia was caused by infusion of isoproterenol (20 µg/kg/min intravenously). Endothelial dysfunction in rats was modeled by inducing hyperhomocysteinemia (3 g/kg methionine intragastrically one a day over 7 days). The reference drugs trimetazidine (30 mg/kg, intravenously) and ranolazine 10 mg/kg, intravenously) that were effective only in intact rats. In contrast, ALM-802 (2 mg/kg, intravenously) showed a pronounced anti-ischemic effect in animals with endothelial dysfunction, which suggests that the mechanisms of its cardioprotective action differ from those known for p-FOX inhibitors.

Specific Features of Depolarization of the Left and Right Atria in Rats with Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy.

Using a translation model of alcoholic cardiomyopathy in rats we showed the presence of an additional abnormal excitation focus in the area of the pulmonary vein lacunae in the left atrium and enhanced heterogeneity of the atrium depolarization pattern. These changes can determine electric instability of the myocardium and induce malignant heart rhythm disturbances including, sudden cardiac death.

On the Mechanism of the Cardioprotective Action of σ1 Receptor Agonist Anxiolytic Fabomotizole Hydrochloride (Afobazole).

Original translational rat model of chronic heart failure provoked by experimental anterior transmural myocardium infarction was employed to examine the preventive action of anxiolytic Afobazole (15 mg/kg/day administered intraperitoneally during the first 15 days after coronary occlusion) on the development of the heart failure assessed in 3 months after infarction. Afobazole prevented the development of pathologic remodeling of the myocardium, maintained its inotropic function, and decreased the plasma level of brain natriuretic peptide known as a biochemical marker of chronic heart failure. In the myocardium, Afobazole down-regulated overexpression of the genes induced in chronic heart failure and assessed by corresponding RNA levels, which code angiotensin (AT1A-R), vasopressin (V1A-R), and glucocorticoid (GR) receptors as well as Epac2 protein. The revealed biochemical changes are consistent with the data on cardioprotective action of Afobazole.

Epac Proteins and Calmodulin as Possible Arrhythmogenesis Trigger in Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy.

The expression of Epac proteins (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP) and calmodulin (CaM) was assessed by the content of the corresponding mRNA in biopsy specimens of cardiac atrium, left ventricle, and thoracic aorta of rats with alcoholic cardiomyopathy. In the myocardium, overexpression of Еpac1, Ерас2, and СаМ mRNA was found. The content of Epac2 mRNA in the left ventricle was elevated by 2.9 times (p=0.000001), in the left atrium by 3.2 times (p=0.00001), in the right atrium by 3 times (p=0.00001). In contrast to the myocardial tissue, the content of CaM mRNA in the thoracic aorta was not increased, but showed a tendency to decrease, when compared to the control values, while the level of Epac1 and Epac2 mRNA was increased. The assumption is made that regulatory proteins Epac and CaM can play a key role in arrhythmogenesis development under conditions of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Atria Depolarization in Rats with Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy.

Chronotopography of atrial subepicardium depolarization has been studied in a rat model of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Formation of independent sources of initial atrial activity has been detected in the right and left atria. These sources induced the formation of several depolarization fronts that propagated autonomously, and this can be regarded as the cause of atrial arrhythmia.