S. Minamide et al., PATHOGENESIS OF CARDIOMYOPATHY CAUSED BY ANTHRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTICS - EFFECT OF PULMONARY STENOSIS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARDIOMYOPATHY, Cardiovascular pathology, 7(4), 1998, pp. 215-222
This study was undertaken to elucidate the effect of pressure load on
the development of cardiomyopathy induced by daunorubicin in the right
ventricle of rabbits on which pulmonary stenosis had been performed.
The right ventricular pressure after occlusion of the pulmonary artery
was approximately twice that prior to occlusion. Pulmonary stenosis a
pparently produced hypertrophy of the right ventricular myocardium wit
hin approximately 2 weeks of occlusion. In rabbits with pulmonary sten
osis, the characteristic myocardial degenerative changes induced by da
unorubicin were found on the right ventricular wall. However, in rabbi
ts without pulmonary stenosis, myocardial lesions were observed only o
n the left ventricular wall. The pressure load acting as a mechanical
stress increases myocardial damage induced by daunorubicin. It is well
known that anthracyclines take effect on cells in which nucleic acid
synthesis is augmented and the pressure load results in the enhancemen
t of protooncogene expression in myocytes and a subsequent increase in
protein synthesis. These results suggest that the pressure load may p
lay a significant role in anthracycline cardiomyopathy by increasing p
rotein synthesis in the myocardium. (C) 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc.