Effects of Shenmai injection on myocardial fibrosis in rat model of diabe-tic cardiomyopathy

AIM：To explore the effects of Shenmai injection on myocardial fibrosis in a rat model of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS：Wistar rats (n=30) were randomly divided into control group, diabetes group and treatment group. Single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin was utilized to establish a rat model of DCM. The rats with DCM in treatment group were intraperitoneally injected with Shenmai injection. Ventricular cannulation was applied to assess the cardiac functions. The formation of collagen in the cardiac tissues was assessed by Masson staining. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cardiac tissues was detected by dihydroethidium staining. The expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2) and collagen I in the cardiac tissues were determined by Western blotting. RESULTS：Compared with control group, the cardiac functions were deteriorated in diabetes group (P<0.05), which was improved in treatment group as compared with diabetes group (P<0.05). Compared with control group, the formation of collagen and ROS increased significantly in diabetes group (P<0.05), which was decreased in treatment group as compared with diabetes group (P<0.05). Compared with control group, the expression level of MMP-2 in the cardiac tissues was deceased and TIMP-2 was increased significantly in diabetes group (P<0.05), but reversed significantly in treatment group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Shenmai injection attenuates cardiac fibrosis in the rats with DCM by inhibiting the generation of ROS.