Transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced pressure overload (PO) causes adverse cardiac remodeling and dysfunction that progresses to
heart failure (HF). The purpose of this study was to determine whether the potent
antioxidant,
resveratrol, significantly attenuates PO-induced HF in wild-type mice. Male C57BL6 mice were subjected to either
sham or TAC surgery. One group of TAC mice was given daily
resveratrol treatment. Echocardiographic, biometric, and immunohistological analyses were performed on the three groups of mice. All echocardiographic parameters demonstrated significantly greater adverse cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in the TAC compared to the
sham mice. Increases in the ratios of heart weight (HW)/
body weight (BW) and lung weight (LW)/BW and a sharp decline in the percentage of ejection fraction and fractional shortening were found in TAC relative to
sham mice. Likewise, the
TAC protocol increased markers of oxidative stress,
cardiac hypertrophy,
inflammation,
fibrosis,
hypoxia, and apoptosis. These pathological changes were significantly attenuated by
resveratrol treatment.
Resveratrol treatment significantly attenuates the adverse cardiac remodeling and dysfunction produced by the
TAC protocol in C57/BL6 mice and this activity is mediated, at least in part, by the inhibition of oxidative stress and
inflammation indicating a therapeutic potential of
resveratrol in HF.