Anthracycline cardiomyopathy is mediated by depletion of the cardiac stem cell pool and is rescued by restoration of progenitor cell function.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Anthracyclines are the most effective drugs available in the treatment of neoplastic diseases; however, they have profound consequences on the structure and function of the heart, which over time cause a cardiomyopathy that leads to congestive heart failure.

Methods and results

Administration of doxorubicin in rats led to a dilated myopathy, heart failure, and death. To test whether the effects of doxorubicin on cardiac anatomy and function were mediated by alterations in cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), these cells were exposed to the anthracycline, which increased the formation of reactive oxygen species and caused increases in DNA damage, expression of p53, telomere attrition, and apoptosis. Additionally, doxorubicin resulted in cell-cycle arrest at the G2/M tr

SUBMITTER: De Angelis A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2810713 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature