BACKGROUND

We aimed to examine the anti-calcification and anti-inflammatory effects of pioglitazone as a PPAR-gamma agonist on bioprosthetic-valve-bearing aortic grafts in a rat model of diabetes mellitus (DM).

METHODS

DM was induced in male Wistar rats by high-fat diet with an intraperitoneal streptozotocin (STZ) injection. The experimental group received additional pioglitazone, and controls received normal chow without STZ ( = 20 each group). Cryopreserved aortic donor grafts including the aortic valve were analyzed after 4 weeks and 12 weeks in vivo for analysis of calcific bioprosthetic degeneration.

RESULTS

DM led to a significant media proliferation at 4 weeks. The additional administration of pioglitazone significantly increased circulating adiponectin levels and significantly reduced media thickness at 4 and 12 weeks, respectively ( = 0.0002 and = 0.0107, respectively). Graft media calcification was highly significantly inhibited by pioglitazone after 12 weeks ( = 0.0079). Gene-expression analysis revealed a significant reduction in relevant chondro-osteogenic markers and by pioglitazone at 4 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

Under diabetic conditions, pioglitazone leads to elevated circulating levels of adiponectin and to an inhibition of bioprosthetic graft degeneration, including lower expression of chondro-osteogenic genes, decreased media proliferation, and inhibited graft calcification in a small-animal model of DM.