Potential Therapeutic Effect of Citronellal on Diabetic Cardiomyopathy in Experimental Rats.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), a cardiovascular complication of patients with diabetes, is a special cardiomyopathy that is independent of coronary heart disease, hypertension, and valvular disease. Citronellal (CT) is a monoterpene compound generated by the secondary metabolism of plants. In this work, the therapeutic effect and mechanism of CT in DCM were investigated. Experimental diabetic rat models were constructed through a high-fat and high-carbohydrate diet combined with low-dosage streptozotocin (STZ) treatment. CT was intragastrically administered at the dosage of 150 mg/kg/day. The cardiac functions of the rats were evaluated via cardiac Doppler ultrasound. Changes in myocardial structure were analyzed through histopathology. Changes in the representative indices of oxidative stress, namely, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were detected on the basis of a biochemical test. Related protein levels were assayed via immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses. The DCM rats in the nontreatment group experienced diastolic and systolic dysfunctions, associated with myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Moreover, this condition was concurrent with metabolic disorders, the degradation of SOD activity in myocardial tissues, the increase in MDA content, the abnormal activation of sodium-hydrogen exchanger 1 (NHE1), and the aggravation of cell apoptosis (Bax levels were elevated, whereas Bcl-2 levels decreased). Myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, oxidative stress, and cell apoptosis were obviously inhibited after treatment with CT (150 mg/kg/day). The abnormal activation of NHE1 was recovered under the action of CT. Our study results showed that CT might play a protective role in the treatment of DCM by repressing the abnormal activation of NHE1.