Biochemical correlates of dexamethasone-induced relative cardiomegaly in neonatal rats.

Dexamethasone induces a relative cardiomegaly in neonatal rats. Biochemical analyses, performed on hearts at seven days postpartum, disclosed that dexamethasone increased protein content without significantly altering DNA or RNA content. While dexamethasone decreased absolute actinomyosin and collagen content, the relative abundance of these proteins as a function of heart mass was increased and the ratio of muscle protein to collagen remained constant. In addition, dexamethasone increased glycogen but decreased fatty acid content. Thus, dexamethasone treatment of rats during the neonatal period appears to induce a relative hypertrophic cardiomyopathy complicated by fibrosis and metabolic derrangement of myocardial maturation.