Chronic resveratrol treatment improves cardiac function in a rat model of diabetic cardiomyopathy via attenuation of mitochondrial injury and myocardial apoptosis

Incidence of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is associated with increased mortality in diabetic patients. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been indicated to play a key role in the pathogenesis and development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Accumulating evidence suggests that resveratrol, a polyphenol, exerts cardiovascular protective effects. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of chronic resveratrol administration on mitochondrial injury and cardiac function in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of DCM. After the successful induction of hyperglycemia for 8 weeks, resveratrol was intraperitoneally injected (2.5 mg/Kg/day) as treatment for 8 weeks. Echocardiography, histological analyses, myocardial succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase activities, and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed to evaluate the changes of cardiac structures and functions, myocardial apoptosis, as well as mitochondrial function following resveratrol treatment. Results of above analyses indicated that chronic resveratrol administration was associated with relieved mitochondrial swell and membrane loss, increase mitochondrial enzymes activities, and mitochondrial membrane potential, suggesting a potential role of resveratrol for the attenuation of mitochondrial injury. Moreover, chronic resveratrol administration was also related to significantly improved cardiac systolic dysfunction and reduced myocardial fibrosis, demonstrating a beneficial effect of resveratrol on cardiac remodeling. Overall, results of our study suggest that chronic resveratrol treatment may improve cardiac function and cardiac remodeling in rat model of DCM possibly via attenuation of myocardial mitochondrial injury and apoptosis.