Therapeutic effects of rapamycin on alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

The present study aimed to investigate whether rapamycin has therapeutic potential as a treatment for alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Rats were divided into eight groups (n=7 in each group): The control group; the alcohol group; abstinence in the first week; abstinence in the third week; abstinence in the fourth week; abstinent+rapamycin (AB-RAP) until the first week (AB-RAP 1); AB-RAP until the third week (AB-RAP 3); and AB-RAP until the fourth week (AB-RAP 4). Subsequently, echocardiography, and hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's staining were performed, followed by electron microscopy and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay.

H3K9 histone methyltransferase G9a ameliorates dilated cardiomyopathy via the downregulation of cell adhesion molecules.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the leading causes of mortality; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms of DCM remain to be elucidated. H3K9 histone methyltransferase G9a has been previously characterized, although its functions in DCM are not yet understood. Cell adhesion molecules (CAM) are highly expressed in diseased human hearts and were thought to contribute to chronic degeneration in cardiac incompetence; however, it has been suggested that G9a may suppress the effects of CAM.