A pilot study of matrix metalloproteinases on the model of daunorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy in rabbits.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), activated by oxidative stress, play a key role during cardiac remodeling. In the present study we aimed to assess the role of MMPs in experimental cardiomyopathy induced by repeated 10-week administration of daunorubicin (3 mg/kg i.v.) to rabbits. In the daunorubicin group, the plasma cardiac troponin T levels (cTnT - a marker of myocardial necrosis) were significantly increased (p<0.05), commencing with the 8th administration compared with the controls. The amount of collagen (an estimate of fibrosis) was also significantly higher in the daunorubicin group (13.39 +/- 0.97 mg/g wet weight) compared to the control group (10.03 +/- 0.65 mg/g wet weight). In both groups, the LV MMP-activity was observed only in the gelatine substrate in the 70 kDa region (MMP-2), while no MMPs activities were detectable either in the casein or collagen containing zymograms. At the end of the experiment, the MMP-2 activity was slightly up-regulated (by 16 %) compared with the controls.