Abstract
Context
Myocardial cell death occurs within hours following the onset of myocardial ischaemia and its chief cause is atherosclerosis. There is a link between vitamin D3 deficiency and many cardiovascular risk factors.
Objective
This study compared the effect of vitamin D3 on early biomarkers of myocardial injury, to that of atorvastatin.
Methods
Diabetic hyperlipidaemia was induced in Wistar rats, which were divided into 3 groups: diabetic hyperlipidaemic control, diabetic hyperlipidaemic rats treated with atorvastatin and diabetic hyperlipidaemic rats treated with vitamin D3. Blood glucose, glycated haemoglobin and lipid profile were evaluated. Markers of myocardial injury were examined including cardiac troponin, heart fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) and C-terminal pro-endothelin-1 (CT-pro-ET-1).
Results
Vitamin D3 and atorvastatin intake improved lipid profile and glucose homeostasis, and reduced levels of predictive biomarkers of myocardial injury.
Conclusion
Vitamin D3 can be used in a suitable dose as a safe and protective candidate against myocardial injury.
Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author contributions
MME: conception and design of research; NIS: conducting of experiments; NIS, SIA and SKH: data analysis, interpretation of results and writing of drafted manuscript; MME, SIA and SKH: manuscript editing and revision; AAA performed histopathology work. MME, SIA, NIS, AAA and SKH approved the final version of manuscript.
Compliance with ethical standards
Animal handling and experimental procedures were in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Zagazig University (ZU-IACUC) and the protocol was approved by the committee.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.