Effect of Bosentan on expression of fibrotic related growth factors of myocardial tissue in diabetic mice

Objective To explore the effect of Bosentan on the expression of fibrotic related growth factors of myocardial tissue in diabetic mice． Methods Male 6-week old C57BL/6 mice were divided into 3 groups: control group, diabetes mellitus (DM) group and DM-B group (diabetes with bosentan group), 15 in each group． Streptozotocin (STZ) was injected intraperitoneally accounting for 70 mg/kg for single dose which was used to confirm that diabetes was induced in the mice, fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured at 0-, 1-, 2-week after STZ injection． The second day after STZ injection, mice in DM-B group underwent intragastric administration of Bosentan (100 mg/kg), mice in the rest of the two groups were injected with the same amount of saline lavage for 16 weeks． RT-PCR was applied to detect transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the expression of RNA (mRNA) which was the messenger of collagen protein 1 (collagen - 1)． Results After 16 weeks, fasting blood glucose in mice of DM group and DM-B group was measured which was similar without significant differences (P> 0．05), but it was significantly higher in these two groups when compared with control group (P< 0．01)． Compared with DM group, the cardiac VEGF mRNA level in DM-B group was significantly higher (P< 0．05), and the expression of fibrotic related growth factors TGF-β, CTGF and collagen-1 was significantly lower (P< 0．05)． Conclusion These findings suggest that endothelin receptor antagonists Bosentan can reduce the expression of fibrotic related growth factors of myocardial tissue in diabetic mice．