Tranilast attenuates diastolic dysfunction and structural injury in experimental diabetic cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Diastolic dysfunction is an increasingly recognized complication of diabetes that develops in relatively young patients as a result of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). With recent advances in echocardiographic technology now permitting the reliable assessment of diastolic function in the rat, we examined cardiac function and structure in diabetic rodents and assessed the effects of intervening with tranilast, an antifibrotic compound that has been shown to attenuate the actions of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in cardiac fibroblasts. We also sought to examine the mechanism whereby tranilast inhibits the actions of TGF-β. Six-week-old heterozygous (mRen-2)27 rats were randomized to recei..