Effects of acetaldehyde on the myocardial mitochondrial function of rats

WANG Guo-feng; LIN Ying-zi; DUAN Zhi-ying; LIU Jing; WANG Qi; ZHOU Dong-hui; JIN Yuan-zhe

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2014.20.007

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of different dosages of acetaldehyde on the activity variation of myo -cardial mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase ( SDH) of rats by intraperitoneal injection and observe the histomorphology of myocardial mitochondria by transmission electron microscope ( TEM) in order to further discover the possible mechanism of myocardium injury by ethanol .Methods Sixty-five Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups:the control group (n=20, group C), low dose acetaldehyde group (n=15, group L), high dose acetaldehyde group (n=15, group H) and levocarnitine group (n=15).Acetaldehyde (110 mg/kg and 220 mg/kg) were injected into the rats′abdominal cavi-ties once a day for 4 weeks .TEM was applied to observe the mitochondrial histomorphology of all groups .SDH activity in the myocardium, superoxide dismutase ( SOD) and malondialdehyde ( MDA) in plasma were detected by biochemical methods .Results Compared with group C , under the TEM , we observed that the mitochondria swelled , and the ridge dis-appeared with incomplete or no capsule in group L , group H and levocarnitine group .The SDH activity of the levocarnitine group was significantly higher than of that of group H (P<0.05) as well as the content of SOD (P<0.05), but the con-tent of MDA was significantly lower than that of group H (P<0.05).Conclusions The intraperitoneal injection of acetal-dehyde could damage the myocardial cells of rats , especially resulting in the myocardial mitochondrial impairment .Oxida-tive stress may take part in the process of myocardial injuries , and levocarnitine may reduce the myocardial damage of acet-aldehyde .