Efects of exercise training on cardiac remodeling induced by retinoic acid.

Abstract

Cardiac remodeling involves several morphologic alterations due to cardiac injury. It is accepted that remodeling plays a critical role in the pathology of ventricular dysfunction. Therefore, studies are analyzing the use of different strategies to attenuate cardiac remodeling in different experimental and clinical models. Vitamin A is a potential modulator of cardiac remodeling. In previous study, retinoic acid supplementation induced hypertrophy, with increased left ventricular diameter, without collagen accumulation, with preservation of systolic function. There are two interpretations. Firstly, the results could be associated with early stage of pathologic alterations, like compensated volume overload. On the other hand, the results are also similar to physiologic process, like exercise training. Thus, the effects of retinoic acid in normal hearts remain to be elucidated. Thus, we will study the effects of exercise training on cardiac remodeling induced by retinoic acid. We will test the hypothesis that exercise can increase (if the effects of Vitamin A are physiologic) or attenuate (if the effects of Vitamin A are pathologic) the effects of retinoic acid in the heart. In addition we will study some pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in this process.