Peripheral venous occlusion causing cardiac hypertrophy and changes in biological parameters in rats

Although patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) show a high prevalence of coronary artery disease and myocardial hypertrophy, influences of PVD alone on cardiac hypertrophy, and its subcellular mechanism remain unclear. This study investigates the influences of PVD alone on cardiac muscles and the changes in biological parameters that potentially affect cardiac hypertrophy and cardioprotection. Several veins from rat hind limb were occluded. Two weeks later, the weight of heart relative to body weight in the occluded group increased by approximately 10% compared to that in the sham-operated group. A significant increase was observed in insulin-like growth factor-1 expression, and a significant decrease was observed in myostatin and mechano growth factor in the occluded group compared to the sham-operated group. Tissue concentration of nitric oxide, and content of heat shock protein (HSP)-72, HSP-90, and heat shock cognate protein-70 significantly decreased in the hypertrophied myocardium. These results suggest that peripheral occlusion alone causes cardiac hypertrophy associated with changes in biological parameters.