Ultrastructural Myocardial Reorganization during Experimental Treatment with Doxorubicin and Atorvastatin

We studied ultrastructural reorganization of the myocardium in Wistar rats treated with doxorubicin (single intraperitoneal injection in a dose of 15 mg/kg) and atorvastatin (daily intragastric administration in a dose of 20 mg/kg for 7 days) individually and in combination. It was found that doxorubicin administered alone or in combination with atorvastatin induces disturbances of varying severity in cardiomyocyte ultrastructure indicating the development of regenerative and plastic myocardial insufficiency. In case of isolated administration of atorvastatin, lytic changes in myofibrils, increased autophagic processes, and segregation of the fibrillar and granular components in the nucleoli appeared in the ultrastructure of some cardiomyocytes with increasing the observation period. Ultrastructural stereological analysis revealed a tendency to a decrease in the volume density of myofibrils and mitochondria in all experimental groups in comparison with the control.