Introduction and Objectives: Cisplatin is a highly effective chemotherapeutic drug used to treat various cancers. However, cardiotoxicity is one of the most important adverse effects of it. This study aimed to investigate and compare possible therapeutic effects of empagliflozin (EMPA) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on cisplatin induced cardiotoxicity in adult male albino rats.
Material and Methods: 48 adult male albino rats were classified into: Group I (control group) and Group II (Experimental group). All rats in group II were injected once with cisplatin (10 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (ip) then after 7 days they were divided into; cisplatin subgroup(II-a); rats were sacrificed on the 7th day, spontaneous recovery subgroup (II-b) was left untreated for 3 weeks, EMPA-treated subgroup (II-c) received EMPA orally daily (20 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks and PRP-treated subgroup (II-d) received 0.5 ml/kg PRP subcutaneously (SC) twice weekly for 3 weeks. At the end of the experiment, Blood samples were collected to measure creatine kinase –MB (CK –MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Cardiac muscle specimens were acquired for histological, immunohistochemical, morphometric and statistical analysis.
Results: Mean serum levels of CK-MB, cTnI & MDA was significantly increased associated with significant decrease of SOD level in cisplatin & spontaneous recovery subgroups (Subgroups II-a & II-b respectively). In addition, area percentage of collagen fibers, caspase-3 & fibronectin showed a significant increase and area percentage of Connexin 43 (Cx43) showed a significant decrease in subgroups II-a & II-b. While, EMPA-treated & PRP-treated subgroups (Subgroups II-c & II-d respectively) encountered significant amelioration in biochemical markers, histological & immunohistochemical changes induced by cisplatin with a more obvious improvement in Subgroup II-d.
Conclusion: EMPA and PRP significantly improved cisplatin-induced cardiac damage by alleviating oxidative stress, suppressing inflammation and inhibiting apoptosis; with a more pronounced improvement in response to PRP than EMPA.