Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidative Effects of Sumatriptan Against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rat

The clinical use of doxorubicin as a potent chemotherapeutic agent is limited due to its dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways have a pivotal role in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Sumatriptan, a 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)1B/1D agonist that is mainly used to relieve migraine pain, has suggested exerting protective effects in numerous pathological conditions through antiinflammatory properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of sumatriptan on doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and the contribution of anti-inflammation and antioxidative responses. Cardiotoxicity was induced by the administration of doxorubicin three times a week (2.5 mg/kg i.p) for two consecutive weeks on male rats. The animals were divided into four groups, including Control, Sumatriptan (0.1 mg/kg) received group, doxorubicin received group, and Doxorubicin+Sumatriptan (0.1 mg/kg) received group. Sumatriptan was administered 30 min before every injection of doxorubicin. On the last day of the second week, the body weight, mortality rate, electrocardiogram (ECG) and histopathological changes, cardiac inotropic study, and biochemical factors were evaluated. The loss of body weight, mortality rate, ECG parameters, reduction of papillary muscle contractility force as well as histopathological scores following administration of doxorubicin indicated severe cardiac damage. However, treatment with sumatriptan inhibited the functional and structural impairment induced by doxorubicin. In addition, sumatriptan could significantly reduce cardiac tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which were increased in the doxorubicin-treated rats. This study illustrated the protective effects of sumatriptan on decreasing doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity and mortality rate in part through inhibition of inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways.