White Wine Consumption Influences Inflammatory Phase of Repair After Myocardial Infarction in Rats

Effects of white wine (WW) consumption on the expression of inflammatory markers/mediators (MMP-2, MMP-9, NF-ĸB p65 and TGF-b1) in myocardial tissue after experimentally induced permanent myocardial ischemia was investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given either a combination of WW and water or only water, for 28 days. After coronary ligation, animals were left to survive for 24 hours. Three representative areas: infarct/ ischemic, peri- infarct/border zone, and control/non-ischemic zones were analyzed for expression of immunoreactivity by measuring the threshold area % of signal density. For MMP-9, significantly smaller expression was found in all 3 zones of wine drinking animals (P<0.001). There was no difference in MMP-2 immunoreactivity between the 2 groups, except in peri-infarct zones, where the signal was significantly decreased (P<0.001). The same pattern of expression was found for the NF-kB p65 signal, although no differences between experimental groups were observed for TGF-b1. White wine consumption decreases the expression of the 3 investigated inflammatory markers/mediators in the peri- infarct zone, suggesting its significant modulatory effect. For MMP-9 and MMP-2, expression was similar to the effect of postischemic reperfusion. No effect on TGF-b1 was observed, highlighting its role in being the masterswitch, changing from the inflammatory to the proliferative stage of infarct healing.