Low Dose Sarin Leads To Murine Cardiac Dysfunction

摘要

It has been reported that low dose sarin is associated with long- term pathology in the brain and heart; however, the effects of sarin on the heart have yet to be determined. In addition, sarin has been implicated as an etiological agent in Gulf War Illness. Thus, the role of sarin in producing illness has important military implications. This study used echocardiography, electrocardiography, and histology to determine sarin's effect on the murine cardiovascular system. C57BL/6J mice were injected with sarin at 0.4 LD50, 0.5 LD50, or saline on two consecutive days and studied for 10 weeks post exposure. The sarin animals had marked increases in heart weight to body weight ratios (p = 0.026) and the left ventricular lumen size was significantly decreased (p = 0.0014). In addition, cardiomyocytes were significantly larger in the sarin mice (p = 0.025), and atrial/brain natriuretic peptide levels were increased (p = 0.028 and 0.010, respectively). Results of the electrocardiograms show significant ST/T-wave changes in the sarin groups (p = 0.0015 and 0.032, respectively). Similarly, echocardiograms showed significantly decreased performance of the left ventricle in the sarin animals. This study indicates that sarin plays a role in cardiac remodeling and reducing cardiac performance.