Cardioprotective Effects of Coupled SH/NO System Modulators in a Rat Model of Doxorubicin-Induced Heart Failure

Background

The high prevalence of chronic heart failure (CHF) in industrialized countries, alongside its grave consequences—including increased mortality, disability, functional impairment, and reduced quality of life—underscores the urgent need to optimize core medical therapy. In this regard, metabolic cardioprotectants are of particular interest, as their action is aimed at interrupting or mitigating the cascade of adverse metabolic reactions and enhancing the compensatory and adaptive mechanisms of the heart. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sulfur-containing pharmacological agents—namely, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), Heptral, Thiotriazoline, and Angiolin—on selected parameters of the NO and thiol-disulfide systems in the hearts of rats with experimental doxorubicin-induced CHF, followed by an assessment of their cardioprotective efficacy.