Effects of zinc sulfate injection on diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a pathology independent of diabetic cardiovascular diseases and is defined as an attack that diabetes directly carries out on the myocardium at the cellular level. Because diabetes can negatively affect left ventricular mass, wall thickness and arterial stiffness unrelated to ischemia. Zinc is found in beta and alpha cells of the pancreas and plays a role in steps such as insulin receptor signaling, secretion and distrubution to issue/organelle. In addition, it can reduce chronic inflammation by affecting serum inflammatory markers and oxidative stress, and gets functions as a cofactor in the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes and in the metabolism of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of intraperitoneal zinc sulphate injection on cardiomyopathic markers in experimental diabetic rats histopathologically and biochemically. A total of 28 rats, 7 in each group, were included in the study. Firstly, the rats randomized as diabetic and non-diabetic, and then they were divided into experimental and control groups. Zinc sulphate injection was administered to the experimental groups at a dose of 6 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks. Throughout the study, all rats were housed in individual cages under laboratory conditions, with a 12-hour light/dark cycle, and constant temperature and humidity. They were also fed tap water ad libitum. At the end of the study, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic examinations, plasma Pro-BNP and kopeptin levels were measured, and histopathological evaluations were performed. Injection of zinc sulphate positively affected the mean serum BNP and copeptin levels in diabetic rats. It is particularly significant that copeptin levels were lower in diabetic rats treated with zinc sulfate. Some ECG parameters, ejection fraction, end-diastolic volume, and end-systolic volume, were statistically significantly better than not treated groups. In histopathological examination, it was concluded that pathological findings were less in the heart tissue of diabetic rats administered zinc sulfate and that zinc sulfate cure provided a myocytic protective effect. In conclusion; this study demonstrated that DM causes significant pathological findings in the heart, and that zinc sulfate treatment reduces these pathological abnormalities.