Morphometric assessment of structural remodeling of the left ventricular myocardium in experimental type 1 diabetes mellitus and with amino acids supplementation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14739/2310-1210.2026.3.358153Keywords:
type 1 diabetes mellitus, remodeling, myocardium, left ventricle, morphometry, L-arginine, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, ratsAbstract
Aim. To evaluate left ventricular myocardial structural remodeling in experimental type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and to assess the effects of L-arginine and N-acetyl-L-cysteine.
Materials and methods. The study involved 47 male Wistar rats. Type 1 diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin (45 mg/kg). From week 6, rats received L-arginine or N-acetyl-L-cysteine (1.5 g/kg). ImageJ software was used to analyze cardiomyocyte area, nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio, and cell density.
Results. T1DM was found to cause pathological cardiomyocyte hypertrophy (area +17 %) alongside decreased cell density (-26 %) and suppression of the nuclear apparatus (nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio -10 %). L-arginine administration reduced perivascular infiltration but further decreased the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio (-17 % compared to type 1 diabetes mellitus). N-acetyl-L-cysteine promoted nuclear area recovery (+34 % compared to type 1 diabetes mellitus) and stabilized cell density to control levels.
Conclusions. Experimental type 1 diabetes mellitus leads to pathological left ventricular hypertrophy with significant cardiomyocyte loss and disturbance of morphometric characteristics of nuclei with a decrease in nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio. The use of L-arginine attenuates the severity of perivascular inflammatory infiltration and reduces the nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio but does not eliminate muscle fiber fragmentation and cellular heterogeneity. N-acetyl-L-cysteine reverses pathological hypertrophic changes and restores nuclear apparatus.
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