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  2. F 16915 prevents heart failure-induced atrial fibrillation: a promising new drug as upstream therapy

F 16915 prevents heart failure-induced atrial fibrillation: a promising new drug as upstream therapy

  • Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2014 Jul;387(7):667-77. doi: 10.1007/s00210-014-0975-3.
Bruno Le Grand 1 Robert Letienne Elisabeth Dupont-Passelaigue Frédérique Lantoine-Adam Frédéric Longo Monique David-Dufilho Georghia Michael Kunihiro Nishida Daniel Catheline Philippe Legrand Stéphane Hatem Stanley Nattel
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Institut de Recherche Pierre Fabre, Castres Cedex, France, bruno.le.grand@pierre-fabre.com.
Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of heart failure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a new pure docosahexaenoic acid derivative called F 16915 in experimental models of heart failure-induced atria dysfunction. The atrial dysfunction-induced AF was investigated (1) in a dog model of tachypacing-induced congestive heart failure and (2) in a rat model of heart failure induced by occlusion of left descending coronary artery and 2 months reperfusion. F 16915 (5 g/day for 4 weeks) significantly reduced the mean duration of AF induced by burst pacing in the dog model (989 ± 111 s in the vehicle group to 79 ± 59 s with F 16915, P < 0.01). This dose of F 16915 also significantly reduced the incidence of sustained AF (5/5 dogs in the vehicle group versus 1/5 with F 16915, P < 0.05). In the rat model, the percentage of shortening fraction in the F 16915 group (100 mg/kg p.o. daily) was significantly restored after 2 months (32.6 ± 7.4 %, n = 9 vs 17.6 ± 3.4 %, n = 9 in the vehicle group, P < 0.01). F 16915 also reduced the de-phosphorylation of connexin43 from atria tissue. The present results show that treatment with F 16915 reduced the heart dilation, resynchronized the gap junction activity, and reduced the AF duration in models of heart failure. Thus, F 16915 constitutes a promising new drug as upstream therapy for the treatment of AF in patients with heart failure.

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