Interleukin-6 contributes to myocardial damage in pregnant rats with reduced uterine perfusion pressure

Preeclampsia is one of the most frequent and difficult illnesses in pregnancy, which jeopardizes both mother and fetus. There are several diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia. However, the preeclampsia-associated myocardial damage has not been described. In this study, we employed reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) to generate a rat model of preeclampsia for the evaluation of myocardial damage in late-gestation rats. The expressions of cardiac injury markers were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. The arterial pressure and myocardial tissue velocities were also measured. The role of interleukin (IL)-6 in RUPP-associated myocardial damage was further explored. The results showed that RUPP rats had significant myocardial damage, as demonstrated by the high expressions of myoglobin, creatine kinase isoenzyme, cardiac troponin I, and brain natriuretic peptide. In addition, RUPP increased the mean arterial pressure and the early transmitral flow velocity to mitral annulus early diastolic velocity ratio (E/Ea). Furthermore, IL-6 deteriorated these abnormalities, whereas inhibition of IL-6 significantly relieved them. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that RUPP rats displayed myocardial damage in an IL-6-dependent manner.