Background & Aims: Chronic alcohol consumption has been associated with cardiovascular abnormalities, including cardiomyopathy, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and stroke. Although the association between chronic alcohol intake and cardiac abnormality is well-known, the exact underlying
molecular mediators involved in alcohol-induced heart abnormalities remain elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chronic alcohol intake on plasma
ceruloplasmin level and
calcium /calmodulin-depedent protein kinase II in male Wistar rats' heart.
Materials & Method: Sixteen male Wistar rats were divided into two groups, control and ethanol groups. Rats in the ethanol group received ethanol with a dose of 4.5 g/kg body weight saluted in tap water (20% w/v) and administrated intragastrically by gavage once a day. After six weeks of treatment, plasma
ceruloplasmin level and
CaMKII of heart tissue were measured.
Results: Although the results revealed an increase in CaMKII amount in the ethanol group, compared to that in the control group, it did not reach statistical significance (P-value: 0.75). In addition, there was no significant difference between plasma ceruloplasmin level in the ethanol group and control group (P-value=0.993).
Conclusions: According to results of the current study, although both CaMKII and ceruloplasmin have well known impact on cardiovascular abnormalities, they cannot be considered as molecular mediators involved in alcohol-induced heart disorders.