ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Does statin pre-treatment affect right atrial myocyte apoptosis in coronary artery bypass graft patients? an in-vivo pilot study
Fuat Büyükbayrak1, Fatma Kaya Dağıstanlı2, Eray Aksoy1, Sabit Sarıkaya1, Gülbüz Sezgin3, Melek Özturk2, Mete Alp1, Kaan Kırali1
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kartal Koşuyolu Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kartal Koşuyolu Yüksek İhtisas Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, İstanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, İstanbul, Turkey
3Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty of Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2014.9003
Background: This study aims to investigate the possible protective effects of statin pretreatment against right atrial myocyte apoptosis in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods: Twenty-nine consecutive patients were included in the study. Group 1 patients (n=12; male: 83.3%) were initiated on atorvastatin 40 mg/day on the day of hospital admission and group 2 patients (n=17; male: 82.3%) did not receive statin therapy. Right atrial samples were taken before cardiopulmonary bypass and fixed in 10% neutral formalin. Immunoperoxidase staining and TUNEL method were performed to detect apoptotic cells. The immunostained active caspase-3 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) cells were counted using a light microscope.

Results: The mean apoptotic index was significantly lower in endocardial (p=0.04) and epicardial layers (p=0.01) of group 1 patients compared to those of group 2. Myocardial layer values were similar between the groups (p=0.35). The mean PCNA index in any layers was not significantly different between groups.

Conclusion: Statin pretreatment before CABG seems to diminish cardiac myocyte loss, providing an explanation for their beneficial effects seen after open heart surgery.

Keywords : Apoptosis; coronary artery bypass grafting; statin
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