Synthetic preimplantation factor ameliorates the severity of radiotherapy-induced heart disease in a rat model
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) is a potential side effect of radiotherapy (RT) for thoracic tumors and breast cancers, often causing diastolic dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and fibrosis. Preimplantation factor (PIF), an embryonic immunomodulatory peptide, has shown protective effects against acute radiation syndrome. We investigated whether synthetic PIF (sPIF) could mitigate RIHD development in rats and tumor cell proliferation in human breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into three experimental groups: vehicle-treated control, vehicle-treated RT (50 Gy, focused on the heart), and RT treated with sPIF, monitored at 1, 3, and 15 weeks. Endpoint assessments included transthoracic echocardiography, histopathology, qPCR, Western blotting, and UHPLC-MS/MS in the left ventricular (LV) samples. The effects of sPIF on hypertrophy, fibrosis, and proliferation were investigated in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts, human ventricular cardiac fibroblasts (HVCFs), and human breast carcinoma cells, respectively. Results: 1)-induced collagen-1 expression in HVCFs, and enhanced the anti-proliferative response to RT in human breast carcinoma cells. Conclusions: These findings suggest the potential of sPIF as a cardioprotective agent for the management of RIHD and warrant further mechanistic investigations.
Authors: Mónika Gabriella Kovács, Ana Isabel Antunes Goncalves, Zoltán Varga, Réka Losonczi, Klaudia Kupecz, Dávid Volford, Szonja Polett Pósa, Renáta Minorics, Zsolt Galla, Karin Zins, Anita Sejben, András Kriston, Ferenc Kovács, Péter Horváth, Péter Monostori, Gábor Cserni, István Zupkó, Bruno K. Podesser, Eytan R. Barnea, Zsuzsanna Kahán, Attila Kiss, Peter Pokreisz, Márta Sárközy
Language: English
Subfield: Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7222498204