Peptides are cardioprotective drugs of the future. Oxytocin

The widespread introduction of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) caused a significant reduction in the mortality rate from AMI in developed countries. However, over the past 10 years, there was no significant reduction in in-hospital mortality from AMI. It is clear that there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs that could effectively prevent reperfusion injury of the heart after successful recanalization of the infarct-related coronary artery. Enzyme-resistant peptide agonists of the oxytocin receptor could become a prototype for the creation of such drugs. It was shown oxytocin could selectively prevent cardiac reperfusion injury. The cardioprotective effect of oxytocin in coronary artery occlusion and myocardial reperfusion is distinguished by a decrease in infarct size, an improvement in cardiac contractility, and a decrease in the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias. In addition, oxytocin inhibits apoptosis and pyroptosis of cardiomyocytes in hypoxia/reoxygenation. It has been established that kinases, NO-synthase, and guanylyl cyclase are involved in an oxytocininduced increase in cardiac resistance to ischemia / reperfusion.