Cardiotoxic evaluation of some antiretroviral drug regimens in Wistar rats

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and antiretroviral therapy (ART) are implicated in drug-associated toxicities. The study investigated the cardiotoxic effect of some HAARTs and ARTs drug combinations using biochemical and histological parameters. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were randomly grouped into eight groups (n=6). Group 1 received 2 ml distilled water while Groups 2 and 3 received HAART: Efavirenz + Lamivudine + Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (ELT 17.14 mg) and Lamivudine + Nevirapine + Zidovudine (LNZ 9.29 mg) respectively, while Groups 4 to 8 received ART: Sulfate d’Abacavir + Lamivudine (SL 12.85 mg); Lamivudine + Zidovudine (LZ 6.42 mg); Lamivudine + Tenofovir disoproxil Fumarate (LT 8.57 mg); Atazanavir + Ritonavir (AR 5.71 mg) and Liponavir + Ritonavir (LR 3.57 mg) per kg body weights respectively for 30 days. There was significantly (p < 0.05) increased cardiosomatic index in LNZ, LZ, LT and AR-administered groups compared to control. All drug-administered groups had elevated lipidemia, with marked increase in ELT and LR-administered groups compared to control. Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase showed significant elevation in ART-administered groups compared to control. Cardiac troponin I showed marked elevation in SL and LZ-administered groups compared to control. Cardiac histology demonstrated varying anomalies ranging from abnormal branching in groups 2, 3 and 5, to altered striations in groups 3, 4, 5 and 6, hypertrophy in groups 6 and 7, and irregularly shaped nuclei in groups 4, 7 and 8. In conclusion, while all test groups revealed varying degrees of cardiac injury, ELT, LT and AR regimens are more cardiotoxic while LNZ, SL and LZ possess better cardiac safety profiles.