In Vivo Investigation of Cardiac Benefits of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter Inhibition Using the Zebrafish Model

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects >16% of adults in Qatar. Newly emerging class of antidiabetic drugs focuses on SGLT inhibition were observed to reduce CVDs risks in diabetic patients. Up to date, the mechanism contributing to the CV benefits remains unrevealed. Zebrafish embryos were injected with different morpholinos to knockdown SGLT genes and study their effects on cardiac parameters. SGLT1 inhibition caused the most severe effects on zebrafish embryos with survival rate ~10 %. It also caused tube-like structured heats with edema, affecting significantly the cardiac output and diameter, and increased cardiac markers expressions. Analysis acquired correlates with literature data of SGLT1 predominant expression in heart tissues