Immunoglobulin treatment ameliorates myocardial injury in experimental autoimmune myocarditis associated with suppression of reactive oxygen species

AimsWe tested the hypothesis that immunoglobulin ameliorated experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in mice attributing to the suppression of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated myocardial injury.MethodsWe intraperitoneally administered intact type of human immunoglobulin (Ig) or F(ab′)2 fragments of human immunoglobulin, 1 g/kg/day daily for 3 weeks, to male BALB/c mice with heart failure due to EAM.ResultsThe results showed that intact type of Ig, but not F(ab′)2 type, reduced the severity of myocarditis by comparing the heart weight/body weight and lung weight/body weight ratios, pericardial effusion score, macroscopic and microscopic scores. Tissue superoxide production was marked in untreated mice with EAM, which was suppressed by the treatment of immunoglobulins. The cytotoxic activities of lymphocytes in mice with EAM treated with Ig were reduced compared with untreated controls. The shift from Th1 toward Th2 cytokine balance was demonstrated by the treatment of immunoglobulins both in vitro and in vivo.ConclusionROS may be involved in the development of myocarditis. Intact Ig ameliorates myocardial damage in mice with myocarditis associated with suppression of ROS and cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes.