Aboutabl_2011_J.Cardiovasc.Pharmacol_57_273

We recently demonstrated that benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) causes cardiac hypertrophy by altering arachidonic acid metabolism through the induction of the expression of CYP omega-hydroxylases and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) enzymes. The inhibition of CYP omega-hydroxylase enzymes partially reversed the BaP-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Therefore, it is important to examine whether the inhibition of sEH also confers cardioprotection. For this purpose, male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally daily with either the sEH inhibitor 1-(1-methanesulfonyl-piperidin-4-yl)-3-(4-trifluoromethoxy-phenyl)-urea (TUPS; 0.65 mg/kg), BaP (20 mg/kg), or the combination of BaP (20 mg/kg) and TUPS (0.65 mg/kg) for 7 days. Thereafter, the heart, liver, and kidney were harvested, and the heart to body weight ratio was measured. The expression of the hypertrophic markers, sEH, heme oxygenase-1, and CYP450 enzymes was determined. Our results demonstrate that BaP alone significantly induced the expression of sEH and CYP omega-hydroxylases in the heart, liver, and kidney tissues. Treatment with TUPS significantly reversed the BaP-mediated induction of the hypertrophic markers, completely prevented the increase in the heart to body weight ratio, and reduced the BaP-induced CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP4F4, and CYP4F5 genes in the heart. The current study demonstrates the cardioprotective effect of sEH inhibitor, TUPS, against BaP-induced cardiac hypertrophy and further confirms the role of sEH and CYP450 enzymes in the development of cardiac hypertrophy.