Abstract

Background: In patients with myocarditis, autoimmune disease is considered to be responsible for the pathogenesis. Previous studies revealed that plant polyphenols inhibit autoimmune myocarditis in mice. However, the effect of chlorogenic acid (CGA), one of the major polyphenol constituents of coffee beans is remain unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of CGA on experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in mice.

Methods: Balb/c mice were immunized with cardiac myosin peptides and complete Freund's adjuvant. CGA or vehicle (Cont) were administered orally from day 0 to day 21 (n=6 and 7, respectively). Mice were sacrificed on day 21.

Results: We found that the CGA significantly suppressed intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression in the EAM hearts. The suppressed ICAM-1 tended to reduce myocardial fibrosis compared to control EAM hearts.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the CGA influences inhibition of cell adhesion in myocarditis, the CGA treatment may have beneficial effects for progression of myocarditis.

Keywords: Adhesion molecules, autoimmunity, Balb/c mice, coffee extract, heart, ICAM, inflammation, myocarditis, myosin, polyphenol.