Sex differences in cardio-oncology: utilizing a genetic variant as a therapeutic target doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy
Authors: Bruno K , Morales-Lara A C , Diflorio D N , Anastasiadis Z , Landolfo C , Ray J C , Norton N , Fairweather D 
Published: October 2021

Introduction

Doxorubicin is an anthracycline used as a chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of a wide range of adult and pediatric cancers. Doxorubicin is associated with an increased risk of cardiomyopathy and heart failure with up to 10% of patients developing cardiac complications. A GWAS conducted of 1,191 patients from the N9831 clinical trial identified that cardiac gene expression and genetic variants of TRPC6 were associated with a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p=0.005 and p=1.6x10–6, respectively). TRPC6 is a non-selective cation channel expressed in heart and vascular tissue. TRPC6 participates in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy as a pathological response to chronic mechanical stress. Chronic activation has been found to promote cardiac fibrosis leading to heart failure.

Purpose

TRPC6 variants could be associated with increased risk of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Data/tests to determine which patients may progress to cardiomyopathy and heart failure are currently lacking and there are no targeted treatments to prevent cardiomyopathy in these patients.

Methods

In preliminary in vivo data, B6.129 wild-type mice or TRPC6 knockout mice were treated with either 6x intraperitoneal saline or 4mg/kg doxorubicin injections (cumulative dose of 24mg/kg).

Results

We found doxorubicin increased cardiac vacuolation (male, p≤0.001 and female, p≤0.05) in WT mice compared to controls. Higher HW/BW ratio was observed in male TRPC6 knock out mice compared to wild-type mice when both were treated with doxorubicin (males, p=0.005 and females, p=0.19). Additionally, we found that doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury was significantly reduced in TRPC6 knock-out mice compared to wild-type mice based on reduced vacuolation (p=0.0004 males, p=0.03 females), with the effect being greater in male mice than female mice. Furthermore, a significant decrease in stroke volume (p=0.007), diastolic volume (p=0.01) and cardiac output (p=0.004) in wild-type male mice treated with doxorubicin compared to control and TRPC6 knock-out mice.

Our in vitro preliminary data show that inhibition of TRPC6 using the TRPC6 inhibitor GsMTx-4 in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes significantly reduced doxorubicin-induced apoptosis (p&lt;0.0001). Further we treated male mice with the TRPC6 inhibitor, GsMTx4, and found that they had less global longitudinal cardiac strain (p=0.04) and higher ejection fraction (p=0.01) compared to mice who were only treated with doxorubicin. Histologically we found that mice given the TRPC6 inhibitor had less fibrosis as measured by Trichrome stained heart sections (p=0.004) which could account for improvements in cardiac function.

Conclusion

TRPC6 could be a novel therapeutic target in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Additionally genetic mapping of TRCP6 functional variants may provide a new screening tool to determine increased risk of developing heart failure.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Private hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Mayo Clinic