Prevention of experimental autoimmune cardiomyopathy in rabbits by receptor blockers.

We investigated the effects of beta1-adrenoceptor blockade and M2-muscarinic receptor antagonist in rabbits which have developed dilated cardiomyopathy-like changes after immunization with the peptides from the second extracellular loop of human beta1-adrenoceptor (beta1-peptide) and M2-muscarinic receptor (M2-peptide). Ten rabbits, which were immunized with beta1-peptide once a month for one year, were treated with bisoprolol and 10 rabbits, which were immunized with M2-peptide, were treated with otenzepad. Although both groups treated with receptor blockade or antagonist showed an increased titer of anti-beta1-adrenoceptor or anti-M2-muscarinic receptor antibodies, myocardial damages were markedly less than those in beta1-peptide- or M2-peptide-immunized rabbits. This study indicates that anti-beta1-adrenoceptor and anti-M2-muscarinic receptor antibodies are of pathogenic importance in the development of human dilated cardiomyopathy, and that beta-adrenoceptor blockade, bisoprolol, and M2-muscarinic receptor antagonist, otenzepad, might be clinically useful for treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy.