Colchicine Ameliorates 5‐Fluorouracil‐Induced Cardiotoxicity in Rats

Background and Objective. 5‐Fluorouracil is one of the most common chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of solid tumors. 5‐Fluorouracil‐associated cardiotoxicity is the second cause of cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs after anthracyclines. Colchicine is a strong anti‐inflammatory drug used to prevent and treat acute gout and treat familial Mediterranean fever. And also, its protective effects on cardiovascular disease have been reported in various studies. The current study is aimed at appraising the effect of colchicine on 5‐fluorouracil‐induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Methods. Twenty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: control, 5‐fluorouracil, colchicine (5 mg/kg), and 5‐fluorouracil+5 mg/kg colchicine. Cardiotoxicity was induced with an intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 5‐fluorouracil (100 mg/kg). The control group received normal saline, and the treatment groups received colchicine with an intraperitoneal injection for 14 days. Findings. 5‐Fluorouracil resulted in significant cardiotoxicity represented by an increase in cardiac enzymes, malondialdehyde levels, cyclooxygenase‐2 and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha expression, cardiac enzymes, and histopathological degenerations. 5‐Fluorouracil treatment also decreased body weight, total antioxidant capacity and catalase values, blood cells, and hemoglobin levels. In addition, 5‐fluorouracil disrupted electrocardiographic parameters, including increased elevation in the ST segment and increased QRS duration. Treatment with colchicine reduced oxidative stress, cardiac enzymes, histopathological degenerations, and cyclooxygenase‐2 expression in cardiac tissue, improved electrocardiographic disorders, and enhanced the number of blood cells and total antioxidant capacity levels. Moreover, body weight loss was hampered after treatment with colchicine. Our results demonstrated that treatment with colchicine significantly improved cardiotoxicity induced by 5‐fluorouracil in rats.