The anti-cancer drug doxorubicin induces substantial epigenetic changes in cultured cardiomyocytes.

Abstract The anthracycline doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used in cancer therapy with the limitation of cardiotoxicity leading to the development of congestive heart failure. DOX-induced oxidative stress and changes of the phosphoproteome as well as epigenome were described but the exact mechanisms of the adverse long-term effects are still elusive. Here, we tested the impact of DOX treatment on cell death, oxidative stress parameters and expression profiles of proteins involved in epigenetic pathways in a cardiomyocyte cell culture model. Markers of oxidative stress, apoptosis and expression of proteins involved in epigenetic processes were assessed by immunoblotting in cultured rat myoblasts…