OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the occurrence and repercussions of chemically induced pulmonary emphysema and the morphological alterations present in rats' hearts of post-induction and to follow the progression afterwards. METHOD: Seventy five rats divided into two groups: papain (N=50) and control (N=25), were submitted to intratracheal instillation of papain and saline solution, respectively, and were evaluated. The animals were sacrificed 30, 60, 90, 120 or 180 days post-instillation. Arterial blood gases and cardiac and pulmonary morphometrical analysis were performed. RESULTS: Papain instillation produced alveolar tissue destruction similar to the morphological alterations observed in pulmonary emphysema. The papain group presented mean alveolar diameter higher than controls in all periods evaluated (p<0.05). Right ventricle wall thickness and interventricular septum did not show significant macroscopic alterations until six months after emphysema induction. The right ventricle area presented enlargement 120 days after induction of the pulmonary emphysema, with mean area higher than control at 120 e 180 days (p=0.001). The left ventricle presented significant cavity area decrease 90 days after induction of the pulmonary emphysema, followed by slight wall thickening. CONCLUSIONS: The adopted experimental model was efficient to morphologically induce the pulmonary emphysema. The presence of pulmonary emphysema did not provoke morphological changes in the right ventricle wall and interventricular septum. The alveolar destruction induced left ventricular hypertrophy and enlargement of the right ventricle.
Pulmonary emphysema; Pulmonary emphysema; Papain; Disease models, animal; Heart ventricle
