Reduced plakoglobin increases the risk of sodium current defects and atrial conduction abnormalities in response to androgenic anabolic steroid abuse

In this study, we observed a significantly higher proportion of males who had ARVC compared with females, and atrial arrhythmias and P wave changes represented a common observation in advanced ARVC stages. In mice with reduced plakoglobin expression, chronic administration of 5α-dihydrotestosterone led to P wave abnormalities, atrial conduction slowing, sodium current depletion and a decrease in membrane-localized NaV 1.5 clusters. 5α-Dihydrotestosterone, therefore, represents a stimulus aggravating the pro-arrhythmic phenotype in carriers of desmosomal mutations and can affect atrial electrical function.PMID:38345865 | DOI:10.1113/JP284597
Source: The Journal of Physiology - Category: Physiology Authors: Source Type: research