Abstract
Myocardial infarction is still a life-threatening disease, even though its prognosis has been improved through the development of percutaneous coronary intervention and pharmacotherapy. In addition, heart failure due to remodeling after myocardial infarction requires lifelong management. The aim of this study was to develop a novel treatment suppressing the myocardial damage done by myocardial infarction. We focused on inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase to prolong the activation of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, which have vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory properties. We successfully made a new vaccine to inactivate soluble epoxide hydrolase, and we have evaluated the effect of the vaccine in a rat myocardial infarction model. In the vaccinated group, the ischemic area was significantly reduced, and cardiac function was significantly preserved. Vaccine treatment clearly increased microvessels in the border area and suppressed fibrosis secondary to myocardial infarction. This soluble epoxide hydrolase vaccine is a novel treatment for improving cardiac function following myocardial infarction.