N-Acetyl Cysteine Inhibits Endothelin-1-Induced ROS Dependent Cardiac Hypertrophy through Superoxide Dismutase Regulation

N-Acetyl Cysteine, Selenium, and Ascorbic Acid Rescue Diabetic Cardiac Hypertrophy via Mitochondrial-Associated Redox Regulators

Metabolic disorders often lead to cardiac complications. Metabolic deregulations during diabetic conditions are linked to mitochondrial dysfunctions, which are the key contributing factors in cardiac hypertrophy. However, the underlying mechanisms involved in diabetes-induced cardiac hypertrophy are poorly understood. In the current study, we initially established a diabetic rat model by alloxan-administration, which was validated by peripheral glucose measurement. Diabetic rats displayed myocardial stiffness and fibrosis, changes in heart weight/body weight, heart weight/tibia length ratios, and enhanced size of myocytes, which altogether demonstrated the establishment of diabetic cardiac hypertrophy (DCH). Furthermore, we examined the expression of genes associated with mitochondrial signaling impairment. Our data show that the expression of PGC-1α, cytochrome c, MFN-2, and Drp-1 was deregulated. Mitochondrial-signaling impairment was further validated by redox-system dysregulation, which showed a significant increase in ROS and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, both in serum and heart tissue, whereas the superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione levels were decreased. Additionally, the expression levels of pro-apoptotic gene PUMA and stress marker GATA-4 genes were elevated, whereas ARC, PPARα, and Bcl-2 expression levels were decreased in the heart tissues of diabetic rats. Importantly, these alloxan-induced impairments were rescued by N-acetyl cysteine, ascorbic acid, and selenium treatment. This was demonstrated by the amelioration of myocardial stiffness, fibrosis, mitochondrial gene expression, lipid profile, restoration of myocyte size, reduced oxidative stress, and the activation of enzymes associated with antioxidant activities. Altogether, these data indicate that the improvement of mitochondrial dysfunction by protective agents such as N-acetyl cysteine, selenium, and ascorbic acid could rescue diabetes-associated cardiac complications, including DCH.

DIA proteomics analysis through serum profiles reveals the significant proteins as candidate biomarkers in women with PCOS

Background

The aim of this study was to apply proteomic methodology for the analysis of proteome changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Material and methods

All the participators including 31 PCOS patients and 31 healthy female as controls were recruited, the clinical characteristics data was recorded at the time of recruitment, the laboratory biochemical data was detected. Then, a data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based proteomics method was performed to compare the serum protein changes between PCOS patients and controls. In addition, Western blotting was used to validate the expression of identified proteomic biomarkers.

Results

There were 80 proteins differentially expressed between PCOS patients and controls significantly, including 54 downregulated and 26 upregulated proteins. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that downregulated proteins were enriched in platelet degranulation, cell adhesion, cell activation, blood coagulation, hemostasis, defense response and inflammatory response terms; upregulated proteins were enriched in cofactor catabolic process, hydrogen peroxide catabolic process, antioxidant activity, cellular oxidant detoxification, cellular detoxification, antibiotic catabolic process and hydrogen peroxide metabolic process. Receiver operating characteristic curves analysis showed that the area under curve of Histone H4 (H4), Histone H2A (H2A), Trem-like transcript 1 protein (TLT-1) were all over than 0.9, indicated promising diagnosis values of these proteins. Western blotting results proved that the detected significant proteins, including H4, H2A, TLT-1, Peroxiredoxin-1, Band 3 anion transport protein were all differently expressed in PCOS and control groups significantly.

Conclusion

These proteomic biomarkers provided the potentiality to help us understand PCOS better, but future studies comparing systemic expression and exact role of these candidate biomarkers in PCOS are essential for confirmation of this hypothesis.

Pistacia integerrima alleviated Bisphenol A induced toxicity through Ubc13/p53 signalling

Exposure to environmental toxicants such as Bisphenol A (BPA) has raised serious health issues globally particularly in developing countries. It is ubiquitously used in the manufacturing of canned food and feeding bottles. BPA generated reactive oxygen species can lead to several diseases including cardiotoxicity. However, the endpoints stimulated in BPA cardiotoxicity yet need to be investigated. The current study was aimed to investigate the underlying molecular pathways which may contribute in revealing the protective effects of Pistacia integerrima against BPA induced oxidative stress. The dose of 100 µg/kg BW of BPA, 200 mg/kg BW P. integerrima, and 4 mg/kg BW melatonin was administered to Sprague Dawley rats. Present results of western blotting and qRT-PCR showed the increased expression of p53, PUMA and Drp1, while downregulation of Ubc13 in heart tissues of BPA treated group whereas the levels were reversed upon treatment with P. integerrima. The role of BPA in heart tissue apoptosis was further confirmed by the increased level of P-p53, cytochrome C and disrupted cellular architecture whereas the P. integerrima has shown its ameliorative potential by mitigating the adverse effects of BPA. Moreover, the oxidant, antioxidant, lipid, and liver markers profile has also revealed the therapeutic potential of P. integerrima by maintaining the levels in the normal range. However, melatonin has also manifested the normalized expression of apoptotic markers, biochemical markers, and tissue architecture. Conclusively, the data suggest that P. integerrima may be a potential candidate for the treatment of BPA induced toxicity by neutralizing the oxidative stress through Ubc13/p53 pathway.

The Role of Oxidative Stress in Cardiac Disease: From Physiological Response to Injury Factor

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive chemical species containing oxygen, controlled by both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant defense systems. In the heart, ROS play an important role in cell homeostasis, by modulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and excitation-contraction coupling. Oxidative stress occurs when ROS production exceeds the buffering capacity of the antioxidant defense systems, leading to cellular and molecular abnormalities, ultimately resulting in cardiac dysfunction. In this review, we will discuss the physiological sources of ROS in the heart, the mechanisms of oxidative stress-related myocardial injury, and the implications of experimental studies and clinical trials with antioxidant therapies in cardiovascular diseases.

Crocin attenuates isoprenaline-induced myocardial fibrosis by targeting TLR4/NF-κB signaling: connecting oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis

Crocin is isolated from saffron and has multiple activities. There are many reports on its beneficial effects for cardiovascular disease, but crocin's effects on anti-myocardial fibrosis have not yet been reported. This study investigated crocin's effects and potential mechanisms on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial fibrosis (MF) in mice. Mice were infused intraperitoneally with crocin with concurrent ISO subcutaneous injections over 2 weeks. Electrocardiography, cardiac weight index (CWI), hydroxyproline content, and heart morphology changes were observed. Administration of crocin markedly decreased heart rate, J-point elevation, QRS interval, CWI, and hydroxyproline content in the myocardial tissues, and improved heart pathologic morphology. Versus the control group, the ISO group showed an increase in lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase activities and malondialdehyde content. Meanwhile, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione contents decreased in the ISO group; crocin caused a significant reduction in oxidative stress levels in ISO-induced MF. ISO led to a significant increase in interleukin-1 and -6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in addition to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) (p65) and toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 expressions. Crocin treatment suppressed these inflammatory cytokine expressions. Moreover, crocin treatment caused a significant decrease in connective tissue growth factor and transforming growth factor-β1 mRNA levels in addition to a decrease in B cell lymphoma-2, Bcl-2-associated X protein, caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-3 expressions. Crocin has a protective effect on ISO-induced MF, which may be associated with the TLR4/NF-κB (p65) signal transduction pathway.

High Serum Uric Acid is Highly Associated with a Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Rather than Increased Plasma B-type Natriuretic Peptide in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

High serum uric acid (UA) has been reported to be associated with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction; however, the relationship between UA and plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a sensitive biomarker of heart failure, is still unclear. This study investigated their relationship to provide an accurate assessment of high UA. The study patients consisted of 3,077 subjects who underwent cardiac catheterization because of various cardiovascular disorders. Since the explanatory factors of multiple regression analysis were mostly confounding with each other, subgroup analysis was performed by quartering the study population using the respective risk factors and by covariance structure analysis. This analysis revealed that UA was almost always well associated with a reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF), but generally not with BNP. UA was significantly associated with BNP in lean aged females, but not in obese adolescent males, although LVEF was significantly reduced in response to a high UA in both groups. A high UA is a direct risk factor for cardiac dysfunction from the perspective of BNP; however, augmentation of BNP in response to a high UA would likely be restricted among obese adolescent males. On the other hand, the observed LV systolic dysfunction, such as LVEF, reflects a high UA on an almost constant basis.