Cerebral Cortex Apoptosis in Early Aged Hypertension: Effects of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate

Measurement of blood pressure in rats: Invasive or noninvasive methods?

Experiments should always be based on control values. This assumption fully applies to cardiovascular parameters, such as heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP), which are highly sensitive to various external and internal stimuli and can already be significantly altered when an experiment begins. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which values are defined as a starting point (i.e., control and baseline) or compare them with valid reference values if the goal is to evaluate the changes after experimental intervention. A generally accepted principle is a reciprocal relationship between BP and HR, in which one parameter affects the other and vice versa. BP can be measured using two methods-noninvasively (tail-cuff) and invasively (telemetry, direct measurements of BP after introducing the sensor directly into the artery), and HR directly or by extrapolation from BP recordings. This study does not aim to evaluate the results of individual studies, but to review whether there are differences in control (baseline) BP values in normotensive and hypertensive male rats using invasive versus noninvasive methods, and to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between BP and HR in in vivo experiments with male rats.

Natural compounds targeting mitochondrial dysfunction: emerging therapeutics for target organ damage in hypertension

Hypertension generally causes target organ damage (TOD) in the heart, brain, kidney, and blood vessels. This can result in atherosclerosis, plaque formation, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, and renal failure. Recent studies have indicated that mitochondrial dysfunction is crucial in hypertensive target organ damage. Consequently, mitochondria-targeted therapies attract increasing attention. Natural compounds are valuable resources for drug discovery and development. Many studies have demonstrated that natural compounds can ameliorate mitochondrial dysfunction in hypertensive target organ damage. This review examines the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction to the development of target organ damage in hypertension. Moreover, it summarizes therapeutic strategies based on natural compounds that target mitochondrial dysfunction, which may be beneficial for preventing and treating hypertensive target organ damage.

EGCG Alleviates Obesity-Induced Myocardial Fibrosis in Rats by Enhancing Expression of SCN5A

Object

Obesity is an increase in body weight beyond the limitation of skeletal and physical requirement, as the result of an excessive accumulation of fat in the body. Obesity could increase the risk of myocardial fibrosis. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant substance in green tea and has been reported to have multiple pharmacological activities. However, there is not enough evidence to show that EGCG has a therapeutic effect on obesity-induced myocardial fibrosis. This study aims to investigate whether EGCG is a potential drug for obesity-induced myocardial fibrosis.

Methods

Obesity-induced myocardial fibrosis rat model was established by HFD feeding for 36 weeks. EGCG was intragastrically administered at 160 mg/kg/d for the last 4 weeks. The pathological changes of myocardial fibrosis were evaluated by tissue pathological staining and collagen quantification. Furthermore, total RNA was extracted from the heart for RNA-seq to identify the changes in the transcript profile, and the relevant hub genes were verified by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot.

Results

EGCG significantly relieved HFD diet-induced obesity and alleviated the pathology of myocardial fibrosis. Biochemical analysis showed that EGCG could relieve the burden of lipid metabolism and injury to the myocardium and transcript profile analysis showed that EGCG could alleviate obesity-induced myocardial fibrosis by increasing the level of Scn5a in the heart. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR and western blot analysis for SCN5A also confirmed this finding.

Conclusion

Taken together, these results suggest that EGCG could protect against the obesity-induced myocardial fibrosis. EGCG plays an anti-myocardial fibrosis role by regulating the expression of SCN5A in the heart.

Dietary Supplements and Natural Products: An Update on Their Clinical Effectiveness and Molecular Mechanisms of Action During Accelerated Biological Aging

Accelerated biological aging, which involves the gradual decline of organ or tissue functions and the distortion of physiological processes, underlies several human diseases. Away from the earlier free radical concept, telomere attrition, cellular senescence, proteostasis loss, mitochondrial dysfunction, stem cell exhaustion, and epigenetic and genomic alterations have emerged as biological hallmarks of aging. Moreover, nutrient-sensing metabolic pathways are critical to an organism's ability to sense and respond to nutrient levels. Pharmaceutical, genetic, and nutritional interventions reverting physiological declines by targeting nutrient-sensing metabolic pathways can promote healthy aging and increase lifespan. On this basis, biological aging hallmarks and nutrient-sensing dependent and independent pathways represent evolving drug targets for many age-linked diseases. Here, we discuss and update the scientific community on contemporary advances in how dietary supplements and natural products beneficially revert accelerated biological aging processes to retrograde human aging and age-dependent human diseases, both from the clinical and preclinical studies point-of-view. Overall, our review suggests that dietary/natural products increase healthspan-rather than lifespan-effectively minimizing the period of frailty at the end of life. However, real-world setting clinical trials and basic studies on dietary supplements and natural products are further required to decisively demonstrate whether dietary/natural products could promote human lifespan.

Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG): New Therapeutic Perspectives for Neuroprotection, Aging, and Neuroinflammation for the Modern Age

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are the two most common forms of neurodegenerative diseases. The exact etiology of these disorders is not well known; however, environmental, molecular, and genetic influences play a major role in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Using Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as the archetype, the pathological findings include the aggregation of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) peptides, mitochondrial dysfunction, synaptic degradation caused by inflammation, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and cerebrovascular dysregulation. This review highlights the neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective role of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): the medicinal component of green tea, a known nutraceutical that has shown promise in modulating AD progression due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging abilities. This report also re-examines the current literature and provides innovative approaches for EGCG to be used as a preventive measure to alleviate AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.