Cardioprotective Effects of Oroxylum indicum Extract Against Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Mitochondria as therapeutic targets for Natural Products in the treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Natural products represent a unique medical approach to treating disease and have been used in clinical practice for thousands of years in cardiovascular disease (CVDs). In recent years, natural products have received increasing attention for their high efficiency, safety, and low toxicity, and their targeted regulation of mitochondria offers promising strategies for the treatment of CVDs. However, the potential mechanisms by which natural products target mitochondria for cardiovascular treatment have not been fully elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Literature from the past decade is reviewed to emphasize the therapeutic efficacy and potential mechanisms of natural products targeting mitochondria in the treatment of CVDs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the NCBI PubMed database, relevant literature was searched using 'natural products', 'mitochondria' and 'cardiovascular disease' as search terms, and review papers were excluded. The remaining articles were screened for relevance. Priority was given to articles using rat models, in vivo, ex vivo or in vitro assays. The resulting articles were categorized into natural product categories, including saponins, alkaloids, plant extracts and preparations. This article reviews the research progress on mitochondria as potential therapeutic targets for CVDs and summarizes the application of mitochondria-targeted natural products in the treatment of CVDs.

RESULTS

Mitochondrial damage may be attributed to impairment of biogenesis (mitochondrial number and mitochondrial DNA damage), dynamics disruption (mitophagy inhibition and overpromotion, fusion and fission),disruption of optimal function including Adenosine triphosphate generation, Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, fatty acid β oxidation, mitochondrial membrane permeability, calcium homeostasis imbalance, and membrane potential depolarization. Mitochondrial dysfunction or damage leads to cardiomyocyte dysfunction, ion disorders, cell death, and ultimately CVDs, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, ischemia reperfusion, and diabetic heart disease. Natural products, which include flavonoids, saponins, phenolic acids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, extracts, and formulations, are seen to have significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of CVDs. Mechanistically, natural products regulate mitophagy, mitochondrial fusion and fission, while improving mitochondrial respiratory function, reducing ROS production, and inhibiting mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in cardiomyocytes, thereby protecting myocardial cells and heart function.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper reviews the potential and mechanism of natural products to regulate mitochondria for the treatment of CVDs, creating more opportunities for understanding their therapeutic targets and derivatization of lead compounds, and providing a scientific basis for advancing CVDs drug research.

Intravenous administration of mitochondria improves ovarian function by anti-apoptosis in the premature ovarian insufficiency model

OBJECTIVE

For patients with contraindications to hormone therapy, the absence of effective treatments for ovarian dysfunction post chemotherapy represents a critical issue requiring resolution. Local administration of mitochondria may enhance ovarian function in premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) by ameliorating diminished mitochondrial activity. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of literature on the efficacy of mitochondrial transplantation through intravenous injection, a less invasive and more convenient method than local injection, for the improvement of ovarian function in POI following chemotherapy.

METHOD

Mitochondria were isolated from mouse livers, their activity and integrity were validated with MitoTracker Red and their localization was examined via confocal microscopy, real-time quantitative PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay post tail vein injection. An ovarian insufficiency animal model induced by chemotherapy was developed, and ovarian function was assessed through ovarian diameter, vaginal smear, body weight, sex hormone levels and histological analysis. The impact of mitochondrial transplantation on an ovarian cell model was examined through the assessment of mitochondrial function, apoptosis and levels of reactive oxygen species.

CONCLUSION

Tail vein injection of isolated mitochondria has the potential to enhance ovarian functions in an animal model of POI induced by cyclophosphamide, increase mitochondrial activity in impaired ovarian cells and decrease the rate of apoptosis.

Methanolic Extract of Morchella esculenta (Ascomycota) Prevents Chemotherapy-Related Cardiotoxicity in Tumor-Bearing Mice

The quest for bioactives that confer protection against chemotherapy induced cardio toxicity is a front-line area of cardio oncology research. Species of genus Morchella have been used in traditional medicine to treat asthma, wound healing, cough, cold, indigestion, excessive phlegm and breathlessness. M. esculenta, commonly known as guchhi in India is a highly prized culinary morel mushroom. Recent studies carried out in our laboratory have demonstrated significant cardioprotective effect of M. esculenta against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity. Since bioactive extracts of morel mushrooms were found to possess profound antioxidant activity, the possible interference of these extracts with antineoplastic activity of chemotherapy drugs is often surmised. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of two anticancer drugs, DOX and cyclophosphamide (CP) on solid tumor-bearing mice treated with bioactive extract of M. esculenta. Solid tumor was induced by subcutaneous injection of Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) cells on the right hind limbs of Swiss albino mice. Animals were administered with various concentrations of methanol extract (ME) of M. esculenta following tumor induction. Tumor growth (volume and mass) was measured for four weeks after tumor induction. Cardioprotective effect of methanolic extract was assessed by determining cardiac injury markers levels in serum, antioxidant status in myocardium and histopathology of heart tissue. The results showed significant cardioprotective effect of ME of M. esculenta on tumor-bearing mice. The findings also suggest that ME of M. esculenta did not delimit the therapeutic effect of DOX and CP despite its profound antioxidant activity.

Evaluate the in vitro effect of anthracycline and alkylating cytophosphane chemotherapeutics on dopaminergic neurons

BACKGROUND

Iatrogenesis is an inevitable global threat to healthcare that drastically increases morbidity and mortality. Cancer is a fatal pathological condition that affects people of different ages, sexes, and races around the world. In addition to the detrimental cancer pathology, one of the most common contraindications and challenges observed in cancer patients is severe adverse drug effects and hypersensitivity reactions induced by chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-induced cognitive neurotoxicity is clinically referred to as Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI), chemobrain, or chemofog. In addition to CICI, chemotherapy also causes neuropsychiatric issues, mental disorders, hyperarousal states, and movement disorders. A synergistic chemotherapy regimen of Doxorubicin (Anthracycline-DOX) and Cyclophosphamide (Alkylating Cytophosphane-CPS) is indicated for the management of various cancers (breast cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia). Nevertheless, there are limited research studies on Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide's pharmacodynamic and toxicological effects on dopaminergic neuronal function.

AIM

This study evaluated the dopaminergic neurotoxic effects of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide were incubated with dopaminergic (N27) neurons. Neuronal viability was assessed using an MTT assay. The effect of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide on various prooxidants, antioxidants, mitochondrial Complex-I & IV activities, and BAX expression were evaluated by Spectroscopic, Fluorometric, and RT-PCR methods, respectively. Prism-V software (La Jolla, CA, USA) was used for statistical analysis. Chemotherapeutics dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of the dopaminergic neurons. The dopaminergic neurotoxic mechanism of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide was attributed to a significant increase in prooxidants, a decrease in antioxidants, and augmented apoptosis without affecting mitochondrial function.

CONCLUSION

This is one of the first reports that reveal Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide induce significant dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Thus, Chemotherapy-induced adverse drug reaction issues substantially persist during and after treatment and sometimes never be completely resolved clinically. Consequently, failure to adopt adequate patient care measures for cancer patients treated with certain chemotherapeutics might substantially raise the incidence of numerous movement disorders.

Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction Disease: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Myocardial infarction (MI), also referred to as a "heart attack," is brought on by a partial or total interruption of blood supply to the myocardium. Myocardial infarction can be "silent," go undiagnosed, or it can be a catastrophic occurrence that results in hemodynamic decline and untimely death. In recent years, herbal remedies for MI have become effective, secure, and readily accessible.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this review was to examine the medicinal plants and phytochemicals that have been used to treat MI in order to assess the potential contribution of natural substances to the development of herbal MI treatments.

METHODOLOGY

A literature search was employed to find information utilizing electronic databases, such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, Sci Finder, Reaxys, and Cochrane.

RESULTS

The identification of 140 plants from 12 families led to the abstraction of data on the plant families, parts of the plant employed, chemical contents, extracts, model used, and dose.

CONCLUSION

The majority of the MI plants, according to the data, belonged to the Fabaceae (11%) and Asteraceae (9%) families, and the most prevalent natural components in plants with MI were flavonoids (43%), glucosides (25%), alkaloids (23%), phenolic acid (19%), saponins (15%), and tannins (12%).

Effects of Low Molecular Weight Peptides from Red Shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) Head on Immune Response in Immunosuppressed Mice

This study aimed to investigate the immunoenhancement effects of low molecular weight peptides (SCHPs-F1) from red shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) head against cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced immunosuppressed mice. ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with 80 mg/kg CTX for 5 consecutive days to establish the immunosuppressive model and then intragastrically administered with SCHPs-F1 (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg) to investigate its improving effect on immunosuppressed mice and explore its potential mechanism using Western blot. SCHPs-F1 could effectively improve the spleen and thymus index, promoting serum cytokines and immunoglobulins production and upregulating the proliferative activity of splenic lymphocytes and peritoneal macrophages of the CTX-treated mice. Moreover, SCHPs-F1 could significantly promote the expression levels of related proteins in the NF-κB and MAPK pathways in the spleen tissues. Overall, the results suggested that SCHPs-F1 could effectively ameliorate the immune deficiency caused by CTX and had the potential to explore as an immunomodulator in functional foods or dietary supplements.

Validating the anti-lymphoma pharmacodynamic actions of the endocannabinoids on canine non-Hodgkin lymphoma

AIMS

This study established the in vitro anti-lymphoma pharmacodynamic actions of the endocannabinoids (anandamide-AEA and 2-arachidonoylglycerol-2AG) on canine non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and human NHL cells.

MAIN METHODS

The expression of cannabinoid (CB₁ and CB₂) receptors in various canine NHL cells {1771, CLBL-1, CLL-1, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)} was studied using Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Anti-lymphoma cell viability assay was performed to assess the effect of endocannabinoids on various canine and human NHL cells (1771, CLBL-1, CLL-1, Ramos cells). The spectrophotometric and fluorometric procedures evaluated oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial function markers. SAS® and Prism-V La Jolla, CA, USA, were used for statistical analysis.

KEY FINDINGS

The current study validated the presence of CB₁ and CB₂ receptors in the canine NHL cells. There was a significantly higher expression of CB₁ and CB₂ receptors in B-cell lymphoma (BCL) cells (1771, CLBL-1, Ramos) compared to canine T-cell lymphoma (TCL) cells (CL-1). AEA and 2AG dose and time-dependently exhibited significant but differential anti-lymphoma effects on canine and human NHL cells. Anti-lymphoma pharmacodynamic actions of the endocannabinoids in the canine 1771 NHL cells revealed a significant alteration in the markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and a decrease in mitochondrial function without altering the apoptotic markers.

SIGNIFICANCE

Establishing the anti-lymphoma pharmacodynamic actions of endocannabinoids may provide new therapeutic interventions and expedite cannabinoid research.

Effects of developmental exposures to Bisphenol-A and Bisphenol-S on hepatocellular function in male Long-Evans rats

Bisphenol-S (BPS) is a current substitute for Bisphenol-A (BPA) in various commercial products (paper, plastics, protective can-coatings, etc.) used by all age groups globally. The current literature indicates that a drastic surge in pro-oxidants, pro-apoptotic, and pro-inflammatory biomarkers in combination with diminished mitochondrial activity can potentially decrease hepatic function leading to morbidity and mortality. Consequently, there are increasing public health concerns that substantial Bisphenol-mediated effects may impact hepatocellular functions, particularly in newborns exposed to BPA and BPS postnatally. However, the acute postnatal impact of BPA and BPS and the molecular mechanisms affecting hepatocellular functions are unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated the acute postnatal effect of BPA and BPS on the biomarkers of hepatocellular functions, including oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial activity in male Long-Evans rats. BPA and BPS (5 and 20 microgram/Liter (μg/L) of drinking water) were administered to 21-day-old male rats for 14 days. BPS had no significant effect on apoptosis, inflammation, and mitochondrial function but significantly reduced the reactive oxygen species (51-60 %, **p < 0.01) and nitrite content (36 %, *p < 0.05), exhibiting hepatoprotective effects. As expected, based on the current scientific literature, BPA induced significant hepatoxicity, as seen by significant glutathione depletion (50 %, *p < 0.05). The in-silico analysis indicated that BPS is effectively absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract without crossing the blood-brain barrier (whereas BPA crosses the blood-brain barrier) and is not a substrate of p-Glycoprotein and Cytochrome P450 enzymes. Thus, the current in-silico and in vivo findings revealed that acute postnatal exposure to BPS had no significant hepatotoxicity.

Role of hypoxia inducible factor/vascular endothelial growth factor/endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling pathway in mediating the cardioprotective effect of dapagliflozin in cyclophosphamide-induced cardiotoxicity

BACKGROUND

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive alkylating agent. However, cardiac adverse effects of CP interfere with its clinical benefit. Cardio-oncology research is currently an important issue and finding effective cardiopreserving agents is a critical need. For the first time, we aimed to detect if dapagliflozin (DAP) could ameliorate CP-induced cardiac injury and investigated the role of hypoxia inducible factor α (HIF1α)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) pathway.

METHODS

Forty male Wistar albino rats were included in the current model. Studied groups are: control group; CP-induced cardiotoxicity group; CP group treated with DAP; CP group treated with DAP and administered a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor; nitro-ω-L-arginine (L-NNA) before DAP to explore the role of eNOS.

RESULTS

Our data revealed that CP could induce cardiac damage as manifested by significant increases in cardiac enzymes, blood pressure, malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), HIF1α, sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) and cleaved caspase-3 levels with toxic histopathological changes. However, there are significant decreases in reduced glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), VEGF, and eNOS. On the opposite side, co-administration of DAP showed marked improvement of CP-induced cardiac damage that may be due to its ability to inhibit SGLT2, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. Results showed decreasing the cardioprotective effect of DAP on administration of L-NNA, reflecting the critical effect of eNOS in mediating such protection.

CONCLUSION

DAP could reduce CP cardiotoxicity based upon its ability to modulate SGLT2 and HIF1α/VEGF/eNOS signaling pathway.

Role and molecular mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in preventing cardiotoxicity associated with chemoradiotherapy

Cardiotoxicity is a serious complication of cancer therapy. It is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors and is associated with a variety of factors, including oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and abnormal myocardial energy metabolism. A number of studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can mitigate chemoradiotherapy-associated cardiotoxicity via these pathways. Therefore, this study reviews the effects and molecular mechanisms of TCM on chemoradiotherapy-related cardiotoxicity. In this study, we searched PubMed for basic studies on the anti-cardiotoxicity of TCM in the past 5 years and summarized their results. Angelica Sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus Bunge, Danshinone IIA sulfonate sodium (STS), Astragaloside (AS), Resveratrol, Ginsenoside, Quercetin, Danggui Buxue Decoction (DBD), Shengxian decoction (SXT), Compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP), Qishen Huanwu Capsule (QSHWC), Angelica Sinensis and Astragalus membranaceus Bunge Ultrafiltration Extract (AS-AM),Shenmai injection (SMI), Xinmailong (XML), and nearly 60 other herbs, herbal monomers, herbal soups and herbal compound preparations were found to be effective as complementary or alternative treatments. These preparations reduced chemoradiotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity through various pathways such as anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation, alleviating endoplasmic reticulum stress, regulation of apoptosis and autophagy, and improvement of myocardial energy metabolism. However, few clinical trials have been conducted on these therapies, and these trials can provide stronger evidence-based support for TCM.