Chronic treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor increases cardiac fibrosis in young rats submitted to early ovarian failure

Vitronectin regulates osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in a mouse model of osteoporosis

Vitronectin (VN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a crucial role in regulating bone remodeling. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of VN deficiency in a mouse model of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX). The findings revealed that the absence of VN led to an increase in the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), a marker for osteoclasts, in the plasma of OVX-operated mice. TRAP staining further demonstrated that VN deficiency resulted in a higher number of osteoclasts within the femurs of OVX-operated mice. X-ray micro-computed tomography analysis of the femurs in OVX-operated mice indicated that VN deficiency significantly suppressed the OVX-induced increase of marrow area and total volume of bone. Additionally, we assessed structural model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DA) as indices of osteoporosis. The results showed that VN deficiency effectively attenuated the OVX-induced increase in SMI and DA among OVX-operated mice. In summary, our study demonstrates the vital role of VN in regulating osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in the mouse model of osteoporosis.

Promising Therapeutic Treatments for Cardiac Fibrosis: Herbal Plants and Their Extracts

Cardiac fibrosis is closely associated with multiple heart diseases, which are a prominent health issue in the global world. Neurohormones and cytokines play indispensable roles in cardiac fibrosis. Many signaling pathways participate in cardiac fibrosis as well. Cardiac fibrosis is due to impaired degradation of collagen and impaired fibroblast activation, and collagen accumulation results in increasing heart stiffness and inharmonious activity, leading to structure alterations and finally cardiac function decline. Herbal plants have been applied in traditional medicines for thousands of years. Because of their naturality, they have attracted much attention for use in resisting cardiac fibrosis in recent years. This review sheds light on several extracts from herbal plants, which are promising therapeutics for reversing cardiac fibrosis.

Heart Failure in Menopause: Treatment and New Approaches

Aging is an important risk factor for the development of heart failure (HF) and half of patients with HF have preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) which is more common in elderly women. In general, sex differences that lead to discrepancies in risk factors and to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been attributed to the reduced level of circulating estrogen during menopause. Estrogen receptors adaptively modulate fibrotic, apoptotic, inflammatory processes and calcium homeostasis, factors that are directly involved in the HFpEF. Therefore, during menopause, estrogen depletion reduces the cardioprotection. Preclinical menopause models demonstrated that several signaling pathways and organ systems are closely involved in the development of HFpEF, including dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), chronic inflammatory process and alteration in the sympathetic nervous system. Thus, this review explores thealterations observed in the condition of HFpEF induced by menopause and the therapeutic targets with potential to interfere with the disease progress.

Role of aerobic physical training on cardiac autonomic and morphophysiological dysfunction in hypertensive rats subjected to ovarian hormone deprivation

Here we investigated the effects of physical training on cardiovascular autonomic control and cardiac morphofunctional parameters in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) subjected to ovarian hormone deprivation. Forty-eight 10-week-old SHRs were divided into two groups: ovariectomized (OVX, n=24) and sham (SHAM, n=24). Half of each group (n=12) was trained by swimming for 12 weeks (OVX-T and SHAM-T). Cardiac morphology and functionality were assessed using echocardiography, and autonomic parameters were assessed using double pharmacological autonomic block, baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and analyses of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). Ovariectomy did not influence the cardiac autonomic tonus balance unlike physical training, which favored greater participation of the vagal autonomic tonus. Ovariectomy and aerobic physical training did not modify HRV and BRS, unlike BPV, for which both methods reduced low-frequency oscillations, suggesting a reduction in sympathetic vascular modulation. Untrained ovariectomized animals showed a reduced relative wall thickness (RWT) and increased diastolic and systolic volumes and left ventricular diameters, resulting in increased stroke volume. Trained ovariectomized animals presented reduced posterior wall thickness and RWT as well as increased final diastolic diameter, left ventricular mass, and stroke volume. Ovarian hormone deprivation in SHRs promoted morphofunctional adaptations but did not alter the evaluation of cardiac autonomic parameters. In turn, aerobic physical training contributed to a more favorable cardiac autonomic balance to the vagal autonomic component and promoted morphological adaptations but had little effect on cardiac functionality.

Estradiol replacement therapy regulates innate immune response in ovariectomized arthritic mice

Neuroendocrine changes are essential factors contributing to the progression and development of rheumatoid arthritis. However, the role of estrogen in the innate immunity during arthritis development is still controversial. Here, we evaluated the effect of estrous cycle, ovariectomy, estradiol replacement therapy and treatment with estrogen receptor (ER)α and ERβ specific agonists on joint edema formation, neutrophil recruitment, and articular levels of cytokines/chemokines in murine zymosan-induced arthritis. Our results showed that articular inflammation of proestus/estrus was similar to metaestus/diestrus animals indicating that the inflammatory response in acute arthritis is not affected by the estrous cycle. However, ovariectomy increased joint swelling, neutrophil migration, and TNF-α level. Treatment for six consecutive days with estradiol cypionate re-established the acute inflammation in ovariectomized arthritic mice to responses similar to those in SHAM-proestrus/estrus or naive mice. Moreover, treatment with propylpyrazoletriol and diarylpropionitrile, two ERα and ERβ selective agonists, respectively, inhibited both edema and neutrophil recruitment. Finally, the non-genomic properties of estradiol were analyzed with an acute treatment with β-estradiol-water soluble, which reduced the edema only. In the present study, estradiol replacement therapy improves the innate immune responses in ovariectomized arthritic mice by activating nuclear estrogen receptors. These results suggest that estradiol can induce a protective anti-inflammatory effect in arthritis during ovaries failure, as observed in the menopause.