The cellular and molecular origin of reactive oxygen species generation during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion

Proteomics of the heart

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics is a sophisticated identification tool specializing in portraying protein dynamics at a molecular level. Proteomics provides biologists with a snapshot of context-dependent protein and proteoform expression, structural conformations, dynamic turnover, and protein-protein interactions. Cardiac proteomics can offer a broader and deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underscore cardiovascular disease, and it is foundational to the development of future therapeutic interventions. This review encapsulates the evolution, current technologies, and future perspectives of proteomic-based mass spectrometry as it applies to the study of the heart. Key technological advancements have allowed researchers to study proteomes at a single-cell level and employ robot-assisted automation systems for enhanced sample preparation techniques, and the increase in fidelity of the mass spectrometers has allowed for the unambiguous identification of numerous dynamic posttranslational modifications. Animal models of cardiovascular disease, ranging from early animal experiments to current sophisticated models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, have provided the tools to study a challenging organ in the laboratory. Further technological development will pave the way for the implementation of proteomics even closer within the clinical setting, allowing not only scientists but also patients to benefit from an understanding of protein interplay as it relates to cardiac disease physiology.

Dual-Emissive Detection of ATP and Hypochlorite Ions for Monitoring Inflammation-Driven Liver Injury In Vitro and In Vivo

Reactive oxygen species play a pivotal role in liver disease, contributing to severe liver damage and chronic inflammation. In liver injury driven by inflammation, adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) and hypochlorite ion (ClO-) emerge as novel biomarkers, reflecting mitochondrial dysfunction and amplified oxidative stress, respectively. However, the dynamic fluctuations of ATP and ClO- in hepatocytes and mouse livers remain unclear, and multidetection techniques for these biomarkers are yet to be developed. This study presents RATP-NClO, a dual-channel fluorescent bioprobe capable of synchronously detecting ATP and ClO- ions. RATP-NClO exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity for ATP and ClO- ions, demonstrating a dual-channel fluorescence response in a murine hepatocyte cell line. Upon intravenous administration, RATP-NClO reveals synchronized ATP depletion and ClO- amplification in the livers of mice with experimental metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Through a comprehensive analysis of the principal mechanism of the developed bioprobe and the verification of its reliable detection ability in both in vitro and in vivo settings, we propose it as a unique tool for monitoring changes in intracellular ATP and ClO- level. These findings underscore its potential for practical image-based monitoring and functional phenotyping of MASH pathogenesis.

Construction of preclinical evidence for propofol in the treatment of reperfusion injury after acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Propofol, a commonly used intravenous anesthetic, has demonstrated potential in protecting against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) based on preclinical animal studies. However, the clinical benefits of propofol in this context are subject to debate. We conducted a systematic search across eight databases to identify all relevant animal studies investigating the preventive effects of propofol on MIRI until October 30, 2023. We assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using SYRCLE's bias risk tool. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 15.1. The primary outcome measures analyzed in this study were myocardial infarct size (IS) and myocardial injury biomarkers. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of 48 relevant animal studies investigating propofol's preventive effects on MIRI. Propofol administration demonstrated a reduction in myocardial IS and decreased levels of myocardial injury biomarkers (CK-MB, LDH, cTnI). Moreover, propofol improved myocardial function parameters (+dp/dtmax, -dP/dtmax, LVEF, LVFS), exhibited favorable effects on inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α) and oxidative stress markers (SOD, MDA), and reduced myocardial cell apoptotic index (AI). These findings suggest propofol exerts cardioprotective effects by reducing myocardial injury, decreasing infarct size, and improving heart function. However, the absence of animal models that accurately represent comorbidities such as aging and hypertension, as well as inconsistent administration methods that align with clinical practice, may hinder its clinical translation. Further robust investigations are required to validate these findings, elucidate the underlying mechanisms of propofol, and facilitate its potential translation into clinical practice.

Reducing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation by Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Inhibition Is Important in Prevention of Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Diabetic Mice

BACKGRUOUND

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation are reported to have a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, a leading cause of acute kidney injury. The present study investigated the role of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) in ROS production and inflammation following IR injury.

METHODS

We used a streptozotocin-induced diabetic C57BL6/J mouse model, which was subjected to IR by clamping both renal pedicles. Cellular apoptosis and inflammatory markers were evaluated in NRK-52E cells and mouse primary tubular cells after hypoxia and reoxygenation using a hypoxia work station.

RESULTS

Following IR injury in diabetic mice, the expression of PDK4, rather than the other PDK isoforms, was induced with a marked increase in pyruvate dehydrogenase E1α (PDHE1α) phosphorylation. This was accompanied by a pronounced ROS activation, as well as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) production. Notably, sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) attenuated renal IR injury-induced apoptosis which can be attributed to reducing PDK4 expression and PDHE1α phosphorylation levels. DCA or shPdk4 treatment reduced oxidative stress and decreased TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and MCP-1 production after IR or hypoxia-reoxygenation injury.

CONCLUSION

PDK4 inhibition alleviated renal injury with decreased ROS production and inflammation, supporting a critical role for PDK4 in IR mediated damage. This result indicates another potential target for reno-protection during IR injury; accordingly, the role of PDK4 inhibition needs to be comprehensively elucidated in terms of mitochondrial function during renal IR injury.

Delivery-mediated exosomal therapeutics in ischemia-reperfusion injury: advances, mechanisms, and future directions

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) poses significant challenges across various organ systems, including the heart, brain, and kidneys. Exosomes have shown great potentials and applications in mitigating IRI-induced cell and tissue damage through modulating inflammatory responses, enhancing angiogenesis, and promoting tissue repair. Despite these advances, a more systematic understanding of exosomes from different sources and their biotransport is critical for optimizing therapeutic efficacy and accelerating the clinical adoption of exosomes for IRI therapies. Therefore, this review article overviews the administration routes of exosomes from different sources, such as mesenchymal stem cells and other somatic cells, in the context of IRI treatment. Furthermore, this article covers how the delivered exosomes modulate molecular pathways of recipient cells, aiding in the prevention of cell death and the promotions of regeneration in IRI models. In the end, this article discusses the ongoing research efforts and propose future research directions of exosome-based therapies.

Role of cyclophilin A in aggravation of myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury via regulation of apoptosis mediated by thioredoxin-interacting protein

BACKGROUND

The progression and persistence of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI) are strongly linked to local inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. Cyclophilin A (CypA), a pro-inflammatory factor, is involved in various cardiovascular diseases. However, the role and mechanism of action of CypA in MI/RI are still not fully understood.

METHODS

We used the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for bioinformatic analysis. We collected blood samples from patients and controls for detecting the levels of serum CypA using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. We then developed a myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model in wild-type (WT) mice and Ppia-/- mice. We utilized echocardiography, hemodynamic measurements, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining to determine the role of CypA in myocardial I/R injury. Finally, we conducted an in vitrostudy, cell transfection, flow cytometry, RNA interference, and a co-immunoprecipitation assay to clarify the mechanism of CypA in aggravating cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

RESULTS

We found that CypA inhibited TXNIP degradation to enhance oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis during MI/RI. By comparing and analyzing CypA expression in patients with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease and in healthy controls, we found that CypA was upregulated in patients with Coronary Atmospheric Heart Disease, and its expression was positively correlated with Gensini scores. In addition, CypA deficiency decreased cytokine expression, oxidative stress, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in I/R-treated mice, eventually alleviating cardiac dysfunction. CypA knockdown also reduced H2O2-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells. Mechanistically, we found that CypA inhibited K48-linked ubiquitination mediated by atrophin-interacting protein 4 (AIP4) and proteasomal degradation of TXNIP, a thioredoxin-binding protein that mediates oxidative stress and induces apoptosis.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight the critical role CypA plays in myocardial injury caused by oxidative stress-induced apoptosis, indicating that CypA can be a viable biomarker and a therapeutic target candidate for MI/RI.

Emerging roles of HOTAIR lncRNA in the pathogenesis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases

Highlights HOTAIR, a long noncoding RNA, plays a role in the regulation of proteins involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it has been identified as a biomarker of this type of disease. Several factors and cells contribute to atherosclerosis, a progressive disease. However, the prognosis of HOTAIR in this disease varies depending on the path in which it plays a role. For this condition, there is no single prognosis to consider.

Mechanistic investigation of the ameliorative effect of liquiritin on hypoxia/reoxygenation‑induced cardiomyocyte injury based on network pharmacology and in vitro validation

Liquiritin (LIQ) is a flavonoid known for its cardioprotective properties, extracted from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the protective mechanism of LIQ against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury through in vitro experiments, with the goal of enhancing its pharmacological effects. Initially, network pharmacology was employed to explore the targets and mechanisms of LIQ. Subsequently, an in vitro H/R model was established using H9c2 cells. Potential targets for LIQ and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) were identified through online databases. The STRING, Cytoscape and DAVID databases were used to extract intersecting targets and mechanisms. In vitro experiments were conducted to validate these findings, assessing cardiac enzymes, oxidative stress indicators, mitochondrial fluorescence, apoptotic fluorescence, inflammation and related protein expression. The network pharmacological analysis revealed that the protective effects of LIQ on MIRI involve oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. The results of in vitro experimental validation demonstrated that LIQ significantly reduced the activities of lactated dehydrogenase and creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (P<0.05 or 0.01), as well as the level of malondialdehyde (P<0.01). It also inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species (P<0.01), the release of inflammatory factors (P<0.05 or 0.01) and apoptosis (P<0.01). By contrast, the LIQ pre-treatment group exhibited a significant increase in mitochondrial membrane potential level (P<0.05 or 0.01) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase (P<0.05 or 0.01). Furthermore, LIQ reduced the protein expressions of TNF-α receptor type 1 (TNFR1) and MMP9, along with the level of NF-κB phosphorylation (P<0.05 or 0.01). In conclusion, LIQ mitigated H/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury through mechanisms that may involve antioxidants, anti-apoptotic effects, protection against mitochondrial damage and suppression of inflammatory levels. These effects are achieved via inhibition of the TNFR1/NF-κB/MMP9 pathway.

Role of Oxygen and Its Radicals in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration: From Hypoxia to Physoxia to Hyperoxia

Oxygen is compulsory for mitochondrial function and energy supply, but it has numerous more nuanced roles. The different roles of oxygen in peripheral nerve regeneration range from energy supply, inflammation, phagocytosis, and oxidative cell destruction in the context of reperfusion injury to crucial redox signaling cascades that are necessary for effective axonal outgrowth. A fine balance between reactive oxygen species production and antioxidant activity draws the line between physiological and pathological nerve regeneration. There is compelling evidence that redox signaling mediated by the Nox family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases plays an important role in peripheral nerve regeneration. Further research is needed to better characterize the role of Nox in physiological and pathological circumstances, but the available data suggest that the modulation of Nox activity fosters great therapeutic potential. One of the promising approaches to enhance nerve regeneration by modulating the redox environment is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In this review, we highlight the influence of various oxygenation states, i.e., hypoxia, physoxia, and hyperoxia, on peripheral nerve repair and regeneration. We summarize the currently available data and knowledge on the effectiveness of using hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat nerve injuries and discuss future directions.

Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers following reperfusion in STEMI patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Introduction

It is well-established that oxidative stress is deeply involved in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Considering the potent antioxidant properties of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), we aimed to assess whether CoQ10 supplementation could exert beneficial effects on plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPIC).

Methods

Seventy patients with the first attack of STEMI, eligible for PPCI were randomly assigned to receive either standard treatments plus CoQ10 (400 mg before PPCI and 200 mg twice daily for three days after PPCI) or standard treatments plus placebo. Plasma levels of oxidative stress biomarkers, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured at 6, 24, and 72 hours after completion of PPCI.

Results

The changes in plasma levels of the studied biomarkers at 6 and 24 hours after PPCI were similar in the both groups (P values>0.05). This is while at 72 hours, the CoQ10- treated group exhibited significantly higher plasma levels of SOD (P value<0.001), CAT (P value=0.001), and TAC (P value<0.001), along with a lower plasma level of MDA (P value=0.002) compared to the placebo-treated group. The plasma activity of GPX showed no significant difference between the groups at all the study time points (P values>0.05).

Conclusion

This study showed that CoQ10 has the potential to modulate the balance between antioxidant and oxidant biomarkers after reperfusion therapy. Our results suggest that CoQ10, through its antioxidant capacity, may help reduce the reperfusion injury in ischemic myocardium.

Alleviation of ischemia-reperfusion induced renal injury by chemically modified SOD2 mRNA delivered via lipid nanoparticles

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major cause of acute kidney injury, which is a serious clinical condition with no effective pharmacological treatment. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) significantly alleviate kidney IRI; however, the underlying mechanisms and key molecules conferring renoprotection remain elusive. In this study, we characterized the protein composition of MSC-EVs using a proteomics approach and found that mitochondrial protein superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) was enriched in MSC-EVs. Using lipid nanoparticles (LNP), we successfully delivered chemically modified SOD2 mRNA into kidney cells and mice with kidney IRI. We demonstrated that SOD2 mRNA-LNP treatment decreased cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cultured cells and ameliorated renal damage in IRI mice, as indicated by reduced levels of serum creatinine and restored tissue integrity compared with the control mRNA-LNP-injected group. Thus, the modulation of mitochondrial ROS levels through SOD2 upregulation by SOD2 mRNA-LNP delivery could be a novel therapeutic method for ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury.

Del Nido cardioplegia or potassium induces Nrf2 and protects cardiomyocytes against oxidative stress

Open heart surgery is often an unavoidable procedure for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The procedure-associated reperfusion injury affects postoperative cardiac performance and long-term outcomes. We addressed here whether cardioplegia essential for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery activates Nrf2, a transcription factor regulating the expression of antioxidant and detoxification genes. With commonly used cardioplegic solutions, high K+, low K+, Del Nido (DN), histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK), and Celsior (CS), we found that DN caused a significant increase of Nrf2 protein in AC16 human cardiomyocytes. Tracing the ingredients in DN led to the discovery of KCl at the concentration of 20-60 mM capable of significant Nrf2 protein induction. The antioxidant response element (ARE) luciferase reporter assays confirmed Nrf2 activation by DN or KCl. Transcriptomic profiling using RNA-seq revealed that oxidation-reduction as a main gene ontology group affected by KCl. KCl indeed elevated the expression of classical Nrf2 downstream targets, including TXNRD1, AKR1C, AKR1B1, SRXN1, and G6PD. DN or KCl-induced Nrf2 elevation is Ca2+ concentration dependent. We found that KCl decreased Nrf2 protein ubiquitination and extended the half-life of Nrf2 from 17.8 to 25.1 mins. Knocking out Keap1 blocked Nrf2 induction by K+. Nrf2 induction by DN or KCl correlates with the protection against reactive oxygen species generation or loss of viability by H2O2 treatment. Our data support that high K+ concentration in DN cardioplegic solution can induce Nrf2 protein and protect cardiomyocytes against oxidative damage.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Open heart surgery is often an unavoidable procedure for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The procedure-associated reperfusion injury affects postoperative cardiac performance and long-term outcomes. We report here that Del Nido cardioplegic solution or potassium is an effective inducer of Nrf2 transcription factor, which controls the antioxidant and detoxification response. This indicates that Del Nido solution is not only essential for open heart surgery but also exhibits cardiac protective activity.

Biomaterials-mediated targeted therapeutics of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Reperfusion therapy is widely used to treat acute myocardial infarction. However, its efficacy is limited by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), which occurs paradoxically due to the reperfusion therapy and contributes to the high mortality rate of acute myocardial infarction. Systemic administration of drugs, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents, to reduce MIRI is often ineffective due to the inadequate release at the pathological sites. Functional biomaterials are being developed to optimize the use of drugs by improving their targetability and bioavailability and reducing side effects, such as gastrointestinal irritation, thrombocytopenia, and liver damage. This review provides an overview of controlled drug delivery biomaterials for treating MIRI by triggering antioxidation, calcium ion overload inhibition, and/or inflammation regulation mechanisms and discusses the challenges and potential applications of these treatments clinically.

Design and synthesis of 3,4-seco-lupane triterpene derivatives to resist myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting oxidative stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction via the PI3K/AKT/HIF-1α axis

In this study, 86 new seco-lupane triterpenoid derivatives were designed, synthesized, and characterized, and their protective activities against ischemia-reperfusion injury were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that most target compounds could protect cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced injury in vitro, with compound 85 being the most active and exhibiting more potent protective activity than clinical first-line drugs. Furthermore, all thiophene derivatives exhibited stronger protective activity than furan, pyridine, and pyrazine derivatives, and the protective activity gradually increased with the extension of the alkyl chain and changed in the substituent. The data from the in-vitro and in-vivo experiments revealed that compound 85 protected mitochondria from damage by inhibiting excessive production of oxidative stressors, such as intracellular ROS, which in turn inhibited the apoptosis and necrotize of cardiomyocytes and reduced infarct size, thereby protecting normal cardiac function. It was associated with enhanced activation of the PI3K/AKT-mediated HIF-1α signaling pathway. Therefore, compound 85 acts as an oxidative stress inhibitor, blocks ROS production, protects mitochondria and cells from myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury, and represents an effective new drug for treating MI/R injury.

The role of ferroptosis in cell-to-cell propagation of cell death initiated from focal injury in cardiomyocytes

AIMS

Ferroptosis has grown in importance as a key factor in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study explores the mechanism underlying fibrotic scarring extending along myofibers in cardiac ischemic injury and demonstrates the integral role of ferroptosis in causing a unique cell death pattern linked to I/R injury.

MAIN METHODS

Cadaveric hearts from individuals who had ischemic injury were examined by histological assays. We created a novel model of inducing cell death in H9c2 cells, and used it to demonstrate ferroptotic cell death extending in a cell-to-cell manner. Ex vivo Langendorff-perfused hearts were used alongside the model to replicate cell death extension along myofibers while also demonstrating protective effects of a ferroptosis inhibitor, ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1).

KEY FINDINGS

Human hearts from individuals who had I/R injury demonstrated scarring along myofibers that was consistent with mouse models, suggesting that cell death extended from cell-to-cell. Treatment with Ras-selective lethal 3 (RSL3), a ferroptosis inducer, and exposure to excess iron exacerbated cell death propagation in in vitro models, and inhibition of ferroptosis by Fer-1 blunted this effect in both settings. In ex vivo models, Fer-1 was sufficient to reduce cell death along the myofibers caused by external injury.

SIGNIFICANCE

The unique I/R injury-induced pattern of cell death along myofibers requires novel injury models that mimic this phenomenon, thus we established new methods to replicate it. Ferroptosis is important in propagating injury between cells and better understanding this mechanism may lead to therapeutic responses that limit I/R injury.

Plant Polyphenols and Their Potential Benefits on Cardiovascular Health: A Review

Fruits, vegetables, and other food items contain phytochemicals or secondary metabolites which may be considered non-essential nutrients but have medicinal importance. These dietary phytochemicals exhibit chemopreventive and therapeutic effects against numerous diseases. Polyphenols are secondary metabolites found in vegetables, fruits, and grains. These compounds exhibit several health benefits such as immune modulators, vasodilators, and antioxidants. This review focuses on recent studies on using dietary polyphenols to treat cardiovascular disorders, atherosclerosis, and vascular endothelium deficits. We focus on exploring the safety of highly effective polyphenols to ensure their maximum impact on cardiac abnormalities and discuss recent epidemiological evidence and intervention trials related to these properties. Kaempferol, quercetin, and resveratrol prevent oxidative stress by regulating proteins that induce oxidation in heart tissues. In addition, polyphenols modulate the tone of the endothelium of vessels by releasing nitric oxide (NO) and reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation to prevent atherosclerosis. In cardiomyocytes, polyphenols suppress the expression of inflammatory markers and inhibit the production of inflammation markers to exert an anti-inflammatory response. Consequently, heart diseases such as strokes, hypertension, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease could be prevented by dietary polyphenols.

Angiogenesis induction as a key step in cardiac tissue Regeneration: From angiogenic agents to biomaterials

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. After myocardial infarction, the vascular supply of the heart is damaged or blocked, leading to the formation of scar tissue, followed by several cardiac dysfunctions or even death. In this regard, induction of angiogenesis is considered as a vital process for supplying nutrients and oxygen to the cells in cardiac tissue engineering. The current review aims to summarize different approaches of angiogenesis induction for effective cardiac tissue repair. Accordingly, a comprehensive classification of induction of pro-angiogenic signaling pathways through using engineered biomaterials, drugs, angiogenic factors, as well as combinatorial approaches is introduced as a potential platform for cardiac regeneration application. The angiogenic induction for cardiac repair can enhance patient treatment outcomes and generate economic prospects for the biomedical industry. The development and commercialization of angiogenesis methods often involves collaboration between academic institutions, research organizations, and biomedical companies.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide: a potential protective agent in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Ischemic stroke is the most common type of cerebrovascular disease with high disability and mortality rates, which severely burdens patients, their families, and society. At present, thrombolytic therapy is mainly used for the treatment of ischemic strokes. Even though it can achieve a good effect, thrombolytic recanalization can cause reperfusion injury. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide that plays a neuroprotective role in the process of ischemia-reperfusion injury. By combining with its specific receptors, CGRP can induce vasodilation of local cerebral ischemia by directly activating the cAMP-PKA pathway in vascular smooth muscle cells and by indirectly activating the NO-cGMP pathway in an endothelial cell-dependent manner,thus rapidly increasing ischemic local blood flow together with reperfusion. CGRP, as a key effector molecule of neurogenic inflammation, can reduce the activation of microglia, downregulates Th1 classical inflammation, and reduce the production of TNF-α, IL-2, and IFN-γ and the innate immune response of macrophages, leading to the reduction of inflammatory factors. CGRP can reduce the overexpression of the aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) protein and its mRNA in the cerebral ischemic junction, and play a role in reducing cerebral edema. CGRP can protect endothelial cells from angiotensin II by reducing the production of oxidants and protecting antioxidant defense. Furthermore, CGRP-upregulated eNOS can further induce VEGF expression, which then promotes the survival and angiogenesis of vascular endothelial cells. CGRP can also reduce apoptosis by promoting the expression of Bcl-2 and inhibiting the expression of caspase-3. These effects suggest that CGRP can reduce brain injury and repair damaged nerve function. In this review, we focused on the role of CGRP in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Prognostic Value of Redox Status Biomarkers in Patients Presenting with STEMI or Non-STEMI: A Prospective Case-Control Clinical Study

(1) Background: The aim of our study was to determine the role of oxidative stress (OS) during early evaluation of acute ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients in order to define the role of redox balance in profiling the development of myocardial infarction (MI). (2) Methods: This prospective observational case-control study included 40 consecutive STEMI and 39 NSTEMI patients hospitalized in the coronary care unit of the cardiology clinic at the Kragujevac Clinical Center, Serbia, between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2017. Blood samples were collected from all patients for measuring cardio-specific enzymes at admission and 12 h after admission to evaluate systemic oxidative stress biomarkers and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. (3) Results: In this study, participants were predominately female (52%), with a mean age of 56.17 ± 1.22 years old in the STEMI group and 69.17 ± 3.65 in the non-STEMI group. According to the Killip classification, the majority of patients (>50%) were at the second and third level. We confirmed the elevation of superoxide anion radicals in the non-STEMI group 6 h after admission in comparison with the STEMI and CTRL groups, but levels had decreased 12 h after admission. Levels of hydrogen peroxide were statistically significantly increased in the NSTEMI group. A positive correlation of superoxide anion radicals and levels of troponin I at admission was observed (r = 0.955; p = 0.045), as well as an inverse correlation between reduced glutathione and levels of NT-pBNP measured 6 h after admission (r = -0.973; p = 0.027). (4) Conclusions: We confirmed that superoxide anion radicals and reduced glutathione observed together with hs-troponin I at admission and NT-pBNP during hospital treatment could be predictors of ST evolution.

The interplay between microbial metabolites and macrophages in cardiovascular diseases: A comprehensive review

The gut microbiome has emerged as a crucial player in developing and progressing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Recent studies have highlighted the role of microbial metabolites in modulating immune cell function and their impact on CVD. Macrophages, which have a significant function in the pathogenesis of CVD, are very vulnerable to the effects of microbial metabolites. Microbial metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), have been linked to atherosclerosis and the regulation of immune functions. Butyrate has been demonstrated to reduce monocyte migration and inhibit monocyte attachment to injured endothelial cells, potentially contributing to the attenuation of the inflammatory response and the progression of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, TMAO, another compound generated by gut bacteria, has been linked to atherosclerosis due to its impact on lipid metabolism and the accumulation of cholesterol in macrophages. Indole-3-propionic acid, a tryptophan metabolite produced solely by microbes, has been found to promote the development of atherosclerosis by stimulating macrophage reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and raising the expression of ABCA1. This review comprehensively discusses how various microbiota-produced metabolites affect macrophage polarization, inflammation, and foam cell formation in CVD. We also highlight the mechanisms underlying these effects and the potential therapeutic applications of targeting microbial metabolites in treating CVD.

The association between serum uric acid and creatine phosphokinase in the general population: NHANES 2015-2018

BACKGROUND

The association between serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK), a standard biochemical measure of acute myocardial infarction, and serum uric acid (sUA) has not been studied. This study aimed to determine the association between sUA and CPK in the general population of the US.

METHODS

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2018 were used, including a total of 8,431 subjects aged ≥ 30 years. Weighted multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the independent relationship between sUA and CPK. Fitted smoothing curves and weighted generalized additive models were also performed.

RESULTS

We found a positive relationship between sUA and CPK after adjusting for potential confounders. In subgroup analyses stratified by sex and race/ethnicity, sUA was positively correlated with CPK in each subgroup. The association between sUA and CPK followed an inverted U-shaped curve in females (turning point: sUA = 428.3 μmol/L).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggested that sUA level was positively correlated with CPK in the general population of the US. However, CPK increased with sUA until the turning point (sUA = 428.3 μmol/L) in females. Fundamental research and large sample prospective studies are needed to determine the exact mechanism of the association between sUA and CPK.

New Drug Targets and Preclinical Modelling Recommendations for Treating Acute Myocardial Infarction

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and the primary underlying risk factor for heart failure. Despite decades of research and clinical trials, there are no drugs currently available to prevent organ damage from acute ischaemic injuries of the heart. In order to address the increasing global burden of heart failure, drug, gene, and cell-based regeneration technologies are advancing into clinical testing. In this review we highlight the burden of disease associated with AMI and the therapeutic landscape based on market analyses. New studies revealing the role of acid-sensitive cardiac ion channels and other proton-gated ion channels in cardiac ischaemia are providing renewed interest in pre- and post-conditioning agents with novel mechanisms of action that may also have implications for gene- and cell-based therapeutics. Furthermore, we present guidelines that couple new cell technologies and data resources with traditional animal modelling pipelines to help de-risk drug candidates aimed at treating AMI. We propose that improved preclinical pipelines and increased investment in drug target identification for AMI is critical to stem the increasing global health burden of heart failure.

Pharmacological Cardioprotection against Ischemia Reperfusion Injury-The Search for a Clinical Effective Therapy

Pharmacological conditioning aims to protect the heart from myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Despite extensive research in this area, today, a significant gap remains between experimental findings and clinical practice. This review provides an update on recent developments in pharmacological conditioning in the experimental setting and summarizes the clinical evidence of these cardioprotective strategies in the perioperative setting. We start describing the crucial cellular processes during ischemia and reperfusion that drive acute IRI through changes in critical compounds (∆G_ATP, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, pH, glycogen, succinate, glucose-6-phosphate, mitoHKII, acylcarnitines, BH₄, and NAD⁺). These compounds all precipitate common end-effector mechanisms of IRI, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, Ca²⁺ overload, and mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening (mPTP). We further discuss novel promising interventions targeting these processes, with emphasis on cardiomyocytes and the endothelium. The limited translatability from basic research to clinical practice is likely due to the lack of comorbidities, comedications, and peri-operative treatments in preclinical animal models, employing only monotherapy/monointervention, and the use of no-flow (always in preclinical models) versus low-flow ischemia (often in humans). Future research should focus on improved matching between preclinical models and clinical reality, and on aligning multitarget therapy with optimized dosing and timing towards the human condition.

Roles of pigment epithelium-derived factor in cardiomyocytes: implications for use as a cardioprotective therapeutic

OBJECTIVES

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, with patients having limited options for treatment. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is an endogenous multifunctional protein with several mechanisms of action. Recently, PEDF has emerged as a potential cardioprotective agent in response to myocardial infarction. However, PEDF is also associated with pro-apoptotic effects, complicating its role in cardioprotection. This review summarises and compares knowledge of PEDF's activity in cardiomyocytes with other cell types and draws links between them. Following this, the review offers a novel perspective of PEDF's therapeutic potential and recommends future directions to understand the clinical potential of PEDF better.

KEY FINDINGS

PEDF's mechanisms as a pro-apoptotic and pro-survival protein are not well understood, despite PEDF's implication in several physiological and pathological activities. However, recent evidence suggests that PEDF may have significant cardioprotective properties mediated by key regulators dependent on cell type and context.

CONCLUSIONS

While PEDF's cardioprotective activity shares some key regulators with its apoptotic activity, cellular context and molecular features likely allow manipulation of PEDF's cellular activity, highlighting the importance of further investigation into its activities and its potential to be applied as a therapeutic to mitigate damage from a range of cardiac pathologies.

Glutathione system enhancement for cardiac protection: pharmacological options against oxidative stress and ferroptosis

The glutathione (GSH) system is considered to be one of the most powerful endogenous antioxidant systems in the cardiovascular system due to its key contribution to detoxifying xenobiotics and scavenging overreactive oxygen species (ROS). Numerous investigations have suggested that disruption of the GSH system is a critical element in the pathogenesis of myocardial injury. Meanwhile, a newly proposed type of cell death, ferroptosis, has been demonstrated to be closely related to the GSH system, which affects the process and outcome of myocardial injury. Moreover, in facing various pathological challenges, the mammalian heart, which possesses high levels of mitochondria and weak antioxidant capacity, is susceptible to oxidant production and oxidative damage. Therefore, targeted enhancement of the GSH system along with prevention of ferroptosis in the myocardium is a promising therapeutic strategy. In this review, we first systematically describe the physiological functions and anabolism of the GSH system, as well as its effects on cardiac injury. Then, we discuss the relationship between the GSH system and ferroptosis in myocardial injury. Moreover, a comprehensive summary of the activation strategies of the GSH system is presented, where we mainly identify several promising herbal monomers, which may provide valuable guidelines for the exploration of new therapeutic approaches.

The Role of CD38 in the Pathogenesis of Cardiorenal Metabolic Disease and Aging, an Approach from Basic Research

Aging is a major risk factor for the leading causes of mortality, and the incidence of age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and metabolic disease increases with age. NAD⁺ is a classic coenzyme that exists in all species, and that plays a crucial role in oxidation-reduction reactions. It is also involved in the regulation of many cellular functions including inflammation, oxidative stress and differentiation. NAD⁺ declines with aging in various organs, and the reduction in NAD⁺ is possibly involved in the development of age-related cellular dysfunction in cardiorenal metabolic organs through the accumulation of inflammation and oxidative stress. Levels of NAD⁺ are regulated by the balance between its synthesis and degradation. CD38 is the main NAD⁺-degrading enzyme, and CD38 is activated in response to inflammation with aging, which is associated with the reduction in NAD⁺ levels. In this review, focusing on CD38, we discuss the role of CD38 in aging and the pathogenesis of age-related diseases, including cardiorenal metabolic disease.

Hyperkalemic or Low Potassium Cardioplegia Protects against Reduction of Energy Metabolism by Oxidative Stress

Open-heart surgery is often an unavoidable option for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and prevention of cardiomyopathy. Cardiopulmonary bypass surgery requires manipulating cardiac contractile function via the perfusion of a cardioplegic solution. Procedure-associated ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury, a major source of oxidative stress, affects postoperative cardiac performance and long-term outcomes. Using large-scale liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based metabolomics, we addressed whether cardioplegic solutions affect the baseline cellular metabolism and prevent metabolic reprogramming by oxidative stress. AC16 cardiomyocytes in culture were treated with commonly used cardioplegic solutions, High K+ (HK), Low K+ (LK), Del Nido (DN), histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK), or Celsior (CS). The overall metabolic profile shown by the principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap revealed that HK or LK had a minimal impact on the baseline 78 metabolites, whereas HTK or CS significantly repressed the levels of multiple amino acids and sugars. H2O2-induced sublethal mild oxidative stress causes decreases in NAD, nicotinamide, or acetylcarnitine, but increases in glucose derivatives, including glucose 6-P, glucose 1-P, fructose, mannose, and mannose 6-P. Additional increases include metabolites of the pentose phosphate pathway, D-ribose-5-P, L-arabitol, adonitol, and xylitol. Pretreatment with HK or LK cardioplegic solution prevented most metabolic changes and increases of reactive oxygen species (ROS) elicited by H2O2. Our data indicate that HK and LK cardioplegic solutions preserve baseline metabolism and protect against metabolic reprogramming by oxidative stress.

A Pharmacological Review of Tanshinones, Naturally Occurring Monomers from Salvia miltiorrhiza for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a set of heart and blood vessel disorders that include coronary heart disease (CHD), rheumatic heart disease, and other conditions. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has definite effects on CVDs due to its multitarget and multicomponent properties, which are gradually gaining national attention. Tanshinones, the major active chemical compounds extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza, exhibit beneficial improvement on multiple diseases, especially CVDs. At the level of biological activities, they play significant roles, including anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-apoptosis and anti-necroptosis, anti-hypertrophy, vasodilation, angiogenesis, combat against proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), as well as anti-myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodeling, which are all effective strategies in preventing and treating CVDs. Additionally, at the cellular level, Tanshinones produce marked effects on cardiomyocytes, macrophages, endothelia, SMCs, and fibroblasts in myocardia. In this review, we have summarized a brief overview of the chemical structures and pharmacological effects of Tanshinones as a CVD treatment to expound on different pharmacological properties in various cell types in myocardia.

Current approaches for the recreation of cardiac ischaemic environment in vitro

Myocardial ischaemia is one of the leading dead causes worldwide. Although animal experiments have historically provided a wealth of information, animal models are time and money consuming, and they usually miss typical human patient's characteristics associated with ischemia prevalence, including aging and comorbidities. Generating reliable in vitro models that recapitulate the human cardiac microenvironment during an ischaemic event can boost the development of new drugs and therapeutic strategies, as well as our understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular events, helping the optimization of therapeutic approaches prior to animal and clinical testing. Although several culture systems have emerged for the recreation of cardiac physiology, mimicking the features of an ischaemic heart tissue in vitro is challenging and certain aspects of the disease process remain poorly addressed. Here, current in vitro cardiac culture systems used for modelling cardiac ischaemia, from self-aggregated organoids to scaffold-based constructs and heart-on-chip platforms are described. The advantages of these models to recreate ischaemic hallmarks such as oxygen gradients, pathological alterations of mechanical strength or fibrotic responses are highlighted. The new models represent a step forward to be considered, but unfortunately, we are far away from recapitulating all complexity of the clinical situations.

Renal Ischemia Tolerance Mediated by eIF5A Hypusination Inhibition Is Regulated by a Specific Modulation of the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Through kidney transplantation, ischemia/reperfusion is known to induce tissular injury due to cell energy shortage, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. ER stress stems from an accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the lumen of ER, resulting in the unfolded protein response (UPR). Adaptive UPR pathways can either restore protein homeostasis or can turn into a stress pathway leading to apoptosis. We have demonstrated that N1-guanyl-1,7-diamineoheptane (GC7), a specific inhibitor of eukaryotic Initiation Factor 5A (eIF5A) hypusination, confers an ischemic protection of kidney cells by tuning their metabolism and decreasing oxidative stress, but its role on ER stress was unknown. To explore this, we used kidney cells pretreated with GC7 and submitted to either warm or cold anoxia. GC7 pretreatment promoted cell survival in an anoxic environment concomitantly to an increase in xbp1 splicing and BiP level while eiF2α phosphorylation and ATF6 nuclear level decreased. These demonstrated a specific modulation of UPR pathways. Interestingly, the pharmacological inhibition of xbp1 splicing reversed the protective effect of GC7 against anoxia. Our results demonstrated that eIF5A hypusination inhibition modulates distinctive UPR pathways, a crucial mechanism for the protection against anoxia/reoxygenation.

Epigenetic Regulation of Macrophage Polarization in Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide, especially in developing countries. The increased prevalence rate and mortality due to CVDs, despite the development of several approaches for prevention and treatment, are alarming trends in global health. Chronic inflammation and macrophage infiltration are key regulators of the initiation and progression of CVDs. Recent data suggest that epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, posttranslational histone modifications, and RNA modifications, regulate cell development, DNA damage repair, apoptosis, immunity, calcium signaling, and aging in cardiomyocytes; and are involved in macrophage polarization and contribute significantly to cardiac disease development. Cardiac macrophages not only trigger damaging inflammatory responses during atherosclerotic plaque formation, myocardial injury, and heart failure but are also involved in tissue repair, remodeling, and regeneration. In this review, we summarize the key epigenetic modifications that influence macrophage polarization and contribute to the pathophysiology of CVDs, and highlight their potential for the development of advanced epigenetic therapies.

Role of SIRT3 in neurological diseases and rehabilitation training

Sirtuin3 (SIRT3) is a deacetylase that plays an important role in normal physiological activities by regulating a variety of substrates. Considerable evidence has shown that the content and activity of SIRT3 are altered in neurological diseases. Furthermore, SIRT3 affects the occurrence and development of neurological diseases. In most cases, SIRT3 can inhibit clinical manifestations of neurological diseases by promoting autophagy, energy production, and stabilization of mitochondrial dynamics, and by inhibiting neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress (OS). However, SIRT3 may sometimes have the opposite effect. SIRT3 can promote the transfer of microglia. Microglia in some cases promote ischemic brain injury, and in some cases inhibit ischemic brain injury. Moreover, SIRT3 can promote the accumulation of ceramide, which can worsen the damage caused by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). This review comprehensively summarizes the different roles and related mechanisms of SIRT3 in neurological diseases. Moreover, to provide more ideas for the prognosis of neurological diseases, we summarize several SIRT3-mediated rehabilitation training methods.

Light-Activated Gold-Selenium Core-Shell Nanocomposites with NIR-II Photoacoustic Imaging Performances for Heart-Targeted Repair

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage represent important pathological mechanisms of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MI/RI). Searching for potential antioxidant agents to attenuate MI/RI is of great significance in clinic. Herein, gold-selenium core-shell nanostructures (AS-I/S NCs) with good near-infrared (NIR)-II photoacoustic imaging were designed for MI/RI treatment. The AS-I/S NCs after ischemic myocardium-targeted peptide (IMTP) and mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant peptide SS31 modification achieved cardiomyocytes-targeted cellular uptake and enhanced antioxidant ability and significantly inhibited oxygen-glucose deprivation-recovery (OGD/R)-induced cardiotoxicity of H9c2 cells by inhibiting the depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and restoring ATP synthase activity. Furthermore, the AS-I/S NCs after SS31 modification achieved mitochondria-targeted inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequently attenuated oxidative damage in OGD/R-treated H9c2 cells by inhibition of apoptosis and oxidative damage, regulation of MAPKs and PI3K/AKT pathways. The in vivo AS-I/S NCs administration dramatically improved myocardial functions and angiogenesis and inhibited myocardial fibrosis through inhibiting myocardial apoptosis and oxidative damage in MI/RI of rats. Importantly, the AS-I/S NCs showed good safety and biocompatibility in vivo. Therefore, our findings validated the rational design that mitochondria-targeted selenium-gold nanocomposites could attenuate MI/RI of rats by inhibiting ROS-mediated oxidative damage and regulating MAPKs and PI3K/AKT pathways, which could be a potential therapy for the MI/RI treatment.

LncRNA FOXD3-AS1 aggravates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by inactivating the Redd1/AKT/GSK3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway via the miR-128/TXNIP axis

Long noncoding RNA forkhead box D3-antisense RNA 1 (FOXD3-AS1) is associated with cardiovascular diseases, but its roles in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and the related signaling pathway have not been fully reported. We aimed to investigate the roles and mechanism of action of FOXD3-AS1 in myocardial I/R injury. An in vivo myocardial I/R injury mouse model and an in vitro hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) cardiomyocyte model was established. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunofluorescent assays were performed to examine the expression levels of FOXD3-AS1, microRNA (miR)-128, thioredoxin-interacting protein/regulation of development and DNA damage response 1/protein kinase B/glycogen synthase kinase 3β/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (TXNIP/Redd1/AKT/GSK3β/Nrf2) pathway-related proteins and apoptosis-related proteins. The interactions between FOXD3-AS1 and miR-128 and miR-128 and TXNIP were analyzed by Spearman's correlation test, predicted by ENCORI, and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. In addition, the levels of cardiac injury markers and oxidative stress markers were evaluated by corresponding kits. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays and flow cytometry were performed to assess cell viability and apoptosis. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was applied to observe the effect of FOXD3-AS1 on the morphology of myocardial I/R injured tissues. The results showed that the FOXD3-AS1 and TXNIP were highly expressed, whereas miR-128 was expressed at low levels in I/R myocardial tissues and H/R-induced H9c2 cells. FOXD3-AS1 directly targeted miR-128 to reduce its expression. TXNIP was confirmed as a downstream target of miR-128. Knockdown of FOXD3-AS1 led to the alleviation of I/R injury in vivo and in vitro. FOXD3-AS1 enhanced the expression of TXNIP by sponging miR-128, which inhibited the Redd1/AKT/GSK3β/Nrf2 pathway. Both inhibition of miR-128 and overexpression of TXNIP reversed the cardioprotective effect of FOXD3-AS1 small interfering RNA in H/R-induced H9c2 cells.

Pathophysiology of Ischemic Stroke: Noncoding RNA Role in Oxidative Stress

Stroke is a neurological disease that causes significant disability and death worldwide. Ischemic stroke accounts for 75% of all strokes. The pathophysiological processes underlying ischemic stroke include oxidative stress, the toxicity of excitatory amino acids, ion disorder, enhanced apoptosis, and inflammation. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) may have a vital role in regulating the pathophysiological processes of ischemic stroke, as confirmed by the altered expression of ncRNAs in blood samples from acute ischemic stroke patients, animal models, and oxygen-glucose-deprived (OGD) cell models. Due to specific changes in expression, ncRNAs can potentially be biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of ischemic stroke. As an important brain cell component, glial cells mediate the occurrence and progression of oxidative stress after ischemic stroke, and ncRNAs are an irreplaceable part of this mechanism. This review highlights the impact of ncRNAs in the oxidative stress process of ischemic stroke. It focuses on specific ncRNAs that underlie the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke and have potential as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Chaihujialonggumulitang shows psycho-cardiology therapeutic effect on acute myocardial infarction with comorbid anxiety by the activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and suppression of oxidative stress and apoptosis

BACKGROUND

Anxiety is a common comorbidity of cardiovascular diseases, which deteriorated cardiac function. Chaihujialonggumulitang (BFG) was reported to have antioxidant properties, alleviate myocardial ischemia injury and improve anxiety-like behavior. The Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) /heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway is the main mechanism to defend against oxidative stress, and improve cardiac function. This study was to investigate the possible mechanism of BFG in the treatment of psycho-cardiology.

METHODS

AMI with comorbid anxiety rat model was established by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery combined with uncertain empty bottle stimulation, followed by the administration of BFG (1 mL/100 g/d by gavage) or Dimethyl fumarate (DMF, 10 mg/kg/d by intraperitoneal injection) for 6 days. Echocardiography, myocardial injury markers, H&E, and Masson staining were employed to evaluate cardiac function. Behavioral tests and hippocampus neurotransmitters were applied to record anxiety-like behavior. We employed immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, western blotting, and biochemical analysis to detect the protein and gene expression of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway-related factors, and oxidative stress and apoptosis parameters.

RESULTS

Rats in the AMI and complex groups showed cardiac function deterioration, as well as anxiety-like behavior. BFG improved echocardiography indicators, reduced myocardial injury markers, and attenuated myocardial pathological changes. BFG also ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors and elevated neurotransmitters levels. BFG promoted the activation of Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, increased antioxidant enzyme activities, reduced lipid peroxidation levels, and alleviated oxidative damage and apoptosis. DMF showed therapeutic effects and molecular mechanisms similar to BFG.

CONCLUSION

BFG may possess a psycho-cardiology therapeutic effect on AMI with comorbid anxiety by the activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and suppression of oxidative stress and apoptosis.

The role of hypoxia-associated miRNAs in acquired sensorineural hearing loss

Introduction: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a prevalent sensory deficit presenting commonly as age-related hearing loss. Other forms of SNHL include noise-induced and sudden SNHL. Recent evidence has pointed to oxidative stress as a common pathogenic pathway in most subtypes of acquired SNHL. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA sequences that suppress target mRNA expression and affect downstream processes. Many studies have shown that miRNAs are integral biomolecules in hypoxia-adaptive responses. They also promote apoptosis in response to oxidative stress resulting in SNHL. Our hypothesis is that miRNAs are involved in the pathophysiological responses to hypoxia and oxidative stress that result in SNHL. This study reviews the evidence for hypoxia-adaptive miRNAs (hypoxamiRs) in different types of acquired SNHL and focuses on miRNAs involved in hypoxia driven SNHL.

Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched independently by two investigators for articles published in English from the inception of individual databases to the end of July 2020. The text word or medical subject heading searches of all fields, titles, abstracts, or subject headings depending on the database were undertaken with combinations of the words “microRNAs”, “hypoxia”, “hypoxamiRs”, “oxidative stress”, “ischemia” and “hearing loss”. The reference lists of studies meeting the inclusion criteria were searched to identify additional relevant studies. The inclusion criteria included relevant clinical studies with human subjects, animals, and in vitro experiments. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool for human studies and the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) a risk of bias assessment tool for animal model and in vitro studies.

Results: A total of 15 primary articles were selected for full text screening after excluding duplicates, reviews, retracted articles, and articles not published in English. All nine articles meeting the study inclusion criteria were from animal or in vitro model studies and were assessed to be at low risk of bias. miRNAs miR-34a and miR-29b were reported to be involved in SNHL in inner ear cell models exposed to oxidative stress. Signaling pathways Sirtuin 1/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1-alpha (SIRT1/PGC-1α), SIRT1/p53, and SIRT1/hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) were identified as underlying pathways involved in acquired SNHL.

Conclusion: There is evidence that miR-34a and -29b are involved in hypoxia-driven and other causes of oxidative stress-related acquired SNHL. Further studies are required to determine if these findings are clinically applicable.

Inhibiting Succinate Release Worsens Cardiac Reperfusion Injury by Enhancing Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation

Background

The metabolite succinate accumulates during cardiac ischemia. Within 5 minutes of reperfusion, succinate returns to baseline levels via both its release from cells and oxidation by mitochondrial complex II. The latter drives reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and subsequent opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition (PT) pore, leading to cell death. Targeting succinate dynamics (accumulation/oxidation/release) may be therapeutically beneficial in cardiac ischemia–reperfusion (IR) injury. It has been proposed that blocking MCT1 (monocarboxylate transporter 1) may be beneficial in IR injury, by preventing succinate release and subsequent engagement of downstream inflammatory signaling pathways. In contrast, herein we hypothesized that blocking MCT1 would retain succinate in cells, exacerbating ROS generation and IR injury.

Methods and Results

Using the mitochondrial ROS probe mitoSOX and a custom‐built murine heart perfusion rig built into a spectrofluorometer, we measured ROS generation in situ during the first moments of reperfusion. We found that acute MCT1 inhibition enhanced mitochondrial ROS generation at reperfusion and worsened IR injury (recovery of function and infarct size). Both of these effects were abrogated by tandem inhibition of mitochondrial complex II, suggesting that succinate retention worsens IR because it drives more mitochondrial ROS generation. Furthermore, using the PT pore inhibitor cyclosporin A, along with monitoring of PT pore opening via the mitochondrial membrane potential indicator tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester, we herein provide evidence that ROS generation during early reperfusion is upstream of the PT pore, not downstream as proposed by others. In addition, pore opening was exacerbated by MCT1 inhibition.

Conclusions

Together, these findings highlight the importance of succinate dynamics and mitochondrial ROS generation as key determinants of PT pore opening and IR injury outcomes.

An injectable co-assembled hydrogel blocks reactive oxygen species and inflammation cycle resisting myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

The overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and burst of inflammation following cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) are the leading causes of cardiomyocyte injury. Monotherapeutic strategies designed to enhance anti-inflammatory or anti-ROS activity explicitly for treating I/R injury have demonstrated limited success because of the complex mechanisms of ROS production and induction of inflammation. Intense oxidative stress leads to sustained injury, necrosis, and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. The damaged and necrotic cells can release danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that can cause the aggregation of immune cells by activating Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). These immune cells also promote ROS production by expressing NADPH oxidase. Finally, ROS production and inflammation form a vicious cycle, and ROS and TLR4 are critical nodes of this cycle. In the present study, we designed and prepared an injectable hydrogel system of EGCG@Rh-gel by co-assembling epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and the rhein-peptide hydrogel (Rh-gel). The co-assembled hydrogel efficiently blocked the ROS-inflammation cycle by ROS scavenging and TLR4 inhibition. Benefited by the abundant noncovalent interactions of π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding between EGCG and Rh-gel, the co-assembled hydrogel had good mechanical strength and injectable property. Following the injection EGCG@Rh-gel into the damaged region of the mice's heart after I/R, the hydrogel enabled to achieve long-term sustained release and treatment, improve cardiac function, and significantly reduce the formation of scarring. Further studies demonstrated that these beneficial outcomes arise from the reduction of ROS production, inhibition of inflammation, and induction of anti-apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. Therefore, EGCG@Rh-gel is a promising drug delivery system to block the ROS-inflammation cycle for resisting myocardial I/R injury. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 1. Monotherapeutic strategies designed to enhance anti-inflammatory or anti-ROS effects for treating I/R injury have demonstrated limited success because of the complex mechanisms of ROS and inflammation. 2. ROS production and inflammation form a vicious cycle, and ROS and TLR4 are critical nodes of this cycle. 3. Here, we designed an injectable hydrogel system of EGCG@Rh-gel by co-assembling epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and a rhein-peptide hydrogel (Rh-gel). EGCG@Rh-gel efficiently blocked the ROS-inflammation cycle by ROS scavenging and TLR4 inhibition. 4. EGCG@Rh-gel achieved long-term sustained release and treatment, improved cardiac function, and significantly reduced the formation of scarring after I/R. 5. The beneficial outcomes arise from reducing ROS production, inhibiting inflammation, and inducing anti-apoptosis in cardiomyocytes.

Upregulation of microRNA-34a enhances myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway

Mitochondrial oxidative injury can result in many cardiovascular diseases including cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study was designed to investigate whether microRNA-34a (miR-34a) influences cardiac I/R or hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury by regulating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway from oxidative injury.In vivo, myocardial infarction size was examined by Evan blue/TTC staining. Apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL assay. Heart function was measured by echocardiography. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) were evaluated. In vitro, H9c2 cardiomyocytes were exposed to H/R stimulation. Cell viability was assessed by the CCK-8 assay and apoptosis was detected by Annexin V/PI staining. Mitochondrial superoxide, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP production was evaluated by detection kits, and related proteins were detected by western blotting analysis. We observed that the level of miR-34a was significantly upregulated in I/R rats compared to the sham group. Injection of adenovirus inhibiting miR-34a into the left ventricular anterior wall improved heart function and decreased I/R injury. H9c2 cardiomyocytes exposed to H/R stimulation displayed an obvious increase in miR-34a expression. In addition, miR-34a inhibitor alleviated, whereas miR-34a mimic aggravated H/R-induced mitochondrial injury. Bcl-2 was identified as a target gene of miR-34a by dual-luciferase reporter gene detection. Knockdown of Bcl-2 abolished the cardioprotection of the miR-34a inhibitor in H9c2 cells. In summary,our study demonstrates that inhibition of miR-34a exhibits therapeutic potential in treatment of myocardial I/R injury by restraining mitochondrial apoptosis.

Ozone preconditioning protects rabbit heart against global ischemia-reperfusion injury in vitro by up-regulating HIF-1α

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is a major factor that leads to cardiac dysfunction in cardiovascular surgery during extracorporeal circulation. Recent studies have found that ozone (O₃) has protective effect on MIRI caused by the anterior descending branch of the ligated left coronary artery. However, whether O₃ preconditioning has the same protective effect on global MIRI and the mechanism underlying this clinical treatment remains elusive. Here, we hypothesized that O₃ preconditioning (O₃P) could protect rabbit heart against global MIRI in vitro by up-regulating HIF-1α. Rabbits were treated intraperitoneally with O₂/O₃ mixture with different concentrations and then injected with YC-1 (inhibitor of HIF-1α) before the establishment of the global MIRI model using the Langendorff isolated heart perfusion apparatus. We investigated the effects of O₃ preconditioning on cardiac systolic function, myocardial infarction, inflammatory response, mitochondrial function, myocardial pathological changes and arrhythmias. We found that the heart with O₃ preconditioning significantly increased HR, LVDP and IL-10 expression, and decreased IL-6 expression, CK-MB, cTnT and cTnI concentration, myocardial infarction area, myocardial pathological injury and the occurrence of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Meanwhile, the level of HIF-1α was significantly increased. However, after treatment of specific inhibitor of HIF-1α, the protective effect of O₃ preconditioning was reversed completely. Our data indicates that O₃ preconditioning has protective effect on MIRI and this protective effect is positively associated with dosage of O₃. Energy metabolism disorder is the initial stage of MIRI and up-regulation of HIF-1α plays an important role in reducing mitochondrial dysfunction.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and the Unfolded Protein Response in Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Ischemic stroke is an acute cerebrovascular disease characterized by sudden interruption of blood flow in a certain part of the brain, leading to serious disability and death. At present, treatment methods for ischemic stroke are limited to thrombolysis or thrombus removal, but the treatment window is very narrow. However, recovery of cerebral blood circulation further causes cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI). The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays an important role in protein secretion, membrane protein folding, transportation, and maintenance of intracellular calcium homeostasis. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) plays a crucial role in cerebral ischemia pathophysiology. Mild ERS helps improve cell tolerance and restore cell homeostasis; however, excessive or long-term ERS causes apoptotic pathway activation. Specifically, the protein kinase R-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), and inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) pathways are significantly activated following initiation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). CIRI-induced apoptosis leads to nerve cell death, which ultimately aggravates neurological deficits in patients. Therefore, it is necessary and important to comprehensively explore the mechanism of ERS in CIRI to identify methods for preserving brain cells and neuronal function after ischemia.

Antioxidant Cardioprotection against Reperfusion Injury: Potential Therapeutic Roles of Resveratrol and Quercetin

Ischemia-reperfusion myocardial damage is a paradoxical tissue injury occurring during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Although this damage could account for up to 50% of the final infarct size, there has been no available pharmacological treatment until now. Oxidative stress contributes to the underlying production mechanism, exerting the most marked injury during the early onset of reperfusion. So far, antioxidants have been shown to protect the AMI patients undergoing PCI to mitigate these detrimental effects; however, no clinical trials to date have shown any significant infarct size reduction. Therefore, it is worthwhile to consider multitarget antioxidant therapies targeting multifactorial AMI. Indeed, this clinical setting involves injurious effects derived from oxygen deprivation, intracellular pH changes and increased concentration of cytosolic Ca²⁺ and reactive oxygen species, among others. Thus, we will review a brief overview of the pathological cascades involved in ischemia-reperfusion injury and the potential therapeutic effects based on preclinical studies involving a combination of antioxidants, with particular reference to resveratrol and quercetin, which could contribute to cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury in myocardial tissue. We will also highlight the upcoming perspectives of these antioxidants for designing future studies.

Mitochondrial DNA Release Contributes to Intestinal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Mitochondria release many damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) when cells are damaged or stressed, with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) being. MtDNA activates innate immune responses and induces inflammation through the TLR-9, NLRP3 inflammasome, and cGAS-STING signaling pathways. Released inflammatory factors cause damage to intestinal barrier function. Many bacteria and endotoxins migrate to the circulatory system and lymphatic system, leading to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and even damaging the function of multiple organs throughout the body. This process may ultimately lead to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Recent studies have shown that various factors, such as the release of mtDNA and the massive infiltration of inflammatory factors, can cause intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This destroys intestinal barrier function, induces an inflammatory storm, leads to SIRS, increases the vulnerability of organs, and develops into MODS. Mitophagy eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria to maintain cellular homeostasis. This review discusses mtDNA release during the pathogenesis of intestinal I/R and summarizes methods for the prevention or treatment of intestinal I/R. We also discuss the effects of inflammation and increased intestinal barrier permeability on drugs.

Ischemia In Vivo Induces Cardiolipin Oxidation in Rat Kidney Mitochondria

Cardiolipin is a mitochondrial phospholipid that plays a significant role in mitochondrial bioenergetics. Cardiolipin is oxidized under conditions like oxidative stress that occurs during ischemia/reperfusion; however, it is known that even during ischemia, many reactive oxygen species are generated. Our aim was to analyze the effect of in vivo ischemia on cardiolipin oxidation. Adult male Wistar rats were anesthetized; then, their abdomens were opened, and microvascular clips were placed on renal arteries for 30, 40 or 60 min, causing ischemia. After ischemia, kidneys were harvested, mitochondria were isolated, and lipids were extracted for chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin and its oxidation products. Chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis revealed a 47%, 68% and 74% decrease in tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin after 30 min, 40 min and 60 min of renal ischemia, respectively (p < 0.05). Eight different cardiolipin oxidation products with up to eight additional oxygens were identified in rat kidney mitochondria. A total of 40 min of ischemia caused an average of a 6.9-fold increase in all oxidized cardiolipin forms. We present evidence that renal ischemia in vivo alone induces tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin oxidation and depletion in rat kidney mitochondria.

Protective Effect of Sufentanil on Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats by Inhibiting Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Objective

Sufentanil is the most common drug in clinical practice for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. This study is to investigate the protective mechanism of sufentanil on rat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Methods

A rat I/R model was established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. A total of 24 SD male rats were enrolled and divided randomly into the control group, I/R group, sufentanil group (SUF; 3 μg/kg), and diltiazem group (DLZ; 20 mg/kg; positive control). The rat hearts were subjected to 30 min of ischemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion. Subsequently, hemodynamics, pathological changes of myocardial tissue, serum biochemical parameters, oxidative stress factors, the level of serum inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and other bioactive factors were analyzed in the rats.

Result

Compared with the I/R group, sufentanil significantly improved cardiac action, myocardial fiber, and cardiomyocyte morphology and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration in rats in the SUF group. And the level of creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), troponin (cTn), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), iNOS, and IL-6 was significantly declined in the serum of SUF group, while the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly activated in the myocardial tissues. In addition, sufentanil also significantly decreased the protein expression of GRP78, CHOP, Caspase 12, and ATF6 in the myocardial tissue of the SUF group.

Conclusion

Sufentanil has a significant protective activity on myocardial I/R injury in rats, the mechanism of which may be associated with the inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress.

Upregulation of p67phox in response to ischemia/reperfusion is cardioprotective by increasing ZIP2 expression via STAT3

While the zinc transporter ZIP2 (Slc39a2) is upregulated via STAT3 as an adaptive response to protect the heart from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, the precise mechanism underlying its upregulation remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoform NOX2-derived ROS in the regulation of ZIP2 expression, focusing on the role of the NOX2 cytosolic factor p67^phox. Mouse hearts or H9c2 cells were subjected to I/R. Protein expression was detected with Western blotting. Infarct size was measured with TTC staining. The cardiac-specific p67^phox conditional knockout mice (p67^phox cKO) were generated by adopting the CRISPR/Cas9 system. I/R-induced upregulation of STAT3 phosphorylation and ZIP2 expression was reversed by the ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and the NOX inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI). p67^phox but not NOX2 expression was increased 30 min after the onset of reperfusion, and downregulation of p67^phox by siRNA or cKO invalidated I/R-induced upregulation of STAT3 phosphorylation and ZIP2 expression. Both NAC and DPI prevented upregulation of STAT3 phosphorylation and ZIP2 expression induced by overexpression of p67^phox, whereas the STAT3 inhibitor stattic abrogated upregulation ZIP2 expression, indicating that the increase of p67^phox at reperfusion is an upstream signaling event responsible for ZIP2 upregulation via STAT3. Experiments also showed that chelation of Zn²⁺ markedly enhanced p67^phox and ZIP2 expression as well as STAT3 phosphorylation, whereas supplementation of Zn²⁺ had the opposite effects, indicating that cardiac Zn²⁺ loss upon reperfusion triggers p67^phox upregulation. Furthermore, ischemic preconditioning (IPC) upregulated ZIP2 via p67^phox, and cKO of p67^phox aggravated cardiac injury after I/R, indicating that p67^phox upregulation is cardioprotective against I/R injury. In conclusion, an increase of p67^phox expression in response to Zn²⁺ is an intrinsic adaptive response to I/R and leads to cardioprotection against I/R by upregulating ZIP2 via STAT3.

Applications of tetrahedral DNA nanostructures in wound repair and tissue regeneration

Tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) are molecules with a pyramidal structure formed by folding four single strands of DNA based on the principle of base pairing. Although DNA has polyanionic properties, the special spatial structure of TDNs allows them to penetrate the cell membrane without the aid of transfection agents in a caveolin-dependent manner and enables them to participate in the regulation of cellular processes without obvious toxic side effects. Because of their stable spatial structure, TDNs resist the limitations imposed by nuclease activity and innate immune responses to DNA. In addition, TDNs have good editability and biocompatibility, giving them great advantages for biomedical applications. Previous studies have found that TDNs have a variety of biological properties, including promoting cell migration, proliferation and differentiation, as well as having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-infective and immune regulation capabilities. Moreover, we confirmed that TDNs can promote the regeneration and repair of skin, blood vessels, muscles and bone tissues. Based on these findings, we believe that TDNs have broad prospects for application in wound repair and regeneration. This article reviews recent progress in TDN research and its applications.

Protective Effect of Minocycline Hydrochloride on the Mouse Embryonic Development Against Suboptimal Environment

Numerous studies have reported how inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) was determined during the process of early mouse embryonic development from zygotes into organized blastocysts, however, multiple mysteries still remain. It is noteworthy that pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), which are derived from embryos at different developmental stages, have identical developmental potential and molecular characteristics to their counterpart embryos. Advances of PSCs research may provide us a distinctive perspective of deciphering embryonic development mechanism. Minocycline hydrochloride (MiH), a critical component for maintaining medium of novel type of extended pluripotent stem cells, which possesses developmental potential similar to both ICM and TE, can be substituted with genetic disruption of Parp1 in our previous study. Though Parp1-deficient mouse ESCs are more susceptible to differentiate into trophoblast derivatives, what role of MiH plays in mouse preimplantation embryonic development is still a subject of concern. Here, by incubating mouse zygotes in a medium containing MiH till 100 h after fertilization, we found that MiH could slow down embryonic developmental kinetics during cleavage stage without impairing blastocyst formation potential. Olaparib and Talazoparib, two FDA approved PARP1 inhibitors, exhibited similar effects on mouse embryos, indicating the aforementioned effects of MiH were through inhibiting of PARP1. Besides, we showed an embryonic protective role of MiH against suboptimal environment including long term exposure to external environment and H2O2 treatment, which could mimic inevitable manipulation during embryo culture procedures in clinical IVF laboratory. To our knowledge, it is not only for the first time to study MiH in the field of embryo development, but also for the first time to propose MiH as a protective supplement for embryo culture, giving the way to more studies on exploring the multiple molecular mechanisms on embryonic development that might be useful in assisted reproductive technology.