2,539 research outputs found

    Chloromethyltetramethylrosamine (Mitotracker OrangeTM) Induces the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition and Inhibits Respiratory Complex I: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MECHANISM OF CYTOCHROME c RELEASE *

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    We have investigated the interactions with isolated mitochondria and intact cells of chloromethyltetramethylrosamine (CMTMRos), a probe (Mitotracker OrangeTM) that is increasingly used to monitor the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) in situ. CMTMRos binds to isolated mitochondria and undergoes a large fluorescence quenching. Most of the binding is energy-independent and can be substantially reduced by sulfhydryl reagents. A smaller fraction of the probe is able to redistribute across the inner membrane in response to a membrane potential, with further fluorescence quenching. Within minutes, however, this energy-dependent fluorescence quenching spontaneously reverts to the same level obtained by treating mitochondria with the uncoupler carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl hydrazone. We show that this event depends on inhibition of the mitochondrial respiratory chain at complex I and on induction of the permeability transition pore by CMTMRos, with concomitant depolarization, swelling, and release of cytochrome c. After staining cells with CMTMRos, depolarization of mitochondria in situ with protonophores is accompanied by changes of CMTMRos fluorescence that range between small and undetectable, depending on the probe concentration. A lasting decrease of cellular CMTMRos fluorescence associated with mitochondria only results from treatment with thiol reagents, suggesting that CMTMRos binding to mitochondria in living cells largely occurs at SH groups via the probe chloromethyl moiety irrespective of the magnitude of Δψm. Induction of the permeability transition precludes the use of CMTMRos as a reliable probe of Δψm in situ and demands a reassessment of the conclusion that cytochrome c release can occur without membrane depolarization and/or onset of the permeability transition

    Opening of the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore Causes Depletion of Mitochondrial and Cytosolic NAD+and Is a Causative Event in the Death of Myocytes in Postischemic Reperfusion of the Heart

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    The opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) has been suggested to play a key role in various forms of cell death, but direct evidence in intact tissues is still lacking. We found that in the rat heart, 92% of NAD(+) glycohydrolase activity is associated with mitochondria. This activity was not modified by the addition of Triton X-100, although it was abolished by mild treatment with the protease Nagarse, a condition that did not affect the energy-linked properties of mitochondria. The addition of Ca(2+) to isolated rat heart mitochondria resulted in a profound decrease in their NAD(+) content, which followed mitochondrial swelling. Cyclosporin A(CsA), a PTP inhibitor, completely prevented NAD(+) depletion but had no effect on the glycohydrolase activity. Thus, in isolated mitochondria PTP opening makes NAD(+) available for its enzymatic hydrolysis. Perfused rat hearts subjected to global ischemia for 30 min displayed a 30% decrease in tissue NAD(+) content, which was not modified by extending the duration of ischemia. Reperfusion resulted in a more severe reduction of both total and mitochondrial contents of NAD(+), which could be measured in the coronary effluent together with lactate dehydrogenase. The addition of 0.2 microm CsA or of its analogue MeVal-4-Cs (which does not inhibit calcineurin) maintained higher NAD(+) contents, especially in mitochondria, and significantly protected the heart from reperfusion damage, as shown by the reduction in lactate dehydrogenase release. Thus, upon reperfusion after prolonged ischemia, PTP opening in the heart can be documented as a CsA-sensitive release of NAD(+), which is then partly degraded by glycohydrolase and partly released when sarcolemmal integrity is compromised. These results demonstrate that PTP opening is a causative event in reperfusion damage of the heart

    The Rapidly Evolving Concept of Whole Heart Engineering

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    Whole heart engineering represents an incredible journey with as final destination the challenging aim to solve end-stage cardiac failure with a biocompatible and living organ equivalent. Its evolution started in 2008 with rodent organs and is nowadays moving closer to clinical application thanks to scaling-up strategies to human hearts. This review will offer a comprehensive examination on the important stages to be reached for the bioengineering of the whole heart, by describing the approaches of organ decellularization, repopulation, and maturation so far applied and the novel technologies of potential interest. In addition, it will carefully address important demands that still need to be satisfied in order to move to a real clinical translation of the whole bioengineering heart concept

    Pharmacology and clinical drug candidates in redox medicine

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    SIGNIFICANCE Oxidative stress is suggested to be a disease mechanism common to a wide range of disorders affecting human health. However, so far, the pharmacotherapeutic exploitation of this, for example, based on chemical scavenging of pro-oxidant molecules, has been unsuccessful. Recent Advances: An alternative emerging approach is to target the enzymatic sources of disease-relevant oxidative stress. Several such enzymes and isoforms have been identified and linked to different pathologies. For some targets, the respective pharmacology is quite advanced, that is, up to late-stage clinical development or even on the market; for others, drugs are already in clinical use, although not for indications based on oxidative stress, and repurposing seems to be a viable option. CRITICAL ISSUES For all other targets, reliable preclinical validation and drug ability are key factors for any translation into the clinic. In this study, specific pharmacological agents with optimal pharmacokinetic profiles are still lacking. Moreover, these enzymes also serve largely unknown physiological functions and their inhibition may lead to unwanted side effects. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The current promising data based on new targets, drugs, and drug repurposing are mainly a result of academic efforts. With the availability of optimized compounds and coordinated efforts from academia and industry scientists, unambiguous validation and translation into proof-of-principle studies seem achievable in the very near future, possibly leading towards a new era of redox medicine

    Ranolazine Attenuates Trastuzumab-Induced Heart Dysfunction by Modulating ROS Production

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    The ErbB2 blocker trastuzumab improves survival in oncologic patients, but can cause cardiotoxicity. The late Na+ current inhibitor ranolazine has been shown to counter experimental HF, including doxorubicin cardiotoxicity (a condition characterized by derangements in redox balance), by lowering the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since ErbB2 can modulate ROS signaling, we tested whether trastuzumab cardiotoxicity could be blunted by ranolazine via redox-mediated mechanisms. Trastuzumab decreased fractional shortening and ejection fraction in mice, but ranolazine prevented heart dysfunction when co-administered with trastuzumab. Trastuzumab cardiotoxicity was accompanied by elevations in natriuretic peptides and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) mRNAs, which were not elevated with co-treatment with ranolazine. Trastuzumab also increased cleavage of caspase-3, indicating activation of the proapoptotic machinery. Again, ranolazine prevented this activation. Interestingly, Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVMs), labeled with MitoTracker Red and treated with trastuzumab, showed only a small increase in ROS compared to baseline conditions. We then stressed trastuzumab-treated cells with the beta-agonist isoproterenol to increase workload, and we observed a significant increase of probe fluorescence, compared with cells treated with isoproterenol alone, reflecting induction of oxidative stress. These effects were blunted by ranolazine, supporting a role for INa inhibition in the regulation of redox balance also in trastuzumab cardiotoxicity

    Reactive oxygen-related diseases: therapeutic targets and emerging clinical indications

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    SIGNIFICANCE Enhanced levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been associated with different disease states. Most attempts to validate and exploit these associations by chronic antioxidant therapies have provided disappointing results. Hence, the clinical relevance of ROS is still largely unclear. RECENT ADVANCES We are now beginning to understand the reasons for these failures, which reside in the many important physiological roles of ROS in cell signaling. To exploit ROS therapeutically, it would be essential to define and treat the disease-relevant ROS at the right moment and leave physiological ROS formation intact. This breakthrough seems now within reach. CRITICAL ISSUES Rather than antioxidants, a new generation of protein targets for classical pharmacological agents includes ROS-forming or toxifying enzymes or proteins that are oxidatively damaged and can be functionally repaired. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Linking these target proteins in future to specific disease states and providing in each case proof of principle will be essential for translating the oxidative stress concept into the clinic. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 23, 1171-1185
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