Zyxin protects from hypertension-induced cardiac dysfunction.

Arterial hypertension causes left ventricular hypertrophy leading to dilated cardiomyopathy. Following compensatory cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cardiac dysfunction develops due to loss of cardiomyocytes preceded or paralleled by cardiac fibrosis. Zyxin acts as a mechanotransducer in vascular cells that may promote cardiomyocyte survival. Here, we analyzed cardiac function during experimental hypertension in zyxin knockout (KO) mice. In zyxin KO mice, made hypertensive by way of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt treatment telemetry recording showed an attenuated rise in systolic blood pressure. Echocardiography indicated a systolic dysfunction, and isolated working heart measurements showed a decrease in systolic elastance. Hearts from hypertensive zyxin KO mice revealed increased apoptosis, fibrosis and an upregulation of active focal adhesion kinase as well as of integrins α5 and ß1. Both interstitial and perivascular fibrosis were even more pronounced in zyxin KO mice exposed to angiotensin II instead of DOCA-salt. Stretched microvascular endothelial cells may release collagen 1α2 and TGF-ß, which is characteristic for the transition to an intermediate mesenchymal phenotype, and thus spur the transformation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts resulting in excessive scar tissue formation in the heart of hypertensive zyxin KO mice. While zyxin KO mice per se do not reveal a cardiac phenotype, this is unmasked upon induction of hypertension and owing to enhanced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and excessive fibrosis causes cardiac dysfunction. Zyxin may thus be important for the maintenance of cardiac function in spite of hypertension.

Oral Administration of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes) Extract Protects Gingival Tissues against Proinflammatory TNF-α and Oxidative Stress in Periodontitis Model Rats.

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom that has been used since ancient times. We studied whether chronic oral administration of G. lucidum extract withstands increases in levels of proinflammatory TNF-α and lipid peroxide (LPO), an indicator of oxidative stress, in the gingival tissues of periodontitis model rats. G. lucidum extract was initially examined for inhibition of in vitro oxidative stress, produced by Fenton's reagents in whole homogenates of fresh gum tissues from rats. Prior to in vivo and in vitro experiments with rats, G. lucidum extract was quantitatively tested for its total polyphenol and/or flavonoid contents and ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-free radicals. Chronic oral administration of G. lucidum extract (300 mg/kg BW) significantly decreased TNF-α and LPO levels in the gingival tissues of periodontitis model rats. G. lucidum extract also inhibited (P < 0.05) in vitro oxidative stress, as indicated by reduced levels of LPO in G. lucidum extract-preincubated gum tissue homogenates of fresh rats. The in vitro results were, thus, consistent with the in vivo inhibition of lipid peroxidation, DPPH free radical-scavenging effects, and the presence of total polyphenols/flavonoids in G. lucidum extract. Our results provide the evidence, at least partially, for the beneficial effects of G. lucidum on periodontitis, an inflammatory condition of gums which is associated with oxidative stress and preceded by infectious gum diseases.

Characterisation of Lipoma-Preferred Partner as a Novel Mechanotransducer in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

In arteries and arterioles, a chronic increase in blood pressure raises wall tension. This continuous biomechanical strain causes a change in gene expression in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) that may lead to pathological changes. Here we have characterised the functional properties of lipoma-preferred partner (LPP), a Lin11-Isl1-Mec3 (LIM)-domain protein, which is most closely related to the mechanotransducer zyxin but selectively expressed by smooth muscle cells, including VSMCs in adult mice. VSMCs isolated from the aorta of LPP knockout (LPP-KO) mice displayed a higher rate of proliferation than their wildtype (WT) counterparts, and when cultured as three-dimensional spheroids, they revealed a higher expression of the proliferation marker Ki 67 and showed greater invasion into a collagen gel. Accordingly, the gelatinase activity was increased in LPP-KO but not WT spheroids. The LPP-KO spheroids adhering to the collagen gel responded with decreased contraction to potassium chloride. The relaxation response to caffeine and norepinephrine was also smaller in the LPP-KO spheroids than in their WT counterparts. The overexpression of zyxin in LPP-KO VSMCs resulted in a reversal to a more quiescent differentiated phenotype. In native VSMCs, i.e., in isolated perfused segments of the mesenteric artery (MA), the contractile responses of LPP-KO segments to potassium chloride, phenylephrine or endothelin-1 did not vary from those in isolated perfused WT segments. In contrast, the myogenic response of LPP-KO MA segments was significantly attenuated while zyxin-deficient MA segments displayed a normal myogenic response. We propose that LPP, which we found to be expressed solely in the medial layer of different arteries from adult mice, may play an important role in controlling the quiescent contractile phenotype of VSMCs.

Loss of the mechanotransducer zyxin promotes a synthetic phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells.

BACKGROUND: Exposure of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to excessive cyclic stretch such as in hypertension causes a shift in their phenotype. The focal adhesion protein zyxin can transduce such biomechanical stimuli to the nucleus of both endothelial cells and VSMCs, albeit with different thresholds and kinetics. However, there is no distinct vascular phenotype in young zyxin-deficient mice, possibly due to functional redundancy among other gene products belonging to the zyxin family. Analyzing zyxin function in VSMCs at the cellular level might thus offer a better mechanistic insight. We aimed to characterize zyxin-dependent changes in gene expression in VSMCs exposed to biomechanical stretch and define the functional role of zyxin in controlling the resultant VSMC phenotype. METHODS AND RESULTS: DNA microarray analysis was used to identify genes and pathways that were zyxin regulated in static and stretched human umbilical artery-derived and mouse aortic VSMCs. Zyxin-null VSMCs showed a remarkable shift to a growth-promoting, less apoptotic, promigratory and poorly contractile phenotype with ≈90% of the stretch-responsive genes being zyxin dependent. Interestingly, zyxin-null cells already seemed primed for such a synthetic phenotype, with mechanical stretch further accentuating it. This could be accounted for by higher RhoA activity and myocardin-related transcription factor-A mainly localized to the nucleus of zyxin-null VSMCs, and a condensed and localized accumulation of F-actin upon stretch. CONCLUSIONS: At the cellular level, zyxin is a key regulator of stretch-induced gene expression. Loss of zyxin drives VSMCs toward a synthetic phenotype, a process further consolidated by exaggerated stretch.

Aloe vera gel protects liver from oxidative stress-induced damage in experimental rat model.

Aloe vera is a semi-tropical plant of Liliaceae family which has a wide range of applications in traditional medicine. In the present study, we sought to investigate the heptaoprotective potential of Aloe vera gel as a diet supplement. To achieve this goal, we have designed in vitro and in vivo experimental models of chemical-induced liver damage using male Sprague-Dawley rat. In the in vitro model, its effect was evaluated on Fenton's reaction-induced liver lipid peroxidation. Co-incubation with gel significantly reduced the generation of liver lipid peroxide (LPO). Next, to see the similar effect in vivo, gel was orally administered to rats once daily for 21 successive days. Following 1 hour of the last administration of gel, rats were treated with intra-peritoneal injection of CCl4. Dietary gel showed significant hepatoprotection against CCl4-induced damage as evident by restoration of liver LPO, serum transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, and total bilirubin towards near normal. The beneficial effects were pronounced with the doses used (400 and 800 mg/kg body weight). Besides, we did not observe any significant drop in serum albumin, globulin as well as total protein levels of gel-administered rats. Histopathology of the liver tissue further supported the biochemical findings confirming the hepatoprotective potential of dietary gel.

Syzygium cumini seed extract protects the liver against lipid peroxidation with concurrent amelioration of hepatic enzymes and lipid profile of alcoholic rats.

The in vitro oxidative stress induced by ethanol/Fenton's reaction in rat liver homogenates decreased significantly in the presence of Syzygium cumini seed extract, suggesting the protective effect of the seed extract against the oxidative stress in liver. To corroborate the in vitro effects by an in vivo experiment, 24 rats were divided into four groups: control, S. cumini seed-extract-administered (SE), 15% ethanol-fed (Alc) and Alc+SE rats. The oral administration of the extract (400 mg/kg BW.day) for 7 weeks significantly decreased the levels of liver LPO in the Alc+SE rats, suggesting that S. cumini seed not only obstructed the in vitro free radical production and subsequent oxidative stress, but also inhibited their in vivo formation. The oral administration of extract also reduced the enzyme activities of serum gammaglutamyl transferase, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase and the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, serum/liver triglycerides and total cholesterol of the alcoholic rats. The levels of fecal cholesterol were increased by the extract. Fatty degenerations in liver and kidney were absent with S. cumini seed extract treatment. The results suggest that S. cumini seed may be a potential therapy for alcoholics and related dysfunctions by restraining oxidative stress.