ABSTRACT
In-depth characterization of heart-brain communication in critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory failure is attracting significant interest in the COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic era during intensive care unit (ICU) stay and after ICU or hospital discharge. Emerging research has provided new insights into pathogenic role of the deregulation of the heart-brain axis (HBA), a bidirectional flow of information, in leading to severe multiorgan disease syndrome (MODS) in patients with confirmed infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Noteworthy, HBA dysfunction may worsen the outcome of the COVID-19 patients. In this review, we discuss the critical role HBA plays in both promoting and limiting MODS in COVID-19. We also highlight the role of HBA as new target for novel therapeutic strategies in COVID-19 in order to open new translational frontiers of care. This is a translational perspective from the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Researches.
Subject(s)
Brain Diseases/therapy , Brain/drug effects , COVID-19/therapy , Heart Diseases/therapy , Heart/drug effects , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/administration & dosage , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/administration & dosage , Antiviral Agents/administration & dosage , Brain/immunology , Brain/metabolism , Brain Diseases/immunology , Brain Diseases/metabolism , COVID-19/immunology , COVID-19/metabolism , Critical Care/methods , Critical Illness/therapy , Dietary Supplements , Functional Food , Heart Diseases/immunology , Heart Diseases/metabolism , Humans , Inflammation Mediators/antagonists & inhibitors , Inflammation Mediators/immunology , Inflammation Mediators/metabolism , Microvessels/drug effects , Microvessels/immunology , Microvessels/metabolism , Multiple Organ Failure/immunology , Multiple Organ Failure/metabolism , Multiple Organ Failure/therapy , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismABSTRACT
We recently showed that the long-term in vivo administration of green tea catechin extract (GTE) resulted in hyperdynamic cardiomyocyte contractility. The present study investigates the mechanisms underlying GTE action in comparison to its major component, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), given at the equivalent amount that would be in the entirety of GTE. Twenty-six male Wistar rats were given 40 mL/day of a tap water solution with either standardized GTE or pure EGCG for 4 weeks. Cardiomyocytes were then isolated for the study. Cellular bioenergetics was found to be significantly improved in both GTE- and EGCG-fed rats compared to that in controls as shown by measuring the maximal mitochondrial respiration rate and the cellular ATP level. Notably, the improvement of mitochondrial function was associated with increased levels of oxidative phosphorylation complexes, whereas the cellular mitochondrial mass was unchanged. However, only the GTE supplement improved cardiomyocyte mechanics and intracellular calcium dynamics, by lowering the expression of total phospholamban (PLB), which led to an increase of both the phosphorylated-PLB/PLB and the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase/PLB ratios. Our findings suggest that GTE might be a valuable adjuvant tool for counteracting the occurrence and/or the progression of cardiomyopathies in which mitochondrial dysfunction and alteration of intracellular calcium dynamics constitute early pathogenic factors.
Subject(s)
Catechin/pharmacology , Mitochondria/drug effects , Myocytes, Cardiac/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Tea/chemistry , Animals , Calcium-Binding Proteins , Catechin/analogs & derivatives , Energy Metabolism , Male , Mitochondria/metabolism , Oxidative Phosphorylation , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases/metabolismABSTRACT
Emerging evidence suggests that both adult cardiac cell and the cardiac stem/progenitor cell (CSPC) compartments are involved in the patho-physiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). We evaluated whether early administration of Resveratrol, a natural antioxidant polyphenolic compound, in addition to improving cardiomyocyte function, exerts a protective role on (i) the progenitor cell pool, and (ii) the myocardial environment and its impact on CSPCs, positively interfering with the onset of DCM phenotype. Adult Wistar rats (nâ=â128) with streptozotocin-induced type-1 diabetes were either untreated (D group; nâ=â54) or subjected to administration of trans-Resveratrol (i.p. injection: 2.5 mg/Kg/day; DR group; nâ=â64). Twenty-five rats constituted the control group (C). After 1, 3 or 8 weeks of hyperglycemia, we evaluated cardiac hemodynamic performance, and cardiomyocyte contractile properties and intracellular calcium dynamics. Myocardial remodeling and tissue inflammation were also assessed by morphometry, immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Eventually, the impact of the diabetic "milieu" on CSPC turnover was analyzed in co-cultures of healthy CSPCs and cardiomyocytes isolated from D and DR diabetic hearts. In untreated animals, cardiac function was maintained during the first 3 weeks of hyperglycemia, although a definite ventricular remodeling was already present, mainly characterized by a marked loss of CSPCs and adult cardiac cells. Relevant signs of ventricular dysfunction appeared after 8 weeks of diabetes, and included: 1) a significant reduction in ±dP/dt in comparison with C group, 2) a prolongation of isovolumic contraction/relaxation times, 3) an impaired contraction of isolated cardiomyocytes associated with altered intracellular calcium dynamics. Resveratrol administration reduced atrial CSPC loss, succeeded in preserving the functional abilities of CSPCs and mature cardiac cells, improved cardiac environment by reducing inflammatory state and decreased unfavorable ventricular remodeling of the diabetic heart, leading to a marked recovery of ventricular function. These findings indicate that RSV can constitute an adjuvant therapeutic option in DCM prevention.