Functional interactions between complex I and complex II with nNOS in regulating cardiac mitochondrial activity in sham and hypertensive rat hearts.

Nitric oxide (NO) affects mitochondrial activity through its interactions with complexes. Here, we investigated regulations of complex I (C-I) and complex II (C-II) by neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in the presence of fatty acid supplementation and the impact on left ventricular (LV) mitochondrial activity from sham and angiotensin II (Ang-II)-induced hypertensive (HTN) rats. Our results showed that nNOS protein was expressed in sham and HTN LV mitochondrial enriched fraction. In sham, oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and intracellular ATP were increased by palmitic acid (PA) or palmitoyl-carnitine (PC). nNOS inhibitor, S-methyl-l-thiocitrulline (SMTC), did not affect OCR or cellular ATP increment by PA or PC. However, SMTC increased OCR with PA + malonate (a C-II inhibitor), but not with PA + rotenone (a C-I inhibitor), indicating that nNOS attenuates C-I with fatty acid supplementation. Indeed, SMTC increased C-I activity but not that of C-II. Conversely, nNOS-derived NO was increased by rotenone + PA in LV myocytes. In HTN, PC increased the activity of C-I but reduced that of C-II, consequently OCR was reduced. SMTC increased both C-I and C-II activities with PC, resulted in OCR enhancement in the mitochondria. Notably, SMTC increased OCR only with rotenone, suggesting that nNOS modulates C-II-mediated OCR in HTN. nNOS-derived NO was partially reduced by malonate + PA. Taken together, nNOS attenuates C-I-mediated mitochondrial OCR in the presence of fatty acid in sham and C-I modulates nNOS activity. In HTN, nNOS attenuates C-I and C-II activities whereas interactions between nNOS and C-II maintain mitochondrial activity.

Cardiac complex II activity is enhanced by fat and mediates greater mitochondrial oxygen consumption following hypoxic re-oxygenation.

Recent evidence suggests that mitochondrial complex II is an essential mediator of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of fatty acid supplementation or high-fat diet (HFD) on cardiac mitochondrial activity. The changes of complex I and complex II activities and mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) following hypoxia and re-oxygenation under these conditions were studied. Our results have shown that OCR (mitochondrial activity) was significantly increased with palmitoylcarnitine supplementation in mitochondria-enriched fraction from C57BL/6 mice hearts. Mitochondrial complex I activity was unaffected by palmitoylcarnitine but complex II activity was enhanced. Re-oxygenation following 30-min hypoxia transiently increased OCR but such an effect on OCR was abolished by complex II inhibitor, malonate, but not by complex I inhibitor, rotenone, despite that complex I activity was significantly increased with re-oxygenation following hypoxia in the presence of palmitoylcarnitine. Furthermore, OCR and complex II activity were significantly increased in the mitochondria from high-fat diet mice heart compared with those of normal or low-fat diet mice. Re-oxygenation to mitochondria following 30-min hypoxia increased OCR in all three groups but significantly more in HFD. Malonate abolished re-oxygenation-induced OCR increment in all groups. Our results indicate that complex II activity and OCR are enhanced with palmitoylcarnitine or in HFD mice heart. Although re-oxygenation following hypoxia enhanced complex II and complex I activities, complex II plays an important role in increasing mitochondrial activity, which may be instrumental in myocardial injury following ischemic reperfusion.

Tea polyphenols reduces the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in rats with experimental varicocele / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of tea polyphenols (TP) on the apoptosis of germ cells in rats with experimental varicocele.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-two adolescent male Wistar rats were randomly and equally divided into groups A (sham-operation), B (high-dose TP), C (low-dose TP), and D (experimental left varicocele). Experimental varicocele was induced by partial ligation of the left renal vein in the latter three groups of rats. The animals in groups A and D were fed with normal saline, while those in B and C with TP at 40 and 10 mg per kg per d, respectively, all for 4 weeks. Then, all the rats were sacrificed and the left testes harvested for determination of the expression of HIF-1, Bcl-2, Bax, CytC, and caspase-3 by immunohistochemistry and measurement of the apoptosis index (AI) of spermatogenic cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of Bcl-2 was higher in groups B and C than in D but lower than in A (P < 0.05), and lower in C than in B (P < 0.05). However, the expressions of HIF-1, Bax, CytC, and caspase-3 were lower in groups B and C than in D but higher than in A (P < 0.05), and higher in C than in B (P < 0.05). The AI of spermatogenic cells was the lowest in group A, higher in D than in the other groups but lower in B than in C (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TP can reduce the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in a dose-dependent manner in varicocele rats.</p>