Dysfunctional Mitochondria in the Cardiac Fibers of a Williams-Beuren Syndrome Mouse Model.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that, together with a rather characteristic neurocognitive profile, presents a strong cardiovascular phenotype. The cardiovascular features of WBS are mainly related to a gene dosage effect due to hemizygosity of the elastin (ELN) gene; however, the phenotypic variability between WBS patients indicates the presence of important modulators of the clinical impact of elastin deficiency. Recently, two genes within the WBS region have been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. Numerous cardiovascular diseases are related to mitochondrial dysfunction; therefore, it could be a modulator of the phenotype present in WBS. Here, we analyze mitochondrial function and dynamics in cardiac tissue from a WBS complete deletion (CD) model. Our research reveals that cardiac fiber mitochondria from CD animals have altered mitochondrial dynamics, accompanied by respiratory chain dysfunction with decreased ATP production, reproducing alterations observed in fibroblasts from WBS patients. Our results highlight two major factors: on the one hand, that mitochondrial dysfunction is probably a relevant mechanism underlying several risk factors associated with WBS disease; on the other, the CD murine model mimics the mitochondrial phenotype of WBS and could be a great model for carrying out preclinical tests on drugs targeting the mitochondria.

The Combined Treatment of Curcumin with Verapamil Ameliorates the Cardiovascular Pathology in a Williams-Beuren Syndrome Mouse Model.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare disorder caused by a recurrent microdeletion with hallmarks of cardiovascular manifestations, mainly supra-valvular aortic stenosis (SVAS). Unfortunately, there is currently no efficient treatment. We investigated the effect of chronic oral treatment with curcumin and verapamil on the cardiovascular phenotype of a murine model of WBS harbouring a similar deletion, CD (complete deletion) mice. We analysed systolic blood pressure in vivo and the histopathology of the ascending aorta and the left ventricular myocardium to determine the effects of treatments and their underlying mechanism. Molecular analysis showed significantly upregulated xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) expression in the aorta and left ventricular myocardium of CD mice. This overexpression is concomitant with increased levels of nitrated proteins as a result of byproduct-mediated oxidative stress damage, indicating that XOR-generated oxidative stress impacts the pathophysiology of cardiovascular manifestations in WBS. Only the combined therapy of curcumin and verapamil resulted in a significant improvement of cardiovascular parameters via activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NRF2) and reduction of XOR and nitrated protein levels. Our data suggested that the inhibition of XOR and oxidative stress damage could help prevent the severe cardiovascular injuries of this disorder.