ubiquinone and Cardiomegaly

Friedreich's ataxia encodes a protein of unknown function, frataxin. The loss of frataxin is caused by a large GAA trinucleotide expansion in the first intron of the gene, resulting in deficiency of a Krebs cycle enzyme, aconitase, and of three mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (I-III). This causes oxidative stress. Idebenone, a short chain quinone acting as an antioxidant, has been shown to protect heart muscle against oxidative stress in some patients.. To assess the efficiency of idebenone on cardiac hypertrophy in Friedreich's ataxia.. Prospective, open trial.. Tertiary care centre.. Idebenone (5 mg/kg/day) was given orally to 38 patients with Friedreich's ataxia aged 4-22 years (20 males, 18 females). Cardiac ultrasound indices were recorded before and after idebenone treatment.. After six months, cardiac ultrasound indicated a reduction in left ventricular mass of more than 20% in about half the patients (p < 0.001). The shortening fraction was initially reduced in six of the 38 patients (by between 11-26%) and it improved in five of these. In one patient, the shortening fraction only responded to 10 mg/kg/day of idebenone. No correlation was found between responsiveness to idebenone and age, sex, initial ultrasound indices, or the number of GAA repeats in the frataxin gene.. Idebenone is effective at controlling cardiac hypertrophy in Friedreich's ataxia. As the drug has no serious side effects, there is a good case for giving it continuously in a dose of 5-10 mg/kg/day in patients with Friedreich's ataxia at the onset of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Antioxidants; Benzoquinones; Cardiomegaly; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Friedreich Ataxia; Humans; Male; Prospective Studies; Stroke Volume; Treatment Outcome; Ubiquinone; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

Increasing evidence indicates that mitochondrial-associated redox signaling contributes to the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF). The mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant, mitoquinone (MitoQ), is capable of modifying mitochondrial signaling and has shown beneficial effects on HF-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the potential therapeutic impact of MitoQ-based mitochondrial therapies for HF in response to pressure overload is reliant upon demonstration of improved cardiac contractile function and suppression of deleterious cardiac remodeling. Using a new (patho)physiologically relevant model of pressure overload-induced HF we tested the hypothesis that MitoQ is capable of ameliorating cardiac contractile dysfunction and suppressing fibrosis. To test this C57BL/6J mice were subjected to left ventricular (LV) pressure overload by ascending aortic constriction (AAC) followed by MitoQ treatment (2 µmol) for 7 consecutive days. Doppler echocardiography showed that AAC caused severe LV dysfunction and hypertrophic remodeling. MitoQ attenuated pressure overload-induced apoptosis, hypertrophic remodeling, fibrosis and LV dysfunction. Profibrogenic transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4, a major modulator of fibrosis related redox signaling) expression increased markedly after AAC. MitoQ blunted TGF-β1 and NOX4 upregulation and the downstream ACC-dependent fibrotic gene expressions. In addition, MitoQ prevented Nrf2 downregulation and activation of TGF-β1-mediated profibrogenic signaling in cardiac fibroblasts (CF). Finally, MitoQ ameliorated the dysregulation of cardiac remodeling-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in AAC myocardium, phenylephrine-treated cardiomyocytes, and TGF-β1-treated CF. The present study demonstrates for the first time that MitoQ improves cardiac hypertrophic remodeling, fibrosis, LV dysfunction and dysregulation of lncRNAs in pressure overload hearts, by inhibiting the interplay between TGF-β1 and mitochondrial associated redox signaling.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Biomarkers; Cardiomegaly; Disease Models, Animal; Echocardiography; Fibroblasts; Fibrosis; Heart Failure; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Mice; Models, Biological; Myocardium; Organophosphorus Compounds; Signal Transduction; Stress, Mechanical; Transforming Growth Factor beta; Ubiquinone; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left; Ventricular Remodeling

An increase in the production of reactive oxygen species is commonly thought to contribute to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This study aimed to assess whether administration of the antioxidant coenzyme Q(10) would protect the diabetic heart against dysfunction and remodelling, using the db/db mouse model of type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, we aimed to compare the efficacy of coenzyme Q(10) to that of the ACE inhibitor ramipril.. Six-week-old non-diabetic db/+ mice and diabetic db/db mice received either normal drinking water or water supplemented with coenzyme Q(10) for 10 weeks. Endpoint cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and catheterisation. Ventricular tissue was collected for histology, gene expression and protein analysis.. Untreated db/db diabetic mice exhibited hyperglycaemia, accompanied by diastolic dysfunction and adverse structural remodelling, including cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and increased apoptosis. Systemic lipid peroxidation and myocardial superoxide generation were also elevated in db/db mice. Coenzyme Q(10) and ramipril treatment reduced superoxide generation, ameliorated diastolic dysfunction and reduced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and fibrosis in db/db mice. Phosphorylation of Akt, although depressed in untreated db/db mice, was restored with coenzyme Q(10) administration. We postulate that preservation of cardioprotective Akt signalling may be a mechanism by which coenzyme Q(10)-treated db/db mice are protected from pathological cardiac hypertrophy.. These data demonstrate that coenzyme Q(10) attenuates oxidative stress and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and remodelling in the diabetic heart. Addition of coenzyme Q(10) to the current therapy used in diabetic patients with diastolic dysfunction warrants further investigation.

Topics: Animals; Antihypertensive Agents; Apoptosis; Cardiomegaly; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Cardiomyopathies; Disease Models, Animal; Endomyocardial Fibrosis; Female; Hyperglycemia; Lipid Peroxidation; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Oxidative Stress; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Ramipril; Superoxides; Ubiquinone; Ultrasonography; Ventricular Remodeling; Vitamins

Mitochondria are a major site of reactive oxygen species production, which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. Protecting mitochondria from oxidative damage should be an effective therapeutic strategy; however, conventional antioxidants are ineffective, because they cannot penetrate the mitochondria. This study investigated the role of mitochondrial oxidative stress during development of hypertension in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat, using the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, MitoQ(10). Eight-week-old male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats were treated with MitoQ(10) (500 mumol/L; n=16), control compound decyltriphenylphosphonium (decylTPP; 500 mumol/L; n=8), or vehicle (n=9) in drinking water for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced by approximately 25 mm Hg over the 8-week MitoQ(10) treatment period compared with decylTPP (F=5.94; P=0.029) or untreated controls (F=65.6; P=0.0001). MitoQ(10) treatment significantly improved thoracic aorta NO bioavailability (1.16+/-0.03 g/g; P=0.002, area under the curve) compared with both untreated controls (0.68+/-0.02 g/g) and decylTPP-treated rats (0.60+/-0.06 g/g). Cardiac hypertrophy was significantly reduced by MitoQ(10) treatment compared with untreated control and decylTPP treatment (MitoQ(10): 4.01+/-0.05 mg/g; control: 4.42+/-0.11 mg/g; and decylTPP: 4.40+/-0.09 mg/g; ANOVA P=0.002). Total MitoQ(10) content was measured in liver, heart, carotid artery, and kidney harvested from MitoQ(10)-treated rats by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. All of the organs analyzed demonstrated detectable levels of MitoQ(10), with comparable accumulation in vascular and cardiac tissues. Administration of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ(10) protects against the development of hypertension, improves endothelial function, and reduces cardiac hypertrophy in young stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats. MitoQ(10) provides a novel approach to attenuate mitochondrial-specific oxidative damage with the potential to become a new therapeutic intervention in human cardiovascular disease.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Antioxidants; Blood Pressure; Cardiomegaly; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Delivery Systems; Endothelium, Vascular; Hypertension; Male; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; Mitochondria; Oxidative Stress; Probability; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Risk Factors; Sensitivity and Specificity; Ubiquinone

The effect of chronic coronary artery occlusion on the content of rat myocardial coenzymes Q (CoQ) and evaluation of the applicability of CoQ(10) for limiting postinfarct remodeling have been investigated. Left ventricle myocardium hypertrophy was characterized by the decrease in CoQ(9) (-45%, p < 0.0001), CoQ(10) (-43%, p < 0.001), and alpha-tocopherol (-35%, p < 0.05). There were no differences between the parameters of postinfarction and sham-operated rats in plasma. Administration of CoQ(10) (10 mg/kg) via a gastric probe for 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after occlusion maintained higher levels of CoQ in the postinfarction myocardium: the decrease in CoQ(9) and CoQ(10) was 25% (p < 0.05) and 23% (p < 0.05), respectively (versus sham-operated animals). Plasma concentrations of CoQ(10) were more than 2 times higher (p < 0.05). In CoQ treated rats there was significant correlation between plasma levels of CoQ and the infarct size: r = -0.723 (p < 0.05) and r = -0.839 (p < 0.01) for CoQ(9) and CoQ(10). These animals were also characterized by earlier and more intensive scar tissue formation in the postinfarction myocardium and also by more pronounced cell regeneration processes. This resulted in the decrease in both the infarct size (16.2 +/- 8.1 vs. 27.8 +/- 12.1%) and also mass index of left ventricle (2.18 +/- 0.24 vs. 2.38 +/- 0.27 g/kg) versus untreated rats (p < 0.05). Thus, long-term treatment with ubiquinone increases plasma and myocardial CoQ content and this can improve the survival of myocardial cells during ischemia and limit postinfarct myocardial remodeling.

Topics: alpha-Tocopherol; Animals; Cardiomegaly; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Coenzymes; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Myocardial Infarction; Myocardium; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Ubiquinone; Ventricular Remodeling; Vitamins

Topics: Aortic Valve Stenosis; Cardiomegaly; Coenzymes; Humans; Mitochondria, Heart; Ubiquinone

A 40% reduction of the diameter of the ascending aorta maintained for 60 days induced the formation of a compensate cardiac hypertrophy in rabbits without changing the value of the azide insensitive Ca2+-ATPase activity in comparison to control hearts. The cardiac mitochondria isolated from constricted animals assayed in presence of glutamate and succinate did not show a change in the R.C.I. and ADP/O values in comparison to the controls, whilst the QO2 value enhanced or decreased respectively when determined with glutamate or succinate. The intramuscular injections of CoQ10 (12 mg/kg body weight/48 h) enhanced the mitochondrial CoQ10 concentrations both in the control and in the constricted animals and further increased the QO2 value determined in both groups of animals when glutamate was used as the substrate. The production of O2.- radicals by the level of the complexes I and III of the respiratory chain, did not change in the constricted animals, nor in the animals administered with CoQ10 in comparison to the control. CoQ10 augmented the rate of oxygen consumption by the submitochondrial particles only in the constricted animals. Moreover, the treatment with the coenzyme or the constriction of the aorta, did not modify the cardiac superoxide dismutase activity, but increased the glutathione peroxidase activity only in the banded animals. In addition, in the CoQ10 treated animals there was a reduction of NADH-diaphorase activity both in the control and constricted animals, while the malondialdehyde, generated during the thiobarbituric acid test, and the cardiac content of lipofuscin were decreased.

Topics: Animals; Aortic Valve Stenosis; Body Weight; Cardiomegaly; Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase; Glutathione Peroxidase; Lipofuscin; Male; Malondialdehyde; Mitochondria, Heart; Myocardium; Organ Size; Oxygen Consumption; Rabbits; Superoxide Dismutase; Superoxides; Ubiquinone

Topics: Animals; Cardiomegaly; Coenzymes; Constriction; Coronary Circulation; Male; Mitochondria, Heart; Myocardial Contraction; Rabbits; Superoxides; Ubiquinone

Topics: Animals; Aortic Valve Stenosis; Cardiomegaly; Coenzymes; Exercise Test; Male; Mitochondria, Heart; Rabbits; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Ubiquinone

In order to perform intracardiac repair safely during aortic cross clamping, we designed this study to evaluate the protective effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on hypertrophied ischemic myocardium from the aspect of energy metabolism. Six to nine months preceding the study, aortic bandings were carried out on 14 puppies to produce left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). These dogs with LVH were then subjected to total cardiopulmonary bypass and were evenly divided into control and CoQ10-treated groups (10 mg/kg of intravenous administration plus 1 mg/kg per hr of intracoronary injection). Myocardial ischemia was induced by aortic cross clamping for 2 hr under moderate systemic hypothermia. The results indicated that the administration of CoQ10 had a protective effect on hypertrophied ischemic myocardium, since depletion of high-energy phosphate (HEP) was uniformly prevented, and accumulation of lactate was simultaneously decreased during the 2 hr of aortic cross clamping. On the other hand, there were marked exhaustion of HEP and rapid increase in lactate following the 2 hr of ischemia in the control group, these being much more predominant in the subendocardial layer.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Aorta; Cardiomegaly; Dogs; Energy Metabolism; Lactates; Ligation; Phosphocreatine; Ubiquinone

Effects of CV-2619 (10 and 30 mg/kg/day, p.o.) or ubiquinone-10 (Q-10, 10 mg/kg/day, p.o.) treatment for 5 weeks on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and myocardial energy metabolism were studied in spontaneously hypertensive rats of 20 weeks of age. The systolic blood pressure was about 205 mmHg at the start of the experiment, and a slight increase was noted thereafter in the control (vehicle) group. CV-2619, but not Q-10, inhibited the increase in the blood pressure. At 25 weeks of age, cardiac hypertrophy was noted to the same extent in either treated group. Myocardial contents of glycolytic intermediates (glycogen, glucose, pyruvate and lactate) and creatine phosphate (Cr-P), ATP, ADP, and AMP were not significantly influenced by CV-2619 or Q-10 treatment. CV-2619, however, significantly increased the energy charge, an index of myocardial energy state, with higher dose and lowered the lactate/pyruvate ratio with either dose. These results suggest that CV-2619 has a mild antihypertensive effect and improves the myocardial energy state in the hypertrophied heart during the sustained phase of hypertension in SHR rats.

Topics: Animals; Benzoquinones; Blood Pressure; Body Weight; Cardiomegaly; Cyclic AMP; Electrocardiography; Energy Metabolism; Heart Rate; Heart Ventricles; Hypertension; Male; Myocardium; Organ Size; Phosphoric Acids; Proteins; Quinones; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Ubiquinone

Topics: Animals; Cardiomegaly; Coronary Disease; Dogs; Heart; Myocardium; Ubiquinone