bims-noxint 2020-07-19 papers

Issue of 2020–07–19
three papers selected by
Laia Caja Puigsubira, Uppsala University

Biomedicines. 2020 Jul 10. pii: E206. [Epub ahead of print]8(7):

NADPH Oxidases and Their Role in Atherosclerosis.

Anastasia V Poznyak, Andrey V Grechko, Varvara A Orekhova, Victoria Khotina, Ekaterina A Ivanova, Alexander N Orekhov.

The current view on atherosclerosis positions it as a multifactorial disorder that results from the interplay between lipid metabolism disturbances and inflammatory processes. Oxidative stress is proven to be one of the initiating factors in atherosclerosis development, being implicated both in the inflammatory response and in atherogenic modifications of lipoproteins that facilitate lipid accumulation in the arterial wall. The hallmark of oxidative stress is the elevated level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Correspondingly, the activity of major ROS-generating enzymes, including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases, xanthine oxidases, and cyclooxygenases, is an important element in atherosclerosis development. In particular, the role of NADPH oxidases in atherosclerosis development has become a subject of intensive research. Aberrant activity of NADPH oxidases was shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease in humans. With regard to atherosclerosis, several important pathological components of the disease development, including endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and vascular remodeling, involve aberrations in NADPH oxidases functioning. In humans, NADPH oxidases are represented by four isoforms expressed in vascular tissues, where they serve as the main source of ROS during atherogenesis. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated their impact on vascular remodeling processes. Interestingly, one of the NADPH oxidase isoforms, NOX4, was shown to have an atheroprotective effect. Despite the growing evidence of the crucial involvement of NADPH oxidases in atherosclerosis pathogenesis, the available data still remains controversial. In this narrative review, we summarize the current knowledge of the role of NADPH oxidases in atherosclerosis and outline the future directions of research.

Keywords: CAD; NADPH oxidase; ROS; atherosclerosis; oxidative stress

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8070206

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2020 ;2020 1679045

NOX2 Is Critical to Endocardial to Mesenchymal Transition and Heart Development.

Hoda Moazzen, Yan Wu, Anish Engineer, Xiangru Lu, Simran Aulakh, Qingping Feng.

NADPH oxidases (NOX) are a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the heart. ROS signaling regulates gene expression, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. However, the role of NOX2 in embryonic heart development remains elusive. We hypothesized that deficiency of Nox2 disrupts endocardial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) and results in congenital septal and valvular defects. Our data show that 34% of Nox2-/- neonatal mice had various congenital heart defects (CHDs) including atrial septal defects (ASD), ventricular septal defects (VSD), atrioventricular canal defects (AVCD), and malformation of atrioventricular and aortic valves. Notably, Nox2-/- embryonic hearts show abnormal development of the endocardial cushion as evidenced by decreased cell proliferation and an increased rate of apoptosis. Additionally, Nox2 deficiency disrupted EndMT of atrioventricular cushion explants ex vivo. Furthermore, treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to reduce ROS levels in the wild-type endocardial cushion explants decreased the number of cells undergoing EndMT. Importantly, deficiency of Nox2 was associated with reduced expression of Gata4, Tgfβ2, Bmp2, Bmp4, and Snail1, which are critical to endocardial cushion and valvoseptal development. We conclude that NOX2 is critical to EndMT, endocardial cushion cell proliferation, and normal embryonic heart development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/1679045

Neurochem Res. 2020 Jul 16.

Docosahexaenoic Acid Protects Traumatic Brain Injury by Regulating NOX2 Generation via Nrf2 Signaling Pathway.

Wei Zhu, Guangqiang Cui, Tuo Li, Hongguang Chen, Jian Zhu, Yuexia Ding, Li Zhao.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is verified to have neuroprotective effects on traumatic brain injury (TBI) rats by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway, but the role of NOX2 in this effect has not been illuminated. So this study explored the role of NOX2 in TBI models treated with DHA, aiming to complete the mechanism of DHA. TBI rat models were constructed with or without DHA treatment, and H2O2-induced hippocampal neurons were pretreated with DHA alone or in combination with Nrf2 inhibitor brusatol. The neurological function, cognitive ability, and cerebral edema degree of rats were assessed. The apoptosis rate and viability of cells was measured. The generation of NOX2, Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO-1 expression levels, and ROS content in hippocampal CA1 region and hippocampal neurons were detected. DHA could not only improve the neurological function, brain edema and cognitive ability in TBI rats, but also decrease effectively the contents of NOX2 and ROS in hippocampal CA1 region and hippocampal neurons. DHA promoted the nuclear transposition of Nrf2 and the expression levels of HO-1 and NQO-1 in hippocampal CA1 region and hippocampal neurons. On the contrary, Nrf2 inhibitor brusatol inhibited the nuclear transposition of Nrf2 and the expression levels of HO-1 and NQO-1 in hippocampal neurons, promoted the generation of ROS and NOX2, and accelerated cell apoptosis. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that DHA treated TBI by reducing NOX2 generation that might function on Nrf2 signaling pathway, providing a potential evidence for its clinical application.

Keywords: Docosahexaenoic acid; NADPH oxidase; Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; Reactive oxygen species; Traumatic brain injury

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-020-03078-z