Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis develops as the first step of vascular endothelial dysfunction induced by ...complex molecular mechanisms. Vascular endothelial dysfunction leads to oxidative stress and inflammation of vessel walls, which in turn enhances vascular endothelial dysfunction. Vascular endothelial dysfunction and vascular wall oxidative stress and chronic inflammation make a vicious cycle that leads to the development of atherosclerosis. Simultaneously capturing and accurately evaluating the association of vascular endothelial function with oxidative stress and inflammation would be useful for elucidating the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, determining treatment efficacy, and predicting future cardiovascular complications. Intervention in both areas is expected to inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis and prevent cardiovascular complications.
Coffee is a popular beverage throughout the world. Coffee contains various chemical compounds (e.g., caffeine, chlorogenic acids, hydroxyhydroquinone, kahweol, cafestol, and complex chemical ...mixtures). Caffeine is also the most widely consumed pharmacological substance in the world and is included in various beverages (e.g., coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks), products containing chocolate, and drugs. The effects of coffee and caffeine on cardiovascular diseases remain controversial. It is well known that there are J-curve-type or U-curve-type associations of coffee consumption with cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction and stroke. However, there is little information on the direct and indirect effects of coffee consumption on endothelial function in humans. It is likely that the coffee paradox or caffeine paradox exists the association of coffee intake with cardiovascular diseases, cardiovascular outcomes, and endothelial function. This review focusses on the effects of coffee and caffeine on endothelial function from molecular mechanisms to clinical perspectives.
Recently, much attention has been given to supplementation, and supplements are now used worldwide. In western countries, focusing on auxiliary effects on nutritional and physiological functions, ...vitamins, minerals, and herbs are treated as "dietary supplements" and "food supplements." Some supplements were authorized as health function foods by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan before their authorization in other countries. However, due to the wide distribution of foods, including supplementation, standardization of supplementation and international unification of display are required. The function of supplementation should be scientifically revealed at the molecular level. In addition, it is clinically important to determine whether supplementation prevents the onset of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, and whether it has anti-aging effects for the establishment of evidence-based supplementation.
Dyslipidemia is associated with endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction is the initial step for atherosclerosis, resulting in cardiovascular complications. It is clinically important to ...break the process of endothelial dysfunction to cardiovascular complications in patients with dyslipidemia. Lipid-lowering therapy enables the improvement of endothelial function in patients with dyslipidemia. It is likely that the relationships of components of a lipid profile such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides with endothelial function are not simple. In this review, we focus on the roles of components of a lipid profile in endothelial function.
Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism catalyzed by xanthine oxidase in humans. In the process of purine metabolism, reactive oxygen species, including superoxide, are generated ...concomitantly with uric acid production, which may deteriorate endothelial function through the reaction of superoxide with nitric oxide (NO), leading to decreased NO bioavailability and increased production of peroxynitrite, a reactive oxidant. Therefore, xanthine oxidase may be a therapeutic target in the treatment of endothelial dysfunction. Indeed, clinical studies have shown that endothelial dysfunction is restored by treatment with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor in patients with cardiovascular risk factors. However, it has not been fully determined whether uric acid per se is an independent causal risk factor of endothelial dysfunction in humans. Although experimental studies have indicated that uric acid absorbed into endothelial cells via the activation of uric acid transporters expressed in endothelial cells causes endothelial dysfunction through increased oxidative stress and inflammation, an actual biological effect of uric acid on endothelial function in vivo has not been fully elucidated, in part, because of the difficulty in investigating the effect of uric acid alone on endothelial function due to the close associations of uric acid with other conventional cardiovascular risk factors and the complicated relationship between uric acid and endothelial function attributed to the potent antioxidant properties of uric acid. In this review, we focus on the relationship between uric acid and endothelial function from molecular to clinical perspectives.
•Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism catalyzed by xanthine oxidase.•Reactive oxygen species are concomitantly generated with uric acid production.•Xanthine oxidase may be a therapeutic target of endothelial dysfunction.•Experimental studies have shown that uric acid per se causes endothelial dysfunction.•Biological effect of uric acid on endothelial function in vivo and in a clinical setting is not established.
Bilirubin and Endothelial Function Maruhashi, Tatsuya; Kihara, Yasuki; Higashi, Yukihito
Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis,
08/2019, Letnik:
26, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
Bilirubin is a fundamental metabolic end product of heme degradation. Despite acting as a cytotoxic metabolite at high concentrations, bilirubin at physiological concentrations has antioxidant ...effects, such as scavenging reactive oxygen species, leading to a decrease in oxidative stress. Endothelial dysfunction is an early feature of and plays an important role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, leading to cardiovascular complications. One mechanism of endothelial dysfunction is an increase in oxidative stress, by which the bioavailability of nitric oxide is decreased. Therefore, bilirubin is expected to improve endothelial function, to inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis, and to reduce cardiovascular complications by inactivating oxidative stress through its antioxidant effects. In this review, we will focus on the clinical associations of the antioxidant bilirubin with endothelial function and cardiovascular complications.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Although the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease have significantly advanced, the residual risk of ...cardiovascular events remains high in patients with established coronary, cerebrovascular, and peripheral artery disease. Current guidelines recommend intensive therapies for secondary prevention in patients with high risk of cardiovascular events. Therefore, it is important to identify patients with high risk of cardiovascular events who may benefit from intensive therapies to minimize the subsequent risk. Recently, noninvasive vascular function tests have been developed to estimate vascular damage and risk of cardiovascular events. Flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) as a marker of endothelial function and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as a marker of arterial stiffness (a marker of medial layer function) are currently in clinical use to evaluate vascular function.
In 1986, endothelial function was measured for the first time in patients with atherosclerotic coronary arteries. Since then, several methods for assessment of endothelial function, such as ...endothelium-dependent vasodilation induced by intra-arterial infusion of vasoactive agents using coronary angiography, Doppler flow guide wire, mercury-filled Silastic strain-gauge plethysmography, flow-mediated vasodilation, reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry, and vascular response using an oscillometric method have been performed in humans. This review focuses on the assessment of endothelial function, including measurement history, methodological issues, and clinical perspectives.
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