MitoQ rejuvenates the circulatory system
Antioxidant MitoQ restores youth to the arteries of old mice
NanoNewsNet based on the materials of the University of Colorado Boulder:
Novel antioxidant makes old arteries seem young again, CU-Boulder study findsAccording to a new study conducted at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder), an antioxidant that targets the cellular structures of mitochondria can reverse some of the negative effects of aging arteries, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The arteries of old mice, whose age corresponded to 70-80 years of human life, who received an antioxidant known as MitoQ for four weeks, functioned as well as the arteries of mice whose age corresponded to 25-35 years of human age.
According to scientists, MitoQ has an effect on the endothelium, a thin layer of cells lining our blood vessels. The vascular endothelium – along with many other functions – helps the arteries expand when needed. With age, the endothelium is less and less able to carry out this process, which increases the predisposition to the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Endothelial cells. Actin stress fibers are shown in green, microtubules are shown in red.
(Photo: Imperial College London)
"One of the signs of the onset of aging is endothelial dysfunction," explains the study's lead author Rachel Gioscia–Ryan, a doctoral student in the Department of Integrative Physiology at CU-Boulder. "MitoQ has completely restored endothelial function in old mice. They looked like they were young."
The trigger for the expansion of blood vessels is the synthesis of nitric oxide by endothelial cells. In the process of aging, nitric oxide is increasingly destroyed by reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide, which are produced by many components of our body's cells, including organelles called mitochondria.
In addition, the superoxide reacts directly with the enzyme involved in the synthesis of nitric oxide, and thereby already reduces its amount. All this taken together reduces the ability of blood vessels to expand.
Superoxide, which is necessary in small quantities to maintain important cellular functions, is produced by the mitochondria of even young and healthy cells. However, it is under the control of the body's own antioxidants, which, interacting with it, make it less reactive and prevent oxidative damage to cells.
"We maintain this kind of balance, but with age it is disrupted," – comments on the processes occurring in the body of Joscha-Ryan. "There are more reactive oxygen species than the amount that our antioxidant defenses can handle."
This phenomenon, known as oxidative or oxidative stress, is observed when the cells of the elderly begin to produce too much superoxide and other reactive oxygen species. The main source of superoxide in aging cells are mitochondria. Superoxide not only interacts with nitric oxide and endothelium, but also attacks the mitochondria themselves. Damaged mitochondria perform their functions worse and worse, they produce more and more reactive oxygen species, closing a vicious circle.
Scientists have repeatedly studied the effect of long-term intake of antioxidants on vascular function in patients with cardiovascular diseases, aimed at restoring balance with superoxide levels, but mostly these studies have not confirmed the effectiveness of this strategy.
In the new study, an antioxidant was used, the direct target of which is mitochondria. Biochemists created MitoQ by adding to the natural antioxidant ubiquinone, also known as coenzyme Q10, a certain molecule that "forces" ubiquinone to concentrate in mitochondria.
"The question arises, why don't we all take a bunch of vitamin C?" continues Joscha-Ryan. "Scientists believe that, taken orally, antioxidants, such as vitamin C, do not reach the places where these reactive oxygen species are produced. MitoQ basically goes straight to the mitochondria."
The results of a study conducted by American scientists show that specific targeting of mitochondria can be an effective strategy for improving the condition of aging arteries. In addition to improving endothelial function, MitoQ treatment increased nitric oxide levels, reduced oxidative stress levels, and improved the condition of mitochondria in the arteries of old mice.
The study, published in The Journal of Physiology (Gioscia-Ryan et al., Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant (MitoQ) ameliorates age-related arterial endothelial dysfunction in mice), was funded by the National Institute on Aging, one of 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health Health) USA, a leader in the study of the nature of aging.
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