SkQ1 protects the heart from senile diseases
Mitochondrial antioxidants have been found to have cardioprotective properties
This is evidenced by the results of a study by a Russian-Swedish group of scientists published in the journal Histology and Histopathology (Manskikh et al., Age-associated murine cardiac lesions are attenuated by the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1).
The authors of the publication studied the myocardial tissues of laboratory mice kept in vivariums of the IBH RAS and Stockholm University. Throughout their lives, rodents received various doses of the antioxidant SkQ1, which selectively penetrates into the mitochondria.
In previous studies of these authors performed on BALB/c mice, it was found that different doses of SkQ1 with prolonged use do not increase the risk of neoplasms. In addition, it turned out that they increase life expectancy in animals from SPF-vivariums (without pathogenic microflora), which mostly die from various non-infectious, including cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular mortality in laboratory mice is associated with the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is accompanied by an increase in heart size, inflammation and myocardial fibrosis. These pathological processes are associated with oxidative stress, an increase in the concentration of reactive oxygen species that damage myocardial tissue. Antioxidants that neutralize reactive oxygen species can theoretically slow down their development.
Histological studies performed by the authors of the publication confirm this hypothesis. In animals that died from age-related diseases, long-term use of SkQ1 was associated with a decrease in the intensity of all manifestations of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The increase in heart size in mice treated with SkQ1 by the end of life was 1.5 times less than in animals from the control group; the number of collagen fibers in myocardial tissues (fibrosis manifestation) was 1.5-2 times less. Thus, the development of age-related cardiomyopathy in animals was significantly reduced.
Analysis of gene expression in myocardial tissues showed that SkQ1 intake had an effect on the activity of genes responsible for intercellular interactions of endothelium, leukocytes and other cells, as well as for the migration of leukocytes from the bloodstream into the tissue. These processes, in particular, trigger inflammation in various tissues, including the myocardium. In turn, SkQ1, by suppressing the pro-inflammatory activation of the endothelium, inhibits the development of age-related cardiomyopathy and myocardial fibrosis.
As the lead author of the study, the head of the pathomorphology and histology group of the Mitoengineering Research Institute of Moscow State University, Candidate of Medical Sciences Vasily Manskikh explained to the media, the data obtained indicate one of the mechanisms by which SkQ1 and other substances with similar properties can increase the life expectancy of laboratory animals. They also confirm the results of previous studies, according to which the introduction of SkQ1 reduces the area of ischemic heart damage. Thus, according to Manskikh, mitochondrial antioxidants can be used in the treatment of a number of cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertrophic and hypertensive cardiomyopathy, as well as the consequences of myocardial infarction.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru28.10.2014