Search

Conti, Marc, Isabelle M. Renaud, Bruno Poirier, Odile Michel, Marie-France Belair, Chantal Mandet, Patrick Bruneval, Isaac Myara, and Jacques Chevalier. High levels of myocardial antioxidant defense in aging nondiabetic normotensive Zucker obese rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 286: R793-R800, 2004. First published December 11, 2003; 10.1152/ajpregu.00521.2002.--Chronic renal failure often induces left ventricular hypertrophy. We assessed whether the heart is affected in the Zucker obese rat, a model of chronic renal failure associated with obesity, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance without hypertension or hyperglycemia. After systemic blood pressure measurement, the heart, the aorta, and the kidneys were removed from anesthetized 9- and 13-mo-old Zucker obese and lean control male rats (n = 33, n = 24, n = 25, and n = 21, respectively). Determination of left ventricular geometry, quantification of myocardium collagen density, and measurement of heart antioxidant enzyme activity were made, as well as aorta and kidney parameters. Mean blood pressure remained at a normal range whatever the age and group considered. Whereas kidney structure and function were severely impaired, no sign of myocardial infarction or inflammatory process was noticed. A moderate left ventricular hypertrophy was observed in 13-mo-old obese rats. While heart malondialdehyde was stable with age and among groups, antioxidant enzyme activity was higher in obese rats. In conclusion, in the absence of hypertensive or hyperglycemic disorders, the heart seems to display a sufficient line of defense against oxidative stress during the development of cardiac hypertrophy. left ventricular hypertrophy; renal failure; oxidative stress; Zucker rats; hyperlipidemia

Background. Several factors favour the development of kidney lesions. We examined the role of oxidative stress in the onset of renal alterations that occur in Zucker obese (ZO) fa/fa rats. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents a letter to the editor, written by readers regarding obesity, published in the September 2001 issue of the journal "Nephron."

Objective: To correlate the susceptibility of low-(LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein to oxidation in vitro and the concentrations of serum antibodies against malondialdehyde-modified LDL and plasma vitamin E with the anthropometric and laboratory characteristics of obesity., Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 75 nondiabetic, normotensive obese patients were assigned to one of four groups according to their body mass index (BMI): moderately obese (30 50 kg/m(2), n = 15)., Results: The oxidation lag time for LDL from patients with a BMI >or=35 kg/m(2) was shorter than that for LDL from non-obese controls (n = 13), whereas very-low-density lipoprotein oxidation lag times were not significantly different. The serum antibodies against modified LDL were similar in all groups, whereas the plasma vitamin E concentrations of obese patients were decreased (p

Background: Viscum album (VA) preparations consist of aqueous extracts of different types of lectins of VA. Mistletoe lectins have both cytotoxic and immunomodulatory properties that support their study for the development for cancer therapy. However, the mechanisms of the anti- tumoral properties in vivo of mistletoe lectins are not fully understood. Because endothelial cells (EC) play a pivotal role in tumor angiogenesis, we tested the hypothesis that VA extracts induce endothelial cell death and apoptosis., Materials and Methods: We investigated the effect of various VA preparations on both human venous endothelial cell (HUVEC) and immortalized human venous endothelial cell line (IVEC) using morphologic assessment of EC, FACScan analysis after propidium iodine and annexin V labeling, and detection of cleavage of poly(A)DP-ribose polymerase (PARP)., Results: All tested VA preparations, except Iscador P, were cytotoxic in IVEC. Apoptosis, assessed by morphologic examination, annexin V labeling, and Western blot analysis for PARP cleavage, was involved in HUVEC cell death induced by VA preparations derived from plants that grow on oak trees (VA Qu FrF)., Conclusions: Results from the present study suggest that VA extract-induced endothelial apoptosis may explain the tumor regression associated with the therapeutic use of VA preparations and support further investigations to develop novel anti-angiogenic compounds based on mistletoe compounds.