scholarly journals Aging and exercise training reduce testes microvascular Po2 and alter vasoconstrictor responsiveness in testicular arterioles

2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (3) ◽  
pp. R801-R810 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Dominguez ◽  
Robert T. Davis ◽  
Danielle J. McCullough ◽  
John N. Stabley ◽  
Bradley J. Behnke

Testicular function and associated testosterone concentration decline with advancing age, and an impaired O2 supply may contribute, in part, to this reduction. We hypothesized that there would be a reduced microvascular Po2 (Po2m) in the testes from aged rats, and this reduced Po2m would be associated with impaired vasomotor control in isolated resistance arterioles. In addition, given the positive effect of exercise on microvascular Po2 and arteriolar function, we further hypothesized that there would be an enhanced Po2m in the testes from aged animals after aerobic exercise training. Testicular Po2m was measured in vivo via phosphorescence quenching in young and aged sedentary (SED) and exercise-trained (ET; 15 m/min treadmill walking, 15-degree incline, 5 days/wk for 10 wk) male Fischer-344 rats. Vasoconstriction to α-adrenergic [norepinephrine (NE) and phenylephrine (PE)] and myogenic stimuli in testicular arterioles was assessed in vitro. In the SED animals, testicular Po2m was reduced by ∼50% with old age (aged SED 11.8 ± 1.9 vs. young SED 22.1 ± 1.1 mmHg; P = 0.0001). Contrary to our hypothesis, exercise training did not alter Po2m in the aged group and reduced testicular Po2m in the young animals, abolishing age-related differences (young ET, 10.0 ± 0.8 vs. aged ET, 10.7 ± 0.9 mmHg; P = 0.37). Vasoconstrictor responsiveness to NE and PE was diminished in aged compared with young (NE: young SED, 58 ± 2 vs. aged SED, 47 ± 2%; P = 0.001) (PE: young SED, 51 ± 3 vs. aged SED, 36 ± 5%; P = 0.008). Exercise training did not alter maximal vasoconstriction to NE in young or aged groups. In summary, advancing age is associated with a reduced testis Po2m and impaired adrenergic vasoconstriction. The diminished testicular microvascular driving pressure of O2 and associated vascular dysfunction provides mechanistic insight into the old age-related decrease in testicular function, and a reduced Po2m may contribute, in part, to reduced fertility markers after exercise training.

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 808-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Davis ◽  
John N. Stabley ◽  
James M. Dominguez ◽  
Michael W. Ramsey ◽  
Danielle J. McCullough ◽  
...  

Adipose tissue (AT), which typically comprises an increased percentage of body mass with advancing age, receives a large proportion of resting cardiac output. During exercise, an old age-associated inability to increase vascular resistance within the intra-abdominal AT may compromise the ability of the cardiovascular system to redistribute blood flow to the active musculature, contributing to the decline in exercise capacity observed in this population. We tested the hypotheses that 1) there would be an elevated perfusion of AT during exercise with old age that was associated with diminished vasoconstrictor responses of adipose-resistance arteries, and 2) chronic exercise training would mitigate the age-associated alterations in AT blood flow and vascular function. Young (6 mo; n = 40) and old (24 mo; n = 28) male Fischer 344 rats were divided into young sedentary (YSed), old sedentary (OSed), young exercise trained (YET), or old exercise trained (OET) groups, where training consisted of 10-12 wk of treadmill exercise. In vivo blood flow at rest and during exercise and in vitro α-adrenergic and myogenic vasoconstrictor responses in resistance arteries from AT were measured in all groups. In response to exercise, there was a directionally opposite change in AT blood flow in the OSed group (∼150% increase) and YSed (∼55% decrease) vs. resting values. Both α-adrenergic and myogenic vasoconstriction were diminished in OSed vs. YSed AT-resistance arteries. Exercise training resulted in a similar AT hyperemic response between age groups during exercise (YET, 9.9 ± 0.5 ml·min−1·100−1 g; OET, 8.1 ± 0.9 ml·min−1·100−1 g) and was associated with enhanced myogenic and α-adrenergic vasoconstriction of AT-resistance arteries from the OET group relative to OSed. These results indicate that there is an inability to increase vascular resistance in AT during exercise with old age, due, in part, to a diminished vasoconstriction of AT arteries. Furthermore, the results indicate that exercise training can augment vasoconstriction of AT arteries and mitigate age-related alterations in the regulation of AT blood flow during exercise.


2011 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle J. McCullough ◽  
Robert T. Davis ◽  
James M. Dominguez ◽  
John N. Stabley ◽  
Christian S. Bruells ◽  
...  

With advancing age, there is a reduction in exercise tolerance, resulting, in part, from a perturbed ability to match O2 delivery to uptake within skeletal muscle. In the spinotrapezius muscle (which is not recruited during incline treadmill running) of aged rats, we tested the hypotheses that exercise training will 1) improve the matching of O2 delivery to O2 uptake, evidenced through improved microvascular Po2 (PmO2), at rest and throughout the contractions transient; and 2) enhance endothelium-dependent vasodilation in first-order arterioles. Young (Y, ∼6 mo) and aged (O, >24 mo) Fischer 344 rats were assigned to control sedentary (YSED; n = 16, and OSED; n = 15) or exercise-trained (YET; n = 14, and OET; n = 13) groups. Spinotrapezius blood flow (via radiolabeled microspheres) was measured at rest and during exercise. Phosphorescence quenching was used to quantify PmO2 in vivo at rest and across the rest-to-twitch contraction (1 Hz, 5 min) transition in the spinotrapezius muscle. In a follow-up study, vasomotor responses to endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) stimuli were investigated in vitro. Blood flow to the spinotrapezius did not increase above resting values during exercise in either young or aged groups. Exercise training increased the precontraction baseline PmO2 (OET 37.5 ± 3.9 vs. OSED 24.7 ± 3.6 Torr, P < 0.05); the end-contracting PmO2 and the time-delay before PmO2 fell in the aged group but did not affect these values in the young. Exercise training improved maximal vasodilation in aged rats to acetylcholine (OET 62 ± 16 vs. OSED 27 ± 16%) and to sodium nitroprusside in both young and aged rats. Endurance training of aged rats enhances the PmO2 in a nonrecruited skeletal muscle and is associated with improved vascular smooth muscle function. These data support the notion that improvements in vascular function with exercise training are not isolated to the recruited muscle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Dylan Olver ◽  
Jenna C. Edwards ◽  
Brian S. Ferguson ◽  
Jessica A. Hiemstra ◽  
Pamela K. Thorne ◽  
...  

Conventional treatments have failed to improve the prognosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of chronic interval exercise training (IT) on large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BKCa) channel-mediated coronary vascular function in heart failure. We hypothesized that chronic interval exercise training would attenuate pressure overload-induced impairments to coronary BKCa channel-mediated function. A translational large-animal model with cardiac features of HFpEF was used to test this hypothesis. Specifically, male Yucatan miniswine were divided into three groups ( n = 7/group): control (CON), aortic banded (AB)-heart failure (HF), and AB-interval trained (HF-IT). Coronary blood flow, vascular conductance, and vasodilatory capacity were measured after administration of the BKCa channel agonist NS-1619 both in vivo and in vitro in the left anterior descending coronary artery and isolated coronary arterioles, respectively. Skeletal muscle citrate synthase activity was decreased and left ventricular brain natriuretic peptide levels increased in HF vs. CON and HF-IT animals. A parallel decrease in NS-1619-dependent coronary vasodilatory reserve in vivo and isolated coronary arteriole vasodilatory responsiveness in vitro were observed in HF animals compared with CON, which was prevented in the HF-IT group. Although exercise training prevented BKCa channel-mediated coronary vascular dysfunction, it did not change BKCa channel α-subunit mRNA, protein, or cellular location (i.e., membrane vs. cytoplasm). In conclusion, these results demonstrate the viability of chronic interval exercise training as a therapy for central and peripheral adaptations of experimental heart failure, including BKCa channel-mediated coronary vascular dysfunction. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Conventional treatments have failed to improve the prognosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. Our findings show that chronic interval exercise training can prevent BKCa channel-mediated coronary vascular dysfunction in a translational swine model of chronic pressure overload-induced heart failure with relevance to human HFpEF.


Diabetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1916-P
Author(s):  
REBECCA L. SCALZO ◽  
GRAHAME F. EVANS ◽  
SARA E. HULL ◽  
LESLIE KNAUB ◽  
LORI A. WALKER ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1985
Author(s):  
Xiaohe Li ◽  
Ling Ma ◽  
Kai Huang ◽  
Yuli Wei ◽  
Shida Long ◽  
...  

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal and age-related pulmonary disease. Nintedanib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and one of the only two listed drugs against IPF. Regorafenib is a novel, orally active, multi-kinase inhibitor that has similar targets to nintedanib and is applied to treat colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors in patients. In this study, we first identified that regorafenib could alleviate bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. The in vivo experiments indicated that regorafenib suppresses collagen accumulation and myofibroblast activation. Further in vitro mechanism studies showed that regorafenib inhibits the activation and migration of myofibroblasts and extracellular matrix production, mainly through suppressing the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1/Smad and non-Smad signaling pathways. In vitro studies have also indicated that regorafenib could augment autophagy in myofibroblasts by suppressing TGF-β1/mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) signaling, and could promote apoptosis in myofibroblasts. In conclusion, regorafenib attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by suppressing the TGF-β1 signaling pathway.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 507
Author(s):  
Rosaria Meccariello ◽  
Stefania D’Angelo

Aging and, particularly, the onset of age-related diseases are associated with tissue dysfunction and macromolecular damage, some of which can be attributed to accumulation of oxidative damage. Recently, growing interest has emerged on the beneficial effects of plant-based diets for the prevention of chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Several studies collectively suggests that the intake of polyphenols and their major food sources may exert beneficial effects on improving insulin resistance and related diabetes risk factors, such as inflammation and oxidative stress. They are the most abundant antioxidants in the diet, and their intake has been associated with a reduced aging in humans. Polyphenolic intake has been shown to be effective at ameliorating several age-related phenotypes, including oxidative stress, inflammation, impaired proteostasis, and cellular senescence, both in vitro and in vivo. In this paper, effects of these phytochemicals (either pure forms or polyphenolic-food) are reviewed and summarized according to affected cellular signaling pathways. Finally, the effectiveness of the anti-aging preventive action of nutritional interventions based on diets rich in polyphenolic food, such as the diets of the Blue zones, are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donita L. Garland ◽  
Eric A. Pierce ◽  
Rosario Fernandez-Godino

AbstractThe complement system plays a role in the formation of sub-retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) deposits in early stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But the specific mechanisms that connect complement activation and deposit formation in AMD patients are unknown, which limits the development of efficient therapies to reduce or stop disease progression. We have previously demonstrated that C3 blockage prevents the formation of sub-RPE deposits in a mouse model of EFEMP1-associated macular degeneration. In this study, we have used double mutant Efemp1R345W/R345W:C5-/- mice to investigate the role of C5 in the formation of sub-RPE deposits in vivo and in vitro. The data revealed that the genetic ablation of C5 does not eliminate the formation of sub-RPE deposits. Contrarily, the absence of C5 in RPE cultures promotes complement dysregulation that results in increased activation of C3, which likely contributes to deposit formation even in the absence of EFEMP1-R345W mutant protein. The results also suggest that genetic ablation of C5 alters the extracellular matrix turnover through an effect on matrix metalloproteinases in RPE cell cultures. These results confirm that C3 rather than C5 could be an effective therapeutic target to treat early AMD.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1206
Author(s):  
Aimilia D. Sklirou ◽  
Maria T. Angelopoulou ◽  
Aikaterini Argyropoulou ◽  
Eliza Chaita ◽  
Vasiliki Ioanna Boka ◽  
...  

Skin health is heavily affected by ultraviolet irradiation from the sun. In addition, senile skin is characterized by major changes in the collagen, elastin and in the hyaluronan content. Natural products (NPs) have been shown to delay cellular senescence or in vivo aging by regulating age-related signaling pathways. Moreover, NPs are a preferable source of photoprotective agents and have been proven to be useful against the undesirable skin hyperpigmentation. Greek flora harvests great plant diversity with approximately 6000 plant species, as it has a wealth of NPs. Here, we report an extensive screening among hundreds of plant species. More than 440 plant species and subspecies were selected and evaluated. The extracts were screened for their antioxidant and anti-melanogenic properties, while the most promising were further subjected to various in vitro and cell-based assays related to skin aging. In parallel, their chemical profile was analyzed with High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and/or Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). A variety of extracts were identified that can be of great value for the cosmetic industry, since they combine antioxidant, photoprotective, anti-melanogenic and anti-aging properties. In particular, the methanolic extracts of Sideritis scardica and Rosa damascena could be worthy of further attention, since they showed interesting chemical profiles and promising properties against specific targets involved in skin aging.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1207-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Qiu ◽  
Coralie Hoareau-Aveilla ◽  
Sebastian Oltean ◽  
Steven J. Harper ◽  
David O. Bates

Anti-angiogenic VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) isoforms, generated from differential splicing of exon 8, are widely expressed in normal human tissues but down-regulated in cancers and other pathologies associated with abnormal angiogenesis (cancer, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, the Denys–Drash syndrome and pre-eclampsia). Administration of recombinant VEGF165b inhibits ocular angiogenesis in mouse models of retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, and colorectal carcinoma and metastatic melanoma. Splicing factors and their regulatory molecules alter splice site selection, such that cells can switch from the anti-angiogenic VEGFxxxb isoforms to the pro-angiogenic VEGFxxx isoforms, including SRp55 (serine/arginine protein 55), ASF/SF2 (alternative splicing factor/splicing factor 2) and SRPK (serine arginine domain protein kinase), and inhibitors of these molecules can inhibit angiogenesis in the eye, and splice site selection in cancer cells, opening up the possibility of using splicing factor inhibitors as novel anti-angiogenic therapeutics. Endogenous anti-angiogenic VEGFxxxb isoforms are cytoprotective for endothelial, epithelial and neuronal cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting both an improved safety profile and an explanation for unpredicted anti-VEGF side effects. In summary, C-terminal distal splicing is a key component of VEGF biology, overlooked by the vast majority of publications in the field, and these findings require a radical revision of our understanding of VEGF biology in normal human physiology.


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