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Biomedical subjects

G G Corbucci

Publications and source records attributed to G G Corbucci.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Exogenous reactive oxygen species deplete the isolated rat heart of antioxidants.

The effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on myocardial antioxidants and on the activity of oxidative mitochondrial enzymes were investigated in the following groups of isolated, perfused rat hearts. I: After stabilization the hearts freeze clamped in liquid nitrogen (n = 7). II: Hearts frozen after stabilization and perfusion for 10 min with xanthine oxidase (XO) (25 U/l) and hypoxanthine (HX) (1 mM) as a ROS-producing system (n = 7). III: Like group II, but recovered for 30 min after perfusion with XO + HX (n = 9). IV: The hearts were perfused and freeze-clamped as in group III, but without XO + HX (n = 7). XO + HX reduced left ventricular developed pressure and coronary flow to approximately 50% of the baseline value. Myocardial content of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) increased at the end of XO + HX perfusion, indicating that generation of ROS and lipid peroxidation occurred. Levels of H2O2 and MDA normalized during recovery. Superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione and alpha-tocopherol were all reduced after ROS-induced injury. ROS did not significantly influence the tissue content of coenzyme Q10 (neither total, oxidized, nor reduced), cytochrome c oxidase, and succinate cytochrome c reductase. The present findings indicate that the reduced contractile function was not correlated to reduced activity of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. ROS depleted the myocardium of antioxidants, leaving the heart more sensitive to the action of oxidative injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Metabolic aspects of cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues in the condition of hypoxia, ischaemia and reperfusion induced by extracorporeal circulation.

Extracorporeal circulation (ECC) during aortopulmonary bypass surgery allows the investigation of the metabolic and biochemical effects of hypoxia (skeletal muscle), ischaemia (cardiac muscle) and reperfusion (skeletal and cardiac muscle) in homogeneous groups of patients. In this study we examined the mitochondrial enzymic response to oxidative stress in 40 subjects, and analysis was carried out on heart and skeletal-muscle biopsies taken before, during and after aortic clamping and 115 min of ECC. The results obtained constitute a clinical and biochemical picture characterized by some peculiar adaptive changes of enzymic activities which thus antagonize the oxidative damage due to acute hypoxia, ischaemia and reperfusion. Consequently it seems that this cellular protective mechanism plays a crucial role in the reversibility of oxidative damage in hypoxic and ischaemic tissues.

Extracorporeal Circulation↗
PubMed1995

Biochemical and biomolecular aspects of oxidative stress due to acute and severe hypoxia in human muscle tissue.

Mitochondrial oxidative stress was investigated in severe and acute hypoxia and in reperfusion applied to human muscle tissues. The biochemical and biomolecular relationship between the response of the respiratory-chain enzymic complexes and the metabolism of specific hypoxia stress proteins (HSP) suggest an adaptive mechanism which antagonizes the oxidative damage due to acute and severe tissue hypoxia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

L-carnitine in cardiogenic shock therapy: pharmacodynamic aspects and clinical data.

Following our previous work on biochemical and clinical aspects of cardiogenic shock, we carried out an open study on 27 patients hospitalized in shock condition and investigated for the entire period of permanence in intensive care units (ICU). The subjects were treated with high doses of L-carnitine following previous results on the use of this molecule in conditions of oxidative damage due to acute cellular hypoxia. When compared with the data reported in the literature, the results obtained in this study show a surprisingly positive trend for the carnitine-treated patients in terms of survival rate to the cardiogenic shock. This finding and statistical analysis of the clinical parameters confirm the suggestion that L-carnitine could be credited with a new and interesting role in the therapy of cardiogenic shock.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed1992

Metabolic aspects of acute tissue hypoxia during extracorporeal circulation and their modification induced by L-carnitine treatment.

In this study the authors examine the effects of acute hypoxia due to extracorporeal circulation (ECC) and the role played by L-carnitine treatment on some plasmatic metabolites linked to glycolytic cellular metabolism. To obtain biochemical data, 120 patients in extracorporeal circulation during aortopulmonary bypass surgery were evaluated. The patients received either sodium bicarbonate (40 patients), or L-carnitine during ECC (40 patients) or before and during ECC (40 patients), and plasma samples were collected before ECC, during ECC and after ECC. The levels of lactate and pyruvate showed significant alterations in sodium bicarbonate-treated patients, and there was also a considerable imbalance in the succinate/fumarate ratio. This means that tissue hypoxia due to ECC leads to cellular oxidative damage and to a considerable decrease in the intracellular energy pools. The use of L-carnitine antagonizes the oxidative stress, as is well documented by the levels of plasmatic metabolites which remain confined to normal amounts.

Bicarbonates↗
PubMed1992

Metabolic aspects of acute cerebral hypoxia during extracorporeal circulation and their modification induced by acetyl-carnitine treatment.

Following their previous research experiences in human tissue hypoxia, in the present study the authors. investigated the metabolic effects of acute brain hypoxia in a group of patients in course of extracorporeal circulation for aorto-pulmonary bypass. One hundred subjects were treated, half with a placebo and half with acetyl-carnitine to evaluate the effects of oxidative stress in some brain plasmatic metabolites and to verify the effect of acetyl-carnitine on the tissue energy capacity. The levels of lactate, pyruvate, succinate and fumarate showed a significant imbalance due to hypoxia, while the acetyl-carnitine treatment confined the metabolic gradients within physiological limits. This means that during the course of extracorporeal circulation brain hypoxia plays a pathological role assuming the typical picture of cellular oxidative damage and the acetyl-carnitine antagonizes these deleterious effects of hypoxia by a protective mechanism on the energy processes and then on the cellular enzymic activities. In this regard, the d-tyrosine levels, considered as a proteolytic index, confirm the action of acetyl-carnitine on the cell morpho-functional integrity.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1992

Influence of acetyl-carnitine on some mitochondrial enzymic activities in the human cerebral tissue in conditions of acute hypoxia.

Following previous research on human tissue in conditions of acute and massive hypoxia, in the present work the authors compared the cellular enzymic response to oxidative stress in normoxic (perifocal) and hypoxic (focal) areas in human brain affected by regional acute vasculopathies. Two homogeneous groups of patients were selected following strict clinical inclusion/exclusion criteria. The groups of patients were treated with a placebo or acetyl-carnitine at same doses and following randomized, double-blind procedures. The focal areas showed a significant functional damage in lactate, pyruvate and succinate dehydrogenases and in the cytochrome oxidase activity when compared with the enzymic capacities of perifocal areas (normoxic as controls). The pretreatment with acetyl-carnitine antagonized the above-mentioned enzymic damage by a protective action linked to the endocellular energy restoration. In accordance with these data, the therapeutic role played by acetyl-carnitine in the cerebral focal hypoxia appeared to be a determinant for the cell survival mainly in the reversible phase of oxidative damage.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1991

Cardiogenic shock and L-carnitine: clinical data and therapeutic perspectives.

Research experiences on the use of L-carnitine in conditions of acute hypoxia underline the protective role of this molecule on the cellular enzymic complex. To obtain unconfutable clinical data at this regard, the survival rate in two groups of patients affected by cardiogeic shock was evaluated. The first group (80 patients) was treated with L-carnitine while the second group (36 patients) received sodium bicarbonate. The results showed a significant response to L-carnitine treatment, indicating the role of this molecule on the metabolic acidosis due to shock. The sum of these data confirmed the role of L-carnitine in the reversible phase of cardiogenic shock in terms of enzymic protection in the course of cellular oxidative damage.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Influence of acetyl-L-carnitine infusion on haemodynamic parameters and survival of circulatory-shock patients.

The clinical use of acetyl carnitine in circulatory shock has its theoretical basis in the ability of this molecule to restore enzyme activity inhibited by hypoxia, acting as an acetyl donor. Moreover the action of carnitine on an injured myocardium encouraged us to examine the clinical effect of this drug during heart failure. A double-blind clinical study was performed in ten Italian intensive care units on 115 patients with septic, cardiac of traumatic shock, by using acetyl-L-carnitine infusion for 12 hours, with a previous single bolus intravenously. The results showed a good response to the drug in terms of blood oxygenation during the course of sepsis and heart failure. The heart rate as well as right atrial pressure decreased significantly in patients with cardiogenic shock. In septic patients systolic and mean arterial pressures increased also. The present data suggests the use of acetyl-L-carnitine as an adjuvant to the commonly used therapy in hypoxic conditions.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1990

The role of reduced glutathione during the course of acute haemolysis in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient patients: clinical and pharmacodynamic aspects.

Tissue hypoperfusion leads to cellular oxidative and peroxidative damage due to biochemical disorders in the oxygen and substrate metabolism. The metabolic turnover of glutathione (GSH) represents one the main cytoprotective systems against the peroxide attack and the depletion or defect in resynthesis of this compound is accompanied by pathological consequences. In the present study the clinical effects of glutathione depletion were investigated in conditions of acute tissue hypoxia due to marked haemolysis in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient patients (favism syndrome). In these subjects a significant marker of the tissue oxidative damage was represented by the uric acid blood levels, presumably linked to xanthine-hypoxanthine altered metabolism. To antagonize the effects of oxyradical pathology, reduced glutathione was administered to a group of patients and the results confirmed the cytoprotective role played by the GSH supplementation. The GSH action was evident on the tissue metabolism and this supports the opinion that reduced glutathione could represent a new and interesting therapeutic approach in marked and acute hypoxic conditions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Metabolic effects induced by L-carnitine and propionyl-L-carnitine in human hypoxic muscle tissue during exercise.

An experimental model was developed to investigate some metabolic effects of strenuous exercise in hypoxic muscle tissue of human volunteers. The incidence of carnitine supplementation was studied, assuming as marker the thiobarbituric acid reaction products analysed in plasma samples collected during the course of the protocol programme. Propionyl-L-carnitine appears to antagonize in a significant degree the damaging effects of muscle fatigue combined with hypoxic status. Under these conditions the detoxifying role played by propionyl-L-carnitine, previously reported in various tissues and in other pathological conditions, appears to be relevant, although further studies are needed to elucidate the pharmacodynamics of this molecule.

Carnitine↗
PubMed1987

Some aspects of the mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in human atrial tissue during cardiopulmonary by-pass.

Following previous research on the hypoxic cell in human circulatory shock, the present work has investigated some mitochondrial oxidative aspects in atrial biopsies taken during cardiopulmonary by-pass. Cardioplegic solution and hypothermia were administered to 10 patients and the atrial samples were collected before and after aortic clamping. The results show a cellular protective effect of cardioplegia and hypothermia on the electron-transport chain, even if the enzymes with high KmO2 appear to be more sensitive to ischaemia. The results suggest a metabolic injury rather than an oxidative damage due to the induced ischaemia, alterations to fatty-acid beta-oxidation being especially notable. Because of the unchanged oxidative capacities, the oxyradical generation and the peroxidative damage appear to be irrelevant in the ischaemic period and during the course of reperfusion. Further studies are needed to elucidate the metabolic damage and the therapeutic implications due to the induced ischaemia in the myocardial cell during the aortic clamping.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Changes in the levels of coenzyme Q homologues, alpha-tocopherol and malondialdehyde in human tissue during the course of circulatory shock.

Following our previous findings on mitochondrial oxidative damage during the course of circulatory shock in human muscular tissue, in the present work we examined the pathogenic connections between the electron-transport-chain enzymic activity and the ubiquinone metabolism. The effects of the oxidative damage on the alpha-tocopherol content and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were also studied. The results reveal an involvement of cytochrome oxidase and coenzyme Q10 in the oxidative damage due to shock; alpha-tocopherol seems to show a particularly increased antioxidant activity contemporary with the marked increase in MDA levels. These findings suggest that the significant fall in the mitochondrial oxidative capacity could generate an oxygen free-radical production with subsequent peroxidative damage of the mitochondrial inner-membrane bilayer.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1985

Shock-induced damage to mitochondrial function and some cellular antioxidant mechanisms in humans.

The effects of circulatory shock on skeletal muscle mitochondrial oxidative activity in various substrates and cytochrome oxidase activity have been investigated using samples of muscle obtained by the needle biopsy technique from human subjects. The effect of shock on superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione content of skeletal muscle was also examined. The results show that there is a large decrease in cytochrome oxidase activity during shock and also in the capacity of the mitochondria to oxidize either succinate, or pyruvate, or palmitoyl carnitine. There is a fall in the tissue content of superoxide dismutase and in the total glutathione present. Furthermore, an increased oxidized glutathione content causes a decrease in the molar ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione present in the muscle. These findings suggest that mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) oxidative damage can play a relevant role in the pathogenesis of circulatory shock and support the hypothesis of oxygen-free radical involvement in the cellular injury.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1985

Effects of L-carnitine administration on mitochondrial electron transport activity present in human muscle during circulatory shock.

Carnitine was administered to a group of patients in shock, and the activities of cytochrome oxidase and succinate cytochrome c reductase in muscle needle biopsies from these patients were compared to those activities present in a non-carnitine treated control group of patients. Carnitine seemingly exerted a significant protective action on cytochrome oxidase activity during the initial phases of shock, but not to such an extent on succinate cytochrome c reductase activities.

Carnitine↗