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Biomedical subjects

Mu Qiao

Publications and source records attributed to Mu Qiao.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Molecular mechanism of glutathione-mediated protection from oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced cell injury in human macrophages: role of glutathione reductase and glutaredoxin.

Macrophage death is a hallmark of advanced atherosclerotic plaque, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) found in these lesions is believed to contribute to macrophage injury. However, the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon are only poorly understood. Here we show that in human monocyte-derived macrophages, OxLDL depleted intracellular glutathione (GSH) and inhibited glutathione reductase, resulting in a marked diminution of the glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratio. In the absence of OxLDL, an 80% depletion of intracellular GSH levels did not affect cell viability, but glutathione depletion dramatically increased OxLDL-induced cell death. Conversely, supplementation of intracellular GSH stores with glutathione diethyl ester substantially diminished OxLDL toxicity. OxLDL also promoted protein-S-glutathionylation, which was increased in macrophages pretreated with the glutathione reductase inhibitor BCNU. Knockdown experiments with siRNA directed against glutathione reductase and glutaredoxin showed that both enzymes are essential for the protection of macrophages against OxLDL. Finally, the peroxyl-radical scavenger Trolox did not prevent GSH depletion but completely blocked OxLDL-induced protein-S-glutathionylation and cell death. These data suggest that OxLDL promotes ROS formation and protein-S-glutathionylation by a mechanism independent from its effect on GSH depletion. Neither mechanism was sufficient to induce macrophage injury, but when stimulated concurrently, these pathways promoted the accumulation of protein-glutathione mixed disulfides and cell death.

Cell Death↗

Adriamycin promotes macrophage dysfunction in mice.

Impaired wound healing contributes to the morbidity and mortality associated with adriamycin chemotherapy. Macrophages are essential for tissue repair and loss of macrophage function leads to impaired wound healing. We recently showed that adriamycin is a potent inducer of thiol oxidation and cell injury in cultured macrophages (FASEB J. 19:1866-1868; 2005). Here we tested the hypothesis that adriamycin also promotes oxidative stress and macrophage dysfunction in vivo. We treated FVB mice twice a week either with low doses of adriamycin (4 mg/kg) or with the same volume of saline by tail vein injection for a total of 8 injections. Wound healing was significantly delayed in adriamycin-treated mice. The number of resident peritoneal macrophages was decreased by 30% and macrophage recruitment in response to thiogycolate stimulation was decreased by 46% in mice treated with adriamycin. LPS-induced TNFalpha and IL-1beta secretion from macrophages of adriamycin-treated mice was decreased by 28.7 and 29.5%, respectively, compared to macrophages isolated from saline-injected mice. Peritoneal macrophages isolated from adriamycin-treated mice also showed increased formation of reactive oxygen species and enhanced protein-S-glutathionylation. In summary, our results show that low cumulative doses of adriamycin are sufficient both to promote sustained thiol oxidative stress and macrophage dysfunction in vivo and to delay tissue repair, suggesting that macrophage dysfunction contributes to impaired wound healing associated with adriamycin chemotherapy.

Animals↗

Effects of diet and exercise on obesity-related vascular dysfunction in children.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity in both adults and children is increasing rapidly. Obesity in children is independently associated with arterial endothelial dysfunction and wall thickening, key early events in atherogenesis that precede plaque formation. METHODS AND RESULTS: To evaluate the reversibility of obesity-related arterial dysfunction and carotid intima-media thickening by dietary and/or exercise intervention programs, 82 overweight children (body mass index, 25+/-3), 9 to 12 years of age, were randomly assigned to dietary modification only or diet plus a supervised structured exercise program for 6 weeks and subsequently for 1 year. The prospectively defined primary end points were ultrasound-derived arterial endothelial function (endothelium-dependent dilation) of the brachial artery and intima-media thickness of common carotid artery. At 6 weeks, both interventions were associated with decreased waist-hip ratio (P<0.02) and cholesterol level (P<0.05) as well as improved arterial endothelial function. Diet and exercise together were associated with a significantly greater improvement in endothelial function than diet alone (P=0.01). At 1 year, there was significantly less thickening of the carotid wall (P<0.001) as well as persistent improvements in body fat content and lipid profiles in the group continuing an exercise program. Vascular function was significantly better in those children continuing exercise (n=22) compared with children who withdrew from the exercise program (n=19) (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity-related vascular dysfunction in otherwise healthy young children is partially reversible with diet alone or particularly diet combined with exercise training at 6 weeks, with sustained improvements at 1 year in those persisting with diet plus regular exercise.

Arteriosclerosis↗

Deleterious impact of "high normal" glucose levels and other metabolic syndrome components on arterial endothelial function and intima-media thickness in apparently healthy Chinese subjects: the CATHAY study.

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial vasodilator dysfunction and carotid intima-media thickening are useful surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetic patients. However, because most studies reporting the relationships between endothelial function, intima-media thickness (IMT), and hyperglycemia have compared diabetic patients with healthy controls, we report their relationship with glycemia as a continuum. METHODS AND RESULTS: Brachial artery endothelial function (flow-mediated dilatation [FMD]) and carotid IMT were measured noninvasively by high-resolution ultrasound B-mode imaging in 228 apparently healthy Chinese subjects recruited from Hong Kong and Macau. FMD and IMT were significantly associated with increasing levels of glycemia, particularly in the "high normal" glycemic range, with IMT increasing and endothelium-independent dilatation decreasing linearly across the glucose tertiles, and endothelium-dependent dilatation significantly lower in the upper glucose tertile compared with the other 2 groups (P<0.01). Using multiple linear regression, fasting glucose level was identified as an independent predictor of each of these markers of vascular function (P<0.004). Additionally, other conventional cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, blood pressure, and an adverse lipid profile, were also related to levels of glycemia (P<0.05), further contributing to impaired vascular function. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing levels of glycemia and the coexistence of other cardiovascular risk factors in apparently healthy subjects are adversely associated with arterial endothelial dysfunction and intima-media thickening.

Adolescent↗

Homocysteine, endothelial dysfunction, and coronary artery disease: emerging strategy for secondary prevention.

Atherosclerosis is an important medical problem of the 21st century, but traditional risk factors could only account for 50% of the problem. Hyperhomocysteinemia is emerging as an independent atherosclerosis risk factor, associated with folate deficiency, renal failure, and relative deficiency of MTHFR (C677T polymorphism) or other enzymes depending on gender, age, and smoking status. Hyperhomocysteinemia has been reported to occur in 11-22% of western people, in 3-5% of normal asymptomatic Chinese subjects aged 18-70 years in Hong Kong, Macau, Sydney, and San Francisco, 23-36% of Chinese in Hong Kong with premature coronary artery disease, and 29% of a nonselective series of coronary subjects in Hong Kong. Evidence is accumulating that documents its associations with atherosclerosis disease in both case-control observations and prospective cohort studies, in vitro experiments, and in vivo experimental models in both animals and human subjects, as well as the successful improvement by homocysteine-lowering of endothelial function as surrogate atherosclerosis endpoints in asymptomatic human and coronary patients (secondary prevention). A number of large scale homocysteine-lowering trials are currently underway for stroke and heart attacks prevention. Collectively these trials will include more than 65,000 patients at high-risk for cardiovascular and stroke events, and should provide a reliable evidence-base for prevention.

Adolescent↗