β-Cryptoxanthin exerts greater cardioprotective effects on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury than astaxanthin by attenuating mitochondrial dysfunction in mice

5 years ago

β-Cryptoxanthin exerts greater cardioprotective effects on cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury than astaxanthin by attenuating mitochondrial dysfunction in mice

Liang Xu, Osamu Takatori, Wanpitak Pongkan, Minoru Sugiura, Shuichi Kaneko, Tsuguhito Ota, Nipon Chattipakorn, Masayuki Takamura, Soichiro Usui, Siriporn C. Chattipakorn, Naoto Nagata, Yinhua Ni

Scope β-Cryptoxanthin and astaxanthin are antioxidant carotenoid pigments that inhibit lipid peroxidation as potently as vitamin E. We hypothesized that acute treatment with β-cryptoxanthin and astaxanthin causes similar reductions in the sizes of cardiac infarcts caused by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury by attenuating oxidative stress and cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction. Methods and results C57BL/6 mice (n = 36) were randomized to receive vehicle, β-cryptoxanthin, astaxanthin, or vitamin E at 50 mg/kg by gavage feeding prior to I/R injury. Cardiac I/R was induced by left anterior descending coronary artery ligation followed by reperfusion. All treatments significantly reduced infarct sizes by 36–57%, attenuated apoptosis and also attenuated cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction in the treated groups compared to the control group. Although astaxanthin and vitamin E exhibited similar efficacy with respect to cardioprotection, β-cryptoxanthin exhibited greater efficacy than its counterparts, as it reduced infarct sizes by 60%. β-Cryptoxanthin was more effective than astaxanthin and vitamin E because it reduced cardiac mitochondrial swelling, mitochondrial depolarization, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and plasma and cardiac thiobarbituric acid reactive substances levels more significantly than its counterparts. Conclusion Acute β-cryptoxanthin treatment exhibits greater cardioprotective efficacy against I/R injury than astaxanthin and vitamin E by reducing infarct sizes and attenuating apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. β-Cryptoxanthin exerts better cardioprotective effects than astaxanthin and vitamin E by decreasing oxidative stress, attenuating apoptosis, attenuating mitochondrial swelling and, finally, reducing the sizes of the infarcts caused by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The mechanisms responsible for these beneficial effects are tied to its ability to increase the expression of antioxidant genes and attenuate cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiomyocyte apoptosis to greater extent than astaxanthin and vitamin E.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201601077