Calcitriol Supplementation Protects Against Apoptosis and Alleviates the Severity of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Induced by Angiotensin II and Anti-TGFβ.
Afaf JreijeMyrna Medlej-HashimJoelle HajalYouakim SalibaStephanie ChacarNassim FaresLara KhouzamiPublished in: Journal of cardiovascular translational research (2022)
The present study aims to assess the effect of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and its supplementation on the severity of AAA in mice. AAA was induced by AngII and anti-TGF-β administration. Animals were divided into four groups: Sham, mice with AAA, mice with AAA, and VDD, and mice with AAA supplemented with calcitriol. Blood pressure, echocardiography, abdominal aortic tissues, and plasma samples were monitored for all groups. VDD was associated with enhanced activity of cleaved MMP-9 and elastin degradation and positively correlated with the severity of AAA. Calcitriol supplementation decreased the INFγ/IL-10 ratio and enhanced the Nrf2 pathway. Moreover, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase expression and catalase and neutral sphingomyelinase activity were exacerbated in AAA and VDD groups. Furthermore, calcitriol supplementation showed a significantly lower protein expression of caspase-8, caspase-3, Bid, and t-Bid, and prevented the apoptosis of VSMCs treated by AngII and anti-TGF-β. Calcitriol supplementation may alleviate AAA severity and could be of great interest in the clinical management of AAA. VDD enhances antioxidant enzymes activity and expression, whereas calcitriol supplementation alleviates AAA severity by re-activating Nrf2 and inhibiting apoptotic pathways.
Keyphrases
- oxidative stress
- cell death
- angiotensin ii
- blood pressure
- poor prognosis
- transforming growth factor
- gene expression
- signaling pathway
- clinical trial
- vascular smooth muscle cells
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- abdominal aortic aneurysm
- cell cycle arrest
- induced apoptosis
- abdominal aortic
- nitric oxide
- adipose tissue
- cell proliferation
- heart failure
- pulmonary hypertension
- pi k akt
- atrial fibrillation