title: Sexual Dimorphism in the Alterations of Cardiac Muscle Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Associated to the Ageing Process.
abstract: The incidence of cardiac disease is age and sex dependent, but the mechanisms governing these associations remain poorly understood. Mitochondria are the organelles in charge of producing energy for the cells, and their malfunction has been linked to cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Interestingly, heart mitochondrial content and functionality are also age and sex dependent. Here we investigated the combinatory effects of age and sex in mitochondrial bioenergetics that could help to understand their role on cardiac disease. Cardiac mitochondria from 6- and 24-month-old male and female Wistar rats were isolated, and the enzymatic activities of the oxidative-phosphorylative complexes I, III, and IV and ATPase, as well as the protein levels of complex IV, β-ATPase, and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), were measured. Furthermore, heart DNA content, citrate synthase activity, mitochondrial protein content, oxygen consumption, and H2O2 generation were also determined. Results showed a reduction in heart mitochondrial mass and functionality with age that correlated with increased H2O2 generation. Moreover, sex-dependent differences were found in several of these parameters. In particular, old females exhibited a significant loss of mitochondrial function and increased relative H2O2 production compared with their male counterparts. The results demonstrate a sex dimorphism in the age-associated defects on cardiac mitochondrial function.
authors.affiliation: Grup de Metabolisme Energètic i Nutrició, Departament de Biologia Fonamental i Ciències de la Salut, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Present address: Centre for Microvascular Research, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. b.colom@qmul.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Bartomeu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Colom
authors.affiliation: Grup de Metabolisme Energètic i Nutrició, Departament de Biologia Fonamental i Ciències de la Salut, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. CIBERobn Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.affiliation: Grup de Metabolisme Energètic i Nutrició, Departament de Biologia Fonamental i Ciències de la Salut, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut (IUNICS), Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. CIBERobn Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CB06/03), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Garcia-Palmer
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008929:Mitochondria, Heart / Q000378:metabolism*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012737:Sex Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C422562:mitochondrial transcription factor A; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases
keywords: Aging; Energy metabolism; Heart.; Mitochondria; Sex