Oxidative Stress Mediates Tumor Necrosis Factor-α–Induced Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Dysfunction in Cardiac Myocytes

Abstract
Background— Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and angiotensin II (Ang II) are implicated in the development and further progression of heart failure, which might be, at least in part, mediated by the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the cause and consequences of this agonist-mediated ROS production in cardiac myocytes have not been well defined. Recently, we demonstrated that increased ROS production was associated with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and dysfunction in failing hearts. We thus investigated whether the direct exposure of cardiac myocytes to TNF-α and Ang II in vitro could induce mtDNA damage via production of ROS. Methods and Results— TNF-α increased ROS production within cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes after 1 hour, as assessed by 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate fluorescence microscopy. TNF-α also decreased mtDNA copy number by Southern blot analysis in association with complex III activity, which was prevented in the presence of the antioxidant α-tocophe...

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