Pharmacological targeting of mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species production prevents colon 26 cancer-induced cardiorespiratory muscle weakness.

Pharmacological targeting of mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species production prevents colon 26 cancer-induced cardiorespiratory muscle weakness. Oncotarget. 2020 Sep 22;11(38):3502-3514 Authors: Smuder AJ, Roberts BM, Wiggs MP, Kwon OS, Yoo JK, Christou DD, Fuller DD, Szeto HH, Judge AR Abstract Cancer cachexia is a syndrome characterized by profound cardiac and diaphragm muscle wasting, which increase the risk of morbidity in cancer patients due to failure of the cardiorespiratory system. In this regard, muscle relies greatly on mitochondria to meet energy requirements for contraction and mitochondrial dysfunction can result in muscle weakness and fatigue. In addition, mitochondria are a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which can stimulate increased rates of muscle protein degradation. Therefore, it has been suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction may be an underlying factor that contributes to the pathology of cancer cachexia. To determine if pharmacologically targeting mitochondrial dysfunction via treatment with the mitochondria-targeting peptide SS-31 would prevent cardiorespiratory muscle dysfunction, colon 26 (C26) adenocarcinoma tumor-bearing mice were administered either saline or SS-31 daily (3 mg/kg/day) following inoculation. C26 mice treated with saline demonstrated greater ROS production and mitochondrial uncoupling compared to C26 mice receiving SS-31 in both the heart and diaphr...
Source: Oncotarget - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Oncotarget Source Type: research