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Endogenous protective effects of arachidonic acid epoxygenase metabolites, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, in cardiovascular system

HE Zuo-Wen^1,2, WANG Bei³, CHEN Chen^1,2, SHI Ze-Qi², WANG Dao-Wen^1,2,*

¹Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China；²Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanism of Cardiological Disorders, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China；³Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China

Abstract

The morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases are increasing annually, which is one of the primary causes of human death. Recent studies have shown that epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), endogenous metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) via CYP450 epoxygenase, possess a spectrum of protective properties in cardiovascular system. EETs not only alleviate cardiac remodeling and injury in different pathological models, but also improve subsequent hemodynamic disturbances and cardiac dysfunction. Meanwhile, various studies have demonstrated that EETs, as endothelial-derived hyperpolarizing factors, regulate vascular tone by activating various ion channels on endothelium and smooth muscle, which in turn can lower blood pressure, improve coronary blood flow and regulate pulmonary artery pressure. In addition, EETs are protective in endothelium, including inhibiting inflammation and adhesion of endothelial cells, attenuating platelet aggregation, promoting fibrinolysis and revascularization. EETs can also prevent aortic remodeling, including attenuating atherosclerosis, adventitial remodeling, and aortic calcification. Therefore, it is clinically important to study the physiological and pathophysiological effects of EETs in the cardiovascular system to further elucidate the mechanisms, as well as provide new strategy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This review summarizes the endogenous cardioprotective effects and mechanisms of EETs in order to provide a new insight for research in this field.

Key words: arachidonic acid; CYP450 epoxygenase; epoxyeicosatrienoic acids; cardiac protection; vascular homeostasis regulation; molecular mechanism

Received: 2021-02-05　　Accepted: 2021-03-29

Corresponding author: 汪道文　　E-mail: dwwang@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2021.0053

Citing This Article：

HE Zuo-Wen, WANG Bei, CHEN Chen, SHI Ze-Qi, WANG Dao-Wen. Endogenous protective effects of arachidonic acid epoxygenase metabolites, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, in cardiovascular system. Acta Physiol Sin 2021; 73 (4): 617-630 (in Chinese with English abstract).