Effects of Polyphenols on Vasomodulatory Factors and Associated Cell Signalling
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Effects of Polyphenols on Vasomodulatory Factors and Associated Cell Signalling by Mark E. Woodcock A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy to the University of East Anglia with Studies Completed at the Institute of Food Research June 2013 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. Abstract There is increasing evidence that consumption of plant bioactives such as polyphenols reduces cardiovascular disease risk and improves endothelial function. In the Black Sea area, a number of plants are consumed alone and as ingredients in traditional foods, and dill, nettle, kale, Sideritis, pomegranate and persimmon were identified as polyphenol- rich traditional food plants. Bioactive-rich extracts of their edible parts were used to treat human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), to assess effects on the abundance or activity of signalling molecules related to increased vasodilation, a hallmark of improved endothelial function. Specifically, Akt and eNOS phosphorylation, levels of total eNOS protein and cGMP, secretion of ET-1 and levels of nitrate/nitrite in cell culture media were assayed. Alongside these experiments, HUVECs were treated with quercetin, a flavonol found in a number of the plant extracts, alongside a mix of its human metabolites to assess their effect on a broad range of phosphorylated proteins using an antibody microarray. Quercetin (50 µM) significantly decreased eNOS phosphorylation (p < 0.05), while extracts of pomegranate and persimmon significantly increased levels of phosphorylated (p-) Akt, p-eNOS and cell culture media nitrate/nitrite (p < 0.05), and significantly reduced secretion of the vasoconstrictor ET-1 (p < 0.001). With regards to pomegranate bioactivity, signalling events upstream of p-Akt were explored, including inhibition of PTEN activity and phosphorylation of receptor tyrosine kinases, though no evidence could be found that either mechanism was involved in this case. Fractionation of the pomegranate extract into its main polyphenol classes revealed that procyanidins were responsible for its bioactivity. These findings suggest that procyanidin-rich foods can improve markers of endothelial function in vitro. Further studies on procyanidin bioavailability are required to determine if these effects can also occur in vivo. 2 Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................... 8 List of Figures ........................................................................................................ 10 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1: Polyphenols, cardiovascular disease and traditional diets ........... 15 1.1. Cardiovascular disease and endothelial function .......................................................... 16 1.2. The nitric oxide signalling pathway .................................................................................... 20 1.3. Plant polyphenols and other bioactive compounds ..................................................... 25 1.4. Developments in polyphenol research .............................................................................. 32 1.5. Absorption and metabolism of polyphenols ................................................................... 34 1.6. Proposed mechanisms underlying polyphenol bioactivity ........................................ 39 1.7. Consumption of polyphenols in traditional diets .......................................................... 42 1.8. Aims of the project .................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 2: Selection of food plants, and general methods for their biochemical analysis ............................................................................................ 45 2.1. Selection of traditional food plants .................................................................................... 46 2.1.1. Determining the main ingredients of selected traditional dishes ...................... 46 2.1.2. Bioactive constituents of the main plant ingredients ............................................. 51 2.1.3. Criteria for the selection of food plants ....................................................................... 56 2.1.4. Ranking of food plants ....................................................................................................... 57 2.1.5. Detailed literature analysis: Bioactive content of selected food plants ............ 59 2.2. General biochemical techniques for analysis of plant bioactivity ........................... 66 2.2.1. General cell culture techniques ....................................................................................... 66 2.2.2. BCA assay of total protein ................................................................................................. 67 2.2.3. Western blotting ................................................................................................................... 68 Chapter 3: A broad-targeted approach to determine effects of quercetin on early endothelial signalling events ..................................................................... 70 3.1. Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 71 3.2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 72 3.2.1. Quercetin in the diet and its relationship with health ............................................ 72 3 3.2.2. Analysis of vascular cell signalling .................................................................................. 76 3.3. Aims ................................................................................................................................................ 78 3.4. Methods ........................................................................................................................................ 79 3.4.1. Materials ................................................................................................................................... 79 3.4.2. Cell culture experiments, BCA assay and western blotting ................................... 81 3.4.3. Incubation of cell cultures with quercetin ................................................................... 81 3.4.4. Analysis of cell lysates with antibody microarrays ................................................... 82 3.4.5. Analysis of microarray slides ............................................................................................ 83 3.4.6. Bioinformatic analysis of proteins highlighted by microarray experiment ..... 86 3.4.7. Ontological analysis of proteins highlighted by microarray experiment ........ 86 3.4.8. Confirmation of changes to selected phospho-proteins by western blotting ... ..................................................................................................................................................... 87 3.5. Results ............................................................................................................................................ 88 3.5.1. Pilot antibody microarray experiment .......................................................................... 88 3.5.2. Analysis of microarray images ......................................................................................... 88 3.5.3. Changes to protein phosphorylation after incubation of HUVECs with quercetin aglycone or quercetin metabolites ............................................................................ 91 3.5.4. Bioinformatic and ontological analysis of phosphorylated proteins highlighted in microarray results .................................................................................................... 93 3.6. Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 105 3.6.1. Endothelial signalling events in response to quercetin ....................................... 105 3.6.2. Study of protein phosphorylation with antibody microarrays .......................... 107 3.6.3. Analysis of antibody microarray data ......................................................................... 109 3.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 112 Chapter 4: Effect of polyphenols on vasodilatory signalling molecules in endothelial cells .................................................................................................. 113 4.1. Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 114 4.2. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 115 4.2.1. Potential for polyphenols to affect production of nitric oxide in the endothelium ........................................................................................................................