Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular system-related biological processes (BP) modulated by polyphenols in rodents and humans, and to verify which of them are specie-specific, in order to understand which outcomes for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) could be translated from animal to human studies.
Introduction: CVD stand as a great cause of morbi-mortality worldwide and polyphenol-rich diets have been associated with improved cardiovascular risk profiles. Although rodent models have been a resourceful means of understanding the CVD mechanisms and possible outcomes of the use of polyphenols in that context, most experimental models do not fully reproduce human CVD.
Methods: Database searching was carried out on PubMed and Google Scholar using specific keywords concerning CVD, retrieving close to 300 publications. After excluding irrelevant results, proteome data was organized in Excel® spreadsheets and the Cytoscape platform, ClueGo+CluePedia and Venny 2.1.0 were used to explore the biological processes influenced by flavonoids in the approached CVD.
Results: This study was mainly focused in the species Rattus norvegicus and Homo sapiens and in flavonoids, a polyphenol subgroup. Only about 5% of the BP influenced by flavonoids were common to both species and they were mostly related to the maintenance of blood pressure and the fatty acid metabolic process. Nevertheless, these effects were accomplished through different proteins/pathways and different subgroups of flavonoids.
Conclusion: Our research highlights the need for a careful translation of the flavonoids’ effects observed in rat models to clinical trials, since different proteins and subgroups of flavonoids mediated the observed actions. Though this type of studies can provide insights to help choosing the most adequate polyphenols as preventive approaches or therapies for human CVD, further investigation should be performed to clarify the described effects. Besides, pharmacokinetic aspects of the flavonoids’ action should also be considered when planning clinical trials.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology grants PEst-OE/SAU/UI0038/2014; UID/BIM/04293/2013, UID/IC/00051/2013 (financed by Fundo Europeu do Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização) and The European Foundation for Alcohol Research (ERAB) (EA 14 23).