NADPH oxidase and cardiac failure

Increases in oxidative stress in the heart play an important role in mediating hypertrophy, apoptosis, fibrosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the consequent development of heart failure. Although it has been widely believed that electron leakage from the mitochondrial electron transport chain is the primary source of oxidative stress in the failing heart, increasing lines of evidence suggest that enzymes which produce reactive oxygen species may also contribute to it. NADPH oxidases are transmembrane enzymes dedicated to producing superoxide (O₂ ^-) by transferring an electron from NAD(P)H to molecular oxygen. Nox4 is a major NADPH oxidase isoform expressed in the heart. Nox4 is localized primarily at mitochondria in cardiac myocytes, and upregulation of Nox4 hypertrophic stimuli enhances O₂ ^- production, apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction, thereby playing an important role in mediating cardiac dysfunction. Since Nox4 could be a key molecule mediating oxidative stress and pathological hypertrophy, it may serve as an important target of heart failure treatment. In this review, the importance of NADPH oxidases as sources of increased oxidative stress in the failing heart and the role of Nox4 in mediating growth and death of cardiac myocytes are discussed.