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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 297/1/H86    most recent 01154.2008v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Altura, B. M. Articles by Altura, B. T. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Altura, B. M. Articles by Altura, B. T.

Short-term magnesium deficiency results in decreased levels of serum sphingomyelin, lipid peroxidation, and apoptosis in cardiovascular tissues

Departments of ¹Physiology and Pharmacology, ²Medicine, and ³Anatomy and Cell Biology, and ⁴The Center for Cardiovascular and Muscle Research, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York; and ⁵Instituto Bien de Salud, Lima, Peru

Submitted 3 November 2008 ; accepted in final form 1 May 2009

The present study tested the hypothesis that short-term dietary deficiency of magnesium (Mg) (21 days) in rats would 1) result in decreased serum(s) [the present study tested the levels of Mg, sphingomyelin (SM), and phosphatidylcholine (PC)]; 2) promote DNA fragmentation, lipid peroxidation (LP), and activation of caspase-3 in cardiac (ventricular and atrial) and vascular(aortic) muscle; and 3) low levels of Mg²⁺ added to drinking water would either prevent or greatly ameliorate these manifestations. The data indicate that short-term Mg deficiency (10% normal dietary intake) resulted in profound reductions in serum-ionized Mg and total Mg with an elevation in serum-ionized calcium (Ca²⁺), significant lowering of serum SM and serum PC, with concomitant LP, DNA fragmentation, and activation of caspase-3 in ventricular (right and left chambers), atrial (right and left chambers) and abdominal aortic smooth muscle. The greater the reduction in serum-ionized Mg, the greater the effects on DNA fragmentation, LP, and caspase-3 activity. The intake of water-borne Mg²⁺ at all levels greatly attenuated or inhibited the reductions in serum SM and serum PC, activation of LP, DNA fragmentation, and the activation of caspase-3; even very low levels of Mg²⁺ in drinking water (i.e., 15 parts·million^–1·day^–1) were cardio- and vascular protective. In addition, we demonstrate that short-term dietary deficiency of Mg probably results in a downregulation of SM synthase and a decreased synthesis of PC.

calcium; phosphatidylcholine; caspase-3; deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation