Therapeutic Potential of Emerging NAD+-Increasing Strategies for Cardiovascular Diseases
Noemí Rotllán, Mercedes Camacho, Mireia Tondo, Elena M. G. Diarte‐Añazco, Marina Canyelles, Karen Alejandra Méndez‐Lara, Sònia Benı́tez, Núria Alonso, Dı́dac Mauricio, Joan Carles Escolá‐Gil, Francisco Blanco‐Vaca, Josep Julve
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Aging and/or metabolic stress directly impact the cardiovascular system. Over the last few years, the contributions of altered nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism to aging and other pathological conditions closely related to cardiovascular diseases have been intensively investigated. NAD+ bioavailability decreases with age and cardiometabolic conditions in several mammalian tissues. Compelling data suggest that declining tissue NAD+ is commonly related to mitochondrial dysfunction and might be considered as a therapeutic target. Thus, NAD+ replenishment by either genetic or natural dietary NAD+-increasing strategies has been recently demonstrated to be effective for improving the pathophysiology of cardiac and vascular health in different experimental models, as well as human health, to a lesser extent. Here, we review and discuss recent experimental evidence illustrating that increasing NAD+ bioavailability, particularly by the use of natural NAD+ precursors, may offer hope for new therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases.