{"doi":"10.3390/nu14051097","title":"(–)-Epicatechin Improves Vasoreactivity and Mitochondrial Respiration in Thermoneutral-Housed Wistar Rat Vasculature","abstract":"Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global health concern. Vascular dysfunction is an aspect of CVD, and novel treatments targeting vascular physiology are necessary. In the endothelium, eNOS regulates vasodilation and mitochondrial function; both are disrupted in CVD. (−)-Epicatechin, a botanical compound known for its vasodilatory, eNOS, and mitochondrial-stimulating properties, is a potential therapy in those with CVD. We hypothesized that (−)-epicatechin would support eNOS activity and mitochondrial respiration, leading to improved vasoreactivity in a thermoneutral-derived rat model of vascular dysfunction. We housed Wistar rats at room temperature or in thermoneutral conditions for a total of 16 week and treated them with 1mg/kg body weight (−)-epicatechin for 15 day. Vasoreactivity, eNOS activity, and mitochondrial respiration were measured, in addition to the protein expression of upstream cellular signaling molecules including AMPK and CaMKII. We observed a significant improvement of vasodilation in those housed in thermoneutrality and treated with (−)-epicatechin (p < 0.05), as well as dampened mitochondrial respiration (p < 0.05). AMPK and CaMKIIα and β expression were lessened with (−)-epicatechin treatment in those housed at thermoneutrality (p < 0.05). The opposite was observed with animals housed at room temperature supplemented with (−)-epicatechin. These data illustrate a context-dependent vascular response to (−)-epicatechin, a candidate for CVD therapeutic development.","journal":"Nutrients","year":2022,"id":272580,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":11,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9512,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2022-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":939135,"name":"Melissa M. Henckel","orcid":"0000-0003-0170-6091","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":498321,"name":"Leslie A. Knaub","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":497222,"name":"Sara Hull","orcid":"0000-0001-6394-3389","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":939598,"name":"Greg B. Pott","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":497223,"name":"Lori A. Walker","orcid":"0000-0003-2556-8076","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":276837,"name":"Jane E.B. Reusch","orcid":"0000-0001-8620-1003","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":497221,"name":"Amy C. Keller","orcid":"0000-0002-6853-6835","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":498322,"name":"Ji Hye Chun","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":48,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T00:27:47.926496Z","pmid":"35268072","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}