The Role of Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Formation for Age-Induced Vascular Dysfunction

Aging is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, which can be accelerated by atherosclerosis, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or obesity. Vascular aging is mainly characterized by endothelial dysfunction, an alteration of endothelium-dependent signaling processes, and vascular remodeling. The underlying mechanisms include increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inactivation of nitric oxide (•NO), and subsequent formation of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RNOS). Elevated RNOS may exhibit new messenger functions by posttranslational oxidative modification of intracellular regulatory proteins or lead to irreversible alterations of biologic…