AUTHOR=Savencu Cristina Elena , Linţa Adina , Farcaş Gianina , Bînă Anca Mihaela , Creţu Octavian Marius , Maliţa Daniel Claudiu , Muntean Danina Mirela , Sturza Adrian TITLE=Impact of Dietary Restriction Regimens on Mitochondria, Heart, and Endothelial Function: A Brief Overview JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.768383 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.768383 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=

Caloric restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF) are strategies aimed to promote health beneficial effects by interfering with several mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular diseases. Both dietary approaches decrease body weight, insulin resistance, blood pressure, lipids, and inflammatory status. All these favorable effects are the result of several metabolic adjustments, which have been addressed in this review, i.e., the improvement of mitochondrial biogenesis, the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and the improvement of cardiac and vascular function. CR and IF are able to modulate mitochondrial function via interference with dynamics (i.e., fusion and fission), respiration, and related oxidative stress. In the cardiovascular system, both dietary interventions are able to improve endothelium-dependent relaxation, reduce cardiac hypertrophy, and activate antiapoptotic signaling cascades. Further clinical studies are required to assess the long-term safety in the clinical setting.