scholarly journals The lysine catabolite saccharopine impairs development by disrupting mitochondrial homeostasis

2018 ◽  
Vol 218 (2) ◽  
pp. 580-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junxiang Zhou ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Yuwei Chang ◽  
Fengxia Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Mitochondrial Damage ◽  
Developmental Defects ◽  
Animal Development ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Saccharopine Dehydrogenase ◽  
Sdh Mutation ◽  
Animal Growth

Amino acid catabolism is frequently executed in mitochondria; however, it is largely unknown how aberrant amino acid metabolism affects mitochondria. Here we report the requirement for mitochondrial saccharopine degradation in mitochondrial homeostasis and animal development. In Caenorhbditis elegans, mutations in the saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH) domain of the bi-functional enzyme α-aminoadipic semialdehyde synthase AASS-1 greatly elevate the lysine catabolic intermediate saccharopine, which causes mitochondrial damage by disrupting mitochondrial dynamics, leading to reduced adult animal growth. In mice, failure of mitochondrial saccharopine oxidation causes lethal mitochondrial damage in the liver, leading to postnatal developmental retardation and death. Importantly, genetic inactivation of genes that raise the mitochondrial saccharopine precursors lysine and α-ketoglutarate strongly suppresses SDH mutation-induced saccharopine accumulation and mitochondrial abnormalities in C. elegans. Thus, adequate saccharopine catabolism is essential for mitochondrial homeostasis. Our study provides mechanistic and therapeutic insights for understanding and treating hyperlysinemia II (saccharopinuria), an aminoacidopathy with severe developmental defects.

scholarly journals SUMO promotes longevity and maintains mitochondrial homeostasis during ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Princz ◽  
Federico Pelisch ◽  
Nektarios Tavernarakis
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Somatic Tissues ◽  
Transcription Regulators ◽  
Influence Gene Expression

Abstract The insulin/IGF signalling pathway impacts lifespan across distant taxa, by controlling the activity of nodal transcription factors. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the transcription regulators DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf function to promote longevity under conditions of low insulin/IGF signalling and stress. The activity and subcellular localization of both DAF-16 and SKN-1 is further modulated by specific posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Here, we show that ageing elicits a marked increase of SUMO levels in C. elegans. In turn, SUMO fine-tunes DAF-16 and SKN-1 activity in specific C. elegans somatic tissues, to enhance stress resistance. SUMOylation of DAF-16 modulates mitochondrial homeostasis by interfering with mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy. Our findings reveal that SUMO is an important determinant of lifespan, and provide novel insight, relevant to the complexity of the signalling mechanisms that influence gene expression to govern organismal survival in metazoans.

scholarly journals A pair of transporters controls mitochondrial Zn2+ levels to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengfei Ma ◽  
Liyuan Zhao ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Ruofeng Tang ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Mitochondrial Proteins ◽  
Animal Development ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Mitochondrial Structure ◽  
Important Regulator ◽  
Structure And Functions

Zn2+ is required for the activity of many mitochondrial proteins, which regulate mitochondrial dynamics, apoptosis and mitophagy. However, it is not understood how the proper mitochondrial Zn2+ level is achieved to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Using Caenorhabditis elegans, we reveal here that a pair of mitochondrion-localized transporters controls the mitochondrial level of Zn2+. We demonstrate that SLC-30A9/ZnT9 is a mitochondrial Zn2+ exporter. Loss of SLC-30A9 leads to mitochondrial Zn2+ accumulation, which damages mitochondria, impairs animal development and shortens the life span. We further identify SLC-25A25/SCaMC-2 as an important regulator of mitochondrial Zn2+ import. Loss of SLC-25A25 suppresses the abnormal mitochondrial Zn2+ accumulation and defective mitochondrial structure and functions caused by loss of SLC-30A9. Moreover, we reveal that the endoplasmic reticulum contains the Zn2+ pool from which mitochondrial Zn2+ is imported. These findings establish the molecular basis for controlling the correct mitochondrial Zn2+ levels for normal mitochondrial structure and functions.

scholarly journals Bcl-2-dependent autophagy disruption during aging impairs amino acid utilization that is restored by hochuekkito

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miwa Nahata ◽  
Sachiko Mogami ◽  
Hitomi Sekine ◽  
Seiichi Iizuka ◽  
Naoto Okubo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Aged Mice ◽  
Glucose Levels ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Young Mice

AbstractChronic undernutrition contributes to the increase in frailty observed among elderly adults, which is a pressing issue in the sector of health care for older people worldwide. Autophagy, an intracellular recycling system, is closely associated with age-related pathologies. Therefore, decreased autophagy in aging could be involved in the disruption of energy homeostasis that occurs during undernutrition; however, the physiological mechanisms underlying this process remain unknown. Here, we showed that 70% daily food restriction (FR) induced fatal hypoglycemia in 23–26-month-old (aged) mice, which exhibited significantly lower hepatic autophagy than 9-week-old (young) mice. The liver expressions of Bcl-2, an autophagy-negative regulator, and Beclin1–Bcl-2 binding, were increased in aged mice compared with young mice. The autophagy inducer Tat-Beclin1 D11, not the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, decreased the plasma levels of the glucogenic amino acid and restored the blood glucose levels in aged FR mice. Decreased liver gluconeogenesis, body temperature, physical activity, amino acid metabolism, and hepatic mitochondrial dynamics were observed in the aged FR mice. These changes were restored by treatment with hochuekkito that is a herbal formula containing several autophagy-activating ingredients. Our results indicate that Bcl-2 upregulation in the liver during the aging process disturbs autophagy activation, which increases the vulnerability to undernutrition. The promotion of liver autophagy may offer clinical therapeutic benefits to frail elderly patients.

scholarly journals Inhibition of Mitochondrial Dynamics Preferentially Targets Pancreatic Cancer Cells with Enhanced Tumorigenic and Invasive Potential

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 698
Author(s):  
Sarah Courtois ◽  
Beatriz de Luxán-Delgado ◽  
Laure Penin-Peyta ◽  
Alba Royo-García ◽  
Beatriz Parejo-Alonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Mitochondrial Fission ◽  
Metastatic Potential ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Expression Ratio ◽  
Cytotoxic Effects ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽  
Tumorigenic Potential ◽  
Dose Dependent

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest tumors, partly due to its intrinsic aggressiveness, metastatic potential, and chemoresistance of the contained cancer stem cells (CSCs). Pancreatic CSCs strongly rely on mitochondrial metabolism to maintain their stemness, therefore representing a putative target for their elimination. Since mitochondrial homeostasis depends on the tightly controlled balance between fusion and fission processes, namely mitochondrial dynamics, we aim to study this mechanism in the context of stemness. In human PDAC tissues, the mitochondrial fission gene DNM1L (DRP1) was overexpressed and positively correlated with the stemness signature. Moreover, we observe that primary human CSCs display smaller mitochondria and a higher DRP1/MFN2 expression ratio, indicating the activation of the mitochondrial fission. Interestingly, treatment with the DRP1 inhibitor mDivi-1 induced dose-dependent apoptosis, especially in CD133+ CSCs, due to the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria and the subsequent energy crisis in this subpopulation. Mechanistically, mDivi-1 inhibited stemness-related features, such as self-renewal, tumorigenicity, and invasiveness and chemosensitized the cells to the cytotoxic effects of Gemcitabine. In summary, mitochondrial fission is an essential process for pancreatic CSCs and represents an attractive target for designing novel multimodal treatments that will more efficiently eliminate cells with high tumorigenic potential.

Activation mechanisms of the E3 ubiquitin ligase parkin

2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (18) ◽  
pp. 3075-3086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Panicker ◽  
Valina L. Dawson ◽  
Ted M. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Ubiquitin Ligase ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
E3 Ubiquitin Ligase ◽  
Mitochondrial Damage ◽  
Cytosolic Protein ◽  
Mitochondrial Functions ◽  
Activation Mechanisms

Monogenetic, familial forms of Parkinson's disease (PD) only account for 5–10% of the total number of PD cases, but analysis of the genes involved therein is invaluable to understanding PD-associated neurodegenerative signaling. One such gene, parkin, encodes a 465 amino acid E3 ubiquitin ligase. Of late, there has been considerable interest in the role of parkin signaling in PD and in identifying its putative substrates, as well as the elucidation of the mechanisms through which parkin itself is activated. Its dysfunction underlies both inherited and idiopathic PD-associated neurodegeneration. Here, we review recent literature that provides a model of activation of parkin in the setting of mitochondrial damage that involves PINK1 (PTEN-induced kinase-1) and phosphoubiquitin. We note that neuronal parkin is primarily a cytosolic protein (with various non-mitochondrial functions), and discuss potential cytosolic parkin activation mechanisms.

scholarly journals pop-1/TCF, ref-2/ZIC and T-box factors regulate the development of anterior cells in the C. elegans embryo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D Rumley ◽  
Elicia A Preston ◽  
Dylan Cook ◽  
Felicia L Peng ◽  
Amanda L Zacharias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wnt Pathway ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
T Box ◽  
Animal Development ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
The Many ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
Cell Division Timing ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Patterning of the anterior-posterior axis is fundamental to animal development. The Wnt pathway plays a major role in this process by activating the expression of posterior genes in animals from worms to humans. This observation raises the question of whether the Wnt pathway or other regulators control the expression of the many anterior-expressed genes. We found that the expression of five anterior-specific genes in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos depends on the Wnt pathway effectors pop-1/TCF and sys-1/β-catenin. We focused further on one of these anterior genes, ref-2/ZIC, a conserved transcription factor expressed in multiple anterior lineages. Live imaging of ref-2 mutant embryos identified defects in cell division timing and position in anterior lineages. Cis-regulatory dissection identified three ref-2 transcriptional enhancers, one of which is necessary and sufficient for anterior-specific expression. This enhancer is activated by the T-box transcription factors TBX-37 and TBX-38, and surprisingly, concatemerized TBX-37/38 binding sites are sufficient to drive anterior-biased expression alone, despite the broad expression of TBX-37 and TBX-38. Taken together, our results highlight the diverse mechanisms used to regulate anterior expression patterns in the embryo.

scholarly journals Small Molecule Stabilization of PINK-1/PINK1 Improves Neurodegenerative Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elissa Tjahjono ◽  
Jingqi Pei ◽  
Alexey V Revtovich ◽  
Terri-Jeanne E Liu ◽  
Alisha Swadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurodegenerative Disease ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Mitochondrial Fragmentation ◽  
Atp Production ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Phenotypic Screen ◽  
Gfp Reporter ◽  
Common Causes

Macroautophagic recycling of dysfunctional mitochondria, known as mitophagy, is essential for mitochondrial homeostasis and cell viability. Accumulation of defective mitochondria and impaired mitophagy have been widely implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases, and loss-of-function mutations of two regulators of mitophagy, PINK1 and Parkin, are amongst the most common causes of recessive Parkinson's disease. Activation of mitophagy via pharmacological treatments may be a feasible approach for combating neurodegeneration. In this effort, we screened ~45,000 small molecules for the ability to activate mitophagy. A high-throughput, whole-organism, phenotypic screen was conducted by monitoring stabilization of PINK-1/PINK1, a key event in mitophagy activation, in a Caenorhabditis elegans strain carrying a Ppink-1::PINK-1::GFP reporter. We obtained eight hits that induced mitophagy, as evidenced by increased mitochondrial fragmentation and autophagosome formation. Several of the compounds also reduced ATP production, oxygen consumption, mitochondrial mass, and/or mitochondrial membrane potential. Importantly, we found that treatment with two compounds, which we named PS83 and PS106 (more commonly known as sertraline) reduced neurodegenerative disease phenotypes (including delayed paralysis in a C. elegans Alzheimer's model) in a PINK-1/PINK1-dependent manner. This report presents a promising step toward the identification of compounds that will stimulate mitochondrial turnover.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Quality Control Mechanisms and the PHB (Prohibitin) Complex

Cells ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca Hernando-Rodríguez ◽  
Marta Artal-Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Mitochondrial Biogenesis ◽  
Mitochondrial Function ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Membrane Lipids ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Mitochondrial Homeostasis ◽  
Mitochondrial Functions

Mitochondrial functions are essential for life, critical for development, maintenance of stem cells, adaptation to physiological changes, responses to stress, and aging. The complexity of mitochondrial biogenesis requires coordinated nuclear and mitochondrial gene expression, owing to the need of stoichiometrically assemble the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system for ATP production. It requires, in addition, the import of a large number of proteins from the cytosol to keep optimal mitochondrial function and metabolism. Moreover, mitochondria require lipid supply for membrane biogenesis, while it is itself essential for the synthesis of membrane lipids. To achieve mitochondrial homeostasis, multiple mechanisms of quality control have evolved to ensure that mitochondrial function meets cell, tissue, and organismal demands. Herein, we give an overview of mitochondrial mechanisms that are activated in response to stress, including mitochondrial dynamics, mitophagy and the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt). We then discuss the role of these stress responses in aging, with particular focus on Caenorhabditis elegans. Finally, we review observations that point to the mitochondrial prohibitin (PHB) complex as a key player in mitochondrial homeostasis, being essential for mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation, and responding to mitochondrial stress. Understanding how mitochondria responds to stress and how such responses are regulated is pivotal to combat aging and disease.

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