The prolyl hydroxylase oxygen-sensing pathway is cytoprotective and allows maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential during metabolic inhibition

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. C719-C728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijayalakshmi Sridharan ◽  
Jason Guichard ◽  
Rachel M. Bailey ◽  
Harinath Kasiganesan ◽  
Craig Beeson ◽  
...  

The cellular oxygen sensor is a family of oxygen-dependent proline hydroxylase domain (PHD)-containing enzymes, whose reduction of activity initiate a hypoxic signal cascade. In these studies, prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (PHIs) were used to activate the PHD-signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes. PHI-pretreatment led to the accumulation of glycogen and an increased maintenance of ATP levels in glucose-free medium containing cyanide. The addition of the glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) caused a decline of ATP levels that was indistinguishable between control and PHI-treated myocytes. Despite the comparable levels of ATP depletion, PHI-preconditioned myocytes remained significantly protected. As expected, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨmito) collapses in control myocytes during cyanide and 2-DG treatment and it fails to completely recover upon washout. In contrast, ΔΨmito is partially maintained during metabolic inhibition and recovers completely on washout in PHI-preconditioned cells. Inclusion of rotenone, but not oligomycin, with cyanide and 2-DG was found to collapse ΔΨmito in PHI-pretreated myocytes. Thus, continued complex I activity was implicated in the maintenance of ΔΨmito in PHI-treated myocytes, whereas a role for the “reverse mode” operation of the F1F0-ATP synthase was ruled out. Further examination of mitochondrial function revealed that PHI treatment downregulated basal oxygen consumption to only ∼15% that of controls. Oxygen consumption rates, although initially lower in PHI-preconditioned myocytes, recovered completely upon removal of metabolic poisons, while reaching only 22% of preinsult levels in control myocytes. We conclude that PHD oxygen-sensing mechanism directs multiple compensatory changes in the cardiomyocyte, which include a low-respiring mitochondrial phenotype that is remarkably protected against metabolic insult.

2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (4) ◽  
pp. C334-C342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Takahashi ◽  
Michihiko Sato

To elucidate how tumor cells produce energy in oxygen-depleted microenvironments, we studied the possibility of mitochondrial electron transport without oxygen. We produced well-controlled oxygen gradients (ΔO2) in monolayer-cultured cells. We then visualized oxygen levels and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΦm) in individual cells by using the red shift of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence and a cationic fluorescent dye, respectively. In this two-dimensional tissue model, ΔΦm was abolished in cells >500 μm from the oxygen source [the anoxic front (AF)], indicating limitations in diffusional oxygen delivery. This result perfectly matched GFP-determined ΔO2. In cells pretreated with dimethyloxaloylglycine (DMOG), a prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein (PHD) inhibitor, the AF was expanded to 1,500–2,000 μm from the source. In these cells, tissue ΔO2 was substantially decreased, indicating that PHD pathway activation suppressed mitochondrial respiration. The expansion of the AF and the reduction of ΔO2 were much more prominent in a cancer cell line (Hep3B) than in the equivalent fibroblast-like cell line (COS-7). Hence, the results indicate that PHD pathway-activated cells can sustain ΔΦm, despite significantly decreased electron flux to complex IV. Complex II inhibition abolished the effect of DMOG in expanding the AF, although tissue ΔO2 remained shallow. Separate experiments demonstrated that complex II plays a substantial role in sustaining ΔΦm in DMOG-pretreated Hep3B cells with complex III inhibition. From these results, we conclude that PHD pathway activation can sustain ΔΦm in an otherwise anoxic microenvironment by decreasing tissue ΔO2 while activating oxygen-independent electron transport in mitochondria.


Hypertension ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Harding ◽  
Timothy D Bryson ◽  
Indrani Datta ◽  
Yun Wang ◽  
Albert Levin

Hypertension is a leading cause of heart failure and both conditions are characterized by increased prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which signals through 4 receptor subtypes (EP1-EP4) to elicit diverse physiologic effects. We previously reported that cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of the EP4 receptor results in a phenotype of dilated cardiomyopathy in male mice that is characterized by reduced ejection fraction. Subsequent gene array on left ventricles from these mice, coupled with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) demonstrated that genes differentiating WT mice and EP4 KO mice with low ejection fraction were significantly overrepresented in mitochondrial (p=2.51x10 -28 ) and oxidative phosphorylation (p=3.16 x10 -30 ) pathways. We therefore hypothesized that PGE2 could reduce mitochondrial function. To test this hypothesis, we used isolated mouse cardiomyocytes (AVM) from 16-18 week old male C57Bl/6 mice and treated them with 1 μM PGE2 for various times. Mitochondrial gene expression was examined using a RT-profiler kit for mitochondrial energy metabolism, complex I activity with a spectrophotometric assay, ATP levels with a bioluminescence assay and mitochondrial membrane potential using JC-1 staining. Treatment of AVM with PGE2 for 4 hrs reduced expression of multiple genes from mitochondrial pathways including sub units of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase ubiquinone flavoprotein (Nduf), a component of complex I. In accord with the mRNA data, Complex I activity was reduced by 50% (p < 0.05) by 4 hr treatment with PGE2, from 1.32 ± 0.36 to 0.66 ± 0.08 mOD/min. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 8 (Cox8c) mRNA was also reduced from a control value of 1.00 to -1.75 ± 0.20 (p < 0.005) after PGE2 treatment. Immuno-fluorescence showed that JC-1 aggregates were reduced after 1 or 3 hr treatment with either 1 μM PGE2 or the EP3 agonist, sulprostone, suggesting reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. Subsequent experiments also showed that ATP levels were reduced 16% from 11.18 ± 0.71 nmol to 9.39 ± 0.83 nmol after treatment with sulprostone for only 1 hr. Taken together, these results suggest that increased PGE2 in hypertension may contribute to impaired mitochondrial function and provide yet another link between inflammation and cardiac dysfunction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-A Park ◽  
Nelli Mnatsakanyan ◽  
Katheryn Broman ◽  
Abigail U. Davis ◽  
Jordan May ◽  
...  

B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) is an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl2 family of proteins, which supports neurite outgrowth and neurotransmission by improving mitochondrial function. During excitotoxic stimulation, however, Bcl-xL undergoes post-translational cleavage to ∆N-Bcl-xL, and accumulation of ∆N-Bcl-xL causes mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal death. In this study, we hypothesized that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during excitotoxicity leads to formation of ∆N-Bcl-xL. We further proposed that the application of an antioxidant with neuroprotective properties such as α-tocotrienol (TCT) will prevent ∆N-Bcl-xL-induced mitochondrial dysfunction via its antioxidant properties. Primary hippocampal neurons were treated with α-TCT, glutamate, or a combination of both. Glutamate challenge significantly increased cytosolic and mitochondrial ROS and ∆N-Bcl-xL levels. ∆N-Bcl-xL accumulation was accompanied by intracellular ATP depletion, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and cell death. α-TCT prevented loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in hippocampal neurons overexpressing ∆N-Bcl-xL, suggesting that ∆N-Bcl-xL caused the loss of mitochondrial function under excitotoxic conditions. Our data suggest that production of ROS is an important cause of ∆N-Bcl-xL formation and that preventing ROS production may be an effective strategy to prevent ∆N-Bcl-xL-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and thus promote neuronal survival.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Esselun ◽  
Bastian Bruns ◽  
Stephanie Hagl ◽  
Rekha Grewal ◽  
Gunter P. Eckert

The Mediterranean plant Silybum marianum L., commonly known as milk thistle, has been used for centuries to treat liver disorders. The flavonolignan silibinin represents a natural antioxidant and the main bioactive ingredient of silymarin (silybin), a standard extract of its seeds. Mitochondrial dysfunction and the associated generation of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) are involved in the development of chronic liver and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Silibinin A (SIL A) is one of two diastereomers found in silymarin and was used to evaluate the effects of silymarin on mitochondrial parameters including mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production with and without sodium nitroprusside- (SNP-) induced nitrosative stress, oxidative phosphorylation, and citrate synthase activity in HepG2 and PC12 cells. Both cell lines were influenced by SIL A, but at different concentrations. SIL A significantly weakened nitrosative stress in both cell lines. Low concentrations not only maintained protective properties but also increased basal mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. However, these effects could not be associated with oxidative phosphorylation. On the other side, high concentrations of SIL A significantly decreased MMP and ATP levels. Although SIL A did not provide a general improvement of the mitochondrial function, our findings show that SIL A protects against SNP-induced nitrosative stress at the level of mitochondria making it potentially beneficial against neurological disorders.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 465-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenjing Yang ◽  
Cho Cho Aye ◽  
Xiaoxin Li ◽  
Angels Diaz Ramos ◽  
Antonio Zorzano ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. Hyperinsulinaemia and hyperlipidaemia are hallmarks of the insulin-resistant state. We sought to determine the contributions of high insulin and saturated fatty acid exposure to mitochondrial function and biogenesis in cultured myocytes. Differentiated C2C12 myotubes were left untreated or exposed to chronic high insulin or high palmitate. Mitochondrial function was determined assessing: oxygen consumption, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP content and ROS (reactive oxygen species) production. We also determined the expression of several mitochondrial genes. Chronic insulin treatment of myotubes caused insulin resistance with reduced PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) and ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) signalling. Insulin treatment increased oxygen consumption but reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS production. ATP cellular levels were maintained through an increased glycolytic rate. The expression of mitochondrial OXPHOS (oxidative phosphorylation) subunits or Mfn-2 (mitofusin 2) were not significantly altered in comparison with untreated cells, whereas expression of PGC-1α (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator-1α) and UCPs (uncoupling proteins) were reduced. In contrast, saturated fatty acid exposure caused insulin resistance, reducing PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) and ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) activation while increasing activation of stress kinases JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and p38. Fatty acids reduced oxygen consumption and mitochondrial membrane potential while up-regulating the expression of mitochondrial ETC (electron chain complex) protein subunits and UCP proteins. Mfn-2 expression was not modified by palmitate. Palmitate-treated cells also showed a reduced glycolytic rate. Taken together, our findings indicate that chronic insulin and fatty acid-induced insulin resistance differentially affect mitochondrial function. In both conditions, cells were able to maintain ATP levels despite the loss of membrane potential; however, different protein expression suggests different adaptation mechanisms.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (3) ◽  
pp. H1295-H1303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meifeng Xu ◽  
Yigang Wang ◽  
Ahmar Ayub ◽  
Muhammad Ashraf

Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is severely compromised in the myocardium after ischemia-reperfusion and triggers apoptotic events leading to cell demise. This study tests the hypothesis that mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ (mitoKATP) channel activation prevents the collapse of ΔΨm in myocytes during anoxia-reoxygenation (A-R) and is responsible for cell protection via inhibition of apoptosis. After 3-h anoxia and 2-h reoxygenation, the cultured myocytes underwent extensive damage, as evidenced by decreased cell viability, compromised membrane permeability, increased apoptosis, and decreased ATP concentration. Mitochondria in A-R myocytes were swollen and fuzzy as shown after staining with Mito Tracker Orange CMTMRos and in an electron microscope and exhibited a collapsed ΔΨm, as monitored by 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1). Cytochrome c was released from mitochondria into the cytosol as demonstrated by cytochrome cimmunostaining. Activation of mitoKATP channel with diazoxide (100 μmol/l) resulted in a significant protection against mitochondrial damage, ATP depletion, cytochrome c loss, and stabilized ΔΨm. This protection was blocked by 5-hydroxydecanoate (500 μmol/l), a mitoKATPchannel-selective inhibitor, but not by HMR-1098 (30 μmol/l), a putative sarcolemmal KATP channel-selective inhibitor. Dissipation of ΔΨm also leads to opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore, which was prevented by cyclosporin A. The data support the hypothesis that A-R disrupts ΔΨm and induces apoptosis, which are prevented by the activation of the mitoKATP channel. This further emphasizes the therapeutic significance of mitoKATP channel agonists in the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion cell injury.


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