Transcriptome kinetics of arsenic-induced adaptive response in zebrafish liver

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siew Hong Lam ◽  
Cecilia Lanny Winata ◽  
Yan Tong ◽  
Svetlana Korzh ◽  
Wen San Lim ◽  
...  

Arsenic is a prominent environmental toxicant and carcinogen; however, its molecular mechanism of toxicity and carcinogenicity remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed microarray-based expression profiling on liver of zebrafish exposed to 15 parts/million (ppm) arsenic [As(V)] for 8–96 h to identify global transcriptional changes and biological networks involved in arsenic-induced adaptive responses in vivo. We found that there was an increase of transcriptional activity associated with metabolism, especially for biosyntheses, membrane transporter activities, cytoplasm, and endoplasmic reticulum in the 96 h of arsenic treatment, while transcriptional programs for proteins in catabolism, energy derivation, and stress response remained active throughout the arsenic treatment. Many differentially expressed genes encoding proteins involved in heat shock proteins, DNA damage/repair, antioxidant activity, hypoxia induction, iron homeostasis, arsenic metabolism, and ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation were identified, suggesting strongly that DNA and protein damage as a result of arsenic metabolism and oxidative stress caused major cellular injury. These findings were comparable with those reported in mammalian systems, suggesting that the zebrafish liver coupled with the available microarray technology present an excellent in vivo toxicogenomic model for investigating arsenic toxicity. We proposed an in vivo, acute arsenic-induced adaptive response model of the zebrafish liver illustrating the relevance of many transcriptional activities that provide both global and specific information of a coordinated adaptive response to arsenic in the liver.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.-L. Zhao ◽  
D.-Y. Wang

All organisms respond to environmental stresses (e.g., heavy metal, heat, UV irradiation, hyperoxia, food limitation, etc.) with coordinated adjustments in order to deal with the consequences and/or injuries caused by the severe stress. The nematodeCaenorhabditis elegansoften exerts adaptive responses if preconditioned with low concentrations of agents or stressor. InC. elegans, three types of adaptive responses can be formed: hormesis, cross-adaptation, and dietary restriction. Several factors influence the formation of adaptive responses in nematodes, and some mechanisms can explain their response formation. In particular, antioxidation system, heat-shock proteins, metallothioneins, glutathione, signaling transduction, and metabolic signals may play important roles in regulating the formation of adaptive responses. In this paper, we summarize the published evidence demonstrating that several types of adaptive responses have converged inC. elegansand discussed some possible alternative theories explaining the adaptive response control.


2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2747-2751
Author(s):  
Marioara Nicula ◽  
Nicolae Pacala ◽  
Lavinia Stef ◽  
Ioan Pet ◽  
Dorel Dronca ◽  
...  

Living organisms take nutrients from the environment, and together with them, substances with toxic potential � such as heavy metals. Lead is one common metal pollutant especially in aquatic environment, from where the fish can be intoxicated very easily. Bioavailability, distribution, toxic action, synergistic and antagonistic effects are characteristics which can alter the fish health. Our experimental study followed the effects of lead overload in water on iron distribution, in different tissues sample Carassius gibelio Bloch fish. We performed the experiment in four different fish groups: control C; lead � Pb (administration of lead in water 0.075mg/mL of water, as Pb(NO3)2 x � H2O); lead (the same dose) and 2% of freeze-dry garlic incorporated into fishes� food � Pb+garlic; lead (the same dose) and 2% chlorella incorporated into fishes� food � Pb+chlorella, for 21 consecutive days. The iron concentration was analysed with AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy) from gills, muscle, skin (and scales), intestine, liver, heart, brain, ovary, testicles, and kidney. The obtained data presented a significantly decrease of iron content in all tested tissue samples that demonstrated, alteration of iron homeostasis, explained by a strong antagonistic effect of lead on iron. Our experiment showed that biologic active principles from garlic and chlorella act like natural protectors, and potentiate the iron deficiency even in the case of lead overload in aquatic environment, for fish.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahinda S.R. Alsayed ◽  
Chau C. Beh ◽  
Neil R. Foster ◽  
Alan D. Payne ◽  
Yu Yu ◽  
...  

Background:Mycolic acids (MAs) are the characteristic, integral building blocks for the mycomembrane belonging to the insidious bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). These C60-C90 long α-alkyl-β-hydroxylated fatty acids provide protection to the tubercle bacilli against the outside threats, thus allowing its survival, virulence and resistance to the current antibacterial agents. In the post-genomic era, progress has been made towards understanding the crucial enzymatic machineries involved in the biosynthesis of MAs in M.tb. However, gaps still remain in the exact role of the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of regulatory mechanisms within these systems. To date, a total of 11 serine-threonine protein kinases (STPKs) are found in M.tb. Most enzymes implicated in the MAs synthesis were found to be phosphorylated in vitro and/or in vivo. For instance, phosphorylation of KasA, KasB, mtFabH, InhA, MabA, and FadD32 downregulated their enzymatic activity, while phosphorylation of VirS increased its enzymatic activity. These observations suggest that the kinases and phosphatases system could play a role in M.tb adaptive responses and survival mechanisms in the human host. As the mycobacterial STPKs do not share a high sequence homology to the human’s, there have been some early drug discovery efforts towards developing potent and selective inhibitors.Objective:Recent updates to the kinases and phosphatases involved in the regulation of MAs biosynthesis will be presented in this mini-review, including their known small molecule inhibitors.Conclusion:Mycobacterial kinases and phosphatases involved in the MAs regulation may serve as a useful avenue for antitubercular therapy.


Author(s):  
Wen-Dai Bao ◽  
Pei Pang ◽  
Xiao-Ting Zhou ◽  
Fan Hu ◽  
Wan Xiong ◽  
...  

AbstractIron homeostasis disturbance has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and excess iron exacerbates oxidative damage and cognitive defects. Ferroptosis is a nonapoptotic form of cell death dependent upon intracellular iron. However, the involvement of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of AD remains elusive. Here, we report that ferroportin1 (Fpn), the only identified mammalian nonheme iron exporter, was downregulated in the brains of APPswe/PS1dE9 mice as an Alzheimer’s mouse model and Alzheimer’s patients. Genetic deletion of Fpn in principal neurons of the neocortex and hippocampus by breeding Fpnfl/fl mice with NEX-Cre mice led to AD-like hippocampal atrophy and memory deficits. Interestingly, the canonical morphological and molecular characteristics of ferroptosis were observed in both Fpnfl/fl/NEXcre and AD mice. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of ferroptosis-related RNA-seq data showed that the differentially expressed genes were highly enriched in gene sets associated with AD. Furthermore, administration of specific inhibitors of ferroptosis effectively reduced the neuronal death and memory impairments induced by Aβ aggregation in vitro and in vivo. In addition, restoring Fpn ameliorated ferroptosis and memory impairment in APPswe/PS1dE9 mice. Our study demonstrates the critical role of Fpn and ferroptosis in the progression of AD, thus provides promising therapeutic approaches for this disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii17-ii17
Author(s):  
Katie Troike ◽  
Erin Mulkearns-Hubert ◽  
Daniel Silver ◽  
James Connor ◽  
Justin Lathia

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, is characterized by invasive growth and poor prognosis. Iron is a critical regulator of many cellular processes, and GBM tumor cells have been shown to modulate expression of iron-associated proteins to enhance iron uptake from the surrounding microenvironment, driving tumor initiation and growth. While iron uptake has been the central focus of previous investigations, additional mechanisms of iron regulation, such as compensatory iron efflux, have not been explored in the context of GBM. The hemochromatosis (HFE) gene encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein that aids in iron homeostasis by limiting cellular iron release, resulting in a sequestration phenotype. We find that HFE is upregulated in GBM tumors compared to non-tumor brain and that expression of HFE increases with tumor grade. Furthermore, HFE mRNA expression is associated with significantly reduced survival specifically in female patients with GBM. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that GBM tumor cells upregulate HFE expression to augment cellular iron loading and drive proliferation, ultimately leading to reduced survival of female patients. To test this hypothesis, we generated Hfe knockdown and overexpressing mouse glioma cell lines. We observed significant alterations in the expression of several iron handling genes with Hfe knockdown or overexpression, suggesting global disruption of iron homeostasis. Additionally, we show that knockdown of Hfe in these cells increases apoptosis and leads to a significant impairment of tumor growth in vivo. These findings support the hypothesis that Hfe is a critical regulator of cellular iron status and contributes to tumor aggression. Future work will include further exploration of the mechanisms that contribute to these phenotypes as well as interactions with the tumor microenvironment. Elucidating the mechanisms by which iron effulx contributes to GBM may inform the development of next-generation targeted therapies.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 938
Author(s):  
Juan Cruz Almada ◽  
Ana Bortolotti ◽  
Jean Marie Ruysschaert ◽  
Diego de Mendoza ◽  
María Eugenia Inda ◽  
...  

DesK is a Histidine Kinase that allows Bacillus subtilis to maintain lipid homeostasis in response to changes in the environment. It is located in the membrane, and has five transmembrane helices and a cytoplasmic catalytic domain. The transmembrane region triggers the phosphorylation of the catalytic domain as soon as the membrane lipids rigidify. In this research, we study how transmembrane inter-helical interactions contribute to signal transmission; we designed a co-expression system that allows studying in vivo interactions between transmembrane helices. By Alanine-replacements, we identified a group of polar uncharged residues, whose side chains contain hydrogen-bond donors or acceptors, which are required for the interaction with other DesK transmembrane helices; a particular array of H-bond- residues plays a key role in signaling, transmitting information detected at the membrane level into the cell to finally trigger an adaptive response.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber R Paulson ◽  
Maureen O’Callaghan ◽  
Xue-Xian Zhang ◽  
Paul B Rainey ◽  
Mark R H Hurst

Abstract The function of microbes can be inferred from knowledge of genes specifically expressed in natural environments. Here, we report the in vivo transcriptome of the entomopathogenic bacterium Yersinia entomophaga MH96, captured during initial, septicemic, and pre-cadaveric stages of intrahemocoelic infection in Galleria mellonella. A total of 1285 genes were significantly upregulated by MH96 during infection; 829 genes responded to in vivo conditions during at least one stage of infection, 289 responded during two stages of infection, and 167 transcripts responded throughout all three stages of infection compared to in vitro conditions at equivalent cell densities. Genes upregulated during the earliest infection stage included components of the insecticidal toxin complex Yen-TC (chi1, chi2, and yenC1), genes for rearrangement hotspot element containing protein yenC3, cytolethal distending toxin cdtAB, and vegetative insecticidal toxin vip2. Genes more highly expressed throughout the infection cycle included the putative heat-stable enterotoxin yenT and three adhesins (usher-chaperone fimbria, filamentous hemagglutinin, and an AidA-like secreted adhesin). Clustering and functional enrichment of gene expression data also revealed expression of genes encoding type III and VI secretion system-associated effectors. Together these data provide insight into the pathobiology of MH96 and serve as an important resource supporting efforts to identify novel insecticidal agents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana P. Pires ◽  
Rodrigo Monteiro ◽  
Dalila Mil-Homens ◽  
Arsénio Fialho ◽  
Timothy K. Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the era where antibiotic resistance is considered one of the major worldwide concerns, bacteriophages have emerged as a promising therapeutic approach to deal with this problem. Genetically engineered bacteriophages can enable enhanced anti-bacterial functionalities, but require cloning additional genes into the phage genomes, which might be challenging due to the DNA encapsulation capacity of a phage. To tackle this issue, we designed and assembled for the first time synthetic phages with smaller genomes by knocking out up to 48% of the genes encoding hypothetical proteins from the genome of the newly isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage vB_PaeP_PE3. The antibacterial efficacy of the wild-type and the synthetic phages was assessed in vitro as well as in vivo using a Galleria mellonella infection model. Overall, both in vitro and in vivo studies revealed that the knock-outs made in phage genome do not impair the antibacterial properties of the synthetic phages, indicating that this could be a good strategy to clear space from phage genomes in order to enable the introduction of other genes of interest that can potentiate the future treatment of P. aeruginosa infections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (615) ◽  
pp. eaay9452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Moreno-Domínguez ◽  
Patricia Ortega-Sáenz ◽  
Lin Gao ◽  
Olalla Colinas ◽  
Paula García-Flores ◽  
...  

Acute cardiorespiratory responses to O2 deficiency are essential for physiological homeostasis. The prototypical acute O2-sensing organ is the carotid body, which contains glomus cells expressing K+ channels whose inhibition by hypoxia leads to transmitter release and activation of nerve fibers terminating in the brainstem respiratory center. The mechanism by which changes in O2 tension modulate ion channels has remained elusive. Glomus cells express genes encoding HIF2α (Epas1) and atypical mitochondrial subunits at high levels, and mitochondrial NADH and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation during hypoxia provides the signal that regulates ion channels. We report that inactivation of Epas1 in adult mice resulted in selective abolition of glomus cell responsiveness to acute hypoxia and the hypoxic ventilatory response. Epas1 deficiency led to the decreased expression of atypical mitochondrial subunits in the carotid body, and genetic deletion of Cox4i2 mimicked the defective hypoxic responses of Epas1-null mice. These findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the acute O2 regulation of breathing, reveal an unanticipated role of HIF2α, and link acute and chronic adaptive responses to hypoxia.


1995 ◽  
Vol 348 (1323) ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  

The recent discovery of molecular chaperones and their functions has changed dramatically our view of the processes underlying the folding of proteins in vivo . Rather than folding spontaneously, most newly synthesized polypeptide chains seem to acquire their native conformations in a reaction mediated by chaperone proteins. Different classes of molecular chaperones, such as the members of the Hsp70 and Hsp60 families of heat-shock proteins, cooperate in a coordinated pathway of cellular protein folding.


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