FoxO transcription factors in oxidative stress response and ageing – a new fork on the way to longevity?

2008 ◽  
Vol 389 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Sedding

Abstract Forkhead box O (FoxO) transcription factors are important downstream targets of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and crucial regulators of cell fate. This function of FoxOs relies on their ability to control diverse cellular functions, including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, DNA repair, defense against oxidative stress and ageing. FoxOs are regulated by a variety of different growth factors and hormones, and their activity is tightly controlled by post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination and interaction with different proteins and transcription factors. This brief review focuses on the molecular mechanisms, cellular effects and resulting organismal phenotypes generated by differentially regulated FoxO proteins and discusses our current understanding of the role of FoxOs in disease and ageing processes.

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 722-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.W.-F. Lam ◽  
R.E. Francis ◽  
M. Petkovic

FOXO (forkhead box O) transcription factors are crucial regulators of cell fate. This function of FOXO proteins relies on their ability to control diverse and at times, opposing cellular functions, such as proliferation, differentiation, DNA repair, defence against oxidative stress damage and apoptosis, in response to hormones, growth factors and other environmental cues. This review discusses our current understanding of the regulation and role of FOXO transcription factors in determining cell fate and highlights their relevance to tumorigenesis and drug resistance.


2007 ◽  
Vol 193 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique A Glauser ◽  
Werner Schlegel

FOXO transcription factors critically control fundamental cellular processes, including metabolism, cell differentiation, cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and other reactions to cellular stress. FOXO factors sense the balance between stimuli promoting growth and differentiation versus stress stimuli signaling damage. Integrated through the FOXO system, these divergent stimuli decide on cell fate, a choice between proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis. In pancreatic β cells, most recent evidence highlights complex FOXO-dependent responses to glucose, insulin, or other growth factors, which include regulatory feedback. In the short term, FOXO-dependent mechanisms help β cells to accomplish their endocrine function, and may increase their resistance to oxidative stress due to transient hyperglycemia. In the long term, FOXO-dependent responses lead to the adaptation of β cell mass, conditioning the future ability of the organism to produce insulin and cope with changes in fuel abundance. FOXO emerges as a key factor for the maintenance of a functional endocrine pancreas and represents an interesting element in the development of therapeutic approaches to treat diabetes. This review on the role of FOXO transcription factors in pancreatic β cells has three parts. In Part I, FOXO transcription factors will be presented in general: structure, molecular mechanisms of regulation, cellular functions, and physiological roles. Part II will focus on specific data about FOXO factors in pancreatic β cells. Lastly in Part III, it will be attempted to combine general and β cell-specific knowledge with the aim to envisage globally the role of FOXO factors in β cell-linked physiology and disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rikang Wang ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Shuai Zhang ◽  
Rahul Previn ◽  
Di Chen ◽  
...  

Chondrocyte dysfunction occurs during the development of osteoarthritis (OA), typically resulting from a deleterious increase in oxidative stress. Accordingly, strategies for arresting oxidative stress-induced chondrocyte dysfunction may lead to new potential therapeutic targets for OA treatment. Forkhead box O (FoxO) transcription factors have recently been shown to play a protective role in chondrocyte dysfunction through the regulation of inflammation, autophagy, aging, and oxidative stress. They also regulate growth, maturation, and matrix synthesis in chondrocytes. In this review, we discuss the recent progress made in the field of oxidative stress-induced chondrocyte dysfunction. We also discuss the protective role of FoxO transcription factors as potential molecular targets for the treatment of OA. Understanding the function of FoxO transcription factors in the OA pathology may provide new insights that will facilitate the development of next-generation therapies to prevent OA development and to slow OA progression.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghulam Murtaza ◽  
Abida Kalsoom Khan ◽  
Rehana Rashid ◽  
Saiqa Muneer ◽  
Syed Muhammad Farid Hasan ◽  
...  

Several pathologies such as neurodegeneration and cancer are associated with aging, which is affected by many genetic and environmental factors. Healthy aging conceives human longevity, possibly due to carrying the defensive genes. For instance, FOXO (forkhead box O) genes determine human longevity. FOXO transcription factors are involved in the regulation of longevity phenomenon via insulin and insulin-like growth factor signaling. Only one FOXO gene (FOXO DAF-16) exists in invertebrates, while four FOXO genes, that is, FOXO1, FOXO3, FOXO4, and FOXO6 are found in mammals. These four transcription factors are involved in the multiple cellular pathways, which regulate growth, stress resistance, metabolism, cellular differentiation, and apoptosis in mammals. However, the accurate mode of longevity by FOXO factors is unclear until now. This article describes briefly the existing knowledge that is related to the role of FOXO factors in human longevity.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yizhou Jiang ◽  
Fengxia Yan ◽  
Zhongping Feng ◽  
Philip Lazarovici ◽  
Wenhua Zheng

Dietary restriction (DR), which is defined as a reduction of particular or total nutrient intake without causing malnutrition, has been proved to be a robust way to extend both lifespan and health-span in various species from yeast to mammal. However, the molecular mechanisms by which DR confers benefits on longevity were not yet fully elucidated. The forkhead box O transcription factors (FOXOs), identified as downstream regulators of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway, control the expression of many genes regulating crucial biological processes such as metabolic homeostasis, redox balance, stress response and cell viability and proliferation. The activity of FOXOs is also mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), sirtuins and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Therefore, the FOXO-related pathways form a complex network critical for coordinating a response to environmental fluctuations in order to maintain cellular homeostasis and to support physiological aging. In this review, we will focus on the role of FOXOs in different DR interventions. As different DR regimens or calorie (energy) restriction mimetics (CRMs) can elicit both distinct and overlapped DR-related signaling pathways, the benefits of DR may be maximized by combining diverse forms of interventions. In addition, a better understanding of the precise role of FOXOs in different mechanistic aspects of DR response would provide clear cellular and molecular insights on DR-induced increase of lifespan and health-span.


2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 292-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.U. Birkenkamp ◽  
P.J. Coffer

Recently, the FOXO (Forkhead box, class O) subfamily of Forkhead transcription factors has been identified as direct targets of phosphoinositide 3-kinase-mediated signal transduction. The AFX (acute-lymphocytic-leukaemia-1 fused gene from chromosome X), FKHR (Forkhead in rhabdomyosarcoma) and FKHR-L1 (FKHR-like 1) transcription factors are directly phosphorylated by protein kinase B, resulting in nuclear export and inhibition of transcription. This signalling pathway was first identified in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, where it has a role in regulation of the life span of the organism. Studies have shown that this evolutionarily conserved signalling module has a role in regulation of both cell-cycle progression and cell survival in higher eukaryotes. These effects are co-ordinated by FOXO-mediated induction of a variety of specific target genes that are only now beginning to be identified. Interestingly, FOXO transcription factors appear to be able to regulate transcription through both DNA-binding-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Our understanding of the regulation of FOXO activity, and defining specific transcriptional targets, may provide clues to the molecular mechanisms controlling cell fate decisions to divide, differentiate or die.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhaskar Ponugoti ◽  
Guangyu Dong ◽  
Dana T. Graves

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder, characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from insulin deficiency and/or insulin resistance. Recent evidence suggests that high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent oxidative stress are key contributors in the development of diabetic complications. The FOXO family of forkhead transcription factors including FOXO1, FOXO3, FOXO4, and FOXO6 play important roles in the regulation of many cellular and biological processes and are critical regulators of cellular oxidative stress response pathways. FOXO1 transcription factors can affect a number of different tissues including liver, retina, bone, and cell types ranging from hepatocytes to microvascular endothelial cells and pericytes to osteoblasts. They are induced by oxidative stress and contribute to ROS-induced cell damage and apoptosis. In this paper, we discuss the role of FOXO transcription factors in mediating oxidative stress-induced cellular response.


2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh C Gupta ◽  
Vinita Singh-Gupta ◽  
Kefei Zhang ◽  
Jiang Xu ◽  
Hani N Sabbah

Background: FoxO (Forkhead box) family of transcription factors play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in physiologic cellular functions that include 1) cell proliferation and growth, 2) oxidative stress and DNA repair, 3) apoptosis and autophagy, 4) energy metabolism and 5) immune system function. Many components of all 5 cellular functions are abnormal in the failing heart. FoxO1, FoxO3, and FoxO4 are members of the FoxO family and are expressed in adult cardiomyocytes. We previously showed that elamipretide (ELAM), a novel mitochondria-targeting peptide, reverses many of the abnormalities of the above captioned cellular function in dogs with advanced heart failure (HF). Abnormalities of expression and/or phosphorylation of FoxO1, FoxO3a and FoxO4 have been described in HF. Objective: This study examined the effects of chronic therapy with ELAM on levels of mRNA expression of FoxO1, FoxO3a and FoxO4 in LV myocardium of dogs with coronary microembolization-induced HF (LV ejection fraction ~30%). Methods: LV tissue from 14 HF dogs randomized to 3 months monotherapy with subcutaneous injections of ELAM (0.5 mg/kg once daily, n=7) or no therapy at all (control, CON, n=7) and tissue from 6 normal (NL) dogs was used in the study. Using specific primers, mRNA levels of FoxO1, FoxO3a, and FoxO4 normalized to β-actin, an internal control, were measured using real-time PCR in isolated RNA from LV tissue. Results: There were no differences in the levels of β-actin among the 3 study groups. mRNA expression levels of FoxO1 and 3a were significantly decreased and FoxO4 increased in HF-CON dogs compared to NL dogs (0.16, 0.19, and 2.48 fold change from NL respectively, p<0.05). Treatment of HF dogs with ELAM restored the expression of all 3 FoxO transcription factors to near NL (0.53, 0.65, and 1.21 fold change from NL respectively, P<0.05 vs. CON). Conclusions: mRNA levels of FoxO1 and FoxO3a are reduced and that of FoxO4 is increased in LV myocardium of HF dogs. Chronic therapy with ELAM normalizes expression of all 3 FoxO transcription factors. This improvement in FoxO expression is consistent with the observed reduction of oxidative stress, apoptosis and cytokines and improved energy metabolism in HF dogs following chronic therapy with ELAM.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Di Meo ◽  
Anna Valentino ◽  
Orsolina Petillo ◽  
Gianfranco Peluso ◽  
Stefania Filosa ◽  
...  

The interest in dietary polyphenols in recent years has greatly increased due to their antioxidant bioactivity with preventive properties against chronic diseases. Polyphenols, by modulating different cellular functions, play an important role in neuroprotection and are able to neutralize the effects of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Interestingly, all these mechanisms are involved in neurodegeneration. Although polyphenols display differences in their effectiveness due to interindividual variability, recent studies indicated that bioactive polyphenols in food and beverages promote health and prevent age-related cognitive decline. Polyphenols have a poor bioavailability and their digestion by gut microbiota produces active metabolites. In fact, dietary bioactive polyphenols need to be modified by microbiota present in the intestine before being absorbed, and to exert health preventive effects by interacting with cellular signalling pathways. This literature review includes an evaluation of the literature in English up to December 2019 in PubMed and Web of Science databases. A total of 307 studies, consisting of research reports, review articles and articles were examined and 146 were included. The review highlights the role of bioactive polyphenols in neurodegeneration, with a particular emphasis on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are modulated by polyphenols involved in protection from oxidative stress and apoptosis prevention.


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