Posts Tagged ‘Cancer – General’

Novel Mechanisms of Resistance to Novel Agents

Posted in Cancer - General, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Curation, Gene Regulation, Personalized and Precision Medicine & Genomic Research, Pharmacogenomics, tagged Aviva Lev-Ari, Biology, BRAF, Cancer - General, chemoresistance, Chemotherapy, CML, Conditions and Diseases, DNA, Imatinib, Larry H. Bernstein, Personalized medicine, research on January 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Novel Mechanisms of Resistance to Novel Agents

 

Curators: Larry H. Berstein, M.D. FACP & Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

For most of the history of chemotherapy drug development, predicting the possible mechanisms of drug resistance that ensued could be surmised from the drug’s pharmacologic mechanism of action. In other words, a tumor would develop resistance merely by altering the pathways/systems which the drug relied on for mechanism of action. For example, as elucidated in later chapters in this book, most cytotoxic chemotherapies like cisplatin and cyclophosphamide were developed to bind DNA and disrupt the cycling cell, thereby resulting in cell cycle arrest and eventually cell death or resulting in such a degree of genotoxicity which would result in great amount of DNA fragmentation. These DNA-damaging agents efficacy was shown to be reliant on their ability to form DNA adducts and lesions. Therefore increasing DNA repair could result in a tumor cell becoming resistant to these drugs. In addition, if drug concentration was merely decreased in these cells, by an enhanced drug efflux as seen with the ABC transporters, then there would be less drug available for these DNA adducts to be generated. A plethora of literature has been generated on this particular topic.

However in the era of chemotherapies developed against targets only expressed in tumor cells (such as Gleevec against the Bcr-Abl fusion protein in chronic myeloid leukemia), this paradigm had changed as clinical cases of resistance had rapidly developed soon after the advent of these compounds and new paradigms of resistance mechanisms were discovered.

Imatinib resistance can be seen quickly after initiation of therapy

Speed of imatinib resistance a result of rapid gene amplification of BCR/ABL target, thereby decreasing imatinib efficacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although there are many other new mechanisms of resistance to personalized medicine agents (which are discussed later in the chapter) this post is a curation of cellular changes which are not commonly discussed in reviews of chemoresistance and separated in three main categories:

Cellular Diversity and Adaptation

Identifying Cancers and Resistance

Cancer Drug-Resistance Mechanism

p53 tumor drug resistance gene target

Variability of Gene Expression and Drug Resistance

 

Expression of microRNAs and alterations in RNA resulting in chemo-resistance

Drug-resistance Mechanism in Tumor Cells

Overexpression of miR-200c induces chemoresistance in esophageal cancers mediated through activation of the Akt signaling pathway

 

The miRNA–drug resistance connection: a new era of personalized medicine using noncoding RNA begins

 

Gene Duplication of Therapeutic Target

 

The advent of Gleevec (imatinib) had issued in a new era of chemotherapy, a personalized medicine approach by determining the and a lifesaver to chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients whose tumors displayed expression of the Bcr-Abl fusion gene. However it was not long before clinical resistance was seen to this therapy and, it was shown amplification of the drug target can lead to tumor outgrowth despite adequate drug exposure. le Coutre, Weisberg and Mahon^{23, 24, 25} all independently generated imatinib-resistant clones through serial passage of the cells in imatinib-containing media and demonstrated elevated Abl kinase activity due to a genetic amplification of the Bcr–Abl sequence. However, all of these samples were derived in vitro and may not represent a true mode of clinical resistance. Nevertheless, Gorre et al.²⁶ obtained specimens, directly patients demonstrating imatinib resistance, and using fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, genetic duplication of the Bcr–Abl gene was identified as one possible source of the resistance. Additional sporadic examples of amplification of the Bcr–Abl sequence have been clinically described, but the majority of patients presenting with either primary or secondary imatinib resistance fail to clinically demonstrate Abl amplification as a primary mode of treatment failure.

This is seen in the following papers:

Clinical resistance to STI-571 cancer therapy caused by BCR-ABL gene mutation or amplification.Gorre ME, Mohammed M, Ellwood K, Hsu N, Paquette R, Rao PN, Sawyers CL. Science. 2001 Aug 3;293(5531):876-80. Epub 2001 Jun 21.

and in another original paper by le Coutre et. al.

Induction of resistance to the Abelson inhibitor STI571 in human leukemic cells through gene amplification. le Coutre P¹, Tassi E, Varella-Garcia M, Barni R, Mologni L, Cabrita G, Marchesi E, Supino R, Gambacorti-Passerini C. Blood. 2000 Mar 1;95(5):1758-66

The 2-phenylaminopyrimidine derivative STI571 has been shown to selectively inhibit the tyrosine kinase domain of the oncogenic bcr/abl fusion protein. The activity of this inhibitor has been demonstrated so far both in vitro with bcr/abl expressing cells derived from leukemic patients, and in vivo on nude mice inoculated with bcr/abl positive cells. Yet, no information is available on whether leukemic cells can develop resistance to bcr/abl inhibition. The human bcr/abl expressing cell line LAMA84 was cultured with increasing concentrations of STI571. After approximately 6 months of culture, a new cell line was obtained and named LAMA84R. This newly selected cell line showed an IC50 for the STI571 (1.0 microM) 10-fold higher than the IC50 (0.1 microM) of the parental sensitive cell line. Treatment with STI571 was shown to increase both the early and late apoptotic fraction in LAMA84 but not in LAMA84R. The induction of apoptosis in LAMA84 was associated with the activation of caspase 3-like activity, which did not develop in the resistant LAMA84R cell line. LAMA84R cells showed increased levels of bcr/abl protein and mRNA when compared to LAMA84 cells. FISH analysis with BCR- and ABL-specific probes in LAMA84R cells revealed the presence of a marker chromosome containing approximately 13 to 14 copies of the BCR/ABL gene. Thus, overexpression of the Bcr/Abl protein mediated through gene amplification is associated with and probably determines resistance of human leukemic cells to STI571 in vitro. (Blood. 2000;95:1758-1766)

This is actually the opposite case with other personalized therapies like the EGFR inhibitor gefinitib where actually the AMPLIFICATION of the therapeutic target EGFR is correlated with better response to drug in

Molecular mechanisms of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation and response to gefitinib and other EGFR-targeting drugs.Ono M, Kuwano M. Clin Cancer Res. 2006 Dec 15;12(24):7242-51. Review.

Abstract

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases, including EGFR, HER2/erbB2, and HER3/erbB3, is an attractive target for antitumor strategies. Aberrant EGFR signaling is correlated with progression of various malignancies, and somatic tyrosine kinase domain mutations in the EGFR gene have been discovered in patients with non-small cell lung cancer responding to EGFR-targeting small molecular agents, such as gefitinib and erlotinib. EGFR overexpression is thought to be the principal mechanism of activation in various malignant tumors. Moreover, an increased EGFR copy number is associated with improved survival in non-small cell lung cancer patients, suggesting that increased expression of mutant and/or wild-type EGFR molecules could be molecular determinants of responses to gefitinib. However, as EGFR mutations and/or gene gains are not observed in all patients who respond partially to treatment, alternative mechanisms might confer sensitivity to EGFR-targeting agents. Preclinical studies showed that sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors depends on how closely cell survival and growth signalings are coupled with EGFR, and also with HER2 and HER3, in each cancer. This review also describes a possible association between EGFR phosphorylation and drug sensitivity in cancer cells, as well as discussing the antiangiogenic effect of gefitinib in association with EGFR activation and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt activation in vascular endothelial cells.

 

Mutant Variants of Therapeutic Target

 

resistant subclones in tissue samples and Tyrosine Kinase tumor activity

 

Mitochondrial Isocitrate Dehydrogenase and Variants

Mutational Landscape of Rare Childhood Brain Cancer: Analysis of 60 Intercranial Germ Cell Tumor Cases using NGS, SNP and Expression Array Analysis – Signaling Pathways KIT/RAS are affected by mutations in IGCTs

 

AND seen with the ALK inhibitors as well (as seen in the following papers

Acquisition of cancer stem cell-like properties in non-small cell lung cancer with acquired resistance to afatinib.

Hashida S, Yamamoto H, Shien K, Miyoshi Y, Ohtsuka T, Suzawa K, Watanabe M, Maki Y, Soh J, Asano H, Tsukuda K, Miyoshi S, Toyooka S. Cancer Sci. 2015 Oct;106(10):1377-84. doi: 10.1111/cas.12749. Epub 2015 Sep 30.

In vivo imaging models of bone and brain metastases and pleural carcinomatosis with a novel human EML4-ALK lung cancer cell line.

Nanjo S, Nakagawa T, Takeuchi S, Kita K, Fukuda K, Nakada M, Uehara H, Nishihara H, Hara E, Uramoto H, Tanaka F, Yano S. Cancer Sci. 2015 Mar;106(3):244-52. doi: 10.1111/cas.12600. Epub 2015 Feb 17.

Identification of a novel HIP1-ALK fusion variant in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and discovery of ALK I1171 (I1171N/S) mutations in two ALK-rearranged NSCLC patients with resistance to Alectinib. Ou SH, Klempner SJ, Greenbowe JR, Azada M, Schrock AB, Ali SM, Ross JS, Stephens PJ, Miller VA.J Thorac Oncol. 2014 Dec;9(12):1821-5

Reports of chemoresistance due to variants have also been seen with the BRAF inhibitors like vemurafenib and dabrafenib:

The RAC1 P29S hotspot mutation in melanoma confers resistance to pharmacological inhibition of RAF.

Watson IR, Li L, Cabeceiras PK, Mahdavi M, Gutschner T, Genovese G, Wang G, Fang Z, Tepper JM, Stemke-Hale K, Tsai KY, Davies MA, Mills GB, Chin L.Cancer Res. 2014 Sep 1;74(17):4845-52. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-1232-T. Epub 2014 Jul 23

 

 

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Serpins: A Review in Human Genomics

Posted in CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Cytoskeleton, Developmental biology, Disease Biology, Embryology, tagged Cancer - General, immune response, neutrophil, protease, serpin on January 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Serpins: A Review

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

Update of the human and mouse SERPIN gene superfamily

Claire Heit,¹ Brian C Jackson,¹ Monica McAndrews,² Mathew W Wright,³ David C Thompson,⁴ Gary A Silverman,⁵ Daniel W Nebert,⁶ and Vasilis Vasiliou¹

Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

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Abstract

The serpin family comprises a structurally similar, yet functionally diverse, set of proteins. Named originally for their function as serine proteinase inhibitors, many of its members are not inhibitors but rather chaperones, involved in storage, transport, and other roles. Serpins are found in genomes of all kingdoms, with 36 human protein-coding genes and five pseudogenes. The mouse has 60 Serpin functional genes, many of which are orthologous to human SERPIN genes and some of which have expanded into multiple paralogous genes. Serpins are found in tissues throughout the body; whereas most are extracellular, there is a class of intracellular serpins. Serpins appear to have roles in inflammation, immune function, tumorigenesis, blood clotting, dementia, and cancer metastasis. Further characterization of these proteins will likely reveal potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for disease.

Keywords: Serpins, Serine protease inhibitor, Chaperone, Blood clotting, Thrombolysis, Complement, Cell death, Metastatic cancer

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Introduction

Serpins represent the largest and most functionally diverse family of protease inhibitors. The name serpin originates from the first described function of this family, viz., serine proteinase inhibitors. In their native state, serpins exist as monomeric proteins. Most serpin family members inhibit serine proteinases of the chymotrypsin family [1], thereby inhibiting proteolytic cascades. However, some serpins exhibit functions unrelated to inhibition of catalytic activity, such as hormone transport and other mechanisms.

Approximately 1,500 serpin sequences have been identified; they are found in the genomes of all five kingdoms [2]. There are 36 identified human putatively functional protein-coding genes [3]. The serpin superfamily is divided into groups called clades according to their sequence similarity. Clades are classified as A–P, with clades A–I representing human serpins [4].

Serpins have well-conserved secondary structures with an exposed reactive center loop (RCL) (Figure 1), which interacts with the protease active site to inhibit protease activity [5]. The ability for serpins to undergo conformational change is crucial for their function, in which serpins act via a suicide substrate inhibitory mechanism [2,4]. Although most serpins selectively inhibit serine proteases, some inhibit cysteine proteases, such as caspases and cathespins; others perform hormone transport and blood pressure regulation [4]. Serpins play important physiological roles in hormone transport, corticosteroid binding, coagulation, and blood pressure regulation.

Figure 1

Native SERPINA1. Native SERPINA1 with labeled structural elements: β sheet a and reactive center loop (RCL); α helices in red, β sheets in turquoise, turns in green. (Adapted from PDB 1HP7).

Serpin nomenclature

Initially named for tissue location or function (Table 1), a nomenclature committee convened in 1999 with the goal of standardizing serpin gene nomenclature [4]. ‘SERPIN’ was designated as the gene symbol for humans and other species because it is well known and used in the literature and as a keyword [4]. Serpins were not named for activity or function due to the diversity of member structure and tissue distribution. In 2005, proteinase in human gene names was replaced with the term peptidase; however, ‘serpin’ remains the stem because the name was designated prior to this change. The current classification of serpins involves division into clades that are based on phylogenetic relationships (Figure 2). There are 16 clades labeled A–P. Human serpins are represented in the first nine clades (i.e., A–I), with a variety of members being in each clade. Clades are phylogenetically unique and it is important to recognize that no relationships between the clade letters are implied by their order [4]. Some serpins are classified as orphans because they do not group with any other clade. It is likely that they will form clades as new serpins are identified. An example to help illustrate the nomenclature would be α-1-antitrypsin. This was assigned to the first clade, giving it the symbol SERPINA1 with the ‘A’ referencing the clade and the ‘1’ referencing the gene number within the clade [4].

Table 1

SERPIN aliases and function

Figure 2

SERPIN phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic tree of human and mouse serpin proteins. Protein sequences were aligned using TCOFFEE and analysed using neighbour-joining methods with 10,000 bootstrap replicates in the Phylip package.

Structure function

Serpins have a metastable structure that is required for their function. It consists of a highly conserved secondary structure with three β-sheets (A, B, and C), nine α-helices and a RCL (Figure 1), which serve as bait for target proteases [4,6]. Well-conserved throughout the serpin family, the tertiary structure of scaffold allows for a conformational change critical to protease inhibitor activity [4]. In their native state, serpins exist as monomeric proteins. A serpin molecule consists of a single 330- to 500-amino acid polypeptide chain that has conserved secondary helices and sheets. To inhibit proteolytic activity, the serpin acts as a suicide substrate for the protease [4]. This is accomplished by the RCL of the serpin interacting with the protease’s active site [6].

Serpins can exist in several forms, viz., active, latent, cleaved, delta, and polymeric. Each form is defined by the RCL, which is the moiety required for inhibitory activity. The active form (or the native state) has an exposed RCL that allows it to interact with the protease. The RCL forms an exposed extension located above the molecule. Following proteolysis, the amino acid terminus of the RCL inserts into the A β sheet forming a fourth strand. This process is called the ‘stressed (S) to relaxed (R) transition’ [3] used to inhibit proteases, resulting in the cleaved form. The cleaved form is necessary for inhibition of proteases resulting in an irreversible covalent complex with the target protease thus inactivating both the serpin and the target. Some serpins bind cofactors and/or glycosaminoglycans to maximize protease inhibition, which can vastly increase inhibitory potential [7].

The native form of serpins has low thermal stability indicating that it is not the most stable conformation; rather, native serpins are metastable. However, not all serpins undergo this transition. Serpins can transition to the latent form from the active form and back to the active form from the latent form. The latent form does not possess inhibitory activity but it can convert to the active form through denaturation and refolding [4]. Consequently, it can be considered a control mechanism in regulating homeostasis for certain serpins [3]. Alternatively, the latent state caused by a mutation can be pathological [3].

The delta form is an intermediate conformation between latent and native state where the RCL inserts into the A β sheet and one of the helices unwinds and completes hydrogen bonding of the β sheet [3]. Little is known about the function of this conformation; however, it is likely that this favors polymeric or latent conformation transition rather than native. The polymeric form has a loop sheet mechanism whereby the RCL that would be inserted into the same serpin is instead inserted into the A β sheet of another serpin forming a long chain of these molecules [3]. However, this mechanism of polymerization has recently been challenged in favor of that of a domain-swapping model [8]. Serpins are unique in that their native state (active form) is not the most kinetically stable; rather, it is ‘metastable’. By incorporating the RCL into their A β sheet, either by cleavage for inhibition of target protease or spontaneous latency, they become more stable [9]. For an excellent minireview on kinetics of serpins, see Silverman et al. [4].

Evolution

Whereas serpins have highly conserved secondary and tertiary structures upon which they are grouped, they often share little amino acid sequence similarity. They do, however, share a highly conserved core, especially in the shutter domain including Ser56 and Ser53 [10], which is thought to be critical in determining tertiary structure and conformational flexibility.

Due to the numerous, yet distinct, processes regulated by serpins and their widespread functions, serpins offer a unique perspective for protein evolution. Members of the serpin family tend to group phylogenetically by species rather than by function. Therefore, evolution of the serpin family was likely driven by speciation to fill their physiological roles rather than by coevolution with the serine proteases (which group by function) [10]. Numerous serpin genes are also found in clusters on the same chromosomes, reflecting earlier gene-duplication events and potentially indicating a common precursor [11,12]. Interestingly, these genes are functionally divergent, despite their chromosomal proximity [7]. In addition, serpins have distinct patterns of introns and exons. These patterns may contain information regarding phylogenetic signals and be evolutionarily related based on relative intron positioning [13,14].

The distribution of serpins in eukaryotes suggests that they arose early in eukaryotic evolution [1]. Extensive gene clustering indicates that numerous serpins in close proximity on the same chromosome may have arisen as a result of duplications from a common precursor [12]; however, the evolution of these proximal genes gave way to vastly divergent functions.

Intracellular serpins of clade B are ancestral to most extracellular serpins [15,16] and each inhibitory serpin contains a highly conserved hinge region [16] within the RCL. Clade F serpins specifically share ancestry with a sea lamprey serpin. Clade P is specific to plant serpins which form a discrete clade. At the time of divergence between Viridiplantae and fungi/Metazoa groups, there was likely only one serpin gene [16]; however, the ancestral homolog from prokaryote or fungi has not yet been identified [16].

There are eight human serpin pseudogenes listed in Table 2. SERPINA15P has been named in succession for the A clade with the parent gene SERPINA6 according to Ensembl and SERPINE2 is the parent gene for SERPINE4P, again named in sequence of the E clade. There are ten mouse pseudogenes listed (Table 3) which remain uncharacterized.

Table 2

Human SERPIN genes

Table 3

Mouse Serpin genes

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Methods

Protein sequences for human serpins were accessed from Uniprot through the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee website (http://www.genenames.org). Sequences were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) gene database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene) referenced through the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee website (http://www.genenames.org) for humans and MGI website (http://www.informatics.jax.org) for mouse. All sequences were aligned using the most accurate settings of T-Coffee (http://tcoffee.crg.cat/) and phylogenetic trees were constructed using neighbor-joining methods with 1000 replicate bootstrap in PHYLIP 3.69 (http://evolution.genetics.washington.edu/phylip.html) (Figure 2). Expression data were determined using Genecards (http://www.genecards.org) and alternative name information was determined using HGNC (http://www.genenames.org) or MGI (http://www.informatics.jax.org).

Human and mouse serpin isoforms

Clade A

Clade A serpins are classified as antitrypsin-like, extracellular proteins. They are the largest of the eight clades of extracellular serpins. The SERPINA clade has eleven human genes (1, 3–12) and two pseudogenes.

SERPINA1 is an inhibitory serpin formerly known as antitrypsin. It plays a role in the inhibition of neutrophil elastase [3,17].

SERPINA2 was initially classified as a pseudogene; however, recent evidence indicates that it produces an active transcript that encodes a protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum [18]. A study that sequenced SERPINA2 genes across multiple ethnic groups indicated that in addition to active SERPINA2 protein, there is a haplotype characterized by a partial deletion which has patterns suggestive of positive selection for loss-of-function of SERPINA2 protein. They suggest that the partial pseudogenization in humans may indicate an ongoing process of pseudogenization [19].

SERPINA3 is an inhibitory protein formerly known as antichymotrypsin. It inhibits chymotrypsin and cathepsin G [3,16]. This serpin is normally found in blood, liver, kidney, and lung.

SERPINA4 is an inhibitory protein formerly known as kallistatin (PI4), which inhibits kallikrein [20]. It is expressed in blood, liver, kidney, and heart.

SERPINA5, formerly a protein C inhibitor, inhibits active protein C. It is present in blood, kidney and liver.

SERPINA6 was formerly known as corticosteroid-binding globulin. It is a non-inhibitory protein that binds hormones, i.e., cortisol [16].

SERPINA7, formerly thyroxine-binding globulin, is involved in non-inhibitory thyroid hormone transport. It is expressed in blood, kidney, and heart.

SERPINA8 is now referred to as angiotensinogen (AGT), which is a hormone precursor. It has a distinct serpin domain (phylogenetically unrelated to other clade A members in the current analysis) and a distinct, smaller, agt domain. This particular serpin domain appears to be more closely associated with SERPINF and SERPING [21].

SERPINA9 appears to have a role in naïve B cell maintenance. Formerly called centerin, it is expressed in the plasma and liver.

SERPINA10 is an inhibitory protein responsible for inhibition of activated coagulation factors Z and XI [3]. Formerly known as protein Z-dependent proteinase inhibitor, it is expressed in blood and liver.

SERPINA11 is likely a pseudogene and is uncharacterized.

SERPINA12, formerly vaspin, inhibits kallikrein [22] and plays a role in insulin sensitivity [23]. It appears to be expressed in plasma, platelets, liver and heart.

In the mouse (Table 3), Serpina1 has been expanded to include six members, a–f. Serpina3 has been expanded to include nine members, a–c and f–n. The other clade a members are orthologous to human genes. Serpina8, now known as Agt in the mouse, is vital for the development and function of the renin-angiotensin system [24]. It is orthologous to AGT in humans.

Clade B

Clade B consists of intracellular serpins, including ov-serpins, which are ancestral to the extracellular serpins [16]. Members of this subfamily have shorter C and N termini than typical A members and also lack the secretory signal peptide sequence [4]. There are 13 human genes in clade B and one pseudogene. Serpins in clade B are important in inflammation and immune system function as well as mucous production [25]. SERPINB1, B6, B7, and B9 are involved in immune system function with roles in neutrophil and megakaryocyte development [26,27], as well as in the inhibition of the cytotoxic granule protease granzyme B [28]. SERPINB3 and its close homolog B4 are inhibitors that have roles in mucous production [29] and are expressed in epithelial tissues, such as tongue, tonsils, uterus, cervix, and vagina as well as in the upper respiratory tract and thymus [30].

Despite elusive function, SERPINB3 appears to have a role in apoptotic regulation and immunity, which implicates B3 in tumor metastasis and autoimmunity [30]. SERPINB5 has been shown to inhibit metastasis as a tumor suppressor in breast and prostate cancer [30,31]. In addition, multiple serpins in the B clade have been associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma, specifically SERPINB12, SERPINB13, SERPINB4, SERPINB3, SERPINB11, SERPINB7, and SERPINB2 [32]. Less is known about SERPINB10–B13. However, recent evidence points to a role for SERPINB13 in autoimmune diabetes progression and in inflammation [33].

SERPINB1 is an inhibitor of neutrophil elastase. It was formerly called monocyte neutrophil elastase inhibitor and is expressed ubiquitously.

SERPINB2 inhibits PLAU (uPA). It was formerly called plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI2) and is expressed in blood, kidney, and liver.

SERPINB3 is a cross-class inhibitor of cathepsin L and V [34]. Formerly referred to as squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1, it is expressed in blood, immune cells, kidney, lung, heart, and brain as well as numerous mucosal cells.

SERPINB4 was formerly known as squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2; it was discovered with SERPINB3 [25]. It is a cross-class inhibitor of cathepsin G and chymase [35] and is found in plasma, platelets, kidney, and heart, as well as saliva.

SERPINB5 is a non-inhibitory protein formerly called maspin. It is likely expressed in blood, kidney, liver, lung, as well as saliva.

SERPINB6, formerly called proteinase inhibitor 6 (PI6), is an inhibitor of granule protease, cathepsin G [36]. It is expressed ubiquitously.

SERPINB7 is involved in mesangial cell proliferation [37]. Formerly called megsin, it is expressed in blood and liver.

SERPINB8 is an inhibitory protein. Formerly called proteinase inhibitor 8 (PI8), it is expressed in blood and heart.

SERPINB9 is an inhibitory protein. Formerly called proteinase inhibitor 9 (PI9), it is expressed in blood, liver, lung, and heart.

SERPINB10 is an inhibitory protein involved in hematopoietic and myeloid development [37]. Formerly called bomapin, it expressed in blood and possibly in the brain.

SERPINB11 is a non-inhibitory serpin in human but retains trypsin inhibitory activity in mice [38]. It appears not to exhibit tissue-specific expression; however, it is expressed in HEK cells.

SERPINB12 is a trypsin inhibitor formerly known as yukopin [39]. It is expressed in blood, kidney, liver, heart, and brain.

SERPINB13, formerly known as hurpin, is expressed in blood, kidney, and saliva.

In clade b, mouse Serpinb1 has been expanded to include three members a–c; Serpinb3 as well as Serpinb6 have each expanded to include four members, a–d. In mice, Serpinb4 is not listed; however, it appears that SERPINB3 and SERPINB4 are equally related to Serpinb3a, Serpinb3b, Serpinb3c, and Serpinb3d, despite the initial theory that Serpinb3d is the mouse homolog of human SERPINB3 and Serpinb3c is the mouse homolog of SERPINB4. Serpinb9 has been expanded to seven members and one pseudogene. Interestingly, Serpinb11 is an active proteinase inhibitor, whereas the human ortholog is inactive.

Clade C

Serpin clade C consists of only one serpin member, SERPINC1, more commonly known as antithrombin. SERPINC1 inhibits coagulation factors IX and X [40]. It is expressed in blood, kidney, liver, lung, heart, brain, as well as saliva.

Serpinc1 gene encodes antithrombin and is orthologous to human SERPINC1.

Clade D

Clade D has one serpin member, SERPIND1, which is an extracellular protein also known as heparin cofactor II [41]. It is an inhibitor of thrombin [42] and is expressed in blood, kidney, liver, and heart.

Serpind1 encodes heparin cofactor II and is orthologous to SERPIND1.

Clade E

Clade E has three members, E1, E2, and E3, all of which are extracellular.

SERPINE1, also known as plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI1), inhibits thrombin. It is expressed in blood, liver, and heart.

SERPINE2 is a glial-derived nexin that is important in recovery of nerve structure and function [43]. It is expressed in blood, liver, kidney, and brain.

Little is known about the function of SERPINE3.

The mouse genes in clade e (Serpine1–3) are orthologous to human SERPINE1–3.

Clade F

There are two members in SERPIN clade F.

SERPINF1 (or pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF)) regulates angiogenesis and is an example of a non-inhibitory serpin. It is also thought to be a neurotrophic factor [16], and appears to be expressed in blood, liver, kidney, heart, and possibly lung.

SERPINF2, also known as α-2-antiplasmin, is an inhibitor of fibrinolysis. It is found in blood, kidney, liver, and heart.

Mouse Serpinf1 and f2 genes are orthologous to the human SERPINF1 and SERPINF2 genes, respectively.

Clade G

Clade G consists of one inhibitory serpin.

SERPING1 is a complement I esterase inhibitor [44] formerly called C1 inhibitor. It is expressed in blood, liver, kidney, lung, heart, and brain.

Mouse Serping1 encodes C1 inhibitor and is orthologous to SERPING1.

Clade H

Clade H consists of one member.

SERPINH1, also known as 47-kDa heat shock protein (HSP47), does not act as a proteinase inhibitor, but rather as a chaperone for collagen [45]. It is expressed in blood, liver and heart.

Mouse Serpinh1 encodes HSP47 and is orthologous to SERPINH1. Knockouts of Serpinh1 in mice are lethal [46] and missense mutations are associated with osteogenesis imperfecta [47].

Clade I

Clade I consists of two extracellular proteins. Serpins in clade I include the following.

SERPINI1 is a neuroserpin inhibitor of PLAT (tPA), PLAU (uPA), and plasmin [48]. It is expressed in liver and possibly plasma.

SERPINI2, previously known as pancipin, has an unknown protein target but may be involved in pancreatic dysfunction [49]. It is found in platelets and plasma as well as the heart.

The genes Serpini1 and Serpini2 encode mouse neuroserpin and pancipin, respectively. These are orthologous to SERPINI1 and SERPINI2 in the human.

Clades J–P

Clades j–p represent viral, nematode, horseshoe crab, blood fluke, and plant serpins [16] and will not be described further in this update.

Serpins associated with disease

Serpin polymorphisms have been associated with in many disease states, including blood clotting disorders, emphysema, cirrhosis, and dementia [15,16,50] as well as tumorigenesis and metastasis.

Mutations in SERPINA1 result in a decrease in circulating α-1-antitrypsin which is associated with emphysema and hepatocellular carcinoma [51]. Serpins are implicated in regulation of the cardiovascular system. For example, SERPINA4 depletion is related to renal and cardiovascular injury [52], SERPINA8 variations are integral to the normal function of the renin-angiotensin system and have been found to regulate blood pressure [53], and a SERPINA10 polymorphism was found to increase the risk of venous thromboembolism [54,55]. SERPINA3 deficiency is associated with emphysema [56].

Many SERPINBs are implicated in immune function and dysfunction. In many of these cases, intracellular serpins cause autoimmune antibody production, inflammation, neutropenia, and cancer metastasis [25]. SERPINC1 deficiency has been correlated with autoimmune disease, especially in patients producing antinuclear antibodies, such as those with systemic lupus erythematosus [30]. Interestingly, a SERPINA6 polymorphism has been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome [57], which is thought to be an immune disorder. SERPINA7 deficiency is associated with hyperthyroidism, and high SERPINA12 levels have been associated with insulin resistance [23].

Mutations in SERPINH1, as well as in SERPINF1, are associated with osteogenesis imperfecta [47,58].

Serpins appear to influence protein aggregation. In this respect, SERPINI1 expression has been correlated with dementia [4]. In addition, SERPINA5 accumulation has been identified in plaques in multiple sclerosis [59] and SERPINA3 polymerization may accelerate onset and severity of Alzheimer’s disease [30].

Many serpins have been implicated in cancer progression including SERPINBs (on the 18q21 locus) in oral squamous cell carcinoma [25]. Breast and prostate cancer metastases are also closely associated with SERPINB5 [60,61]. In addition, SERPINE1 appears to have a role in tumor progression [62] and metastasis [63]. Further, SERPINI2 may play a possible role in breast and pancreatic cancer metastasis [49]. Adult gliomas have significant associations with SERPINI1 [64], although its role is unknown. In addition, SERPINI1 has also been proposed as one of five biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma [65]. Another potential biomarker includes SERPINA9, which has been found to be strongly expressed in B cell lymphomas [66].

Mouse models of human disease

There are numerous mouse models used to study the role of SERPINs in disease. Some examples include knockout of Serpinag3 used in studying T cells in immunology [67], hepatic specific knockout of Serpinc1, which exhibits coagulopathy [68], and Agt knockout to study blood pressure regulation and the renin-angiotensin system where adipocyte-specific knockout of agt caused decreased systolic blood pressure [69]. Serpinb1 knockout mice show neutropenia [70].

Gene variants in SERPINS

A large number of human variants of serpin genes have been found. For example, NCBI’s dbSNP database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/snp) has 621 entries for SNPs of SERPINA1 alone (accessed October 2013). In addition, several groups have developed specific databases for individual SERPIN genes. These include databases for SERPINA1[71], SERPINC3[72], and SERPING1[73]. A number of pathologies in humans have been attributed to SERPIN gene variants, and often multiple deleterious mutations are known for each gene. Although a full listing of disease-causing SERPIN mutations is beyond the scope of this review, a sample of their scope is provided here. Mutations in the SERPINA1 gene have been linked with early-onset pulmonary emphysema, neonatal hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and sometimes panniculitis and vasculitis [74,75]. SERPINA5 mutations have been linked with increased papillary thyroid cancer risk [76], and mutations in SERPINA10 have been linked to pregnancy complications [77]. Predisposition to familial venous thromboembolic disease has been linked to mutations in SERPINC1[78,79]. Finally, SNP variants for the SERPING1 gene have been shown to be associated with hereditary angioedema [80].

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Conclusions

Serpins are a large class of diverse proteins, which contribute to numerous physiological and pathological conditions. Identification of serpins in immunological functions, pathology due to polymerization, and cancer metastasis underscores their diverse functions and physiological and pathological importance, and gene mutations often lead to loss-of-function and pathology in affected individuals. However, there is still much to learn about the functions and evolutionary development of serpins. Because of numerous biological functions and pathological states associated with serpins, further characterization of these proteins and mechanistic information will provide insight into potential biomarker identification and therapeutic targets.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors’ contributions

CH carried out the sequence alignments and drafted the manuscript. BJ participated in the sequence alignment and analysis. MM reviewed mouse gene/protein data and the nomenclature for accuracy and completeness. MW reviewed human gene/protein data and nomenclature for accuracy and completeness. DT, GS and DWN reviewed and edited the manuscript. VV designed the study and reviewed data and manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, by the following NIH grants: R24 AA022057, NIEHS P30 ES06096, HG000330, U41HG003345 and also by a Welcome Trust grant no. 099129/Z/12/Z. Fellowship assistance for BCJ (F31 AA020728) is acknowledged. We would like to thank Konstandinos Vasiliou for his assistance.

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Biochemistry and Dysmetabolism of Aging and Serious Illness

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Amino acids, Biochemical pathways, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cardiomyopathy, Cardiovascular Research, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Chemical Biology and its relations to Metabolic Disease, Cognition, Computational Biology/Systems and Bioinformatics, Curation, DNA repair, Fatty acids, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, Gene Regulation, Genome Biology, Hematology, Hematopoiesis, Human aging, Kinase, Lipid metabolism, Metabolism, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Oxidative phosphorylation, Proteins, Proteomics, Schizophrenia, Signaling, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Warburg effect, tagged Cancer - General, IGF1, Insulin, mitochondria, Oxidative phosphorylation, skeletal and cardiomyocyte on November 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Biochemistry and Dysmetabolism of Aging and Serious Illness

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

 

White Matter Lipids as a Ketogenic Fuel Supply in Aging Female Brain: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease

Lauren P. Klosinski, Jia Yao, Fei Yin, Alfred N. Fonteh, Michael G. Harrington, Trace A. Christensen, Eugenia Trushina, Roberta Diaz Brinton
http://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(15)30192-4/abstract      DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2015.11.002

Highlights

• •Mitochondrial dysfunction activates mechanisms for catabolism of myelin lipids to generate ketone bodies for ATP production.
• •Mechanisms leading to ketone body driven energy production in brain coincide with stages of reproductive aging in females.
• •Sequential activation of myelin catabolism pathway during aging provides multiple therapeutic targets and windows of efficacy.

The mechanisms underlying white matter degeneration, a hallmark of multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, remain unclear. Herein we provide a mechanistic pathway, spanning multiple transitions of aging, that links mitochondrial dysfunction early in aging with later age white matter degeneration. Catabolism of myelin lipids to generate ketone bodies can be viewed as an adaptive survival response to address brain fuel and energy demand. Women are at greatest risk of late-onset-AD, thus, our analyses in female brain address mechanisms of AD pathology and therapeutic targets to prevent, delay and treat AD in the sex most affected with potential relevance to men.

 

White matter degeneration is a pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s. Age remains the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s and the prevalence of age-related late onset Alzheimer’s is greatest in females. We investigated mechanisms underlying white matter degeneration in an animal model consistent with the sex at greatest Alzheimer’s risk. Results of these analyses demonstrated decline in mitochondrial respiration, increased mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide production and cytosolic-phospholipase-A₂ sphingomyelinase pathway activation during female brain aging. Electron microscopic and lipidomic analyses confirmed myelin degeneration. An increase in fatty acids and mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism machinery was coincident with a rise in brain ketone bodies and decline in plasma ketone bodies. This mechanistic pathway and its chronologically phased activation, links mitochondrial dysfunction early in aging with later age development of white matter degeneration. The catabolism of myelin lipids to generate ketone bodies can be viewed as a systems level adaptive response to address brain fuel and energy demand. Elucidation of the initiating factors and the mechanistic pathway leading to white matter catabolism in the aging female brain provides potential therapeutic targets to prevent and treat demyelinating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Targeting stages of disease and associated mechanisms will be critical.

3. Results

1. 3.1. Pathway of Mitochondrial Deficits, H2O2 Production and cPLA2 Activation in the Aging Female Brain
2. 3.2. cPLA2-sphingomyelinase Pathway Activation in White Matter Astrocytes During Reproductive Senescence
3. 3.3. Investigation of White Matter Gene Expression Profile During Reproductive Senescence
4. 3.4. Ultra Structural Analysis of Myelin Sheath During Reproductive Senescence
5. 3.5. Analysis of the Lipid Profile of Brain During the Transition to Reproductive Senescence
6. 3.6. Fatty Acid Metabolism and Ketone Generation Following the Transition to Reproductive Senescence

 

4. Discussion

Age remains the greatest risk factor for developing AD (Hansson et al., 2006, Alzheimer’s, 2015). Thus, investigation of transitions in the aging brain is a reasoned strategy for elucidating mechanisms and pathways of vulnerability for developing AD. Aging, while typically perceived as a linear process, is likely composed of dynamic transition states, which can protect against or exacerbate vulnerability to AD (Brinton et al., 2015). An aging transition unique to the female is the perimenopausal to menopausal conversion (Brinton et al., 2015). The bioenergetic similarities between the menopausal transition in women and the early appearance of hypometabolism in persons at risk for AD make the aging female a rational model to investigate mechanisms underlying risk of late onset AD.

Findings from this study replicate our earlier findings that age of reproductive senescence is associated with decline in mitochondrial respiration, increased H₂O₂ production and shift to ketogenic metabolism in brain (Yao et al., 2010, Ding et al., 2013, Yin et al., 2015). These well established early age-related changes in mitochondrial function and shift to ketone body utilization in brain, are now linked to a mechanistic pathway that connects early decline in mitochondrial respiration and H₂O₂ production to activation of the cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway to catabolize myelin lipids resulting in WM degeneration (Fig. 12). These lipids are sequestered in lipid droplets for subsequent use as a local source of ketone body generation via astrocyte mediated beta-oxidation of fatty acids. Astrocyte derived ketone bodies can then be transported to neurons where they undergo ketolysis to generate acetyl-CoA for TCA derived ATP generation required for synaptic and cell function (Fig. 12).

http://www.ebiomedicine.com/cms/attachment/2040395791/2053874721/gr12.sml

Fig. 12

Schematic model of mitochondrial H₂O₂ activation of cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway as an adaptive response to provide myelin derived fatty acids as a substrate for ketone body generation: The cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway is proposed as a mechanistic pathway that links an early event, mitochondrial dysfunction and H₂O₂, in the prodromal/preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s with later stage development of pathology, white matter degeneration. Our findings demonstrate that an age dependent deficit in mitochondrial respiration and a concomitant rise in oxidative stress activate an adaptive cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway to provide myelin derived fatty acids as a substrate for ketone body generation to fuel an energetically compromised brain.

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Biochemical evidence obtained from isolated whole brain mitochondria confirms that during reproductive senescence and in response to estrogen deprivation brain mitochondria decline in respiratory capacity (Yao et al., 2009, Yao et al., 2010, Brinton, 2008a, Brinton, 2008b, Swerdlow and Khan, 2009). A well-documented consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction is increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), specifically H₂O₂ (Boveris and Chance, 1973, Beal, 2005, Yin et al., 2014, Yap et al., 2009). While most research focuses on the damage generated by free radicals, in this case H₂O₂ functions as a signaling molecule to activate cPLA₂, the initiating enzyme in the cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway (Farooqui and Horrocks, 2006, Han et al., 2003, Sun et al., 2004). In AD brain, increased cPLA₂ immunoreactivity is detected almost exclusively in astrocytes suggesting that activation of the cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway is localized to astrocytes in AD, as opposed to the neuronal or oligodendroglial localization that is observed during apoptosis (Sun et al., 2004, Malaplate-Armand et al., 2006, Di Paolo and Kim, 2011, Stephenson et al., 1996,Stephenson et al., 1999). In our analysis, cPLA₂ (Sanchez-Mejia and Mucke, 2010) activation followed the age-dependent rise in H₂O₂ production and was sustained at an elevated level.

Direct and robust activation of astrocytic cPLA₂ by physiologically relevant concentrations of H₂O₂ was confirmed in vitro. Astrocytic involvement in the cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway was also indicated by an increase in cPLA₂ positive astrocyte reactivity in WM tracts of reproductively incompetent mice. These data are consistent with findings from brains of persons with AD that demonstrate the same striking localization of cPLA₂immunoreactivity within astrocytes, specifically in the hippocampal formation (Farooqui and Horrocks, 2004). While neurons and astrocytes contain endogenous levels of cPLA₂, neuronal cPLA₂ is activated by an influx of intracellular calcium, whereas astrocytic cPLA₂ is directly activated by excessive generation of H₂O₂ (Sun et al., 2004, Xu et al., 2003, Tournier et al., 1997). Evidence of this cell type specific activation was confirmed by the activation of cPLA₂ in astrocytes by H₂O₂ and the lack of activation in neurons. These data support that astrocytic, not neuronal, cPLA₂ is the cellular mediator of the H₂O₂ dependent cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway activation and provide associative evidence supporting a role of astrocytic mitochondrial H₂O₂ in age-related WM catabolism.

The pattern of gene expression during the shift to reproductive senescence in the female mouse hippocampus recapitulates key observations in human AD brain tissue, specifically elevation in cPLA₂, sphingomyelinase and ceramidase (Schaeffer et al., 2010, He et al., 2010, Li et al., 2014). Further, up-regulation of myelin synthesis, lipid metabolism and inflammatory genes in reproductively incompetent female mice is consistent with the gene expression pattern previously reported from aged male rodent hippocampus, aged female non-human primate hippocampus and human AD hippocampus (Blalock et al., 2003, Blalock et al., 2004, Blalock et al., 2010, Blalock et al., 2011, Kadish et al., 2009, Rowe et al., 2007). In these analyses of gene expression in aged male rodent hippocampus, aged female non-human primate hippocampus and human AD hippocampus down regulation of genes related to mitochondrial function, and up-regulation in multiple genes encoding for enzymes involved in ketone body metabolism occurred (Blalock et al., 2003, Blalock et al., 2004, Blalock et al., 2010, Blalock et al., 2011, Kadish et al., 2009, Rowe et al., 2007). The comparability across data derived from aging female mouse hippocampus reported herein and those derived from male rodent brain, female nonhuman brain and human AD brain strongly suggest that cPLA2-sphingomyelinase pathway activation, myelin sheath degeneration and fatty acid metabolism leading to ketone body generation is a metabolic adaptation that is generalizable across these naturally aging models and are evident in aged human AD brain. Collectively, these data support the translational relevance of findings reported herein.

Data obtained via immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy and MBP protein analyses demonstrated an age-related loss in myelin sheath integrity. Evidence for a loss of myelin structural integrity emerged in reproductively incompetent mice following activation of the cPLA₂-sphingomyelinase pathway. The unraveling myelin phenotype observed following reproductive senescence and aging reported herein is consistent with the degenerative phenotype that emerges following exposure to the chemotherapy drug bortezomib which induces mitochondrial dysfunction and increased ROS generation (Carozzi et al., 2010, Cavaletti et al., 2007,Ling et al., 2003). In parallel to the decline in myelin integrity, lipid droplet density increased. In aged mice, accumulation of lipid droplets declined in parallel to the rise in ketone bodies consistent with the utilization of myelin-derived fatty acids to generate ketone bodies. Due to the sequential relationship between WM degeneration and lipid droplet formation, we posit that lipid droplets serve as a temporary storage site for myelin-derived fatty acids prior to undergoing β-oxidation in astrocytes to generate ketone bodies.

Microstructural alterations in myelin integrity were associated with alterations in the lipid profile of brain, indicative of WM degeneration resulting in release of myelin lipids. Sphingomyelin and galactocerebroside are two main lipids that compose the myelin sheath (Baumann and Pham-Dinh, 2001). Ceramide is common to both galactocerebroside and sphingomyelin and is composed of sphingosine coupled to a fatty acid. Ceramide levels increase in aging, in states of ketosis and in neurodegeneration (Filippov et al., 2012, Blazquez et al., 1999, Costantini et al., 2005). Specifically, ceramide levels are elevated at the earliest clinically recognizable stage of AD, indicating a degree of WM degeneration early in disease progression (Di Paolo and Kim, 2011,Han et al., 2002, Costantini et al., 2005). Sphingosine is statistically significantly elevated in the brains of AD patients compared to healthy controls; a rise that was significantly correlated with acid sphingomyelinase activity, Aβ levels and tau hyperphosphorylation (He et al., 2010). In our analyses, a rise in ceramides was first observed early in the aging process in reproductively incompetent mice. The rise in ceramides was coincident with the emergence of loss of myelin integrity consistent with the release of myelin ceramides from sphingomyelin via sphingomyelinase activation. Following the rise in ceramides, sphingosine and fatty acid levels increased. The temporal sequence of the lipid profile was consistent with gene expression indicating activation of ceramidase for catabolism of ceramide into sphingosine and fatty acid during reproductive senescence. Once released from ceramide, fatty acids can be transported into the mitochondrial matrix of astrocytes via CPT-1, where β-oxidation of fatty acids leads to the generation of acetyl-CoA (Glatz et al., 2010). It is well documented that acetyl-CoA cannot cross the inner mitochondrial membrane, thus posing a barrier to direct transport of acetyl-CoA generated by β-oxidation into neurons. In response, the newly generated acetyl-CoA undergoes ketogenesis to generate ketone bodies to fuel energy demands of neurons (Morris, 2005,Guzman and Blazquez, 2004, Stacpoole, 2012). Because astrocytes serve as the primary location of β-oxidation in brain they are critical to maintaining neuronal metabolic viability during periods of reduced glucose utilization (Panov et al., 2014, Ebert et al., 2003, Guzman and Blazquez, 2004).

Once fatty acids are released from myelin ceramides, they are transported into astrocytic mitochondria by CPT1 to undergo β-oxidation. The mitochondrial trifunctional protein HADHA catalyzes the last three steps of mitochondrial β-oxidation of long chain fatty acids, while mitochondrial ABAD (aka SCHAD—short chain fatty acid dehydrogenase) metabolizes short chain fatty acids. Concurrent with the release of myelin fatty acids in aged female mice, CPT1, HADHA and ABAD protein expression as well as ketone body generation increased significantly. These findings indicate that astrocytes play a pivotal role in the response to bioenergetic crisis in brain to activate an adaptive compensatory system that activates catabolism of myelin lipids and the metabolism of those lipids into fatty acids to generate ketone bodies necessary to fuel neuronal demand for acetyl-CoA and ATP.

Collectively, these findings provide a mechanistic pathway that links mitochondrial dysfunction and H₂O₂generation in brain early in the aging process to later stage white matter degeneration. Astrocytes play a pivotal role in providing a mechanistic strategy to address the bioenergetic demand of neurons in the aging female brain. While this pathway is coincident with reproductive aging in the female brain, it is likely to have mechanistic translatability to the aging male brain. Further, the mechanistic link between bioenergetic decline and WM degeneration has potential relevance to other neurological diseases involving white matter in which postmenopausal women are at greater risk, such as multiple sclerosis. The mechanistic pathway reported herein spans time and is characterized by a progression of early adaptive changes in the bioenergetic system of the brain leading to WM degeneration and ketone body production. Translationally, effective therapeutics to prevent, delay and treat WM degeneration during aging and Alzheimer’s disease will need to specifically target stages within the mechanistic pathway described herein. The fundamental initiating event is a bioenergetic switch from being a glucose dependent brain to a glucose and ketone body dependent brain. It remains to be determined whether it is possible to prevent conversion to or reversal of a ketone dependent brain. Effective therapeutic strategies to intervene in this process require biomarkers of bioenergetic phenotype of the brain and stage of mechanistic progression. The mechanistic pathway reported herein may have relevance to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases characterized by white matter degeneration such as multiple sclerosis.

Blood. 2015 Oct 15;126(16):1925-9.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1182/blood-2014-12-617498. Epub 2015 Aug 14.
Targeting the leukemia cell metabolism by the CPT1a inhibition: functional preclinical effects in leukemias.

Ricciardi MR¹, Mirabilii S², Allegretti M², Licchetta R², Calarco A³, Torrisi MR¹, Foà R², Nicolai R⁴, Peluso G³, Tafuri A¹.   Author information

Cancer cells are characterized by perturbations of their metabolic processes. Recent observations demonstrated that the fatty acid oxidation (FAO) pathway may represent an alternative carbon source for anabolic processes in different tumors, therefore appearing particularly promising for therapeutic purposes. Because the carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a (CPT1a) is a protein that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of FAO, here we investigated the in vitro antileukemic activity of the novel CPT1a inhibitor ST1326 on leukemia cell lines and primary cells obtained from patients with hematologic malignancies. By real-time metabolic analysis, we documented that ST1326 inhibited FAO in leukemia cell lines associated with a dose- and time-dependent cell growth arrest, mitochondrial damage, and apoptosis induction. Data obtained on primary hematopoietic malignant cells confirmed the FAO inhibition and cytotoxic activity of ST1326, particularly on acute myeloid leukemia cells. These data suggest that leukemia treatment may be carried out by targeting metabolic processes.

Oncogene. 2015 Oct 12.   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/onc.2015.394. [Epub ahead of print]

Tumour-suppression function of KLF12 through regulation of anoikis.

Godin-Heymann N¹, Brabetz S¹, Murillo MM^1,2, Saponaro M³, Santos CR⁴, Lobley A⁵, East P⁵, Chakravarty P⁵, Matthews N⁶, Kelly G⁵, Jordan S¹, Castellano E¹, Downward J^1,2.  Author information

Suppression of detachment-induced cell death, known as anoikis, is an essential step for cancer metastasis to occur. We report here that expression of KLF12, a member of the Kruppel-like family of transcription factors, is downregulated in lung cancer cell lines that have been selected to grow in the absence of cell adhesion. Knockdown of KLF12 in parental cells results in decreased apoptosis following cell detachment from matrix. KLF12 regulates anoikis by promoting the cell cycle transition through S phase and therefore cell proliferation. Reduced expression levels of KLF12 results in increased ability of lung cancer cells to form tumours in vivo and is associated with poorer survival in lung cancer patients. We therefore identify KLF12 as a novel metastasis-suppressor gene whose loss of function is associated with anoikis resistance through control of the cell cycle.

Mol Cell. 2015 Oct 14. pii: S1097-2765(15)00764-9. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.09.025. [Epub ahead of print]
PEPCK Coordinates the Regulation of Central Carbon Metabolism to Promote Cancer Cell Growth.

Montal ED¹, Dewi R², Bhalla K³, Ou L², Hwang BJ², Ropell AE⁴, Gordon C⁴, Liu WJ³, DeBerardinis RJ⁵, Sudderth J⁵, Twaddel W⁶, Boros LG⁷, Shroyer KR⁴,Duraisamy S⁸, Drapkin R⁸, Powers RS⁶, Rohde JM⁹, Boxer MB⁹, Wong KK¹⁰, Girnun GD¹¹.    Author information

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is well known for its role in gluconeogenesis. However, PEPCK is also a key regulator of TCA cycle flux. The TCA cycle integrates glucose, amino acid, and lipid metabolism depending on cellular needs. In addition, biosynthetic pathways crucial to tumor growth require the TCA cycle for the processing of glucose and glutamine derived carbons. We show here an unexpected role for PEPCK in promoting cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo by increasing glucose and glutamine utilization toward anabolic metabolism. Unexpectedly, PEPCK also increased the synthesis of ribose from non-carbohydrate sources, such as glutamine, a phenomenon not previously described. Finally, we show that the effects of PEPCK on glucose metabolism and cell proliferation are in part mediated via activation of mTORC1. Taken together, these data demonstrate a role for PEPCK that links metabolic flux and anabolic pathways to cancer cell proliferation.

Mol Cancer Res. 2015 Oct;13(10):1408-20.   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-15-0048. Epub 2015 Jun 16.

Disruption of Proline Synthesis in Melanoma Inhibits Protein Production Mediated by the GCN2 Pathway.

Kardos GR¹, Wastyk HC², Robertson GP³. Author information

Many processes are deregulated in melanoma cells and one of those is protein production. Although much is known about protein synthesis in cancer cells, effective ways of therapeutically targeting this process remain an understudied area of research. A process that is upregulated in melanoma compared with normal melanocytes is proline biosynthesis, which has been linked to both oncogene and tumor suppressor pathways, suggesting an important convergent point for therapeutic intervention. Therefore, an RNAi screen of a kinase library was undertaken, identifying aldehyde dehydrogenase 18 family, member A1 (ALDH18A1) as a critically important gene in regulating melanoma cell growth through proline biosynthesis. Inhibition of ALDH18A1, the gene encoding pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS), significantly decreased cultured melanoma cell viability and tumor growth. Knockdown of P5CS using siRNA had no effect on apoptosis, autophagy, or the cell cycle but cell-doubling time increased dramatically suggesting that there was a general slowdown in cellular metabolism. Mechanistically, targeting ALDH18A1 activated the serine/threonine protein kinase GCN2 (general control nonderepressible 2) to inhibit protein synthesis, which could be reversed with proline supplementation. Thus, targeting ALDH18A1 in melanoma can be used to disrupt proline biosynthesis to limit cell metabolism thereby increasing the cellular doubling time mediated through the GCN2 pathway.  This study demonstrates that melanoma cells are sensitive to disruption of proline synthesis and provides a proof-of-concept that the proline synthesis pathway can be therapeutically targeted in melanoma tumors for tumor inhibitory efficacy. Mol Cancer Res; 13(10); 1408-20. ©2015 AACR.

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Oct 12;108(1). pii: djv287.   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1093/jnci/djv287.

SDHB-Deficient Cancers: The Role of Mutations That Impair Iron Sulfur Cluster Delivery.

Saxena N¹, Maio N¹, Crooks DR¹, Ricketts CJ¹, Yang Y¹, Wei MH¹, Fan TW¹, Lane AN¹, Sourbier C¹, Singh A¹, Killian JK¹, Meltzer PS¹, Vocke CD¹, Rouault TA¹, Linehan WM¹.  Author information

BACKGROUND:  Mutations in the Fe-S cluster-containing SDHB subunit of succinate dehydrogenase cause familial cancer syndromes. Recently the tripeptide motif L(I)YR was identified in the Fe-S recipient protein SDHB, to which the cochaperone HSC20 binds.

METHODS:   In order to characterize the metabolic basis of SDH-deficient cancers we performed stable isotope-resolved metabolomics in a novel SDHB-deficient renal cell carcinoma cell line and conducted bioinformatics and biochemical screening to analyze Fe-S cluster acquisition and assembly of SDH in the presence of other cancer-causing SDHB mutations.

RESULTS:

We found that the SDHB(R46Q) mutation in UOK269 cells disrupted binding of HSC20, causing rapid degradation of SDHB. In the absence of SDHB, respiration was undetectable in UOK269 cells, succinate was elevated to 351.4±63.2 nmol/mg cellular protein, and glutamine became the main source of TCA cycle metabolites through reductive carboxylation. Furthermore, HIF1α, but not HIF2α, increased markedly and the cells showed a strong DNA CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP). Biochemical and bioinformatic screening revealed that 37% of disease-causing missense mutations in SDHB were located in either the L(I)YR Fe-S transfer motifs or in the 11 Fe-S cluster-ligating cysteines.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings provide a conceptual framework for understanding how particular mutations disproportionately cause the loss of SDH activity, resulting in accumulation of succinate and metabolic remodeling in SDHB cancer syndromes.

 

SR4 Uncouples Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation, Modulates AMPK-mTOR Signaling, and Inhibits Proliferation of HepG2 Hepatocarcinoma Cells

1. L. Figarola, J. Singhal, J. D. Tompkins, G. W. Rogers, C. Warden, D. Horne, A. D. Riggs, S. Awasthi and S. S. Singhal.

J Biol Chem. 2015 Nov 3, [epub ahead of print]

 

CD47 Receptor Globally Regulates Metabolic Pathways That Control Resistance to Ionizing Radiation

1. W. Miller, D. R. Soto-Pantoja, A. L. Schwartz, J. M. Sipes, W. G. DeGraff, L. A. Ridnour, D. A. Wink and D. D. Roberts.

J Biol Chem. 2015 Oct 9, 290 (41): 24858-74.

 

Knockdown of PKM2 Suppresses Tumor Growth and Invasion in Lung Adenocarcinoma

1. Sun, A. Zhu, L. Zhang, J. Zhang, Z. Zhong and F. Wang.

Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Oct 15, 16 (10): 24574-87.

 

EglN2 associates with the NRF1-PGC1alpha complex and controls mitochondrial function in breast cancer

1. Zhang, C. Wang, X. Chen, M. Takada, C. Fan, X. Zheng, H. Wen, Y. Liu, C. Wang, R. G. Pestell, K. M. Aird, W. G. Kaelin, Jr., X. S. Liu and Q. Zhang.

EMBO J. 2015 Oct 22, [epub ahead of print]

 

Cancer Res. 2015 Oct 15;75(20):4429-36.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-15-0074.

Mitochondrial Genetics Regulate Breast Cancer Tumorigenicity and Metastatic Potential.

Feeley KP¹, Bray AW¹, Westbrook DG¹, Johnson LW², Kesterson RA², Ballinger SW¹, Welch DR³.  Author information   

Current paradigms of carcinogenic risk suggest that genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors influence an individual’s predilection for developing metastatic breast cancer. Investigations of tumor latency and metastasis in mice have illustrated differences between inbred strains, but the possibility that mitochondrial genetic inheritance may contribute to such differences in vivo has not been directly tested. In this study, we tested this hypothesis in mitochondrial-nuclear exchange mice we generated, where cohorts shared identical nuclear backgrounds but different mtDNA genomes on the background of the PyMT transgenic mouse model of spontaneous mammary carcinoma. In this setting, we found that primary tumor latency and metastasis segregated with mtDNA, suggesting that mtDNA influences disease progression to a far greater extent than previously appreciated. Our findings prompt further investigation into metabolic differences controlled by mitochondrial process as a basis for understanding tumor development and metastasis in individual subjects. Importantly, differences in mitochondrial DNA are sufficient to fundamentally alter disease course in the PyMT mouse mammary tumor model, suggesting that functional metabolic differences direct early tumor growth and metastatic efficiency. Cancer Res; 75(20); 4429-36. ©2015 AACR.

 

Cancer Lett. 2015 Oct 29. pii: S0304-3835(15)00656-4.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.canlet.2015.10.025. [Epub ahead of print]

Carboxyamidotriazole inhibits oxidative phosphorylation in cancer cells and exerts synergistic anti-cancer effect with glycolysis inhibition.

Ju R¹, Guo L¹, Li J¹, Zhu L¹, Yu X¹, Chen C¹, Chen W¹, Ye C², Zhang D³. Author information   

Targeting cancer cell metabolism is a promising strategy against cancer. Here, we confirmed that the anti-cancer drug carboxyamidotriazole (CAI) inhibited mitochondrial respiration in cancer cells for the first time and found a way to enhance its anti-cancer activity by further disturbing the energy metabolism. CAI promoted glucose uptake and lactate production when incubated with cancer cells. The oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in cancer cells was inhibited by CAI, and the decrease in the activity of the respiratory chain complex I could be one explanation. The anti-cancer effect of CAI was greatly potentiated when being combined with 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG). The cancer cells treated with the combination of CAI and 2-DG were arrested in G2/M phase. The apoptosis and necrosis rates were also increased. In a mouse xenograft model, this combination was well tolerated and retarded the tumor growth. The impairment of cancer cell survival was associated with significant cellular ATP decrease, suggesting that the combination of CAI and 2-DG could be one of the strategies to cause dual inhibition of energy pathways, which might be an effective therapeutic approach for a broad spectrum of tumors.

 

Cancer Immunol Res. 2015 Nov;3(11):1236-47.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-15-0036. Epub 2015 May 29.
Inhibition of Fatty Acid Oxidation Modulates Immunosuppressive Functions of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Enhances Cancer Therapies.

Hossain F¹, Al-Khami AA², Wyczechowska D², Hernandez C², Zheng L², Reiss K³, Valle LD⁴, Trillo-Tinoco J², Maj T⁵, Zou W⁵, Rodriguez PC⁶, Ochoa AC⁷.  Author information

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) promote tumor growth by inhibiting T-cell immunity and promoting malignant cell proliferation and migration. The therapeutic potential of blocking MDSC in tumors has been limited by their heterogeneity, plasticity, and resistance to various chemotherapy agents. Recent studies have highlighted the role of energy metabolic pathways in the differentiation and function of immune cells; however, the metabolic characteristics regulating MDSC remain unclear. We aimed to determine the energy metabolic pathway(s) used by MDSC, establish its impact on their immunosuppressive function, and test whether its inhibition blocks MDSC and enhances antitumor therapies. Using several murine tumor models, we found that tumor-infiltrating MDSC (T-MDSC) increased fatty acid uptake and activated fatty acid oxidation (FAO). This was accompanied by an increased mitochondrial mass, upregulation of key FAO enzymes, and increased oxygen consumption rate. Pharmacologic inhibition of FAO blocked immune inhibitory pathways and functions in T-MDSC and decreased their production of inhibitory cytokines. FAO inhibition alone significantly delayed tumor growth in a T-cell-dependent manner and enhanced the antitumor effect of adoptive T-cell therapy. Furthermore, FAO inhibition combined with low-dose chemotherapy completely inhibited T-MDSC immunosuppressive effects and induced a significant antitumor effect. Interestingly, a similar increase in fatty acid uptake and expression of FAO-related enzymes was found in human MDSC in peripheral blood and tumors. These results support the possibility of testing FAO inhibition as a novel approach to block MDSC and enhance various cancer therapies. Cancer Immunol Res; 3(11); 1236-47. ©2015 AACR.

 

Ionizing radiation induces myofibroblast differentiation via lactate dehydrogenase

1. L. Judge, K. M. Owens, S. J. Pollock, C. F. Woeller, T. H. Thatcher, J. P. Williams, R. P. Phipps, P. J. Sime and R. M. Kottmann.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2015 Oct 15, 309 (8): L879-87.

 

Vitamin C selectively kills KRAS and BRAF mutant colorectal cancer cells by targeting GAPDH

1. Yun, E. Mullarky, C. Lu, K. N. Bosch, A. Kavalier, K. Rivera, J. Roper, Chio, II, E. G. Giannopoulou, C. Rago, A. Muley, J. M. Asara, J. Paik, O. Elemento, Z. Chen, D. J. Pappin, L. E. Dow, N. Papadopoulos, S. S. Gross and L. C. Cantley.

Science. 2015 Nov 5, [epub ahead of print]

 

Down-regulation of FBP1 by ZEB1-mediated repression confers to growth and invasion in lung cancer cells

1. Zhang, J. Wang, H. Xing, Q. Li, Q. Zhao and J. Li.

Mol Cell Biochem. 2015 Nov 6, [epub ahead of print]

 

J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2015 Oct 23. pii: S0022-2828(15)30073-0.     http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.yjmcc.2015.10.002. [Epub ahead of print]

GRK2 compromises cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function by diminishing fatty acid-mediated oxygen consumption and increasing superoxide levels.

Sato PY¹, Chuprun JK¹, Ibetti J¹, Cannavo A¹, Drosatos K¹, Elrod JW¹, Koch WJ².    Author information

The G protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2) is upregulated in the injured heart and contributes to heart failure pathogenesis. GRK2 was recently shown to associate with mitochondria but its functional impact in myocytes due to this localization is unclear. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of elevated GRK2 on mitochondrial respiration in cardiomyocytes. Sub-fractionation of purified cardiac mitochondria revealed that basally GRK2 is found in multiple compartments. Overexpression of GRK2 in mouse cardiomyocytes resulted in an increased amount of mitochondrial-based superoxide. Inhibition of GRK2 increased oxygen consumption rates and ATP production. Moreover, fatty acid oxidation was found to be significantly impaired when GRK2 was elevated and was dependent on the catalytic activity and mitochondrial localization of this kinase. Our study shows that independent of cardiac injury, GRK2 is localized in the mitochondria and its kinase activity negatively impacts the function of this organelle by increasing superoxide levels and altering substrate utilization for energy production.

 

Br J Pharmacol. 2015 Oct 27. doi: 10.1111/bph.13377. [Epub ahead of print]

All-trans retinoic acid protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by activating the Erk2 signalling pathway.

Yang L¹, Luo C², Chen C¹, Wang X¹, Shi W¹, Liu J¹.   Author information     

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a powerful antineoplastic agent for treating a wide range of cancers. However, doxorubicin cardiotoxicity of the heart has largely limited its clinical use. It is known that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plays important roles in many cardiac biological processes, however, the protective effects of ATRA on doxorubicin cardiotoxicity remain unknown. Here, we studied the effect of ATRA on doxorubicin cardiotoxicity and underlying mechanisms.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES:

Cellular viability assays, western blotting and mitochondrial respiration analyses were employed to evaluate the cellular response to ATRA in H9c2 cells and primary cardiomyocytes. Quantitative PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and gene knockdown were performed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of ATRA’s effects on doxorubicin cardiotoxicity.

KEY RESULTS:

ATRA significantly inhibited doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells and primary cardiomyocytes. ATRA was more effective against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity than resveratrol and dexrazoxane. ATRA also suppressed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and restored the expression level of mRNA and proteins in phase II detoxifying enzyme system: Nrf2 (nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2), MnSOD (manganese superoxide dismutase), HO-1 (heme oxygenase1) as well as mitochondrial function (mitochondrial membrane integrity, mitochondrial DNA copy numbers, mitochondrial respiration capacity, biogenesis and dynamics). Both Erk1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2) inhibitor (U0126) and Erk2 siRNA, but not Erk1 siRNA, abolished the protective effect of ATRA against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in H9c2 cells. Remarkably, ATRA did not compromise the anticancer efficacy of doxorubicin in gastric carcinoma cells.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION:

ATRA protected cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity by activating the Erk2 pathway without compromising the anticancer efficacy of doxorubicin. Therefore, ATRA may be a promising candidate as a cardioprotective agent against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity.

 

Proteomic and Biochemical Studies of Lysine Malonylation Suggest Its Malonic Aciduria-associated Regulatory Role in Mitochondrial Function and Fatty Acid Oxidation

1. Colak, O. Pougovkina, L. Dai, M. Tan, H. Te Brinke, H. Huang, Z. Cheng, J. Park, X. Wan, X. Liu, W. W. Yue, R. J. Wanders, J. W. Locasale, D. B. Lombard, V. C. de Boer and Y. Zhao.

Mol Cell Proteomics. 2015 Nov 1, 14 (11): 3056-71.

 

Foxg1 localizes to mitochondria and coordinates cell differentiation and bioenergetics

1. Pancrazi, G. Di Benedetto, L. Colombaioni, G. Della Sala, G. Testa, F. Olimpico, A. Reyes, M. Zeviani, T. Pozzan and M. Costa.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Oct 27, 112(45): 13910-5.

 

Evidence of Mitochondrial Dysfunction within the Complex Genetic Etiology of Schizophrenia

1. E. Hjelm, B. Rollins, F. Mamdani, J. C. Lauterborn, G. Kirov, G. Lynch, C. M. Gall, A. Sequeira and M. P. Vawter.

Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015 Nov 1, 1 (4): 201-219.

 

Metabolic Reprogramming Is Required for Myofibroblast Contractility and Differentiation

1. Bernard, N. J. Logsdon, S. Ravi, N. Xie, B. P. Persons, S. Rangarajan, J. W. Zmijewski, K. Mitra, G. Liu, V. M. Darley-Usmar and V. J. Thannickal.

J Biol Chem. 2015 Oct 16, 290 (42): 25427-38.

 

J Biol Chem. 2015 Oct 23;290(43):25834-46.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1074/jbc.M115.658815. Epub 2015 Sep 4.

Kinome Screen Identifies PFKFB3 and Glucose Metabolism as Important Regulators of the Insulin/Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)-1 Signaling Pathway.

Trefely S¹, Khoo PS², Krycer JR³, Chaudhuri R³, Fazakerley DJ³, Parker BL³, Sultani G¹, Lee J⁴, Stephan JP⁴, Torres E⁴, Jung K⁴, Kuijl C⁴, James DE⁵,Junutula JR⁶, Stöckli J⁷.   Author information

The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling pathway (ISP) plays a fundamental role in long term health in a range of organisms. Protein kinases including Akt and ERK are intimately involved in the ISP. To identify other kinases that may participate in this pathway or intersect with it in a regulatory manner, we performed a whole kinome (779 kinases) siRNA screen for positive or negative regulators of the ISP, using GLUT4 translocation to the cell surface as an output for pathway activity. We identified PFKFB3, a positive regulator of glycolysis that is highly expressed in cancer cells and adipocytes, as a positive ISP regulator. Pharmacological inhibition of PFKFB3 suppressed insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, GLUT4 translocation, and Akt signaling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In contrast, overexpression of PFKFB3 in HEK293 cells potentiated insulin-dependent phosphorylation of Akt and Akt substrates. Furthermore, pharmacological modulation of glycolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes affected Akt phosphorylation. These data add to an emerging body of evidence that metabolism plays a central role in regulating numerous biological processes including the ISP. Our findings have important implications for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cancer that are characterized by marked disruption of both metabolism and growth factor signaling.

 

FASEB J. 2015 Oct 19.    http://dx.doi.org:/pii: fj.15-276360. [Epub ahead of print]

Perm1 enhances mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative capacity, and fatigue resistance in adult skeletal muscle.

Cho Y¹, Hazen BC¹, Gandra PG¹, Ward SR¹, Schenk S¹, Russell AP¹, Kralli A².  Author information

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and oxidative capacity are important determinants of muscle function and whole-body health. Mitochondrial content and function are enhanced by endurance exercise and impaired in states or diseases where muscle function is compromised, such as myopathies, muscular dystrophies, neuromuscular diseases, and age-related muscle atrophy. Hence, elucidating the mechanisms that control muscle mitochondrial content and oxidative function can provide new insights into states and diseases that affect muscle health. In past studies, we identified Perm1 (PPARGC1- and ESRR-induced regulator, muscle 1) as a gene induced by endurance exercise in skeletal muscle, and regulating mitochondrial oxidative function in cultured myotubes. The capacity of Perm1 to regulate muscle mitochondrial content and function in vivo is not yet known. In this study, we use adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to increase Perm1 expression in skeletal muscles of 4-wk-old mice. Compared to control vector, AAV1-Perm1 leads to significant increases in mitochondrial content and oxidative capacity (by 40-80%). Moreover, AAV1-Perm1-transduced muscles show increased capillary density and resistance to fatigue (by 33 and 31%, respectively), without prominent changes in fiber-type composition. These findings suggest that Perm1 selectively regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative function, and implicate Perm1 in muscle adaptations that also occur in response to endurance exercise.-Cho, Y., Hazen, B. C., Gandra, P. G., Ward, S. R., Schenk, S., Russell, A. P., Kralli, A. Perm1 enhances mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative capacity, and fatigue resistance in adult skeletal muscle.

 

Cell Death Dis. 2015 Oct 29;6:e1944.    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/cddis.2015.306.

A conserved MADS-box phosphorylation motif regulates differentiation and mitochondrial function in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle cells.

Mughal W^1,2, Nguyen L², Pustylnik S³, da Silva Rosa SC^1,2, Piotrowski S^1,2, Chapman D^2,4, Du M³, Alli NS³, Grigull J^3,5, Halayko AJ^6,7, Aliani M⁸, Topham MK⁹, Epand RM¹⁰, Hatch GM^2,11, Pereira TJ^2,11, Kereliuk S^2,11, McDermott JC³, Rampitsch C¹², Dolinsky VW^2,11, Gordon JW^1,2,4.   Author information

Exposure to metabolic disease during fetal development alters cellular differentiation and perturbs metabolic homeostasis, but the underlying molecular regulators of this phenomenon in muscle cells are not completely understood. To address this, we undertook a computational approach to identify cooperating partners of the myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) family of transcription factors, known regulators of muscle differentiation and metabolic function. We demonstrate that MEF2 and the serum response factor (SRF) collaboratively regulate the expression of numerous muscle-specific genes, including microRNA-133a (miR-133a). Using tandem mass spectrometry techniques, we identify a conserved phosphorylation motif within the MEF2 and SRF Mcm1 Agamous Deficiens SRF (MADS)-box that regulates miR-133a expression and mitochondrial function in response to a lipotoxic signal. Furthermore, reconstitution of MEF2 function by expression of a neutralizing mutation in this identified phosphorylation motif restores miR-133a expression and mitochondrial membrane potential during lipotoxicity. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that miR-133a regulates mitochondrial function through translational inhibition of a mitophagy and cell death modulating protein, called Nix. Finally, we show that rodents exposed to gestational diabetes during fetal development display muscle diacylglycerol accumulation, concurrent with insulin resistance, reduced miR-133a, and elevated Nix expression, as young adult rats. Given the diverse roles of miR-133a and Nix in regulating mitochondrial function, and proliferation in certain cancers, dysregulation of this genetic pathway may have broad implications involving insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and cancer biology.

 

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Genetically Engineered Algae

Posted in BioIT: BioInformatics, NGS, Clinical & Translational, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Clinical Genomics, Cancer Informatics, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Cell Biology, Chemical Genetics, Clinical & Translational, CRISPR/Cas9 & Gene Editing, Curation, Disease Biology, Small Molecules in Development of Therapeutic Drugs, Genome Biology, Genomic Expression, Innovations, tagged algae, biosilica, Cancer - General, genetic engineering, nanoparticles on November 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Genetically Engineered Algae

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

 

 

Genetically engineered algae kill cancer cells

By Tim Sandle     Nov 11, 2015 in Science

http://www.digitaljournal.com/science/are-algae-the-solution-to-beating-cancer/article/449045#ixzz3rZQZ7pRj

A research group in Australia has developed algae nanoparticles. The algae have been found to kill 90 percent of cancer cells in cultured human cells. Based on this success, the modified algae have been shown to destroy cancerous tumors in mice.

 Algae is a general term for a range of single-celled microscopic photosynthetic organisms such as diatoms, and larger, multi-cellular plants, like kelp. The use of algae in cancer treatment relates to drug delivery. Some success has been achieved with the use of nanoparticles (such as nanoporous silica) to deliver anti-cancer medicines. One downside with this relates to the cost of production and the fact that some nanoparticles can be toxic. To overcome this, researchers based at the University of South Australia have used algae to model an alternative drug delivery system.

Success has been achieved with microalgae-derived nanoporous biosilica. The bio-material was derived from Thalassiosira pseudonana, which is a species of marine diatom. Diatoms are are among the most common types of phytoplankton, and they are found in the oceans, in freshwater, in soils and on damp surfaces. In studies, modified diatoms have been used as types of backpacks for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs to tumor sites.

Lead researcher Nico Voelcker, speaking with International Business Times, explained why genetic modification was key in adapting the diatoms: “By genetically engineering diatom algae – tiny, unicellular, photosynthesising algae with a skeleton made of nanoporous silica, we are able to produce an antibody-binding protein on the surface of their shells. Anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drugs are often toxic to normal tissues.”

 Although the results are interesting, experiments in cell culture and even on mice do not necessarily translate into success in humans. A series of clinical trials will be required to verify the results and to streamline any potential treatment options.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications, in a paper headed “Targeted drug delivery using genetically engineered diatom biosilica.”

Targeted drug delivery using genetically engineered diatom biosilica

Bahman Delalat, Vonda C. Sheppard, Soraya Rasi Ghaemi, Shasha Rao, Clive A. Prestidge, Gordon McPhee, Mary-Louise Rogers, et al.

Nature Communications  6,Article number:8791         http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/ncomms9791

 

The ability to selectively kill cancerous cell populations while leaving healthy cells unaffected is a key goal in anticancer therapeutics. The use of nanoporous silica-based materials as drug-delivery vehicles has recently proven successful, yet production of these materials requires costly and toxic chemicals. Here we use diatom microalgae-derived nanoporous biosilica to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to cancer cells. The diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana is genetically engineered to display an IgG-binding domain of protein G on the biosilica surface, enabling attachment of cell-targeting antibodies. Neuroblastoma and B-lymphoma cells are selectively targeted and killed by biosilica displaying specific antibodies sorbed with drug-loaded nanoparticles. Treatment with the same biosilica leads to tumour growth regression in a subcutaneous mouse xenograft model of neuroblastoma. These data indicate that genetically engineered biosilica frustules may be used as versatile ‘backpacks’ for the targeted delivery of poorly water-soluble anticancer drugs to tumour sites.

 

Figure 1: The principle of action of the genetically engineered biosilica therapeutic nanoparticles

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151110/ncomms9791/carousel/ncomms9791-f1.jpg

Genetically engineered diatom biosilica (green) containing liposome-encapsulated drug molecules (yellow) can be targeted to both adherent neuroblastoma cells (red) and lymphocyte cells in suspension (purple) by functionalizing the biosilica

 

Figure 2: SEM images of T. pseudonana biosilica and analysis of IgG–HRP binding to T. pseudonana biosilica

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151110/ncomms9791/carousel/ncomms9791-f2.jpg

(a) Side view and (b) top view of cylinder-shaped biosilica from a single diatom cell. (c,d) Details of the biosilica structure showing the highly porous surface. (e) Schematic structure of the S–T8–GFP–GB1 fusion protein. S, N-terminal…

 

Figure 4: Interaction of anti-CD20 antibody-labelled GB1–biosilica with B and T cells captured on an anti-CD45 antibody microarray.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151110/ncomms9791/carousel/ncomms9791-f4.jpg

The left panels show epifluorescence microscopy images of cells captured on microarray spots after incubation with anti-CD20 antibody-labelled biosilica (n=3). The right panels show higher magnification images within the spots. Green: b…

 

Figure 6: Interaction of anti-p75NTR–GB1–biosilica frustules with adherent cells

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151110/ncomms9791/carousel/ncomms9791-f6.jpg

(a) Confocal fluorescence microscopy image of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and (b) BSR fibroblast cells (n=3). Red: actin (phalloidin staining, green: biosilica (GFP-labelled), blue: nucleus (Hoechst 33342 staining). (c) The left panel s…

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