丹参多酚酸与三七总皂苷合用保护OGD/R损伤胶质细胞线粒体、促进神经因子表达作用研究*

目的 探讨丹参多酚酸（Salvianolate Acid，SAL）和三七总皂苷（Panax Notoginseng Saponins，PNS）合用保护氧糖剥夺/复氧复糖（Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation/Reoxygenation，OGD/R）损伤后星形胶质细胞线粒体、促进神经营养因子表达的作用及机制。方法 大鼠星形胶质细胞原代培养，建立OGD/R损伤模型。Cell counting kit-8（CCK-8）法检测星形胶质细胞活力，流式细胞仪检测活性氧（reactive oxygen species，ROS）释放量、胞内Ca2+ 浓度、线粒体膜电位（mitochondrial membrane potential，MMP）变化，实时定量PCR（real time polymerase chain reaction，RT-PCR）和蛋白质免疫印迹（western blot，WB）法检测HIF-1α、PI3K/Akt/mTOR信号通路蛋白及脑源性神经营养因子（brain-derived neurotrophic factor，BDNF）、神经生长因子（nerve growth factor，NGF）、胰岛素样生长因子（insulin-like growth factors，IGF-1α）的表达情况。结果 胶质细胞OGD/R条件确定为OGD4h/R24h，给药浓度确定为SAL 25 μg·mL-1、PNS 6.25 μg·mL-1。与OGD/R组相比，SAL 25 μg·mL-1、PNS 6.25 μg·mL-1、SAL 25 μg·mL-1与PNS 6.25 μg·mL-1合用均能增强损伤后星形胶质细胞活力（P＜0.05），升高MMP，降低ROS释放量（P＜0.05），降低损伤后星形胶质细胞HIF-1α蛋白和mRNA的表达，升高磷脂酰肌醇激酶（PI3K）磷酸化水平（P＜0.05）；SAL还可升高mTOR蛋白磷酸化水平（P＜0.05），PNS可提高Akt磷酸化水平（P＜0.05），增加损伤星形胶质细胞BDNF mRNA 表达（P＜0.05）；SAL、SAL与PNS合用能增加损伤后星形胶质细胞 BDNF、NGF、IGF-1α mRNA 表达（P＜0.05）。结论 丹参多酚酸和三七总皂苷组分合用可保护OGD/R损伤后星形胶质细胞线粒体、促进胶质细胞表达神经营养因子BDNF、NGF、IGF-1α。     

Combined administration of lauric acid and glucose improved cancer‐derived cardiac atrophy in a mouse cachexia model

Cancer‐derived myocardial damage is an important cause of death in cancer patients. However, the development of dietary interventions for treating such damage has not been advanced. Here, we investigated the effect of dietary intervention with lauric acid (LAA) and glucose, which was effective against skeletal muscle sarcopenia in a mouse cachexia model, on myocardial damage. Treatment of H9c2 rat cardiomyoblasts with lauric acid promoted mitochondrial respiration and increased ATP production by Seahorse flux analysis, but did not increase oxidative stress. Glycolysis was also promoted by LAA. In contrast, mitochondrial respiration and ATP production were suppressed, and oxidative stress was increased in an in vitro cachexia model in which cardiomyoblasts were treated with mouse cachexia ascites. Ascites‐treated H9c2 cells with concurrent treatment with LAA and high glucose showed that mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis were promoted more than that of the control, and ATP was restored to the level of the control. Oxidative stress was also reduced by the combined treatment. In the mouse cachexia model, myocardiac atrophy and decreased levels of a marker of muscle maturity, SDS‐soluble MYL1, were observed. When LAA in CE‐2 diet was orally administered alone, no significant rescue was observed in the cancer‐derived myocardial disorder. In contrast, combined oral administration of LAA and glucose recovered myocardial atrophy and MYL1 to levels observed in the control without increase in the cancer weight. Therefore, it is suggested that dietary intervention using a combination of LAA and glucose for cancer cachexia might improve cancer‐derived myocardial damage.     

Liver kinase B1 depletion from astrocytes worsens disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a ubiquitously expressed kinase involved in the regulation of cell metabolism, growth, and inflammatory activation. We previously reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the gene encoding LKB1 is a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). Since astrocyte activation and metabolic function have important roles in regulating neuroinflammation and neuropathology, we examined the serine/threonine kinase LKB1 in astrocytes in a chronic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model of MS. To reduce LKB1, a heterozygous astrocyte-selective conditional knockout (het-cKO) model was used. While disease incidence was similar, disease severity was worsened in het-cKO mice. RNAseq analysis identified Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enriched in het-cKO mice relating to mitochondrial function, confirmed by alterations in mitochondrial complex proteins and reductions in mRNAs related to astrocyte metabolism. Enriched pathways included major histocompatibility class II genes, confirmed by increases in MHCII protein in spinal cord and cerebellum of het-cKO mice. We observed increased numbers of CD4+ Th17 cells and increased neuronal damage in spinal cords of het-cKO mice, associated with reduced expression of choline acetyltransferase, accumulation of immunoglobulin-γ, and reduced expression of factors involved in motor neuron survival. In vitro, LKB1-deficient astrocytes showed reduced metabolic function and increased inflammatory activation. These data suggest that metabolic dysfunction in astrocytes, in this case due to LKB1 deficiency, can exacerbate demyelinating disease by loss of metabolic support and increase in the inflammatory environment.     

基于线粒体功能紊乱药物干预抑郁症的研究进展

抑郁症是一种影响广泛的精神类疾病,随着社会压力的增加,其发病率逐年升高。越来越多的研究表明,抑郁症的发病与线粒体功能紊乱存在密切联系。线粒体氧化应激、能量障碍、线粒体DNA异常和线粒体缺陷介导的线粒体功能紊乱参与了抑郁症的发生发展。研究表明,经典抗抑郁药物、新型抗抑郁药物或非药物治疗方式能通过干预上述线粒体功能紊乱,发挥改善抑郁症状的作用。因此,本文就线粒体功能紊乱与抑郁症的联系,以及药物对线粒体功能的干预作用的研究进展进行综述,以期为抑郁症的病理机制及新的治疗药物和手段的研究提供借鉴。     

Mitochondrial apoptosis: killing cancer using the enemy within

Apoptotic cell death inhibits oncogenesis at multiple stages, ranging from transformation to metastasis. Consequently, in order for cancer to develop and progress, apoptosis must be inhibited. Cell death also plays major roles in cancer treatment, serving as the main effector function of many anti-cancer therapies. In this review, we discuss the role of apoptosis in the development and treatment of cancer. Specifically, we focus upon the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis—the most commonly deregulated form of cell death in cancer. In this process, mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilisation or MOMP represents the defining event that irrevocably commits a cell to die. We provide an overview of how this pathway is regulated by BCL-2 family proteins and describe ways in which cancer cells can block it. Finally, we discuss exciting new approaches aimed at specifically inducing mitochondrial apoptosis in cancer cells, outlining their potential pitfalls, while highlighting their considerable therapeutic promise.     

Mitochondrial morphology is altered in atrophied skeletal muscle of aged mice

Skeletal muscle aging is associated with a progressive decline in muscle mass and strength, a process termed sarcopenia. Evidence suggests that accumulation of mitochondrial dysfunction plays a causal role in sarcopenia, which could be triggered by impaired mitophagy. Mitochondrial function, mitophagy and mitochondrial morphology are interconnected aspects of mitochondrial biology, and may coordinately be altered with aging. However, mitochondrial morphology has remained challenging to characterize in muscle, and whether sarcopenia is associated with abnormal mitochondrial morphology remains unknown. Therefore, we assessed the morphology of SubSarcolemmal (SS) and InterMyoFibrillar (IMF) mitochondria in skeletal muscle of young (8-12wk-old) and old (88-96wk-old) mice using a quantitative 2-dimensional transmission electron microscopy approach. We show that sarcopenia is associated with larger and less circular SS mitochondria. Likewise, aged IMF mitochondria were longer and more branched, suggesting increased fusion and/or decreased fission. Accordingly, although no difference in the content of proteins regulating mitochondrial dynamics (Mfn1, Mfn2, Opa1 and Drp1) was observed, a mitochondrial fusion index (Mfn2-to-Drp1 ratio) was significantly increased in aged muscles. Our results reveal that sarcopenia is associated with complex changes in mitochondrial morphology that could interfere with mitochondrial function and mitophagy, and thus contribute to aging-related accumulation of mitochondrial dysfunction and sarcopenia.     

Activation of sirtuin 1/3 improves vascular hyporeactivity in severe hemorrhagic shock by alleviation of mitochondrial damage

Vascular hyporeactivity is one of the major causes responsible for refractory hypotension and associated mortality in severe hemorrhagic shock. Mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) pore opening in arteriolar smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) is involved in the pathogenesis of vascular hyporeactivity. However, the molecular mechanism underlying mitochondrial injury in ASMCs during hemorrhagic shock is not well understood. Here we produced an in vivo model of severe hemorrhagic shock in adult Wistar rats. We found that sirtuin (SIRT)1/3 protein levels and deacetylase activities were decreased in ASMCs following severe shock. Immunofluorescence staining confirmed reduced levels of SIRT1 in the nucleus and SIRT3 in the mitochondria, respectively. Acetylation of cyclophilin D (CyPD), a component of mPT pore, was increased. SIRT1 activators suppressed mPT pore opening and ameliorated mitochondrial injury in ASMCs after severe shock. Furthermore, administration of SIRT1 activators improved vasoreactivity in rats under severe shock. Our data suggest that epigenetic mechanisms, namely histone post-translational modifications, are involved in regulation of mPT by SIRT1/SIRT3- mediated deacetylation of CyPD. SIRT1/3 is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of severe hemorrhagic shock.     

Combination of exercise training and erythropoietin prevents cancer-induced muscle alterations

Cancer cachexia is a syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass, inflammation, anorexia and anemia, contributing to patient fatigue and reduced quality of life. In addition to nutritional approaches, exercise training (EX) has been proposed as a suitable tool to manage cachexia. In the present work the effect of mild exercise training, coupled to erythropoietin (EPO) administration to prevent anemia, has been tested in tumor-bearing mice. In the C26 hosts, acute exercise does not prevent and even worsens muscle wasting. Such pattern is prevented by EPO co-administration or by the adoption of a chronic exercise protocol. EX and EPO co-treatment spares oxidative myofibers from atrophy and counteracts the oxidative to glycolytic shift, inducing PGC-1α. LLC hosts are responsive to exercise and their treatment with the EX-EPO combination prevents the loss of muscle strength and the onset of mitochondrial ultrastructural alterations, while increases muscle oxidative capacity and intracellular ATP content, likely depending on PGC-1α induction and mitophagy promotion. Consistently, muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression prevents LLC-induced muscle atrophy and Atrogin-1 hyperexpression. Overall, the present data suggest that low intensisty exercise can be an effective tool to be included in combined therapeutic approaches against cancer cachexia, provided that anemia is coincidently treated in order to enhance the beneficial action of exercise.