Lipoic (thioctic) acid increases brain energy availability and skeletal muscle performance as shown by in vivo31P-MRS in a patient with mitochondrial cytopathy

A woman affected by chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia and muscle mitochondrial DNA deletion was studied by phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (³¹P-MRS) prior to and after 1 and 7 months of treatment with oral lipoic acid. Before treatment a decreased phosphocreatine (PCr) content was found in the occipital lobes, accompanied by normal inorganic phosphate (Pi) level and cytosolic pH. Based on these findings, we found a high cytosolic adenosine diphosphate concentration [ADP] and high relative rate of energy metabolism together with a low phosphorylation potential. Muscle MRS showed an abnormal work-energy cost transfer function and a low rate of PCr recovery during the post-exercise period. All of these findings indicated a deficit of mitochondrial function in both brain and muscle. Treatment with 600 mg lipoic acid daily for 1 month resulted in a 55% increase of brain [PCr], 72% increase of phosphorylation potential, and a decrease of calculated [ADP] and rate of energy metabolism. After 7 months of treatment MRS data and mitochondrial function had improved further. Treatment with lipoate also led to a 64% increase in the initial slope of the work-energy cost transfer function in the working calf muscle and worsened the rate of PCr resynthesis during recovery. The patient reported subjective improvement of general conditions and muscle performance after therapy. Our results indicate that treatment with lipoate caused a relevant increase in levels of energy available in brain and skeletal muscle during exercise.     

Pathophysiological and vascular characteristics of tumours and their importance for hyperthermia: Heterogeneity is the key issue

Tumour blood flow before and during clinically relevant mild hyperthermia exhibits pronounced heterogeneity. Flow changes upon heating are not predictable and are both spatially and temporally highly variable. Flow increases may result in improved heat dissipation to the extent that therapeutically relevant tissue temperatures may not be achieved. This holds especially true for tumours or tumour regions in which flow rates are substantially higher than in the surrounding normal tissues.

Changes in tumour oxygenation tend to reflect alterations in blood flow upon hyperthermia. An initial improvement in the oxygenation status, followed by a return to baseline levels (or even a drop to below baseline at high thermal doses) has been reported for some tumours, whereas a predictable and universal occurrence of sustained increases in O₂ tensions upon mild hyperthermia is questionable and still needs to be verified in the clinical setting. Clarification of the pathogenetic mechanisms behind possible sustained increases is mandatory.

High-dose hyperthermia leads to a decrease in the extracellular and intracellular pH and a deterioration of the energy status, both of which are known to be parameters capable of acting as direct sensitisers and thus pivotal factors in hyperthermia treatment. The role of the tumour microcirculatory function, hypoxia, acidosis and energy status is complex and is further complicated by a pronounced heterogeneity. These latter aspects require additional critical evaluation in clinically relevant tumour models in order for their impact on the response to heat to be clarified.     

Mitochondrial oncobioenergetic index: A potential biomarker to predict progression from indolent to aggressive prostate cancer

Mitochondrial function is influenced by alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes and changes in the microenvironment occurring during tumorigenesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that mitochondrial function will be stably and dynamically altered at each stage of the prostate tumor development. We tested this hypothesis in RWPE-1 cells and its tumorigenic clones with progressive malignant characteristics (RWPE-1 < WPE-NA22 < WPE-NB14 < WPE-NB11 < WPE-NB26) using high-throughput respirometry. Our studies demonstrate that mitochondrial content do not change with increasing malignancy. In premalignant cells (WPE-NA22 and WPE-NB14), OXPHOS is elevated in presence of glucose or glutamine alone or in combination compared to RWPE-1 cells and decreases with increasing malignancy. Glutamine maintained higher OXPHOS than glucose and suggests that it may be an important substrate for the growth and proliferation of prostate epithelial cells. Glycolysis significantly increases with malignancy and follow a classical Warburg phenomenon. Fatty acid oxidation (FAO) is significantly lower in tumorigenic clones and invasive WPE-NB26 does not utilize FAO at all. In this paper, we introduce for the first time the mitochondrial oncobioenergetic index (MOBI), a mathematical representation of oncobioenergetic profile of a cancer cell, which increases significantly upon transformation into localized premalignant form and rapidly falls below the normal as they become aggressive in prostate tumorigenesis. We have validated this in five prostate cancer cell lines and MOBI appears to be not related to androgen dependence or mitochondrial content, but rather dependent on the stage of the cancer. Altogether, we propose that MOBI could be a potential biomarker to distinguish aggressive cancer from that of indolent disease.     

Thylakoid potassium channel is required for efficient photosynthesis in cyanobacteria

A potassium channel (SynK) of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a photoheterotrophic model organism for the study of photosynthesis, has been recently identified and demonstrated to function as a potassium selective channel when expressed in a heterologous system and to be located predominantly to the thylakoid membrane in cyanobacteria. To study its physiological role, a SynK-less knockout mutant was generated and characterized. Fluorimetric experiments indicated that SynK-less cyanobacteria cannot build up a proton gradient as efficiently as WT organisms, suggesting that SynK might be involved in the regulation of the electric component of the proton motive force. Accordingly, measurements of flash-induced cytochrome b(6)f turnover and respiration pointed to a reduced generation of ΔpH and to an altered linear electron transport in mutant cells. The lack of the channel did not cause an altered membrane organization, but decreased growth and modified the photosystem II/photosystem I ratio at high light intensities because of enhanced photosensitivity. These data shed light on the function of a prokaryotic potassium channel and reports evidence, by means of a genetic approach, on the requirement of a thylakoid ion channel for optimal photosynthesis.     

Engineering rotor ring stoichiometries in the ATP synthase

ATP synthase membrane rotors consist of a ring of c-subunits whose stoichiometry is constant for a given species but variable across different ones. We investigated the importance of c/c-subunit contacts by site-directed mutagenesis of a conserved stretch of glycines (GxGxGxGxG) in a bacterial c(11) ring. Structural and biochemical studies show a direct, specific influence on the c-subunit stoichiometry, revealing c(<11), c(12), c(13), c(14), and c(>14) rings. Molecular dynamics simulations rationalize this effect in terms of the energetics and geometry of the c-subunit interfaces. Quantitative data from a spectroscopic interaction study demonstrate that the complex assembly is independent of the c-ring size. Real-time ATP synthesis experiments in proteoliposomes show the mutant enzyme, harboring the larger c(12) instead of c(11), is functional at lower ion motive force. The high degree of compliance in the architecture of the ATP synthase rotor offers a rationale for the natural diversity of c-ring stoichiometries, which likely reflect adaptations to specific bioenergetic demands. These results provide the basis for bioengineering ATP synthases with customized ion-to-ATP ratios, by sequence modifications.     

Control of electron transport routes through redox-regulated redistribution of respiratory complexes

In cyanobacteria, respiratory electron transport takes place in close proximity to photosynthetic electron transport, because the complexes required for both processes are located within the thylakoid membranes. The balance of electron transport routes is crucial for cell physiology, yet the factors that control the predominance of particular pathways are poorly understood. Here we use a combination of tagging with green fluorescent protein and confocal fluorescence microscopy in live cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 to investigate the distribution on submicron scales of two key respiratory electron donors, type-I NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH-1) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). When cells are grown under low light, both complexes are concentrated in discrete patches in the thylakoid membranes, about 100-300 nm in diameter and containing tens to hundreds of complexes. Exposure to moderate light leads to redistribution of both NDH-1 and SDH such that they become evenly distributed within the thylakoid membranes. The effects of electron transport inhibitors indicate that redistribution of respiratory complexes is triggered by changes in the redox state of an electron carrier close to plastoquinone. Redistribution does not depend on de novo protein synthesis, and it is accompanied by a major increase in the probability that respiratory electrons are transferred to photosystem I rather than to a terminal oxidase. These results indicate that the distribution of complexes on the scale of 100-300 nm controls the partitioning of reducing power and that redistribution of electron transport complexes on these scales is a physiological mechanism to regulate the pathways of electron flow.     

On being the right size: heart design,mitochondrial efficiency and lifespan potential

1. From the smallest shrew or bumble-bee bat to the largest blue whale, heart size varies by over seven orders of magnitude (from 12 mg to 600 kg). This study reviews the scaling relationships between heart design, cellular bioenergetics and mitochondrial efficiencies in mammals of different body sizes. 2. The [31P]-nuclear magnetic resonance-derived [phosphocreatine]/[ATP] ratio in hearts of smaller mammals is significantly higher (2.7 +/- 0.3 for mouse; n = 22) than in larger mammals (1.6 +/- 0.3 for humans; n = 13). 3. The inverse of the free myocardial cytosolic [ADP] concentration and the cytosolic phosphorylation ratio ([ATP]/[ADP][Pi]) scales with heart size and with absolute mitochondrial and myofibrillar volumes, close to a quarter-power (from -0.22 to -0.28; r = 0.99). 4. Assuming a similar mitochondrial P/O ratio and the same maximal amount of work required to convert 1 mol NADH to 0.5 mol O2 (i.e. 212.25 kJ/mol), the higher [ATP]/[ADP][Pi] ratios or cellular driving forces (DeltaG'ATP) in hearts of smaller mammals imply greater mitochondrial efficiencies in coupling ATP production to electron transport as body size decreases. For a P/O ratio of 2.5, the mitochondrial efficiency in the heart of a shrew, mouse, human and whale is 84, 82, 71 and 65%, respectively. 5. Higher cytosolic ATP]/[ADP][Pi] ratios and DeltaG'ATP values imply that the hearts of smaller mammals operate further from equilibrium than hearts of larger mammals. 6. As a consequence of scaling relationships, a number of remarkable invariants emerge when comparing heart function from the smallest shrew to the largest whale; the total volume of blood pumped by each heart in a lifetime is approximately 200 million L/kg heart and the total number of heart beats is approximately 1.1 billion per lifetime. 7. Similarly, the metabolic potential (total O2 consumed during adult lifespan per g bodyweight) for a 2 g shrew or a 100000 kg blue whale is approximately 38 L O2 consumed or 8.5 mol ATP/g body mass per lifetime. 8. The importance of quarter-power scaling relationships linking structural, metabolic and bioenergetic design to the natural ageing process and maximum lifespan potential is discussed.     

Energy regulation and neuroendocrine–immune control in chronic inflammatory diseases

Abstract. Straub RH, Cutolo M, Buttgereit F, Pongratz G (University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; University of Genova, Genova, Italy; and Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany). Energy regulation and neuroendocrine–immune control in chronic inflammatory diseases (Review). J Intern Med 2010; 267 :543–560. Energy regulation (EnR) is most important for homoeostatic regulation of physiological processes. Neuroendocrine pathways are involved in EnR. We can separate factors that provide energy‐rich fuels to stores [parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), insulin, insulin‐like growth factor‐1, oestrogens, androgens and osteocalcin] and those that provide energy‐rich substrates to consumers [sympathetic nervous system (SNS), hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, thyroid hormones, glucagon and growth hormone]. In chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs), balanced energy‐rich fuel allocation to stores and consumers, normally aligned with circadian rhythms, is largely disturbed due to the vast fuel consumption of an activated immune system (up to 2000 kJ day^?1). Proinflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor or interleukins 1β and 6, circulating activated immune cells and sensory nerve fibres signal immune activation to the rest of the body. This signal is an appeal for energy‐rich fuels as regulators are switched on to supply energy‐rich fuels (‘energy appeal reaction’). During evolution, adequate EnR evolved to cope with nonlife‐threatening diseases, not with CIDs (huge negative selection pressure and reduced reproduction). Thus, EnR is inadequate in CIDs leading to many abnormalities, including sickness behaviour, anorexia, hypovitaminosis D, cachexia, cachectic obesity, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinaemia, dyslipidaemia, fat deposits near inflamed tissue, hypoandrogenaemia, mild hypercortisolaemia, activation of the SNS (hypertension), CID‐related anaemia and osteopenia. Many of these conditions can contribute to the metabolic syndrome. These signs and symptoms become comprehensible in the context of an exaggerated call for energy‐rich fuels by the immune system. We propose that the presented pathophysiological framework may lead to new therapeutical approaches and to a better understanding of CID sequence.     

Effects of 5-acetyl(carbamoyl)-6-methylsulfanyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-5-carbonitriles on rat liver mitochondrial function

It is increasingly recognised that mitochondria are potential targets to pharmacological and toxicological actions of membrane-active agents, including some 1,4-dihydropyridines derivatives (DHPs). The 5-acetyl(carbamoyl)-6-methylsulfanyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-5-carbonitriles (OSI-1146, OSI-3701, OSI-3761, and OSI-9642) is a new group of DHPs with minor differences on the molecular structure. It has also been shown that OSI-1146 displays cardiovascular, antioxidant, and antiradical activities, whereas OSI-3701 and OSI-3761 display hepatoprotective activity. Due to their protective properties, this group of DHPs may be potentially useful for the treatment of several pathological processes, including those associated with oxidative stress. However, the cellular targets for their pharmacological actions have not been investigated. The presented study, using isolated rat liver mitochondria was designed to investigate if mitochondria are a cellular target for the pharmacological and/or toxicological actions of these new group of DHPs. We studied the direct influence of these DHPs on rat liver mitochondrial function [bioenergetics, membrane permeability transition (MPT), and oxidative stress]. It was shown that OSI-1146, OSI-3761, and OSI-9642, in the concentration range of up to 200 μM, interfered with mitochondrial bioenergetics by affecting complexes I and II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, the ATPase activity, and mitochondrial inner membrane permeability to protons. However, the effects of OSI-1146 were higher than those of OSI-3761 and OSI-9642. The remaining compound, OSI-3701, had no effect on the bioenergetic parameters tested. All the compounds increased the susceptibility of mitochondria to MPT, but, OSI-3701, not affecting the bioenergetic parameters, was the most potent. Moreover, all the compounds protected mitochondria against lipid peroxidation induced by the oxidant pair ADP/Fe²⁺, but OSI-1146 was also the most potent. In conclusion, our results indicate that mitochondria are the potential intracellular targets for both protective and toxicological actions of the DHP compounds studied, suggesting that the potential use of these compounds as therapeutic agents should carefully consider their toxic effects to mitochondria.