The metabolite α-ketoglutarate extends lifespan by inhibiting ATP synthase and TOR

Proteomic profiling of aging in glomeruli of mice by using two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis

Background

Glomerular proteins were analyzed by proteomics to screen proteins participating in maturation of glomeruli before senescence and to find key proteins involved in the aging process.

Material/Methods

Glomeruli of C57BL/6 mice at 8 and 20 weeks were separated by kidney perfusion. Proteomic profiles of glomeruli were investigated by using two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Results

We identified 22 differentially expressed proteins. Among them, 3 proteins were significantly up-regulated and 19 proteins were significantly down-regulated in mature mice. Out of these 22 proteins, 18% take part in protein transport, protein targeting, and proteolysis; 5% in glycolysis; 14% in transcription; 9% in electron transport; 9% were chaperones; and 9% were hydrolases.

Conclusions

Our results provide insights into the glomerular differentially expressed proteins correlated with renal aging. In this study we found that aging altered the expression of ATP synthase subunit beta. Further studies on this protein might help to understand the mechanism of renal aging.

Mechanisms of amino acid-mediated lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the role of amino acids in cellular signaling pathways, especially as it pertains to pathways that regulate the rate of aging. However, it has been shown that methionine or tryptophan restriction extends lifespan in higher eukaryotes and increased proline or tryptophan levels increase longevity in C. elegans. In addition, leucine strongly activates the TOR signaling pathway, which when inhibited increases lifespan.

RESULTS

Therefore each of the 20 proteogenic amino acids was individually supplemented to C. elegans and the effects on lifespan were determined. All amino acids except phenylalanine and aspartate extended lifespan at least to a small extent at one or more of the 3 concentrations tested with serine and proline showing the largest effects. 11 of the amino acids were less potent at higher doses, while 5 even decreased lifespan. Serine, proline, or histidine-mediated lifespan extension was greatly inhibited in eat-2 worms, a model of dietary restriction, in daf-16/FOXO, sir-2.1, rsks-1 (ribosomal S6 kinase), gcn-2, and aak-2 (AMPK) longevity pathway mutants, and in bec-1 autophagy-defective knockdown worms. 8 of 10 longevity-promoting amino acids tested activated a SKN-1/Nrf2 reporter strain, while serine and histidine were the only amino acids from those to activate a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1) reporter strain. Thermotolerance was increased by proline or tryptophan supplementation, while tryptophan-mediated lifespan extension was independent of DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf2 signaling, but tryptophan and several related pyridine-containing compounds induced the mitochondrial unfolded protein response and an ER stress response. High glucose levels or mutations affecting electron transport chain (ETC) function inhibited amino acid-mediated lifespan extension suggesting that metabolism plays an important role. Providing many other cellular metabolites to C. elegans also increased longevity suggesting that anaplerosis of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle substrates likely plays a role in lifespan extension.

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementation of C. elegans with 18 of the 20 individual amino acids extended lifespan, but lifespan often decreased with increasing concentration suggesting hormesis. Lifespan extension appears to be caused by altered mitochondrial TCA cycle metabolism and respiratory substrate utilization resulting in the activation of the DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf2 stress response pathways.

Toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles in Escherichia coli correlates with conduction band and hydration energies

Metal oxide nanoparticles (MOx NPs) are used for a host of applications, such as electronics, cosmetics, construction, and medicine, and as a result, the safety of these materials to humans and the environment is of considerable interest. A prior study of 24 MOx NPs in mammalian cells revealed that some of these materials show hazard potential. Here, we report the growth inhibitory effects of the same series of MOx NPs in the bacterium Escherichia coli and show that toxicity trends observed in E. coli parallel those seen previously in mammalian cells. Of the 24 materials studied, only ZnO, CuO, CoO, Mn2O3, Co3O4, Ni2O3, and Cr2O3 were found to exert significant growth inhibitory effects; these effects were found to relate to membrane damage and oxidative stress responses in minimal trophic media. A correlation of the toxicological data with physicochemical parameters of MOx NPs revealed that the probability of a MOx NP being toxic increases as the hydration enthalpy becomes less negative and as the conduction band energy approaches those of biological molecules. These observations are consistent with prior results observed in mammalian cells, revealing that mechanisms of toxicity of MOx NPs are consistent across two very different taxa. These results suggest that studying nanotoxicity in E. coli may help to predict toxicity patterns in higher organisms.

Energy metabolism disorders in rare and common diseases. Toward bioenergetic modulation therapy and the training of a new generation of European scientists

Energy metabolism alterations are found in a large number of rare and common diseases of genetic or environmental origin. The number of patients that could benefit from bioenergetic modulation therapy (BIOMET) is therefore very important and includes individuals with pathologies as diverse as mitochondrial diseases, acute coronary syndrome, chronic kidney disease, asthma or even cancer. Although, the alteration of energy metabolism is disease specific and sometimes patient specific, the strategies for BIOMET could be common and target a series of bioenergetic regulatory mechanisms discussed in this article. An excellent training of scientists in the field of energy metabolism, related human diseases and drug discovery is also crucial to form a young generation of MDs, PHDs and Pharma or CRO-group leaders who will discover novel personalized bioenergetic medicines, through pharmacology, genetics, nutrition or adapted exercise training. The Mitochondrial European Educational Training (MEET) consortium was created to pursue this goal, and we dedicated here a special issue of Organelle in Focus (OiF) to highlight their objectives. A total of 10 OiFs articles constitute this Directed Issue on Mitochondrial Medicine. As part of this editorial article, we asked timely questions to the PR. Jan W. Smeitink, professor of Mitochondrial Medicine and CEO of Khondrion, a mitochondrial medicine company. He shared with us his objectives and strategies for the study of mitochondrial diseases and the identification of future treatments. This article is part of a Directed Issue entitled: Energy Metabolism Disorders and Therapies.

Drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) for small-molecule target identification

Drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) is a relatively quick and straightforward approach to identify potential protein targets for small molecules. It relies on the protection against proteolysis conferred on the target protein by interaction with a small molecule. The greatest advantage of this method is being able to use the native small molecule without having to immobilize or modify it (e.g., by incorporation of biotin, fluorescent, radioisotope, or photoaffinity labels). Here we describe in detail the protocol for performing unbiased DARTS with complex protein lysates to identify binding targets of small molecules and for using DARTS-Western blotting to test, screen, or validate potential small-molecule targets. Although the ideas have mainly been developed from studying molecules in areas of biology that are currently of interest to us and our collaborators, the general principles should be applicable to the analysis of all molecules in nature.

Tools and methods to analyze autophagy in C. elegans

For a long time, autophagy has been mainly studied in yeast or mammalian cell lines, and assays for analyzing autophagy in these models have been well described. More recently, the involvement of autophagy in various physiological functions has been investigated in multicellular organisms. Modification of autophagy flux is involved in developmental processes, resistance to stress conditions, aging, cell death and multiple pathologies. So, the use of animal models is essential to understand these processes in the context of different cell types and during the whole life. For ten years, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a powerful model to analyze autophagy in physiological or pathological contexts. In this article, we present some of the established approaches and the emerging tools available to monitor and manipulate autophagy in C. elegans, and discuss their advantages and limitations.

Intermediary metabolite precursor dimethyl-2-ketoglutarate stabilizes hypoxia-inducible factor-1α by inhibiting prolyl-4-hydroxylase PHD2

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), a major mediator of tumor physiology, is activated during tumor progression, and its abundance is correlated with therapeutic resistance in a broad range of solid tumors. The accumulation of HIF-1α is mainly caused by hypoxia or through the mutated succinate dehydrogenase A (SDHA) or fumarate hydratase (FH) expression to inhibit its degradation. However, its activation under normoxic conditions, termed pseudohypoxia, in cells without mutated SDHA or FH is not well documented. Here, we show that dimethyl-2-ketoglutarate (DKG), a cell membrane-permeable precursor of a key metabolic intermediate, α-ketoglutarate (α-KG), known for its ability to rescue glutamine deficiency, transiently stabilized HIF-1α by inhibiting activity of the HIF prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein, PHD2. Consequently, prolonged DKG-treatment under normoxia elevated HIF-1α abundance and up-regulated the expression of its downstream target genes, thereby inducing a pseudohypoxic condition. This HIF-1α stabilization phenotype is similar to that from treatment of cells with desferrioxamine (DFO), an iron chelator, or dimethyloxalyglycine (DMOG), an established PHD inhibitor, but was not recapitulated with other α-KG analogues, such as Octyl-2KG, MPTOM001 and MPTOM002. Our study is the first example of an α-KG precursor to increase HIF-1α abundance and activity. We propose that DKG acts as a potent HIF-1α activator, highlighting the potential use of DKG to investigate the contribution of PHD2-HIF-1α pathway to tumor biology.

Worms, bacteria, and micronutrients: an elegant model of our diet

Micronutrients are required in small proportions in a diet to carry out key metabolic roles for biomass and energy production. Humans receive micronutrients either directly from their diet or from gut microbiota that metabolize other nutrients. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and its bacterial diet provide a relatively simple and genetically tractable model to study both direct and microbe-mediated effects of micronutrients. Recently, this model has been used to gain insight into the relationship between micronutrients, physiology, and metabolism. In particular, two B-type vitamins, vitamin B12 and folate, have been studied in detail. Here we review how C. elegans and its bacterial diet provide a powerful interspecies systems biology model that facilitates the precise delineation of micronutrient effects and the mechanisms involved.

Searching for the elusive mitochondrial longevity signal in C. elegans

There is a growing list of examples where perturbed mitochondrial function is associated with increased longevity, yet the exact mechanisms have remained elusive. This phenomenon was first documented, and has been studied most extensively, in C. elegans. One prominent model proposed that lifespan extension resulting from electron transport chain inhibition is due to induction of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response. This model requires revision in light of recent data showing that the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, as defined by the field, is neither necessary nor sufficient for lifespan extension in C. elegans. Several additional factors have been proposed to underlie this lifespan extension, which is likely to be multifactorial and complex.

Hexosamine pathway and (ER) protein quality control

Aminosugars produced in the hexosamine pathway (HP) are utilized in protein glycosylation reactions involved in protein maturation and cellular signaling. Recent evidence revealed a role of the HP in protein quality control and ageing. Elevation of the HP product UDP-N-acetylglucosamine in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans results in resistance towards toxic aggregation-prone proteins, and extended lifespan. Glutamine-fructose 6 phosphate aminotransferase (GFAT-1), the HP's key enzyme, is a target of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Thus, cardiac stress in mice results in GFAT-1 activation that triggers a cytoprotective response. Feeding of glucosamine to aged mice increases their life expectancy. Here we discuss HP activation and cellular protein quality control mechanisms that result in stress resistance and suppression of age-related proteotoxicity.

A mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit interacts with TOR signaling to modulate protein homeostasis and lifespan in Drosophila

Diet composition is a critical determinant of lifespan, and nutrient imbalance is detrimental to health. However, how nutrients interact with genetic factors to modulate lifespan remains elusive. We investigated how diet composition influences mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit d (ATPsyn-d) in modulating lifespan in Drosophila. ATPsyn-d knockdown extended lifespan in females fed low carbohydrate-to-protein (C:P) diets but not the high C:P ratio diet. This extension was associated with increased resistance to oxidative stress; transcriptional changes in metabolism, proteostasis, and immune genes; reduced protein damage and aggregation, and reduced phosphorylation of S6K and ERK in TOR and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, respectively. ATPsyn-d knockdown did not extend lifespan in females with reduced TOR signaling induced genetically by Tsc2 overexpression or pharmacologically by rapamycin. Our data reveal a link among diet, mitochondria, and MAPK and TOR signaling in aging and stresses the importance of considering genetic background and diet composition in implementing interventions for promoting healthy aging.

Extended lifespan, reduced body size and leg skeletal muscle mass, and decreased mitochondrial function in clk-1 transgenic mice

Mutational inactivation of clk-1, which encodes an enzyme necessary for the biosynthesis of coenzyme Q (CoQ), extends the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans. However, whether mammalian clk-1 regulates the lifespan of mice is not known because clk-1-deficiencies are embryonic lethal. Here, we investigated the lifespan of clk-1 transgenic mice (Tg96/I), which were rescued from embryonic lethality via the transgenic expression of mouse clk-1. Tg96/I mice lived longer and had smaller bodies than wild-type mice, but Tg96/I mice had CoQ levels equivalent to wild-type mice. The small-sized Tg96/I mice exhibited reduced whole-body oxygen consumption (VO2) during the dark period, and lean leg skeletal muscles with reduced mitochondrial VO2 and ATP content compared with wild-type mice. These findings indicate a close relationship between lifespan extension and decreased mitochondrial function, which was induced by the transgenic expression of clk-1, in leg skeletal muscles that exhibit high metabolic activity.

Genetically modeled mice with mutations in mitochondrial metabolic enzymes for the study of cancer

Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been implicated in progression of cancer. As a paradigm, the “Warburg effect,” which by means of a switch toward anaerobic metabolism enables cancer cells to proliferate in oxygen limiting conditions, is well established. Besides this metabolic transformation of tumors, it has been discovered that mutations in genes encoding mitochondrial proteins are the etiological factors in different types of cancer. This confers to mitochondrial dysfunction a causative role, rather than resultant, in tumor genesis beyond its role in tumor progression and development. Mitochondrial proteins encoded by tumor-suppressor genes are part of the succinate-dehydrogenase, the fumarate-hydratase, and the mitochondrial isocitrate-dehydrogenase enzymes, all of them participating in the Krebs cycle. The spectrum of tumors associated with mutations in these genes is becoming larger and varies between each enzyme. Several mechanisms of tumorigenesis have been proposed for the different enzymatic defects, most of them based on studies using cellular and animal models. Regarding the molecular pathways implicated in the oncogenic transformation, one of the first accepted theories was based on the constitutive expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (Hif1α) at normal oxygen tension, a theory referred to as “pseudo-hypoxic drive.” This mechanism has been linked to the three types of mutations, thus suggesting a central role in cancer. However, other alternative molecular processes, such as oxidative stress or altered chromatin remodeling, have been also proposed to play an onco-pathogenic role. In the recent years, the role of oncometabolites, a new concept emerged from biochemical studies upon these tumors, has acquired relevance as responsible for tumor formation. Nevertheless, the actual contribution of each of these mechanisms has not been definitively established. In this review, we summarize the results obtained from mouse strains genetically modified in the three different enzymes.

Mitobolites: the elixir of life

One of the biggest challenges in biology is to understand how mitochondria influence aging and age-related diseases. Chin et al. (2014) reveal how a mitochondrial metabolite (mitobolite) inhibits mitochondrial ATPase and extends lifespan by mimicking dietary restriction in worms.