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Jamjoum R, Majumder S, Issleny B, Stiban J. Mysterious sphingolipids: metabolic interrelationships at the center of pathophysiology. Front Physiol 2024; 14:1229108. [PMID: 38235387 PMCID: PMC10791800 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1229108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Metabolic pathways are complex and intertwined. Deficiencies in one or more enzymes in a given pathway are directly linked with genetic diseases, most of them having devastating manifestations. The metabolic pathways undertaken by sphingolipids are diverse and elaborate with ceramide species serving as the hubs of sphingolipid intermediary metabolism and function. Sphingolipids are bioactive lipids that serve a multitude of cellular functions. Being pleiotropic in function, deficiency or overproduction of certain sphingolipids is associated with many genetic and chronic diseases. In this up-to-date review article, we strive to gather recent scientific evidence about sphingolipid metabolism, its enzymes, and regulation. We shed light on the importance of sphingolipid metabolism in a variety of genetic diseases and in nervous and immune system ailments. This is a comprehensive review of the state of the field of sphingolipid biochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rama Jamjoum
- Department of Pharmacy, Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
| | - Saurav Majumder
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Batoul Issleny
- Department of Pharmacy, Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
| | - Johnny Stiban
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
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So M, Stiban J, Ciesielski GL, Hovde SL, Kaguni LS. Implications of Membrane Binding by the Fe-S Cluster-Containing N-Terminal Domain in the Drosophila Mitochondrial Replicative DNA Helicase. Front Genet 2021; 12:790521. [PMID: 34950192 PMCID: PMC8688847 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.790521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that iron-sulfur clusters (ISCs) in DNA replicative proteins sense DNA-mediated charge transfer to modulate nuclear DNA replication. In the mitochondrial DNA replisome, only the replicative DNA helicase (mtDNA helicase) from Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) has been shown to contain an ISC in its N-terminal, primase-like domain (NTD). In this report, we confirm the presence of the ISC and demonstrate the importance of a metal cofactor in the structural stability of the Dm mtDNA helicase. Further, we show that the NTD also serves a role in membrane binding. We demonstrate that the NTD binds to asolectin liposomes, which mimic phospholipid membranes, through electrostatic interactions. Notably, membrane binding is more specific with increasing cardiolipin content, which is characteristically high in the mitochondrial inner membrane (MIM). We suggest that the N-terminal domain of the mtDNA helicase interacts with the MIM to recruit mtDNA and initiate mtDNA replication. Furthermore, Dm NUBPL, the known ISC donor for respiratory complex I and a putative donor for Dm mtDNA helicase, was identified as a peripheral membrane protein that is likely to execute membrane-mediated ISC delivery to its target proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minyoung So
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Johnny Stiban
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.,Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine
| | - Grzegorz L Ciesielski
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.,Institute of Biosciences and Medical Technology, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.,Department of Chemistry, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL, United States
| | - Stacy L Hovde
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Laurie S Kaguni
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Center for Mitochondrial Science and Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.,Institute of Biosciences and Medical Technology, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
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Burdukiewicz M, Sidorczuk K, Rafacz D, Pietluch F, Bąkała M, Słowik J, Gagat P. CancerGram: An Effective Classifier for Differentiating Anticancer from Antimicrobial Peptides. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12111045. [PMID: 33142753 PMCID: PMC7692641 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12111045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) constitute a diverse group of bioactive molecules that provide multicellular organisms with protection against microorganisms, and microorganisms with weaponry for competition. Some AMPs can target cancer cells; thus, they are called anticancer peptides (ACPs). Due to their small size, positive charge, hydrophobicity and amphipathicity, AMPs and ACPs interact with negatively charged components of biological membranes. AMPs preferentially permeabilize microbial membranes, but ACPs additionally target mitochondrial and plasma membranes of cancer cells. The preference towards mitochondrial membranes is explained by their membrane potential, membrane composition resulting from α-proteobacterial origin and the fact that mitochondrial targeting signals could have evolved from AMPs. Taking into account the therapeutic potential of ACPs and millions of deaths due to cancer annually, it is of vital importance to find new cationic peptides that selectively destroy cancer cells. Therefore, to reduce the costs of experimental research, we have created a robust computational tool, CancerGram, that uses n-grams and random forests for predicting ACPs. Compared to other ACP classifiers, CancerGram is the first three-class model that effectively classifies peptides into: ACPs, AMPs and non-ACPs/non-AMPs, with AU1U amounting to 0.89 and a Kappa statistic of 0.65. CancerGram is available as a web server and R package on GitHub.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Burdukiewicz
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, 01968 Senftenberg, Germany;
- Why R? Foundation, 03-214 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Katarzyna Sidorczuk
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland; (K.S.); (F.P.)
| | - Dominik Rafacz
- Why R? Foundation, 03-214 Warsaw, Poland;
- Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-662 Warsaw, Poland; (M.B.); (J.S.)
| | - Filip Pietluch
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland; (K.S.); (F.P.)
| | - Mateusz Bąkała
- Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-662 Warsaw, Poland; (M.B.); (J.S.)
| | - Jadwiga Słowik
- Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-662 Warsaw, Poland; (M.B.); (J.S.)
| | - Przemysław Gagat
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland; (K.S.); (F.P.)
- Correspondence:
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Pant DC, Aguilera-Albesa S, Pujol A. Ceramide signalling in inherited and multifactorial brain metabolic diseases. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 143:105014. [PMID: 32653675 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, research on sphingolipids, particularly ceramides, has attracted increased attention, revealing the important roles and many functions of these molecules in several human neurological disorders. The nervous system is enriched with important classes of sphingolipids, e.g., ceramide and its derivatives, which compose the major portion of this group, particularly in the form of myelin. Ceramides have also emerged as important nodes for lipid signalling, both inside the cell and between cells. Until recently, knowledge about ceramides in the nervous system was limited, but currently, multiple links between ceramide signalling and neurological diseases have been reported. Alterations in the regulation of ceramide pathobiology have been shown to influence the risk of developing neurometabolic diseases. Thus, these molecules are critically important in the maintenance and development of the nervous system and are culprits or major contributors to the development of brain disorders, either inherited or multifactorial. In the present review, we highlight the critical role of ceramide signalling in several different neurological disorders as well as the effects of their perturbations and discuss how this emerging class of bioactive sphingolipids has attracted interest in the field of neurological diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devesh C Pant
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
| | - Sergio Aguilera-Albesa
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Navarra Health Service Hospital, Irunlarrea 4, 310620 Pamplona, Spain; Navarrabiomed-Miguel Servet Research Foundation, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Aurora Pujol
- Neurometabolic Diseases Laboratory, IDIBELL, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Gran Via 199, 08908, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
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