Shortage of lipid-radical cycles in membranes as a possible prime cause of energetic failure in aging and Alzheimer disease

Role of cytochrome b5 in the modulation of the enzymatic activities of cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (P450 17A1)

Cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) is a small hemoprotein that plays a significant role in the modulation of activities of an important steroidogenic enzyme, cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (P450 17A1, CYP17A1). Located in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex and in the gonads, P450 17A1 catalyzes two different reactions in the steroidogenic pathway; the 17α-hydroxylation and 17,20-lyase, in the endoplasmic reticulum of these respective tissues. The activities of P450 17A1 are regulated by cyt b5 that enhances the 17,20-lyase reaction by promoting the coupling of P450 17A1 and cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR), allosterically. Cyt b5 can also act as an electron donor to enhance the 16-ene-synthase activity of human P450 17A1. In this review, we discuss the many roles of cyt b5 and focus on the modulation of CYP17A1 activities by cyt b5 and the mechanisms involved.

AlzPathway: a comprehensive map of signaling pathways of Alzheimer's disease

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. To clarify pathogenesis of AD, thousands of reports have been accumulating. However, knowledge of signaling pathways in the field of AD has not been compiled as a database before.

Description

Here, we have constructed a publicly available pathway map called “AlzPathway” that comprehensively catalogs signaling pathways in the field of AD. We have collected and manually curated over 100 review articles related to AD, and have built an AD pathway map using CellDesigner. AlzPathway is currently composed of 1347 molecules and 1070 reactions in neuron, brain blood barrier, presynaptic, postsynaptic, astrocyte, and microglial cells and their cellular localizations. AlzPathway is available as both the SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language) map for CellDesigner and the high resolution image map. AlzPathway is also available as a web service (online map) based on Payao system, a community-based, collaborative web service platform for pathway model curation, enabling continuous updates by AD researchers.

Conclusions

AlzPathway is the first comprehensive map of intra, inter and extra cellular AD signaling pathways which can enable mechanistic deciphering of AD pathogenesis. The AlzPathway map is accessible at http://alzpathway.org/.

Lipid peroxidation in Alzheimer's disease: emphasis on metal-mediated neurotoxicity

Despite the crucial role of redox active metals like copper and iron in central biological reactions, their elevated levels are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Similarly reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) produced during normal metabolic activities, specifically oxidative phosphorylation of the cell, are scavenged by antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase but impaired metabolic pathways tend to generate elevated levels of these ROS/RNS. Iron, copper, and zinc are some of the metals, which intensify this process and contribute for the pathogenesis of AD. This review summarizes the mechanism of ROS/RNS production and their role in lipid peroxidation. The factors, which make brain vulnerable for lipid peroxidation, have been discussed. It also focuses on possible treatment options and future directions.

Functional aspects of redox control during neuroinflammation

Neuroinflammation is a CNS reaction to injury in which some severe pathologies, regardless of their origin, converge. The phenomenon emphasizes crosstalk between neurons and glia and reveals a complex interaction with oxidizing agents through redox sensors localized in enzymes, receptors, and transcription factors. When oxidizing pressures cause reversible molecular changes, such as minimal or transitory proinflammatory cytokine overproduction, redox couples provide a means of translating the presence of reactive oxygen or nitrogen species into useful signals in the cell. Additionally, thiol-based redox sensors convey information about localized changes in redox potential induced by physiologic or pathologic situations. They are susceptible to oxidative changes and become key events during neuroinflammation, altering the course of a signaling response or the behavior of specific transcription factors. When oxidative stress augments the pressure on the intracellular environment, the effective reduction potential of redox pairs diminishes, and cell signaling shifts toward proinflammatory and proapoptotic signals, creating a vicious cycle between oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. In addition, electrophilic compounds derived from the oxidative cascade react with key protein thiols and interfere with redox signaling. This article reviews the relevant functional aspects of redox control during the neuroinflammatory process.

Delineating the role of glutathione peroxidase 4 in protecting cells against lipid hydroperoxide damage and in Alzheimer's disease

Numerous studies characterizing the function of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) have demonstrated that this selenoenzyme is protective against oxidative stress. Herein, we characterized the function of this protein by targeting GPx4 downregulation using RNA interference. Partial knockdown of GPx4 levels resulted in growth retardation and morphological changes. Surprisingly, GPx4 knockdown cells showed virtually unchanged levels of intracellular ROS, yet highly increased levels of oxidized lipid by-products. GPx1, another glutathione peroxidase and a major cellular peroxide scavenging enzyme, did not rescue GPx4-deficient cells and did not reduce lipid peroxide levels. The data established an essential role of GPx4 in protecting cells against lipid hydroperoxide damage, yet a limited role as a general antioxidant enzyme. As oxidized lipid hydroperoxides are a characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases, we analyzed brain tissues of mice suffering from a model of Alzheimer's disease and found that oxidized lipid by-products were enriched, and expression of both GPx4 and guanine-rich sequence-binding factor, which is known to control GPx4 synthesis, was downregulated. Brain tissue from an Alzheimer's diseased human also manifested enhanced levels of one of the oxidized lipid by-products, 4-hydroxynonenal. These data suggest a role of GPx4 in neurodegenerative diseases through its function in removal of lipid hydroperoxides.

Lipid peroxidation in relation to ageing and the role of endogenous aldehydes in diabetes and other age-related diseases

Lipid intermediates which are generated by ROS have drawn more attention after it was found that lipid peroxidation and lipid-radical cycles are two alternative processes. In biological membranes alpha-tocopherol and cytochrome b5, as known, act synergistically to overcome free radical injury and to form lipid-radical cycles. These cycles activate membrane proteins, protect membrane lipids from oxidation and prevent from formation of endogenous aldehydes. Experimental and clinical evidence accumulated for 5-6 years suggests that endogenous aldehydes, such as malonic dialdehyde (MDA) and methylglyoxal (MG), are the major initiators of the metabolic disorders. The age-related diseases emerge when cells cannot control formation of aldehydes and/or cannot abolish the negative effect of methylglyoxal on their metabolism. If the efficiency of the glyoxalase system is insufficient toxic aldehydes cause cumulative damage over a lifetime. In this paper, we provide evidence to consider ageing as a process in which lipid-radical cycles gradually substitute for lipid peroxidation. There are always two opposing tendencies or actions which counteract each other - actions of melatonin, lipid-radical cycles and the glyoxalase system (anti-ageing effect) and negative actions of the toxic aldehydes (pro-ageing effect). Life span is determined by the balance of two opposing processes.

Capillary electrophoresis-assisted identification of peroxyl radical generated by single-walled carbon nanotubes in a cell-free system

The mechanism of how single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) induce oxidative stress in cells has always been under debate. In the present paper, we have clearly identified the generation of peroxyl radical (ROO(*)) by the unmodified SWCNT and the poly(ethylene glycol)-functionalized SWCNT (SWCNT-PEG) in aqueous solutions using a simple analytical technique: capillary electrophoresis (CE). CE provides a sensitive detection platform for the oxidation product of the employed reactive oxygen species (ROS) indicator, 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (H(2)DCF). In addition, its high separation power eliminates the fluorescence quenching exerted by SWCNTs, which was a big problem that has been encountered in measurements with microplate readers, and facilitates the screening of a large variety of ROS scavengers, including small molecules, surfactant, and proteins, in our study. Furthermore, CE enables the simultaneous incubation of multiple ROS indicators for comparison of their oxidation efficiency, improving the detection specificity. The adsorption of oxygen on the SWCNT surface could be the source of the identified ROO(*), because surface coverage by surfactant or proteins could inhibit the oxidation and the anaerobic experiment led to data agreeing with the Langmuir isotherm. The peroxyl radical can serve as the seed for the production of more-active ROS after the SWCNT enters the cell and, therefore, SWCNTs hold potential toxicity to the biological hosts.