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Yang Y, Nie X, Wang Y, Sun J, Gao X, Zhang J. Evolving insights into erythrocytes in synucleinopathies. Trends Neurosci 2024:S0166-2236(24)00119-X. [PMID: 39043489 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2024.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), are characterized by neuronal loss accompanied by α-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation in the brain. While research conventionally focused on brain pathology, there is growing interest in peripheral alterations. Erythrocytes, which are rich in α-syn, have emerged as a compelling site for synucleinopathies-related alterations. Erythrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), containing pathological α-syn species, can traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB) under certain conditions and the gastrointestinal tract, where α-syn and gut microbiota interact extensively. This review explores the accumulating evidence of erythrocyte involvement in synucleinopathies, as well as their potential in disease pathogenesis and diagnosis. Given their unique properties, erythrocytes and erythrocyte-derived EVs may also serve as an ideal therapeutic platform for treating synucleinopathies and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yang
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqian Nie
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yajie Wang
- Department of Cell Biology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University & Zhejiang Engineering Laboratory for Stem Cell and Immunotherapy, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Laboratory for Systems & Precision Medicine, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Department of Cell Biology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University & Zhejiang Engineering Laboratory for Stem Cell and Immunotherapy, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Laboratory for Systems & Precision Medicine, Zhejiang University Medical Center, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaofei Gao
- Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Structural Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; National Health and Disease Human Brain Tissue Resource Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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Philipp TM, Scheller AS, Krafczyk N, Klotz LO, Steinbrenner H. Methanethiol: A Scent Mark of Dysregulated Sulfur Metabolism in Cancer. Antioxidants (Basel) 2023; 12:1780. [PMID: 37760083 PMCID: PMC10525899 DOI: 10.3390/antiox12091780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In order to cope with increased demands for energy and metabolites as well as to enhance stress resilience, tumor cells develop various metabolic adaptations, representing a hallmark of cancer. In this regard, the dysregulation of sulfur metabolism that may result in elevated levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in body fluids, breath, and/or excretions of cancer patients has recently gained attention. Besides hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methanethiol is the predominant cancer-associated VSC and has been proposed as a promising biomarker for non-invasive cancer diagnosis. Gut bacteria are the major exogenous source of exposure to this foul-smelling toxic gas, with methanethiol-producing strains such as Fusobacterium nucleatum highly abundant in the gut microbiome of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) patients. Physiologically, methanethiol becomes rapidly degraded through the methanethiol oxidase (MTO) activity of selenium-binding protein 1 (SELENBP1). However, SELENBP1, which is considered a tumor suppressor, is often downregulated in tumor tissues, and this has been epidemiologically linked to poor clinical outcomes. In addition to impaired removal, an increase in methanethiol levels may derive from non-enzymatic reactions, such as a Maillard reaction between glucose and methionine, two metabolites enriched in cancer cells. High methionine concentrations in cancer cells may also result in enzymatic methanethiol production in mitochondria. Moreover, enzymatic endogenous methanethiol production may occur through methyltransferase-like protein 7B (METTL7B), which is present at elevated levels in some cancers, including CRC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In conclusion, methanethiol contributes to the scent of cancer as part of the cancer-associated signature combination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are increasingly being exploited for non-invasive early cancer diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Holger Steinbrenner
- Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Nutrigenomics Section, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, D-07743 Jena, Germany; (T.M.P.); (A.S.S.); (N.K.); (L.-O.K.)
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Scheller AS, Philipp TM, Klotz LO, Steinbrenner H. Altered Capacity for H 2S Production during the Spontaneous Differentiation of Caco-2 Cells to Colonocytes Due to Reciprocal Regulation of CBS and SELENBP1. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11101957. [PMID: 36290680 PMCID: PMC9598602 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11101957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been proposed to promote tumor growth. Elevated H2S levels have been detected in human colorectal cancer (CRC) biopsies, resulting from the selective upregulation of cystathionine β-synthase (CBS). In contrast, the recently identified novel H2S-generating enzyme, selenium-binding protein 1 (SELENBP1), is largely suppressed in tumors. Here, we provide the first comparative analysis of the four human H2S-producing enzymes and the key H2S-catabolizing enzyme, sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQOR), in Caco-2 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. The gene expression pattern of proliferating Caco-2 cells parallels that of CRC, while confluent cells undergo spontaneous differentiation to a colonocyte-like phenotype. SELENBP1 and SQOR were strongly upregulated during spontaneous differentiation, whereas CBS was downregulated. Cystathionine γ-lyase and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase remained unaffected. Terminally differentiated cells showed an enhanced capacity to produce H2S from methanethiol and homocysteine. Differentiation induced by exposure to butyrate also resulted in the upregulation of SELENBP1, accompanied by increased SELENBP1 promoter activity. In contrast to spontaneous differentiation, however, butyrate did not cause downregulation of CBS. In summary, SELENBP1 and CBS are reciprocally regulated during the spontaneous differentiation of Caco-2 cells, thus paralleling their opposing regulation in CRC. Butyrate exposure, while imitating some aspects of spontaneous differentiation, does not elicit the same expression patterns of genes encoding H2S-modulating enzymes.
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