Induction of iron regulatory protein 1 RNA-binding activity by nitric oxide is associated with a concomitant increase in the labile iron pool: implications for DNA damage

Anti‑inflammatory effects of methanol extract from Peperomia dindygulensis Miq. mediated by HO‑1 in LPS‑induced RAW 264.7 cells

Inflammation serves as a multifaceted defense mechanism activated by pathogens, cellular damage and irritants, aiming to eliminate primary causes of injury and promote tissue repair. Peperomia dindygulensis Miq. (P. dindygulensis), prevalent in Vietnam and southern China, has a history of traditional use for treating cough, fever and asthma. Previous studies on its phytochemicals have shown their potential as anti-inflammatory agents, yet underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. The present study investigated the regulatory effects of P. dindygulensis on the anti-inflammatory pathways. The methanol extracts of P. dindygulensis (PDME) were found to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production and induce heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression in murine macrophages. While MAPKs inhibitors, such as SP600125, SB203580 and U0126 did not regulate HO-1 expression, the treatment of cycloheximide, a translation inhibitor, reduced HO-1. Furthermore, PDME inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and TNF-α expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. The activity of NOS and the expression of TNF-α, iNOS and COX-2 decreased in LPS-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells treated with PDME and this effect was regulated by inhibition of HO-1 activity. These findings suggested that PDME functions as an HO-1 inducer and serves as an effective natural anti-inflammatory agent in LPS-induced inflammation.

Insights on the endogenous labile iron pool binding properties

Under normal physiological conditions, the endogenous Labile Iron Pool (LIP) constitutes a ubiquitous, dynamic, tightly regulated reservoir of cellular ferrous iron. Furthermore, LIP is loaded into new apo-iron proteins, a process akin to the activity of metallochaperones. Despite such importance on iron metabolism, the LIP identity and binding properties have remained elusive. We hypothesized that LIP binds to cell constituents (generically denoted C) and forms an iron complex termed CLIP. Combining this binding model with the established Calcein (CA) methodology for assessing cytosolic LIP, we have formulated an equation featuring two experimentally quantifiable parameters (the concentrations of the cytosolic free CA and CA and LIP complex termed CALIP) and three unknown parameters (the total concentrations of LIP and C and their thermodynamic affinity constant Kd). The fittings of cytosolic CALIP × CA concentrations data encompassing a few cellular models to this equation with floating unknown parameters were successful. The computed adjusted total LIP (LIPT) and C (CT) concentrations fall within the sub-to-low micromolar range while the computed Kd was in the 10-2 µM range for all cell types. Thus, LIP binds and has high affinity to cellular constituents found in low concentrations and has remarkably similar properties across different cell types, shedding fresh light on the properties of endogenous LIP within cells.

On the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Multifunctional Compounds for the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

Protein aggregation, mitochondrial dysfunction, iron dyshomeostasis, increased oxidative damage and inflammation are pathognomonic features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders characterized by abnormal iron accumulation. Moreover, the existence of positive feed-back loops between these pathological components, which accelerate, and sometimes make irreversible, the neurodegenerative process, is apparent. At present, the available treatments for PD aim to relieve the symptoms, thus improving quality of life, but no treatments to stop the progression of the disease are available. Recently, the use of multifunctional compounds with the capacity to attack several of the key components of neurodegenerative processes has been proposed as a strategy to slow down the progression of neurodegenerative processes. For the treatment of PD specifically, the necessary properties of new-generation drugs should include mitochondrial destination, the center of iron-reactive oxygen species interaction, iron chelation capacity to decrease iron-mediated oxidative damage, the capacity to quench free radicals to decrease the risk of ferroptotic neuronal death, the capacity to disrupt α-synuclein aggregates and the capacity to decrease inflammatory conditions. Desirable additional characteristics are dopaminergic neurons to lessen unwanted secondary effects during long-term treatment, and the inhibition of the MAO-B and COMPT activities to increase intraneuronal dopamine content. On the basis of the published evidence, in this work, we review the molecular basis underlying the pathological events associated with PD and the clinical trials that have used single-target drugs to stop the progress of the disease. We also review the current information on multifunctional compounds that may be used for the treatment of PD and discuss the chemical characteristics that underlie their functionality. As a projection, some of these compounds or modifications could be used to treat diseases that share common pathology features with PD, such as Friedreich's ataxia, Multiple sclerosis, Huntington disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Inflaming the Brain with Iron

Iron accumulation and neuroinflammation are pathological conditions found in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Iron and inflammation are intertwined in a bidirectional relationship, where iron modifies the inflammatory phenotype of microglia and infiltrating macrophages, and in turn, these cells secrete diffusible mediators that reshape neuronal iron homeostasis and regulate iron entry into the brain. Secreted inflammatory mediators include cytokines and reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), notably hepcidin and nitric oxide (·NO). Hepcidin is a small cationic peptide with a central role in regulating systemic iron homeostasis. Also present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), hepcidin can reduce iron export from neurons and decreases iron entry through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by binding to the iron exporter ferroportin 1 (Fpn1). Likewise, ·NO selectively converts cytosolic aconitase (c-aconitase) into the iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1), which regulates cellular iron homeostasis through its binding to iron response elements (IRE) located in the mRNAs of iron-related proteins. Nitric oxide-activated IRP1 can impair cellular iron homeostasis during neuroinflammation, triggering iron accumulation, especially in the mitochondria, leading to neuronal death. In this review, we will summarize findings that connect neuroinflammation and iron accumulation, which support their causal association in the neurodegenerative processes observed in AD and PD.

Molecular Mechanisms of Nitric Oxide in Cancer Progression, Signal Transduction, and Metabolism

SIGNIFICANCE

Cancer is a complex disease, which not only involves the tumor but its microenvironment comprising different immune cells as well. Nitric oxide (NO) plays specific roles within tumor cells and the microenvironment and determines the rate of cancer progression, therapy efficacy, and patient prognosis. Recent Advances: Key understanding of the processes leading to dysregulated NO flux within the tumor microenvironment over the past decade has provided better understanding of the dichotomous role of NO in cancer and its importance in shaping the immune landscape. It is becoming increasingly evident that nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2)-mediated NO/reactive nitrogen oxide species (RNS) are heavily involved in cancer progression and metastasis in different types of tumor. More recent studies have found that NO from NOS2+ macrophages is required for cancer immunotherapy to be effective.

CRITICAL ISSUES

NO/RNS, unlike other molecules, are unique in their ability to target a plethora of oncogenic pathways during cancer progression. In this review, we subcategorize the different levels of NO produced by cells and shed light on the context-dependent temporal effects on cancer signaling and metabolic shift in the tumor microenvironment.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Understanding the source of NO and its spaciotemporal profile within the tumor microenvironment could help improve efficacy of cancer immunotherapies by improving tumor infiltration of immune cells for better tumor clearance.

Essential functions of iron-requiring proteins in DNA replication, repair and cell cycle control

Eukaryotic cells contain numerous iron-requiring proteins such as iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster proteins, hemoproteins and ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs). These proteins utilize iron as a cofactor and perform key roles in DNA replication, DNA repair, metabolic catalysis, iron regulation and cell cycle progression. Disruption of iron homeostasis always impairs the functions of these iron-requiring proteins and is genetically associated with diseases characterized by DNA repair defects in mammals. Organisms have evolved multi-layered mechanisms to regulate iron balance to ensure genome stability and cell development. This review briefly provides current perspectives on iron homeostasis in yeast and mammals, and mainly summarizes the most recent understandings on iron-requiring protein functions involved in DNA stability maintenance and cell cycle control.

The physiological functions of iron regulatory proteins in iron homeostasis - an update

Iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) regulate the expression of genes involved in iron metabolism by binding to RNA stem-loop structures known as iron responsive elements (IREs) in target mRNAs. IRP binding inhibits the translation of mRNAs that contain an IRE in the 5′untranslated region of the transcripts, and increases the stability of mRNAs that contain IREs in the 3′untranslated region of transcripts. By these mechanisms, IRPs increase cellular iron absorption and decrease storage and export of iron to maintain an optimal intracellular iron balance. There are two members of the mammalian IRP protein family, IRP1 and IRP2, and they have redundant functions as evidenced by the embryonic lethality of the mice that completely lack IRP expression (Irp1^-/-/Irp2^-/- mice), which contrasts with the fact that Irp1^-/- and Irp2^-/- mice are viable. In addition, Irp2^-/- mice also display neurodegenerative symptoms and microcytic hypochromic anemia, suggesting that IRP2 function predominates in the nervous system and erythropoietic homeostasis. Though the physiological significance of IRP1 had been unclear since Irp1^-/- animals were first assessed in the early 1990s, recent studies indicate that IRP1 plays an essential function in orchestrating the balance between erythropoiesis and bodily iron homeostasis. Additionally, Irp1^-/- mice develop pulmonary hypertension, and they experience sudden death when maintained on an iron-deficient diet, indicating that IRP1 has a critical role in the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. This review summarizes recent progress that has been made in understanding the physiological roles of IRP1 and IRP2, and further discusses the implications for clinical research on patients with idiopathic polycythemia, pulmonary hypertension, and neurodegeneration.

Nitric oxide, nitrosyl iron complexes, ferritin and frataxin: a well equipped team to preserve plant iron homeostasis

Iron is a key element in plant nutrition. Iron deficiency as well as iron overload results in serious metabolic disorders that affect photosynthesis, respiration and general plant fitness with direct consequences on crop production. More than 25% of the cultivable land possesses low iron availability due to high pH (calcareous soils). Plant biologists are challenged by this concern and aimed to find new avenues to ameliorate plant responses and keep iron homeostasis under control even at wide range of iron availability in various soils. For this purpose, detailed knowledge of iron uptake, transport, storage and interactions with cellular compounds will help to construct a more complete picture of its role as essential nutrient. In this review, we summarize and describe the recent findings involving four central players involved in keeping cellular iron homeostasis in plants: nitric oxide, ferritin, frataxin and nitrosyl iron complexes. We attempt to highlight the interactions among these actors in different scenarios occurring under iron deficiency or iron overload, and discuss their counteracting and/or coordinating actions leading to the control of iron homeostasis.

Benefits and risks of iron supplementation in anemic neonatal pigs

Iron deficiency is a common health problem. The most severe consequence of this disorder is iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which is considered the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide. Newborn piglets are an ideal model to explore the multifaceted etiology of IDA in mammals, as IDA is the most prevalent deficiency disorder throughout the early postnatal period in this species and frequently develops into a critical illness. Here, we report the very low expression of duodenal iron transporters in pigs during the first days of life. We postulate that this low expression level is why the iron demands of the piglet body are not met by iron absorption during this period. Interestingly, we found that a low level of duodenal divalent metal transporter 1 and ferroportin, two iron transporters located on the apical and basolateral membrane of duodenal absorptive enterocytes, respectively, correlates with abnormally high expression of hepcidin, despite the poor hepatic and overall iron status of these animals. Parenteral iron supplementation by a unique intramuscular administration of large amounts of iron dextran is current practice for the treatment of IDA in piglets. However, the potential toxicity of such supplemental iron implies the necessity for caution when applying this treatment. Here we demonstrate that a modified strategy for iron supplementation of newborn piglets with iron dextran improves the piglets' hematological status, attenuates the induction of hepcidin expression, and minimizes the toxicity of the administered iron.

Free radicals act as effectors in the growth inhibition and apoptosis of iron-treated Burkitt's lymphoma cells

The addition of ferric citrate to Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines inhibits growth, leads to the accumulation of cells in the phase G(2)/M of the cell cycle and to the modulation of translocated c-myc expression. The increase in the labile iron pool (LIP) of iron-treated BL cells leads to cytotoxicity. Indeed, intracellular free iron catalyzes the formation of highly reactive compounds such as hydroxyl radicals and nitric oxide (NO) that damages macromolecular components of cells, eventually resulting in apoptosis. In this report, we have investigated the possible involvement of free radicals in the response of Ramos cells to iron. When added to Ramos cells, iron increased the intracellular levels of peroxide/peroxynitrite and NO. Moreover, the addition of free radicals scavengers (TROLOX and Carboxy-PTIO) neutralized the effects of iron on Ramos cells while addition of an NO donor or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to cells generated effects which partially mimicked those induced by iron addition. Collectively, our results suggest the involvement of free radicals as effectors in the iron specific growth inhibition of BL cells observed in vitro.

Aconitate hydratase of mammals under oxidative stress

Data on the structure, functions, regulation of activity, and expression of cytosolic and mitochondrial aconitate hydratase isoenzymes of mammals are reviewed. The role of aconitate hydratase and structurally similar iron-regulatory protein in maintenance of homeostasis of cell iron is described. Information on modifications of the aconitate hydratase molecule and changes in expression under oxidative stress is generalized. The role of aconitate hydratase in the pathogenesis of some diseases is considered.

Mechanism of adaptation of the vascular system to chronic changes in nitric oxide level in the organism

We studied the possibility of directed modulation of the efficiency of NO storage in rats due to adaptation to the chronic changes in plasma NO level. The efficiency of NO storage increased during long-term maintenance of high plasma level of NO and decreased in NO-deficient states. The compensatory changes in NO storage capacity of vessels depending on its organism content represent a new mechanism of adaptation of the cardiovascular system to chronic excess or deficit of NO, while directed modulation of this process can be important for the protection of the organism against both surplus or shortage of NO.

Inhibition of an iron-responsive element/iron regulatory protein-1 complex by ATP binding and hydrolysis

Iron regulatory protein-1 binding to the iron-responsive element of mRNA is sensitive to iron, oxidative stress, NO, and hypoxia. Each of these agents changes the level of intracellular ATP, suggesting a link between iron levels and cellular energy metabolism. Furthermore, restoration of iron regulatory protein-1 aconitase activity after NO removal has been shown to require mitochondrial ATP. We demonstrate here that the iron-responsive element-binding activity of iron regulatory protein is ATP-dependent in HepG2 cells. Iron cannot decrease iron regulatory protein binding activity in cell extracts if they are simultaneously treated with an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. Physiologic concentrations of ATP inhibit iron-responsive element/iron regulatory protein binding in cell extracts and binding of iron-responsive element to recombinant iron regulatory protein-1. ADP has the same effect, in contrast to the nonhydrolyzable analog adenosine 5'-(beta,gamma-imido)triphosphate, indicating that in order to inhibit iron regulatory protein-1 binding activity, ATP must be hydrolyzed. Indeed, recombinant iron regulatory protein-1 binds ATP with a Kd of 86+/-17 microM in a filter-binding assay, and can be photo-crosslinked to azido-ATP. Upon binding, ATP is hydrolyzed. The kinetic parameters [Km=5.3 microM, Vmax=3.4 nmol.min(-1).(mg protein)(-1)] are consistent with those of a number of other ATP-hydrolyzing proteins, including the RNA-binding helicases. Although the iron-responsive element does not itself hydrolyze ATP, its presence enhances iron regulatory protein-1's ATPase activity, and ATP hydrolysis results in loss of the complex in gel shift assays.

Metabolic regulation of citrate and iron by aconitases: role of iron–sulfur cluster biogenesis

Iron and citrate are essential for the metabolism of most organisms, and regulation of iron and citrate biology at both the cellular and systemic levels is critical for normal physiology and survival. Mitochondrial and cytosolic aconitases catalyze the interconversion of citrate and isocitrate, and aconitase activities are affected by iron levels, oxidative stress and by the status of the Fe-S cluster biogenesis apparatus. Assembly and disassembly of Fe-S clusters is a key process not only in regulating the enzymatic activity of mitochondrial aconitase in the citric acid cycle, but also in controlling the iron sensing and RNA binding activities of cytosolic aconitase (also known as iron regulatory protein IRP1). This review discusses the central role of aconitases in intermediary metabolism and explores how iron homeostasis and Fe-S cluster biogenesis regulate the Fe-S cluster switch and modulate intracellular citrate flux.

STAT5 proteins are involved in down-regulation of iron regulatory protein 1 gene expression by nitric oxide

RNA-binding activity of IRP1 (iron regulatory protein 1) is regulated by the insertion/extrusion of a [4Fe-4S] cluster into/from the IRP1 molecule. NO (nitic oxide), whose ability to activate IRP1 by removing its [4Fe-4S] cluster is well known, has also been shown to down-regulate expression of the IRP1 gene. In the present study, we examine whether this regulation occurs at the transcriptional level. Analysis of the mouse IRP1 promoter sequence revealed two conserved putative binding sites for transcription factor(s) regulated by NO and/or changes in intracellular iron level: Sp1 (promoter-selective transcription factor 1) and MTF1 (metal transcription factor 1), plus GAS (interferon-gamma-activated sequence), a binding site for STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) proteins. In order to define the functional activity of these sequences, reporter constructs were generated through the insertion of overlapping fragments of the mouse IRP1 promoter upstream of the luciferase gene. Transient expression assays following transfection of HuH7 cells with these plasmids revealed that while both the Sp1 and GAS sequences are involved in basal transcriptional activity of the IRP1 promoter, the role of the latter is predominant. Analysis of protein binding to these sequences in EMSAs (electrophoretic mobility-shift assays) using nuclear extracts from mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages stimulated to synthesize NO showed a significant decrease in the formation of Sp1-DNA and STAT-DNA complexes, compared with controls. We have also demonstrated that the GAS sequence is involved in NO-dependent down-regulation of IRP1 transcription. Further analysis revealed that levels of STAT5a and STAT5b in the nucleus and cytosol of NO-producing macrophages are substantially lower than in control cells. These findings provide evidence that STAT5 proteins play a role in NO-mediated down-regulation of IRP1 gene expression.

Crucial role of lysosomal iron in the formation of dinitrosyl iron complexes in vivo

Dinitrosyl non-heme-iron complexes (DNIC) are found in many nitric oxide producing tissues. A prerequisite of DNIC formation is the presence of nitric oxide, iron and thiol/imidazole groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the cellular labile iron pool in the formation of DNIC in erythroid K562 cells. The cells were treated with a nitric oxide donor in the presence of a permeable (salicylaldehyde isonicotinoyl hydrazone) or a nonpermeable (desferrioxamine mesylate) iron chelator and DNIC formation was recorded using electron paramagnetic resonance. Both chelators inhibited DNIC formation up to 50% after 6 h of treatment. To further investigate the role of lysosomal iron in DNIC formation, we prevented lysosomal proteolysis by pretreatment of whole cells with NH4Cl. Pretreatment with NH4Cl inhibited the formation of DNIC in a time-dependent manner that points to the importance of the degradation of iron metalloproteins in DNIC formation in vivo. Fractionation of the cell content after treatment with the nitric oxide donor revealed that DNIC is formed predominantly in the endosomal/lysosomal fraction. Taken together, these data indicate that lysosomal iron plays a crucial role in DNIC formation in vivo. Degradation of iron-containing metalloproteins seems to be important for this process.

Single-gene disorders: what role could moonlighting enzymes play?

Single-gene disorders with "simple" Mendelian inheritance do not always imply that there will be an easy prediction of the phenotype from the genotype, which has been shown for a number of metabolic disorders. We propose that moonlighting enzymes (i.e., metabolic enzymes with additional functional activities) could contribute to the complexity of such disorders. The lack of knowledge about the additional functional activities of proteins could result in a lack of correlation between genotype and phenotype. In this review, we highlight some notable and recent examples of moonlighting enzymes and their possible contributions to human disease. Because knowledge and cataloging of the moonlighting activities of proteins are essential for the study of cellular function and human physiology, we also review recently reported and recommended methods for the discovery of moonlighting activities.