Methionine sulfoxide reductases and methionine sulfoxide in the subterranean mole rat (Spalax): characterization of expression under various oxygen conditions

Differential Responses of Methionine Sulfoxide Reductases A and B to Anoxia and Oxidative Stress in the Freshwater Turtle Trachemys scripta

Oxidative stress has been acknowledged as a major factor in aging, senescence and neurodegenerative conditions. Mammalian models are susceptible to these stresses following the restoration of oxygen after anoxia; however, some organisms including the freshwater turtle Trachemys scripta can withstand repeated anoxia and reoxygenation without apparent pathology. T. scripta thus provides us with an alternate vertebrate model to investigate physiological mechanisms of neuroprotection. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant methionine sulfoxide reductase system (Msr) in turtle neuronal tissue. We examined brain transcript and protein levels of MsrA and MsrB and examined the potential for the transcription factor FOXO3a to regulate the oxygen-responsive changes in Msr in vitro. We found that Msr mRNA and protein levels are differentially upregulated during anoxia and reoxygenation, and when cells were exposed to chemical oxidative stress. However, while MsrA and MsrB3 levels increased when cell cultures were exposed to chemical oxidative stress, this induction was not enhanced by treatment with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has previously been shown to enhance FOXO3a levels in the turtle. These results suggest that FOXO3a and Msr protect the cells from oxidative stress through different molecular pathways, and that both the Msr pathway and EGCG may be therapeutic targets to treat diseases related to oxidative damage.

The mTORC1/eIF4E/HIF-1α Pathway Mediates Glycolysis to Support Brain Hypoxia Resistance in the Gansu Zokor, Eospalax cansus

The Gansu zokor (Eospalax cansus) is a subterranean rodent species that is unique to China. These creatures inhabit underground burrows with a hypoxia environment. Metabolic energy patterns in subterranean rodents have become a recent focus of research; however, little is known about brain energy metabolism under conditions of hypoxia in this species. The mammalian (mechanistic) target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) coordinates eukaryotic cell growth and metabolism, and its downstream targets regulate hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) under conditions of hypoxia to induce glycolysis. In this study, we compared the metabolic characteristics of hypoxia-tolerant subterranean Gansu zokors under hypoxic conditions with those of hypoxia-intolerant Sprague-Dawley rats with a similar-sized surface area. We exposed Gansu zokors and rats to hypoxia I (44 h at 10.5% O₂) or hypoxia II (6 h at 6.5% O₂) and then measured the transcriptional levels of mTORC1 downstream targets, the transcriptional and translational levels of glycolysis-related genes, glucose and fructose levels in plasma and brain, and the activity of key glycolysis-associated enzymes. Under hypoxia, we found that hif-1α transcription was upregulated via the mTORC1/eIF4E pathway to drive glycolysis. Furthermore, Gansu zokor brain exhibited enhanced fructose-driven glycolysis under hypoxia through increased expression of the GLUT5 fructose transporter and ketohexokinase (KHK), in addition to increased KHK enzymatic activity, and utilization of fructose; these changes did not occur in rat. However, glucose-driven glycolysis was enhanced in both Gansu zokor and rat under hypoxia II of 6.5% O₂ for 6 h. Overall, our results indicate that on the basis of glucose as the main metabolic substrate, fructose is used to accelerate the supply of energy in Gansu zokor, which mirrors the metabolic responses to hypoxia in this species.

Genetic regulation of longevity and age-associated diseases through the methionine sulfoxide reductase system

Methionine sulfoxide reductase enzymes are a protective system against biological oxidative stress in aerobic organisms. Modifications to this antioxidant system have been shown to impact the lifespan of several model system organisms. In humans, methionine oxidation of critical proteins and deficiencies in the methionine sulfoxide reductase system have been linked to age-related diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Substrates for methionine sulfoxide reductases have been reviewed multiple times, and are still an active area of discovery. In contrast, less is known about the genetic regulation of methionine sulfoxide reductases. In this review, we discuss studies on the genetic regulation of the methionine sulfoxide reductase system with relevance to longevity and age-related diseases. A better understanding of genetic regulation for methionine sulfoxide reductases may lead to new therapeutic approaches for age-related diseases in the future.

Methionine in Proteins: It's Not Just for Protein Initiation Anymore

Methionine in proteins is often thought to be a generic hydrophobic residue, functionally replaceable with another hydrophobic residue such as valine or leucine. This is not the case, and the reason is that methionine contains sulfur that confers special properties on methionine. The sulfur can be oxidized, converting methionine to methionine sulfoxide, and ubiquitous methionine sulfoxide reductases can reduce the sulfoxide back to methionine. This redox cycle enables methionine residues to provide a catalytically efficient antioxidant defense by reacting with oxidizing species. The cycle also constitutes a reversible post-translational covalent modification analogous to phosphorylation. As with phosphorylation, enzymatically-mediated oxidation and reduction of specific methionine residues functions as a regulatory process in the cell. Methionine residues also form bonds with aromatic residues that contribute significantly to protein stability. Given these important functions, alteration of the methionine-methionine sulfoxide balance in proteins has been correlated with disease processes, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Methionine isn't just for protein initiation.

Protection by Nitric Oxide Donors of Isolated Rat Hearts Is Associated with Activation of Redox Metabolism and Ferritin Accumulation

Preconditioning (PC) procedures (ischemic or pharmacological) are powerful procedures used for attaining protection against prolonged ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury, in a variety of organs, including the heart. The detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the protection by PC are however, complex and only partially understood. Recently, an ‘iron-based mechanism’ (IBM), that includes de novo ferritin synthesis and accumulation, was proposed to explain the specific steps in cardioprotection generated by IPC. The current study investigated whether nitric oxide (NO), generated by exogenous NO-donors, could play a role in the observed IBM of cardioprotection by IPC. Therefore, three distinct NO-donors were investigated at different concentrations (1–10 μM): sodium nitroprusside (SNP), 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP). Isolated rat hearts were retrogradely perfused using the Langendorff configuration and subjected to prolonged ischemia and reperfusion with or without pretreatment by NO-donors. Hemodynamic parameters, infarct sizes and proteins of the methionine-centered redox cycle (MCRC) were analyzed, as well as cytosolic aconitase (CA) activity and ferritin protein levels. All NO-donors had significant effects on proteins involved in the MCRC system. Nonetheless, pretreatment with 10 μM SNAP was found to evoke the strongest effects on Msr activity, thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase protein levels. These effects were accompanied with a significant reduction in infarct size, increased CA activity, and ferritin accumulation. Conversely, pretreatment with 2 μM SIN-1 increased infarct size and was associated with slightly lower ferritin protein levels. In conclusion, the abovementioned findings indicate that NO, depending on its bio-active redox form, can regulate iron metabolism and plays a role in the IBM of cardioprotection against reperfusion injury.

The enzymatic activities of brain catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and methionine sulphoxide reductase are correlated in a COMT Val/Met allele-dependent fashion

AIMS

The enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) plays a primary role in the metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters and is implicated in the modulation of cognitive and emotional responses. The best characterized single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the COMT gene consists of a valine (Val)-to-methionine (Met) substitution at codon 108/158. The Met-containing variant confers a marked reduction in COMT catalytic activity. We recently showed that the activity of recombinant COMT is positively regulated by the enzyme Met sulphoxide reductase (MSR), which counters the oxidation of Met residues of proteins. The current study was designed to assess whether brain COMT activity may be correlated to MSR in an allele-dependent fashion.

METHODS

COMT and MSR activities were measured from post-mortem samples of prefrontal cortices, striata and cerebella of 32 subjects by using catechol and dabsyl-Met sulphoxide as substrates, respectively. Allelic discrimination of COMT Val(108/185) Met SNP was performed using the Taqman 5'nuclease assay.

RESULTS

Our studies revealed that, in homozygous carriers of Met, but not Val alleles, the activity of COMT and MSR was significantly correlated throughout all tested brain regions.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the reduced enzymatic activity of Met-containing COMT may be secondary to Met sulphoxidation and point to MSR as a key molecular determinant for the modulation of COMT activity.

Recovery from hypoxia and hypercapnic hypoxia: impacts on the transcription of key antioxidants in the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Estuarine waters are prone to regular bouts of low oxygen (hypoxia) and high carbon dioxide (hypercapnia). In vertebrates, tissue hypoxia followed by reoxygenation can generate high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that exceed cellular antioxidant capacity, leading to tissue damage. Here we quantified the expression of several antioxidant genes in the hepatopancreas of Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, after exposure to hypoxia or hypercapnic hypoxia for 4h or 24h followed by recovery in air-saturated water (normoxia) for 0, 1, 6 or 24h, as compared to time-matched controls maintained only in normoxia. Transcripts of cytoplasmic Mn-superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and peptide-methionine (R)-S-oxide reductase (MsrB) increased after 4h exposure to either hypoxia or hypercapnic hypoxia; these elevated transcript levels persisted longer in animals recovering from hypercapnic hypoxia than hypoxia alone. cMnSOD transcripts generally increased, but GPX, MsrB, glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and thioredoxin 1 (TRX-1) decreased or did not change in most long-term (24h) treatment-recovery groups. Thus, the transcriptional responses of several antioxidant genes during recovery from tidally-driven hypoxia and hypercapnic hypoxia decrease or are muted by more persistent exposure to these conditions, leaving L. vannamei potentially vulnerable to ROS damage during recovery.