Isolation of avian mitochondrial DNA-less cells

The effects of ethidium bromide induced loss of mitochondrial DNA on mitochondrial phenotype and ultrastructure in a human leukemia T-cell line (MOLT-4 cells)

Mitochondrial DNA-deficient (rho(0)) cells were generated following a 26-day incubation of MOLT-4 lymphoblastoid T cells in ethidium bromide (3,8-diamino-5-ethyl-6-phenylphenanthridinium bromide). The absence of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the resultant MOLT-4 rho(0) cells was confirmed by Southern analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MOLT-4 rho(0) cells proliferated more slowly than parental cells (wild type) and produced significantly more lactate (approximately fourfold increase; P < 0.001) with concomitantly reduced oxygen consumption (12.3% vs. 100%; P < 0.001) compared with the wild type. MOLT-4 rho(0) cells also showed reduced cytochrome c oxidase activity and a reduced cytochrome c oxidase/citrate synthase activity ratio compared to parental wild-type MOLT-4 cells (P < 10(-11)). Electron microscopy showed elongated mitochondria with parallel cristae in MOLT-4 cells although the mitochondria in MOLT-4 rho(0) cells appeared enlarged, some were vacuolated with either an absent or a grossly distorted cristae pattern. Vital staining with 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolyl-carbocyanine iodide (JC-1) was used to image mitochondria in intact cells and study mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsi(m)). Flow cytometry using JC-1 indicated that MOLT-4 rho(0) had a lower Deltapsi(m) than MOLT-4. Sodium fluoride (an inhibitor of the glycolytic pathway) at a concentration of 20 mM further reduced the Deltapsi(m) in MOLT-4-rho(0) cells. This data suggested that a glycolytic pathway product, possibly ATP, was required for the maintenance of Deltapsi(m) in MOLT-4 rho(0) cells.

Suppression of human tumor cell proliferation through mitochondrial targeting

Intracellular calcium signaling plays a central role in cell proliferation. In leukemic cells, the calcium release-activated calcium channels provide a major pathway for calcium entry (I(CRAC)) perpetuating progression through the cell cycle. Although I(CRAC) is under mitochondrial regulation, targeting mitochondrial function has not been exploited to control malignant cell growth. The benzothiadiazine diazoxide, which depolarized respiration-dependent mitochondrial membrane potential, reduced the rate of proliferation and arrested human acute leukemic T cells in the G0/G1 phase. Diazoxide did not alter cellular energetics, but rather inhibited the mitochondria-controlled I(CRAC) and reduced calcium influx into tumor cells. The antiproliferative action of diazoxide was mimicked by removal of extracellular calcium or by the tyrphostin A9, an I(CRAC) inhibitor. Deletion of the mitochondrial genome, which encodes essential respiratory chain enzyme subunits, attenuated the inhibitory effect of diazoxide on I(CRAC)-mediated calcium influx and cell proliferation. Thus, manipulation of mitochondrial function and associated calcium signaling provides a basis for a novel anticancer strategy.

Mitochondrial genome content is regulated during nematode development

Growth and development rely on the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) as the major source of ATP. We measured the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number of each of the Caenorhabditis elegans developmental stages. Embryos, L1, L2, and L3 larvae all have approximately 25,000 copies of maternally derived mtDNA. The copy number increases fivefold in L4 larvae and a further sixfold in adult hermaphrodites, but only twofold in adult males. The majority of mtDNA in adult worms is germline associated, and germline-deficient mutants show markedly reduced mtDNA contents. With sperm-deficient or oocyte-deficient mutants, we confirm that mtDNA amplification is primarily associated with oocyte production. When mtDNA replication is inhibited, a quantitative and homogeneous arrest as L3 larvae occurs. Thus, mtDNA amplification is a necessary component of normal development and its regulation may involve an energy-sensing decision or checkpoint that can be invoked when mitochondrial energy generation is impaired.

CREB activation induced by mitochondrial dysfunction is a new signaling pathway that impairs cell proliferation

We characterized a new signaling pathway leading to the activation of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) in several cell lines affected by mitochondrial dysfunction. In vitro kinase assays, inhibitors of several kinase pathways and overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant for calcium/calmodulin kinase IV (CaMKIV), which blocks the activation of CREB, showed that CaMKIV is activated by a mitochondrial activity impairment. A high calcium concentration leading to the disruption of the protein interaction with protein phosphatase 2A explains CaMKIV activation in these conditions. Transcrip tionally active phosphorylated CREB was also found in a rho0 143B human osteosarcoma cell line and in a MERRF cybrid cell line mutated for tRNA(Lys) (A8344G). We also showed that phosphorylated CREB is involved in the proliferation defect induced by a mitochondrial dysfunction. Indeed, cell proliferation inhibition can be prevented by CaMKIV inhibition and CREB dominant-negative mutants. Finally, our data suggest that phosphorylated CREB recruits p53 tumor suppressor protein, modifies its transcriptional activity and increases the expression of p21(Waf1/Cip1), a p53-regulated cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor.

Widespread distribution of low-copy-number variants of mitochondrial plasmid pEM in the genus Agaricus

The incidence of the linear mitochondrial plasmid pEM in Agaricus spp. was believed to be rare, based on visualization by gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization. However, we report in this study PCR amplification of pEM-like sequences from all but one species of Agaricus examined. Regions amplified included (1) the pEM RNA polymerase gene and (2) adjoining carboxy-termini of the DNA and RNA polymerase genes. Sequence data from the RNA polymerase-like products support a plasmid, rather than mitochondrial, origin for these sequences. Sequence variation was low, and most differences were silent or conservative at the amino acid level. Stop codons were found in two of seven sequence types suggesting that functional constraints are low. A parsimony-derived phylogeny for these sequences did not match expected phylogenies for the host species. Recent acquisition of the plasmid is presented as the most likely hypothesis explaining these observations.

Up-regulation of nuclear genes in response to inhibition of mitochondrial DNA expression in chicken cells

Vertebrate cells depleted of (rho0) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibited phenotypic traits that differed from the parental (rho+) cells. To isolate genes whose expression is associated with mtDNA depletion, we constructed cDNA libraries from mRNAs isolated from chicken rho+ cells transformed by the MC29 (v-myc-containing) retrovirus and from rho0 cells developed by long-term exposure of the rho+ cells to ethidium bromide (EtdBr). Through subtractive hybridization procedures, three genes, elongation factor 1 alpha (EF- 1 alpha), beta-actin and v-myc were identified and found to be up-regulated in rho0 cells. In addition, Northern analysis demonstrated that the mRNA content for GAPDH was also elevated in rho0 cells. Run-on transcription assays and mRNA stability studies in the presence of actinomycin D indicated that elevated expression of these four genes depends, at least in part, upon increased rate of transcription. Other regulatory mechanisms contribute to the elevated expression of the transcripts in rho0 cells, as suggested by cycloheximide enhancement of the accumulation of the mRNAs for EF-1 alpha and beta-actin in rho0 cells, but not in parental rho+ cells. Moreover, inhibition of mtDNA replication and transcription by EtdBr and inhibition of translation on mitoribosomes by chloramphenicol also increased the expression of the four genes in parental rho+ cells, thus mimicking the situation in rho0 cells. These data suggest that information encoded within mtDNA participates in the regulation of nuclear genes in chicken cells.

Zidovudine potentiates local and systemic inflammatory responses in the rat

The effect of chronic treatment with zidovudine (AZT) on the inflammatory response was examined in the rat. AZT was administered orally for 36 days. On day 35, inflammation was induced by hindpaw injection of 1% carrageenan lambda. Paw edema over a 24-hour period was used as a marker of the local inflammatory reaction. On day 36, quantification of immunoreactive T-kininogen and alpha 1-inhibitor-3 in liver and serum was used to assess the systemic inflammatory response. Albumin was selected as a protein whose concentration is modified only slightly or not at all during the acute-phase response. Animals treated with AZT transiently exhibited significantly greater (18%) paw edema 3 hours after carrageenan injection. AZT treatment alone induced a 1.8-fold increase in serum T-kininogen concentration, but it had no effect on albumin and alpha 1-inhibitor-3. In rats with inflamed paws, AZT administration led to a significant increase in liver (3.4-fold) and serum (1.8-fold) immunoreactive T-kininogen content. Dot blot analysis of total RNA isolated from liver correlated with the protein measurements. Our results indicate that chronic treatment with AZT potentiates the nonspecific local and the systemic inflammatory responses in the rat.