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Schiavi A, Cirotti C, Gerber LS, Di Lauro G, Maglioni S, Shibao PYT, Montresor S, Kirstein J, Petzsch P, Köhrer K, Schins RPF, Wahle T, Barilà D, Ventura N. Abl depletion via autophagy mediates the beneficial effects of quercetin against Alzheimer pathology across species. Cell Death Discov 2023; 9:376. [PMID: 37838776 PMCID: PMC10576830 DOI: 10.1038/s41420-023-01592-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the most common age-associated neurodegenerative disorder and the most frequent form of dementia in our society. Aging is a complex biological process concurrently shaped by genetic, dietary and environmental factors and natural compounds are emerging for their beneficial effects against age-related disorders. Besides their antioxidant activity often described in simple model organisms, the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of different dietary compounds remain however largely unknown. In the present study, we exploit the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a widely established model for aging studies, to test the effects of different natural compounds in vivo and focused on mechanistic aspects of one of them, quercetin, using complementary systems and assays. We show that quercetin has evolutionarily conserved beneficial effects against Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology: it prevents Amyloid beta (Aβ)-induced detrimental effects in different C. elegans AD models and it reduces Aβ-secretion in mammalian cells. Mechanistically, we found that the beneficial effects of quercetin are mediated by autophagy-dependent reduced expression of Abl tyrosine kinase. In turn, autophagy is required upon Abl suppression to mediate quercetin's protective effects against Aβ toxicity. Our data support the power of C. elegans as an in vivo model to investigate therapeutic options for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso Schiavi
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Claudia Cirotti
- Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Cell Signaling, IRCCS-Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Lora-Sophie Gerber
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Giulia Di Lauro
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Silvia Maglioni
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Biological and Medical Research Center (BMFZ), Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Priscila Yumi Tanaka Shibao
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Janine Kirstein
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Leibniz Institute on Aging, Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Petzsch
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostic, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Karl Köhrer
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostic, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Roel P F Schins
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Tina Wahle
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Daniela Barilà
- Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133, Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Cell Signaling, IRCCS-Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Natascia Ventura
- Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- Biological and Medical Research Center (BMFZ), Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany.
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Pandey SP, P K, Dutta T, Chakraborty B, Koner AL, Singh PK. Mitochondria-Directing Fluorogenic Probe: An Efficient Amyloid Marker for Imaging Lipid Metabolite-Induced Protein Aggregation in Live Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans. Anal Chem 2023; 95:6341-6350. [PMID: 37014217 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
The design and development of optical probes for sensing neurotoxic amyloid fibrils are active and important areas of research and are undergoing continuous advancements. In this paper, we have synthesized a red emissive styryl chromone-based fluorophore (SC1) for fluorescence-based detection of amyloid fibrils. SC1 records exceptional modulation in its photophysical properties in the presence of amyloid fibrils, which has been attributed to the extreme sensitivity of its photophysical properties toward the immediate microenvironment of the probe in the fibrillar matrix. SC1 also shows very high selectivity toward the amyloid-aggregated form of the protein as compared to its native form. The probe is also able to monitor the kinetic progression of the fibrillation process, with comparable efficiency as that of the most popular amyloid probe, Thioflavin-T. Moreover, the performance of SC1 is least sensitive to the ionic strength of the medium, which is an advantage over Thioflavin-T. In addition, the molecular level interaction forces between the probe and the fibrillar matrix have been interrogated by molecular docking calculations which suggest the binding of the probe to the exterior channel of the fibrils. The probe has also been demonstrated to sense protein aggregates from the Aβ-40 protein, which is known to be responsible for Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, SC1 exhibited excellent biocompatibility and exclusive accumulation at mitochondria which allowed us to successfully demonstrate the applicability of this probe to detect mitochondrial-aggregated protein induced by an oxidative stress indicator molecule 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) in A549 cell lines as well as in a simple animal model like Caenorhabditis elegans. Overall, the styryl chromone-based probe presents a potentially exciting alternative for the sensing of neurotoxic protein aggregation species both in vitro as well as in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shrishti P Pandey
- Department of Biotechnology, Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science and Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics, Vile Parle (W) 400056, India
| | - Kavyashree P
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Tanoy Dutta
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Barsha Chakraborty
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Apurba Lal Koner
- Bionanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal Bypass Road, Bhauri, Bhopal 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Prabhat K Singh
- Radiation and Photochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400085, India
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Okoro NO, Odiba AS, Osadebe PO, Omeje EO, Liao G, Fang W, Jin C, Wang B. Bioactive Phytochemicals with Anti-Aging and Lifespan Extending Potentials in Caenorhabditis elegans. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26237323. [PMID: 34885907 PMCID: PMC8658929 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26237323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In the forms of either herbs or functional foods, plants and their products have attracted medicinal, culinary, and nutraceutical applications due to their abundance in bioactive phytochemicals. Human beings and other animals have employed those bioactive phytochemicals to improve health quality based on their broad potentials as antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anti-aging effects, amongst others. For the past decade and half, efforts to discover bioactive phytochemicals both in pure and crude forms have been intensified using the Caenorhabditis elegans aging model, in which various metabolic pathways in humans are highly conserved. In this review, we summarized the aging and longevity pathways that are common to C. elegans and humans and collated some of the bioactive phytochemicals with health benefits and lifespan extending effects that have been studied in C. elegans. This simple animal model is not only a perfect system for discovering bioactive compounds but is also a research shortcut for elucidating the amelioration mechanisms of aging risk factors and associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nkwachukwu Oziamara Okoro
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China; (N.O.O.); (A.S.O.); (C.J.)
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530007, China;
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria; (P.O.O.); (E.O.O.)
| | - Arome Solomon Odiba
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China; (N.O.O.); (A.S.O.); (C.J.)
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530007, China;
| | - Patience Ogoamaka Osadebe
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria; (P.O.O.); (E.O.O.)
| | - Edwin Ogechukwu Omeje
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria; (P.O.O.); (E.O.O.)
| | - Guiyan Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Non-Food Biomass and Enzyme Technology, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China;
| | - Wenxia Fang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530007, China;
- State Key Laboratory of Non-Food Biomass and Enzyme Technology, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China;
| | - Cheng Jin
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China; (N.O.O.); (A.S.O.); (C.J.)
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530007, China;
- Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Bin Wang
- National Engineering Research Center for Non-Food Biorefinery, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China; (N.O.O.); (A.S.O.); (C.J.)
- College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530007, China;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-771-2503-601
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Pigazzini ML, Lawrenz M, Margineanu A, Kaminski Schierle GS, Kirstein J. An Expanded Polyproline Domain Maintains Mutant Huntingtin Soluble in vivo and During Aging. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:721749. [PMID: 34720872 PMCID: PMC8554126 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.721749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat, encoding for the amino acid glutamine (Q), present in the first exon of the protein huntingtin. Over the threshold of Q39 HTT exon 1 (HTTEx1) tends to misfold and aggregate into large intracellular structures, but whether these end-stage aggregates or their on-pathway intermediates are responsible for cytotoxicity is still debated. HTTEx1 can be separated into three domains: an N-terminal 17 amino acid region, the polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion and a C-terminal proline rich domain (PRD). Alongside the expanded polyQ, these flanking domains influence the aggregation propensity of HTTEx1: with the N17 initiating and promoting aggregation, and the PRD modulating it. In this study we focus on the first 11 amino acids of the PRD, a stretch of pure prolines, which are an evolutionary recent addition to the expanding polyQ region. We hypothesize that this proline region is expanding alongside the polyQ to counteract its ability to misfold and cause toxicity, and that expanding this proline region would be overall beneficial. We generated HTTEx1 mutants lacking both flanking domains singularly, missing the first 11 prolines of the PRD, or with this stretch of prolines expanded. We then followed their aggregation landscape in vitro with a battery of biochemical assays, and in vivo in novel models of C. elegans expressing the HTTEx1 mutants pan-neuronally. Employing fluorescence lifetime imaging we could observe the aggregation propensity of all HTTEx1 mutants during aging and correlate this with toxicity via various phenotypic assays. We found that the presence of an expanded proline stretch is beneficial in maintaining HTTEx1 soluble over time, regardless of polyQ length. However, the expanded prolines were only advantageous in promoting the survival and fitness of an organism carrying a pathogenic stretch of Q48 but were extremely deleterious to the nematode expressing a physiological stretch of Q23. Our results reveal the unique importance of the prolines which have and still are evolving alongside expanding glutamines to promote the function of HTTEx1 and avoid pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lucia Pigazzini
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FMP), Berlin, Germany
- NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mandy Lawrenz
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FMP), Berlin, Germany
| | - Anca Margineanu
- Advanced Light Microscopy, Max-Delbrück Centrum for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
| | - Gabriele S. Kaminski Schierle
- Molecular Neuroscience Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Janine Kirstein
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FMP), Berlin, Germany
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
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