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Nguyen TPT, Garrahan MA, Nance SA, Seeger CE, Wong C. Assimilation of Cholesterol by Monascus purpureus. J Fungi (Basel) 2020; 6:E352. [PMID: 33317087 PMCID: PMC7770578 DOI: 10.3390/jof6040352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Monascus purpureus, a filamentous fungus known for its fermentation of red yeast rice, produces the metabolite monacolin K used in statin drugs to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis. In this study, we show that active cultures of M. purpureus CBS 109.07, independent of secondary metabolites, use the mechanism of cholesterol assimilation to lower cholesterol in vitro. We describe collection, extraction, and gas chromatography-flame ionized detection (GC-FID) methods to quantify the levels of cholesterol remaining after incubation of M. purpureus CBS 109.07 with exogenous cholesterol. Our findings demonstrate that active growing M. purpureus CBS 109.07 can assimilate cholesterol, removing 36.38% of cholesterol after 48 h of incubation at 37 °C. The removal of cholesterol by resting or dead M. purpureus CBS 109.07 was not significant, with cholesterol reduction ranging from 2.75-9.27% throughout a 72 h incubation. Cholesterol was also not shown to be catabolized as a carbon source. Resting cultures transferred from buffer to growth media were able to reactivate, and increases in cholesterol assimilation and growth were observed. In growing and resting phases at 24 and 72 h, the production of the mycotoxin citrinin was quantified via high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) and found to be below the limit of detection. The results indicate that M. purpureus CBS 109.07 can reduce cholesterol content in vitro and may have a potential application in probiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa P. T. Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA; (M.A.G.); (S.A.N.); (C.E.S.); (C.W.)
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Eisenberg-Bord M, Tsui HS, Antunes D, Fernández-Del-Río L, Bradley MC, Dunn CD, Nguyen TPT, Rapaport D, Clarke CF, Schuldiner M. The Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mitochondria Encounter Structure Complex Coordinates Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 2:2515256418825409. [PMID: 30937424 PMCID: PMC6441334 DOI: 10.1177/2515256418825409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Loss of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) complex that resides in contact sites between the yeast ER and mitochondria leads to impaired respiration; however, the reason for that is not clear. We find that in ERMES null mutants, there is an increase in the level of mRNAs encoding for biosynthetic enzymes of coenzyme Q6 (CoQ6), an essential electron carrier of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. We show that the mega complexes involved in CoQ6 biosynthesis (CoQ synthomes) are destabilized in ERMES mutants. This, in turn, affects the level and distribution of CoQ6 within the cell, resulting in reduced mitochondrial CoQ6. We suggest that these outcomes contribute to the reduced respiration observed in ERMES mutants. Fluorescence microscopy experiments demonstrate close proximity between the CoQ synthome and ERMES, suggesting a spatial coordination. The involvement of the ER-mitochondria contact site in regulation of CoQ6 biogenesis highlights an additional level of communication between these two organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hui S Tsui
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Diana Antunes
- Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lucía Fernández-Del-Río
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michelle C Bradley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Cory D Dunn
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Doron Rapaport
- Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Catherine F Clarke
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Maya Schuldiner
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Nguyen TPT, Casarin A, Desbats MA, Doimo M, Trevisson E, Santos-Ocaña C, Navas P, Clarke CF, Salviati L. Molecular characterization of the human COQ5 C-methyltransferase in coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2014; 1841:1628-38. [PMID: 25152161 PMCID: PMC4331671 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Revised: 08/09/2014] [Accepted: 08/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Coq5 catalyzes the only C-methylation involved in the biosynthesis of coenzyme Q (Q or ubiquinone) in humans and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As one of eleven polypeptides required for Q production in yeast, Coq5 has also been shown to assemble with the multi-subunit complex termed the CoQ-synthome. In humans, mutations in several COQ genes cause primary Q deficiency, and a decrease in Q biosynthesis is associated with mitochondrial, cardiovascular, kidney and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we characterize the human COQ5 polypeptide and examine its complementation of yeast coq5 point and null mutants. We show that human COQ5 RNA is expressed in all tissues and that the COQ5 polypeptide is associated with the mitochondrial inner membrane on the matrix side. Previous work in yeast has shown that point mutations within or adjacent to conserved COQ5 methyltransferase motifs result in a loss of Coq5 function but not Coq5 steady state levels. Here, we show that stabilization of the CoQ-synthome within coq5 point mutants or by over-expression of COQ8 in coq5 null mutants permits the human COQ5 homolog to partially restore coq5 mutant growth on respiratory media and Q6 content. Immunoblotting against the human COQ5 polypeptide in isolated yeast mitochondria shows that the human Coq5 polypeptide migrates in two-dimensional blue-native/SDS-PAGE at the same high molecular mass as other yeast Coq proteins. The results presented suggest that human and Escherichia coli Coq5 homologs expressed in yeast retain C-methyltransferase activity but are capable of rescuing the coq5 yeast mutants only when the CoQ-synthome is assembled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa P T Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA; Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA
| | - Alberto Casarin
- Clinical Genetics Unit, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 3, Padova 35128, Italy
| | - Maria Andrea Desbats
- Clinical Genetics Unit, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 3, Padova 35128, Italy
| | - Mara Doimo
- Clinical Genetics Unit, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 3, Padova 35128, Italy
| | - Eva Trevisson
- Clinical Genetics Unit, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 3, Padova 35128, Italy
| | - Carlos Santos-Ocaña
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC, CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Placido Navas
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC, CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Catherine F Clarke
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA; Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA.
| | - Leonardo Salviati
- Clinical Genetics Unit, Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 3, Padova 35128, Italy.
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Abstract
In a paper in BMC Biology Virk et al. show that Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan is extended in response to a diet of folate-deficient Escherichia coli. The deficiencies in folate biosynthesis were due to an aroD mutation, or treatment of E. coli with sulfa drugs, which are mimics of the folate precursor para-aminobenzoic acid. This study suggests that pharmacological manipulation of the gut microbiome folate status may be a viable approach to slow animal aging, and raises questions about folate supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa P T Nguyen
- UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Baine M, Georgie DS, Shiferraw EZ, Nguyen TPT, Nogaj LA, Moffet DA. Inhibition of Abeta42 aggregation using peptides selected from combinatorial libraries. J Pept Sci 2009; 15:499-503. [PMID: 19562726 DOI: 10.1002/psc.1150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that the aggregation of the small peptide Abeta42 plays an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Inhibiting the initial aggregation of Abeta42 may be an effective treatment for preventing, or slowing, the onset of the disease. Using an in vivo screen based on the enzyme EGFP, we have searched through two combinatorially diverse peptide libraries to identify peptides capable of inhibiting Abeta42 aggregation. From this initial screen, three candidate peptides were selected and characterized. ThT studies indicated that the selected peptides were capable of inhibiting amyloid aggregation. Additional ThT studies showed that one of the selected peptides was capable of disaggregating preformed Abeta42 fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Baine
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Loyola Marymount University, One LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA
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