Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA is inversely related to maximum life span in the heart and brain of mammals

DNA damage is considered of paramount importance in aging. Among causes of this damage, free radical attack, particularly from mitochondrial origin, is receiving special attention. If oxidative damage to DNA is involved in aging, long-lived animals (which age slowly) should show lower levels of markers of this kind of damage than short-lived ones. However, this possibility has not heretofore been investigated. In this study, steady-state levels of 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) referred to deoxyguanosine (dG) were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear (nDNA) DNA from the heart of eight and the brain of six mammalian species ranging in maximum life span (MLSP) from 3.5 to 46 years. Exactly the same digestion of DNA to deoxynucleosides and HPLC protocols was used for mtDNA and nDNA. Significantly higher (three- to ninefold) 8-oxodG/dG values were found in mtDNA than in nDNA in all the species studied in both tissues. 8-oxodG/dG in nDNA did not correlate with MLSP across species either in the heart (r=-0.68; P<0.06) or brain (r = 0.53; P<0.27). However, 8-oxodG/dG in mtDNA was inversely correlated with MLSP both in heart (r=-0.92; P<0.001) and brain (r=-0.88; P<0.016) tissues following the power function y = a(.)x(b), where y is 8-oxodG/dG and x is the MLSP. This agrees with the consistent observation that mitochondrial free radical generation is also lower in long-lived than in short-lived species. The results obtained agree with the notion that oxygen radicals of mitochondrial origin oxidatively damage mtDNA in a way related to the aging rate of each species.-Barja, G., Herrero, A. Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA is inversely related to maximum life span in the heart and brain of mammals.

Compartmentalized function through cell differentiation in filamentous cyanobacteria

Within the wide biodiversity that is found in the bacterial world, Cyanobacteria represents a unique phylogenetic group that is responsible for a key metabolic process in the biosphere - oxygenic photosynthesis - and that includes representatives exhibiting complex morphologies. Many cyanobacteria are multicellular, growing as filaments of cells in which some cells can differentiate to carry out specialized functions. These differentiated cells include resistance and dispersal forms as well as a metabolically specialized form that is devoted to N(2) fixation, known as the heterocyst. In this Review we address cyanobacterial intercellular communication, the supracellular structure of the cyanobacterial filament and the basic principles that govern the process of heterocyst differentiation.

Hydraulic adjustment of Scots pine across Europe

* The variability of branch-level hydraulic properties was assessed across 12 Scots pine populations covering a wide range of environmental conditions, including some of the southernmost populations of the species. The aims were to relate this variability to differences in climate, and to study the potential tradeoffs between traits. * Traits measured included wood density, radial growth, xylem anatomy, sapwood- and leaf-specific hydraulic conductivity (K(S) and K(L)), vulnerability to embolism, leaf-to-sapwood area ratio (A(L) : A(S)), needle carbon isotope discrimination (Delta13C) and nitrogen content, and specific leaf area. * Between-population variability was high for most of the hydraulic traits studied, but it was directly associated with climate dryness (defined as a combination of atmospheric moisture demand and availability) only for A(L) : A(S), K(L) and Delta13C. Shoot radial growth and A(L) : A(S) declined with stand development, which is consistent with a strategy to avoid exceedingly low water potentials as tree size increases. In addition, we did not find evidence at the intraspecific level of some associations between hydraulic traits that have been commonly reported across species. * The adjustment of Scots pine's hydraulic system to local climatic conditions occurred primarily through modifications of A(L) : A(S) and direct stomatal control, whereas intraspecific variation in vulnerability to embolism and leaf physiology appears to be limited.

Molecular mechanism for the operation of nitrogen control in cyanobacteria

In cyanobacteria, ammonium exerts a negative regulation of the expression of proteins involved in the assimilation of nitrogen sources alternative to ammonium. In Synechococcus, mRNA levels of genes encoding proteins for nitrate and ammonium assimilation were observed to be negatively regulated by ammonium, and ammonium-regulated transcription start points were identified for those genes. The NtcA protein is a positive regulator of genes subjected to nitrogen control by ammonium. Mutants lacking NtcA exhibited only basal mRNA levels of the regulated genes, even in the absence of ammonium, indicating that NtcA exerts its regulatory action by positively influencing mRNA levels of the nitrogen-regulated genes. NtcA was observed to bind directly to the promoters of nitrogen-regulated genes, and the palindromic DNA sequence GTAN8TAC was identified as a sequence signature for NtcA-target sites. The structure of the nitrogen-, NtcA-regulated promoters of Synechococcus was determined to be constituted by a -10, Pribnow-like box in the form TAN3T, and an NtcA-binding site that substituted for the canonical -35 box.

Requirement of the regulatory protein NtcA for the expression of nitrogen assimilation and heterocyst development genes in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

The cyanobacterial ntcA gene encodes a DNA-binding protein that belongs to the Crp family of bacterial transcriptional regulators. In this work, we describe the isolation of an ntcA insertional mutant of the dinitrogen-fixing, heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. The Anabaena ntcA mutant was able to use ammonium as a source of nitrogen for growth, but was unable to assimilate atmospheric nitrogen (dinitrogen) or nitrate. Nitrogenase and enzymes of the nitrate reduction system were not synthesized in the ntcA mutant under derepressing conditions, and glutamine synthetase levels were lower in the mutant than in the wild-type strain. In the ntcA mutant, in response to removal of ammonium, accumulation of mRNA of the genes encoding nitrogenase (nifHDK), nitrite reductase (nir, the first gene of the nitrate assimilation operon), and glutamine synthetase (glnA) was not observed. A transcription start point of the Anabaena glnA gene (corresponding to RNAl), that has been shown to be used preferentially after nitrogen step-down, was not used in the ntcA insertional mutant. Heterocyst development (which is necessary for the aerobic fixation of dinitrogen) and induction of hetR (a regulatory gene that is required for heterocyst development) were also impaired in the ntcA mutant. These results showed that the ntcA gene product, NtcA, is required in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 for the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in the assimilation of nitrogen sources alternative to ammonium including dinitrogen and nitrate, and that the process of heterocyst development is also controlled by NtcA.

Beta-catenin dysregulation in thyroid neoplasms: down-regulation, aberrant nuclear expression, and CTNNB1 exon 3 mutations are markers for aggressive tumor phenotypes and poor prognosis

beta-catenin has a role in cell adhesion and Wnt signaling. It is mutated or otherwise dysregulated in a variety of human cancers. In this study we assess beta-catenin alteration in 145 thyroid tumors samples from 127 patients. beta-catenin was localized using immunofluorescence and mutational analysis was performed by single-strand conformational polymorphism. Membrane beta-catenin expression was decreased in eight of 12 (66%) adenomas and in all 115 carcinomas (P: < 0.0001). Among carcinomas, reduced membrane beta-catenin was associated with progressive loss of tumor differentiation (P: < 0.0001). CTNNB1 exon 3 mutations and nuclear beta-catenin localization were restricted to poorly differentiated [7 of 28 (25%) and 6 of 28 cases (21.4%), respectively] or undifferentiated carcinomas [19 of 29 (65.5%) and 14 of 29 (48.3%) cases, respectively]. Poorly differentiated tumors always featured mutations involving Ser and Thr residues and were characterized by Thr to Ile amino acid substitutions (P: = 0.0283). The association between CTNNB1 exon 3 mutations and aberrant nuclear immunoreactivity (P: = 0.0020) is consistent with Wnt activation because of stabilizing beta-catenin mutations. Low membrane beta-catenin expression as well as its nuclear localization or CTNNB1 exon 3 mutations are significantly associated with poor prognosis, independent of conventional prognostic indicators for thyroid cancer but not of tumor differentiation. Analysis of beta-catenin dysregulation may be useful to objectively subtype thyroid neoplasms and more accurately predict outcomes.

Sites and mechanisms responsible for the low rate of free radical production of heart mitochondria in the long-lived pigeon

Basal (substrate alone) and maximum rates of H2O2 production, oxygen consumption and free radical leak in the respiratory chain were higher in heart mitochondria of the short-lived rat (4 years) than in the long-lived pigeon (35 years). This suggests that the low free radical production of pigeon heart mitochondria is due in part to both a low electron flow and a low percent leak of electrons out of sequence in the respiratory chain. Thenoyltrifluoroacetone did not increase H2O2 production with succinate either in rats or pigeons. Mitochondrial H2O2 production was higher with pyruvate/malate than with succinate in both animal species. Rotenone and antimycin A increased H2O2 production with pyruvate/malate to the maximum levels observed in each species. Addition of myxothiazol to antimycin A-treated mitochondria supplemented with pyruvate/malate decreased H2O2 production in both species. All the combinations of inhibitors added with pyruvate/malate resulted in higher rates of H2O2 production in rats than in pigeons. When succinate instead of pyruvate/malate was used as substrate, rotenone and thenoyltrifluoroacetone decreased mitochondrial H2O2 production in the rat and did not change it in the pigeon. The results indicate that Complexes I and III are the main H2O2 generators of heart mitochondria in rats and pigeons and that both Complexes are responsible for the low H2O2 production of the bird. p-Chloromercuribenzoate and ethoxyformic anhydride strongly inhibited the H2O2 production induced by rotenone with pyruvate/malate in both species. This suggests that the free radical generator of Complex I is located after the ferricyanide reduction site, between the ethoxyformic and the rotenone-sensitive sites.

Localization at complex I and mechanism of the higher free radical production of brain nonsynaptic mitochondria in the short-lived rat than in the longevous pigeon

Free radical production and leak of brain nonsynaptic mitochondria were higher with pyruvate/malate than with succinate in rats and pigeons. Rotenone, antimycin A, and myxothiazol maximally stimulated free radical production with pyruvate/malate but not with succinate. Simultaneous treatment with myxothiazol plus antimycin A did not decrease the stimulated rate of free radical production brought about independently by any of these two inhibitors with pyruvate/malate. Thenoyltrifluoroacetone did not increase free radical production with succinate. No free radical production was detected at Complex IV. Free radical production and leak with pyruvate/malate were higher in the rat (maximum longevity 4 years) than in the pigeon (maximum longevity 35 years). These differences between species disappeared in the presence of rotenone. The results localize the main free radical production site of nonsynaptic brain mitochondria at Complex I. They also suggest that the low free radical production of pigeon brain mitochondria is due to a low degree of reduction of Complex I in the steady state in this highly longevous species.

NtcA, a global nitrogen regulator from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus that belongs to the Crp family of bacterial regulators

The gene ntcA is required for full expression of proteins subject to ammonium repression in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus. A 3.1 kb DNA fragment able to complement an ntcA mutant was digested with exonuclease III, and deleted fragments of different size were tested for complementation of that mutant, allowing the localization of its mutation within a BamHI-HindIII genomic fragment of c. 0.4 kb. Insertion of a chloramphenicol-resistance-encoding gene cassette into both the BamHI and the HindIII sites of wild-type Synechococcus resulted in a pleiotropic, nitrogen-assimilation-minus phenotype, corroborating the presence of the ntcA gene in that genomic region. Sequencing of DNA in this region showed the presence of an open reading frame that included both the BamHI and the HindIII sites. The ntcA gene product, NtcA, is a protein of 24817 Da which belongs to a family of bacterial transcriptional activators that, among others, includes Crp and Fnr from Escherichia coli. Of special biological significance, it appears, is the presence of a conserved helix-turn-helix motif in the sequence close to the C-terminal end of all the proteins in the family. The gene ntcA is proposed to encode a transcriptional activator of genes subject to nitrogen control in Synechococcus.

Cellular differentiation and the NtcA transcription factor in filamentous cyanobacteria

Some filamentous cyanobacteria can undergo a variety of cellular differentiation processes that permit their better adaptation to certain environmental conditions. These processes include the differentiation of hormogonia, short filaments aimed at the dispersal of the organism in the environment, of akinetes, cells resistant to various stress conditions, and of heterocysts, cells specialized in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in oxic environments. NtcA is a transcriptional regulator that operates global nitrogen control in cyanobacteria by activating (and in some cases repressing) many genes involved in nitrogen assimilation. NtcA is required for the triggering of heterocyst differentiation and for subsequent steps of its development and function. This requirement is based on the role of NtcA as an activator of the expression of hetR and other multiple genes at specific steps of the differentiation process. The products of these genes effect development as well as the distinct metabolism of the mature heterocyst. The different features found in the NtcA-dependent promoters, together with the cellular level of active NtcA protein, should have a role in the determination of the hierarchy of gene activation during the process of heterocyst differentiation.

Nitrogen assimilation and nitrogen control in cyanobacteria

Nitrogen sources commonly used by cyanobacteria include ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, urea and atmospheric N2, and some cyanobacteria can also assimilate arginine or glutamine. ABC (ATP-binding cassette)-type permeases are involved in the uptake of nitrate/nitrite, urea and most amino acids, whereas secondary transporters take up ammonium and, in some strains, nitrate/nitrite. In cyanobacteria, nitrate and nitrite reductases are ferredoxin-dependent enzymes, arginine is catabolized by a combination of the urea cycle and arginase pathway, and urea is degraded by a Ni2+-dependent urease. These pathways provide ammonium that is incorporated into carbon skeletons through the glutamine synthetase–glutamate synthase cycle, in which 2-oxoglutarate is the final nitrogen acceptor. The expression of many nitrogen assimilation genes is subjected to regulation being activated by the nitrogen-control transcription factor NtcA, which is autoregulatory and whose activity appears to be influenced by 2-oxoglutarate and the signal transduction protein PII. In some filamentous cyanobacteria, N2 fixation takes place in specialized cells called heterocysts that differentiate from vegetative cells in a process strictly controlled by NtcA.

Photosynthetic nitrate assimilation in cyanobacteria

Nitrate uptake and reduction to nitrite and ammonium are driven in cyanobacteria by photosynthetically generated assimilatory power, i.e., ATP and reduced ferredoxin. High-affinity nitrate and nitrite uptake takes place in different cyanobacteria through either an ABC-type transporter or a permease from the major facilitator superfamily (MFS). Nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase are ferredoxin-dependent metalloenzymes that carry as prosthetic groups a [4Fe-4S] center and Mo-bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide (nitrate reductase) and [4Fe-4S] and siroheme centers (nitrite reductase). Nitrate assimilation genes are commonly found forming an operon with the structure: nir (nitrite reductase)-permease gene(s)-narB (nitrate reductase). When the cells perceive a high C to N ratio, this operon is transcribed from a complex promoter that includes binding sites for NtcA, a global nitrogen-control regulator that belongs to the CAP family of bacterial transcription factors, and NtcB, a pathway-specific regulator that belongs to the LysR family of bacterial transcription factors. Transcription is also affected by other factors such as CnaT, a putative glycosyl transferase, and the signal transduction protein P(II). The latter is also a key factor for regulation of the activity of the ABC-type nitrate/nitrite transporter, which is inhibited when the cells are incubated in the presence of ammonium or in the absence of CO(2). Notwithstanding significant advance in understanding the regulation of nitrate assimilation in cyanobacteria, further post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms are likely to be discovered.

Regulation of nitrate reductase levels in the cyanobacteria Anacystis nidulans, Anabaena sp. strain 7119, and Nostoc sp. strain 6719

The effect of the nitrogen source on the cellular activity of ferredoxin-nitrate reductase in different cyanobacteria was examined. In the unicellular species Anacystis nidulans, nitrate reductase was repressed in the presence of ammonium but de novo enzyme synthesis took place in media containing either nitrate or not nitrogen source, indicating that nitrate was not required as an obligate inducer. Nitrate reductase in A. nidulans was freed from ammonium repression by L-methionine-D,L-sulfoximine, an irreversible inhibitor of glutamine synthetase. Ammonium-promoted repression appears therefore to be indirect; ammonium has to be metabolized through glutamine synthetase to be effective in the repression of nitrate reductase. Unlike the situation in A. nidulans, nitrate appeared to play an active role in nitrate reductase synthesis in the filamentous nitrogen-fixing strains Anabaena sp. strain 7119 and Nostoc sp. strain 6719, with ammonium acting as an antagonist with regard to nitrate.

2-Oxoglutarate increases the binding affinity of the NtcA (nitrogen control) transcription factor for the Synechococcus glnA promoter

The cyanobacterial NtcA global nitrogen regulator belongs to the catabolite activator protein (CAP) family and activates transcription of nitrogen assimilation genes in response to nitrogen step-down. The binding affinity of NtcA towards a DNA fragment carrying the promoter of the glnA gene from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942, analyzed in vitro by band-shift assay, was increased five-fold by 2-oxoglutarate in the presence of Mg(2+) ions. The 2-oxoglutarate effect peaked at about 0.6 mM, a rather physiological concentration for this compound under nitrogen-limiting conditions, and could be partially reproduced by 3-oxoglutarate but not by oxaloacetate or glutamate. These results suggest 2-oxoglutarate as a signal of the C to N balance of the cells to regulate NtcA activity and provide a new example of regulation in the versatile CAP family of proteins.

H2O2 production of heart mitochondria and aging rate are slower in canaries and parakeets than in mice: sites of free radical generation and mechanisms involved

Birds have a maximum longevity (MLSP) much higher than mammals of similar body size in spite of their high metabolic rates. In this study, State 4 and State 3 rates of H2O2 production were lower in canary (MLSP = 24 years) and parakeet (MLSP = 21 years) than in mouse (MLSP = 3.5 years) heart mitochondria. Studies using specific inhibitors of the respiratory chain indicate that free radical generation sites at Complexes I and III are responsible for these differences. Main mechanisms lowering H2O2 production in these birds are a low rate of mitochondrial oxygen consumption in the parakeet and a low mitochondrial free radical leak in the canary. Strong increases in H2O2 production during active respiration (State 3) released by addition of ADP to pyruvate/malate-supplemented mitochondria are avoided in three species because the free radical leak decreases during the transition from State 4 to State 3 respiration. These results, together with those previously obtained in pigeons and in various mammalian species, suggest that the rate of mitochondrial free radical production correlates better with the rate of aging and the MLSP than the metabolic rate. They also suggest that a low rate of mitochondrial H2O2 production is a general characteristic of birds, animals showing very slow aging rates.

Mutual dependence of the expression of the cell differentiation regulatory protein HetR and the global nitrogen regulator NtcA during heterocyst development

Heterocyst differentiation in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 depends on both the global nitrogen regulator NtcA and the cell differentiation regulatory protein HetR, and induction of hetR upon nitrogen step-down depends on NtcA. The use of two out of the four transcription start points (tsps) described for the hetR gene (those located at positions -728 and -271) was found to be dependent on NtcA, and the use of the tsp located at position -271 was also dependent on HetR. Thus, autoregulation of hetR could take place via the activation of transcription from this tsp. Expression of ntcA in nitrogen-fixing cultures was higher than in cells growing in the presence of ammonium or nitrate, and high expression of ntcA under nitrogen deficiency resulted from an increased use of tsps located at positions -180 and -49. The induction of the use of these tsps did not take place in ntcA or hetR mutant strains. These results indicate a mutual dependency in the induction of the regulatory genes hetR and ntcA that takes place in response to nitrogen step-down in Anabaena cells. Expression of the hetC gene, which is also involved in the early steps of heterocyst differentiation, from its NtcA-dependent tsp was, however, not dependent on HetR.

An excess of massive stars in the local 30 Doradus starburst

The 30 Doradus star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby analog of large star-formation events in the distant universe. We determined the recent formation history and the initial mass function (IMF) of massive stars in 30 Doradus on the basis of spectroscopic observations of 247 stars more massive than 15 solar masses ([Formula: see text]). The main episode of massive star formation began about 8 million years (My) ago, and the star-formation rate seems to have declined in the last 1 My. The IMF is densely sampled up to 200 [Formula: see text] and contains 32 ± 12% more stars above 30 [Formula: see text] than predicted by a standard Salpeter IMF. In the mass range of 15 to 200 [Formula: see text], the IMF power-law exponent is [Formula: see text], shallower than the Salpeter value of 2.35.

Localization of the site of oxygen radical generation inside the complex I of heart and nonsynaptic brain mammalian mitochondria

Mitochondrial production of oxygen radicals seems to be involved in many diseases and aging. Recent studies clearly showed that a substantial part of the free radical generation of rodent mitochondria comes from complex I. It is thus important to further localize the free radical generator site within this respiratory complex. In this study, superoxide production by heart and nonsynaptic brain submitochondrial particles from up to seven mammalian species, showing different longevities, were studied under different conditions. The results, taking together, show that rotenone stimulates NADH-supported superoxide generation, confirming that complex I is a source of oxygen radicals in mammals, in general. The rotenone-stimulated NADH-supported superoxide production of the heart and nonsynaptic brain mammalian submitochondrial particles was inhibited both by p-chloromercuribenzoate and by ethoxyformic anhydride. These results localize the complex I oxygen radical generator between the ferricyanide and the ubiquinone reduction site, making iron-sulfur centers possible candidates, although unstable semiquinones can not be discarded. The results also indicate that the previously described inverse correlation between rates of mitochondrial oxygen radical generation and mammalian longevity operates through mechanisms dependent on the presence of intact functional mitochondria.

ADP-regulation of mitochondrial free radical production is different with complex I- or complex II-linked substrates: implications for the exercise paradox and brain hypermetabolism

In agreement with classic studies, succinate-supplemented rat and pigeon heart and nonsynaptic brain mitochondrial free radical production is stopped by ADP additions causing the stimulation of respiration from State 4 to State 3. Nevertheless, with Complex I-linked substrates, mitochondria produce free radicals in State 3 at rates similar or somewhat higher than during resting respiration. The absence of sharp increases in free radical production during intense respiration is possible due to strong decreases of free radical leak in State 3. The results indicate that Complex I is the main mitochondrial free radical generator in State 3, adding to its already known important generation of active oxygen species in State 4. The observed rate of mitochondrial free radical production with Complex I-linked substrates in the active State 3 can help to explain two paradoxes: (a) the lack of massive muscle oxidative damage and shortening of life span due to exercise, in spite of up to 23-fold increases of oxygen consumption together with the very low levels of antioxidants present in heart, skeletal muscle, and brain; (b) the presence of some degree of oxidative stress during exercise and hyperactivity in spite of the stop of mitochondrial free radical production by ADP with succinate as substrate.