Guidelines and recommendations on yeast cell death nomenclature

Elucidating the biology of yeast in its full complexity has major implications for science, medicine and industry. One of the most critical processes determining yeast life and physiology is cel-lular demise. However, the investigation of yeast cell death is a relatively young field, and a widely accepted set of concepts and terms is still missing. Here, we propose unified criteria for the defi-nition of accidental, regulated, and programmed forms of cell death in yeast based on a series of morphological and biochemical criteria. Specifically, we provide consensus guidelines on the differ-ential definition of terms including apoptosis, regulated necrosis, and autophagic cell death, as we refer to additional cell death rou-tines that are relevant for the biology of (at least some species of) yeast. As this area of investigation advances rapidly, changes and extensions to this set of recommendations will be implemented in the years to come. Nonetheless, we strongly encourage the au-thors, reviewers and editors of scientific articles to adopt these collective standards in order to establish an accurate framework for yeast cell death research and, ultimately, to accelerate the pro-gress of this vibrant field of research.

Remodeling of lipid bodies by docosahexaenoic acid in activated microglial cells

Background

Organelle remodeling processes are evolutionarily conserved and involved in cell functions during development, aging, and cell death. Some endogenous and exogenous molecules can modulate these processes. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, has mainly been considered as a modulator of plasma membrane fluidity in brain development and aging, while DHA’s role in organelle remodeling in specific neural cell types at the ultrastructural level remains largely unexplored. DHA is notably incorporated into dynamic organelles named lipid bodies (LBs). We hypothesized that DHA could attenuate the inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglia by remodeling LBs and altering their functional interplay with mitochondria and other associated organelles.

Results

We used electron microscopy to analyze at high spatial resolution organelle changes in N9 microglial cells exposed to the proinflammogen LPS, with or without DHA supplementation. Our results revealed that DHA reverses several effects of LPS in organelles. In particular, a large number of very small and grouped LBs was exclusively found in microglial cells exposed to DHA. In contrast, LBs in LPS-stimulated cells in the absence of DHA were sparse and large. LBs formed in the presence of DHA were generally electron-dense, suggesting DHA incorporation into these organelles. The accumulation of LBs in microglial cells from mouse and human was confirmed in situ. In addition, DHA induced numerous contacts between LBs and mitochondria and reversed the frequent disruption of mitochondrial integrity observed upon LPS stimulation. Dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum lumen was also infrequent following DHA treatment, suggesting that DHA reduces oxidative stress and protein misfolding. Lipidomic analysis in N9 microglial cells treated with DHA revealed an increase in phosphatidylserine, indicating the role of this phospholipid in normalization and maintenance of physiological membrane functions. This finding was supported by a marked reduction of microglial filopodia and endosome number and significant reduction of LPS-induced phagocytosis.

Conclusions

DHA attenuates the inflammatory response in LPS-stimulated microglial cells by remodeling LBs and altering their interplay with mitochondria and other associated organelles. Our findings point towards a mechanism by which omega-3 DHA participates in organelle reorganization and contributes to the maintenance of neural cell homeostasis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-016-0580-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract B256: Ring-DIMs induce mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress in human prostate cancer cells

We have previously shown that a series of brominated and chlorinated analogs of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) can inhibit can induce apoptosis and necrosis in androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells and that addition of bromine to the 4 and 4’ position of the indole ring of DIM maximally increases the potency of the anticancer compound. To understand the upstream events leading to the activation of caspases in response to treatment with ring-DIMs in androgen-dependent LNCaP and androgen-independent LNCaP C4-2B cells by monitoring the onset of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the dysregulation of mitochondrial respiration. We found that 4,4'-dibromo- and 7,7'-dichloroDIM and DIM itself induced ER stress-dependent upregulation of CHOP, ATF4, and GRP78, while only 4,4'-dibromo and 7,7'-dichloroDIM induced phosphorylation of eIF2alpha and JNK. Both ER stress and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential were observed after treatment with 4,4'-dihaloDIMs and DIM, but not 7,7'-dihaloDIMs within 1 hour of exposure, before the appearance of later stage apoptotic events such as condensed chromatin. Salubrinal inhibited cell death induced by 4,4'-dihaloDIMs, but facilitated cell death induced by 7,7'-dihaloDIMs or DIM. Interestingly, salubrinal did not increase eIF2alpha phosphorylation after co-treatment with either DIM or ring-DIMs. However, it did restore mitochondrial membrane potential in cells treated with 4,4'dihaloDIMs and further decreased mitochondrial activity after co-treatment with 7,7'-dihaloDIMs or DIM. Moreover, cyclosporin A inhibited cell death induced by both 4,4’-dihalo and 7,7’-dihaloDIMs but not DIM. Taken together, these data suggest that the ring-DIMs induce cell death via mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress, and that because salubrinal either stimulates or inhibits cell death in combination with specific ring-DIMs, its effects are related to mitochondrial membrane integrity and not to phosphorylation of eIF2alpha.

Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):B256.

Citation Format: Alexander A. Goldberg, Diana Montes-Grajales, Jesus Olivero, Adam Beach, Vladimir Titorenko, Steven Safe, Thomas Sanderson. Ring-DIMs induce mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress in human prostate cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B256.

Flavin adenine dinucleotide binding is the crucial step in alcohol oxidase assembly in the yeast Hansenula polymorpha

We have studied the role of flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the in vivo assembly of peroxisomal alcohol oxidase (AO) in the yeast Hansenula polymorpha. In previous studies, using a riboflavin (Rf) autotrophic mutant, an unequivocal judgement could not be made, since Rf-limitation led to a partial block of AO import in this mutant. This resulted in the accumulation of AO precursors in the cytosol where they remained separated from the putative peroxisomal AO assembly factors. In order to circumvent the peroxisomal membrane barrier, we have now studied AO assembly in a peroxisome-deficient/Rf-autotrophic double mutant (delta per1.rif1) of H. polymorpha. By sucrose density centrifugation and native gel electrophoresis, three conformations of AO were detected in crude extracts of delta per1.rif1 cells grown under Rf-limitation, namely active octameric AO and two inactive, monomeric forms. One of the latter forms lacked FAD; this form was barely detectable in extracts wild-type and delta per1 cells, but had accumulated in the cytosol of rif1 cells. The second form of monomeric AO contained FAD; this form was also present in delta per1 cells but absent/very low in wild-type and rif1 cells. In vivo only these FAD-containing monomers associate into the active, octameric protein. We conclude that in H. polymorpha FAD binding to the AO monomer is mediated by a yet unknown peroxisomal factor and represents the crucial and essential step to enable AO oligomerization; the actual octamerization and the eventual crystallization in peroxisomes most probably occurs spontaneously.

Hansenula polymorpha: an attractive model organism for molecular studies of peroxisome biogenesis and function

In wild-type Hansenula polymorpha the proliferation of peroxisomes in induced by various unconventional carbon- and nitrogen sources. Highest induction levels, up to 80% of the cytoplasmic volume, are observed in cells grown in methanol-limited chemostat cultures. Based on our accumulated experience, we are now able to precisely adjust both the level of the peroxisome induction as well as their protein composition by specific adaptations in growth conditions. During the last few years a series of "peroxisome-deficient (per) mutants of H. polymorpha have been isolated and characterized. Phenotypically these mutants are characterized by the fact that they are not able to grow on methanol. Three mutant phenotypes were defined on the basis of morphological criteria, namely: (a) mutants completely lacking peroxisomes (Per-;13 complementation groups); (b) mutants containing few small peroxisomes which are partly impaired in the peroxisomal import of matrix proteins (Pim-; five complementation groups); and (c) mutants with aberrations in the peroxisomal substructure (Pss-; two complementation groups). In addition, several conditional Per-, Pim- and Pss- mutants have been obtained. In all cases the mutant phenotype was shown to be caused by a recessive mutation in one gene. However, we observed that different mutations in one gene may cause different morphological mutant phenotypes. A detailed genetic analysis revealed that several PER genes, essential for peroxisome biogenesis, are tightly linked and organized in a hierarchical fashion. The use of both constitual and conditional per mutants in current and future studies of the molecular mechanisms controlling peroxisome biogenesis and function is discussed.