Project description:In the field of neurodegenerative diseases, especially sporadic Parkinson's disease (sPD) with dementia (sPDD), the question of how the disease starts and spreads in the brain remains central. While prion-like proteins have been designated as a culprit, recent studies suggest the involvement of additional factors. We found that oxidative stress, damaged DNA binding, cytosolic DNA sensing, and Toll-Like Receptor (TLR)4/9 activation pathways are strongly associated with the sPDD transcriptome, which has dysregulated type I Interferon (IFN) signaling. In sPD patients, we confirmed deletions of mitochondrial (mt)DNA in the medial frontal gyrus, suggesting a potential role of damaged mtDNA in the disease pathophysiology. To explore its contribution to pathology, we used spontaneous models of sPDD caused by deletion of type I IFN signaling (Ifnb-/-/Ifnar-/- mice). We found that the lack of neuronal IFNβ/IFNAR leads to oxidization, mutation, and deletion in mtDNA, which is subsequently released outside the neurons. Injecting damaged mtDNA into mouse brain induced PDD-like behavioral symptoms, including neuropsychiatric, motor, and cognitive impairments. Furthermore, it caused neurodegeneration in brain regions distant from the injection site, suggesting that damaged mtDNA triggers spread of PDD characteristics in an "infectious-like" manner. We also discovered that the mechanism through which damaged mtDNA causes pathology in healthy neurons is independent of Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase and IFNβ/IFNAR, but rather involves the dual activation of TLR9/4 pathways, resulting in increased oxidative stress and neuronal cell death, respectively. Our proteomic analysis of extracellular vesicles containing damaged mtDNA identified the TLR4 activator, Ribosomal Protein S3 as a key protein involved in recognizing and extruding damaged mtDNA. These findings might shed light on new molecular pathways through which damaged mtDNA initiates and spreads PD-like disease, potentially opening new avenues for therapeutic interventions or disease monitoring.
Project description:Macrophage-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling mediated sterile inflammation has been implicated in various age-related diseases. However, whether and how macrophage mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) regulates STING signaling in aged macrophages remains largely unknown. We found that hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) induced STING activation in macrophages by triggering the release of macrophage mtDNA into the cytosol. Aging promoted the cytosolic leakage of macrophage mtDNA and enhanced STING activation, which was abrogated upon mtDNA depletion or cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase (cGAS) inhibition. Aged macrophages exhibited increased mitochondrial injury with impaired mitophagy. Mechanistically, a decline in the PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin-mediated polyubiquitination of mitochondria was observed in aged macrophages. Pink1 overexpression reversed the inhibition of mitochondrial ubiquitination but failed to promote mitolysosome formation in the aged macrophages. Meanwhile, aging impaired lysosomal biogenesis and function in macrophages by modulating the mTOR/transcription factor EB (TFEB) signaling pathway, which could be reversed by Torin-1 treatment. Consequently, Pink1 overexpression in combination with Torin-1 treatment restored mitophagic flux and inhibited mtDNA/cGAS/STING activation in aged macrophages. Moreover, besides HR-induced metabolic stress, other types of oxidative and hepatotoxic stresses inhibited mitophagy and promoted the cytosolic release of mtDNA to activate STING signaling in aged macrophages. STING deficiency protected aged mice against diverse types of sterile inflammatory liver injuries. Our findings suggest that aging impairs mitophagic flux to facilitate the leakage of macrophage mtDNA into the cytosol and promotes STING activation, and thereby provides a novel potential therapeutic target for sterile inflammatory liver injury in aged patients.
Project description:Autophagy is the principal catabolic prosurvival pathway during nutritional starvation. However, excessive autophagy could be cytotoxic, contributing to cell death, but its mechanism remains elusive. Arginine starvation has emerged as a potential therapy for several types of cancers, owing to their tumor-selective deficiency of the arginine metabolism. We demonstrated here that arginine depletion by arginine deiminase induces a cytotoxic autophagy in argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS1)-deficient prostate cancer cells. Advanced microscopic analyses of arginine-deprived dying cells revealed a novel phenotype with giant autophagosome formation, nucleus membrane rupture, and histone-associated DNA leakage encaptured by autophagosomes, which we shall refer to as chromatin autophagy, or chromatophagy. In addition, nuclear inner membrane (lamin A/C) underwent localized rearrangement and outer membrane (NUP98) partially fused with autophagosome membrane. Further analysis showed that prolonged arginine depletion impaired mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation function and depolarized mitochondrial membrane potential. Thus, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production significantly increased in both cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions, presumably leading to DNA damage accumulation. Addition of ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine or knockdown of ATG5 or BECLIN1 attenuated the chromatophagy phenotype. Our data uncover an atypical autophagy-related death pathway and suggest that mitochondrial damage is central to linking arginine starvation and chromatophagy in two distinct cellular compartments.
Project description:Mitochondrial dysfunction and lysosomal dysfunction have been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the links between these dysfunctions in PD pathogenesis are still largely unknown. Here we report that cytosolic dsDNA of mitochondrial origin escaping from lysosomal degradation was shown to induce cytotoxicity in cultured cells and PD phenotypes in vivo. The depletion of PINK1, GBA and/or ATP13A2 causes increases in cytosolic dsDNA of mitochondrial origin and induces type I interferon (IFN) responses and cell death in cultured cell lines. These phenotypes are rescued by the overexpression of DNase II, a lysosomal DNase that degrades discarded mitochondrial DNA, or the depletion of IFI16, which acts as a sensor for cytosolic dsDNA of mitochondrial origin. Reducing the abundance of cytosolic dsDNA by overexpressing human DNase II ameliorates movement disorders and dopaminergic cell loss in gba mutant PD model zebrafish. Furthermore, IFI16 and cytosolic dsDNA puncta of mitochondrial origin accumulate in the brain of patients with PD. These results support a common causative role for the cytosolic leakage of mitochondrial DNA in PD pathogenesis.
Project description:Mutations in PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) are associated with a familial syndrome related to Parkinson's disease (PD). We previously reported that stable neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines with reduced expression of endogenous PINK1 exhibit mitochondrial fragmentation, increased mitochondria-derived superoxide, induction of compensatory macroautophagy/mitophagy and a low level of ongoing cell death. In this study, we investigated the ability of protein kinase A (PKA) to confer protection in this model, focusing on its subcellular targeting. Either: (1) treatment with pharmacological PKA activators; (2) transient expression of a constitutively active form of mitochondria-targeted PKA; or (3) transient expression of wild-type A kinase anchoring protein 1 (AKAP1), a scaffold that targets endogenous PKA to mitochondria, reversed each of the phenotypes attributed to loss of PINK1 in SH-SY5Y cells, and rescued parameters of mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction. Mitochondrial and lysosomal changes in primary cortical neurons derived from PINK1 knockout mice or subjected to PINK1 RNAi were also reversed by the activation of PKA. PKA phosphorylates the rat dynamin-related protein 1 isoform 1 (Drp1) at serine 656 (homologous to human serine 637), inhibiting its pro-fission function. Mimicking phosphorylation of Drp1 recapitulated many of the protective effects of AKAP1/PKA. These data indicate that redirecting endogenous PKA to mitochondria can compensate for deficiencies in PINK1 function, highlighting the importance of compartmentalized signaling networks in mitochondrial quality control.
Project description:Parkinson's disease is delayed in clinical onset, asymmetric in initial appearance, and slow in progression. One explanation for these characteristics may be a boost in natural defenses after early exposure to mild cellular stress. As the patient ages and resilience recedes, however, stress levels may become sufficiently high that toxic cellular responses can no longer be curbed, culminating in inverted U-shaped stress-response curves as a function of disease duration. If dopaminergic systems are indeed capable of responding to mild stress with effective natural defenses, experimental models of Parkinson's disease should adhere to the principles of preconditioning, whereby stress exposure fortifies cells and tempers the toxic sequelae of subsequent stressors. Here, I review evidence favoring the efficacy of preconditioning in dopaminergic systems. Recent animal work also raises the possibility that cross-hemispheric preconditioning may arrest the spread of asymmetric Parkinson's pathology to the other side of the brain. Indeed, compensatory homeostatic systems have long been hypothesized to maintain neurological function until a threshold of cell loss is exceeded and are often displayed as inverted U-shaped curves. However, some stress responses assume an exponential or sigmoidal profile as a function of disease severity, suggesting end-stage deceleration of disease processes. Thus, surviving dopaminergic neurons may become progressively harder to kill, with the dorsal nigral tier dying slower due to superior baseline defenses, inducible conditioning capacity, or delayed dorsomedial nigral spread of disease. In addition, compensatory processes may be useful as biomarkers to distinguish "responder patients" from "nonresponders" before clinical trials. However, another possibility is that defenses are already maximally conditioned in most patients and no further boost is possible. A third alternative is that genuinely diseased human cells cannot be conditioned, in contrast to preclinical models, none of which faithfully recapitulate age-related human conditions. Disease-related "conditioning deficiencies" would then explain how Parkinson's pathology takes root, progressively shrinks defenses, and eventually kills the patient.
Project description:BackgroundEvidence suggests that amyloid β (Aβ) peptides play an important role in the degeneration of neurons during the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the prevalent cause of dementia affecting the elderly. The endosomal-lysosomal system, which acts as a major site for Aβ metabolism, has been shown to exhibit abnormalities in vulnerable neurons of the AD brain, reflected by enhanced levels/expression of lysosomal enzymes including cathepsin D (CatD). At present, the implication of CatD in selective neuronal vulnerability in AD pathology remains unclear.MethodsWe evaluated the role of CatD in the degeneration of neurons in Aβ-treated cultures, transgenic AD mouse model (that is 5xFAD) and post mortem AD brain samples.ResultsOur results showed that Aβ1-42 -induced toxicity in cortical cultured neurons is associated with impaired lysosomal integrity, enhanced levels of carbonylated proteins and tau phosphorylation. The cellular and cytosolic levels/activity of CatD are also elevated in cultured neurons following exposure to Aβ peptide. Additionally, we observed that CatD cellular and subcellular levels/activity are increased in the affected cortex, but not in the unaffected cerebellum, of 5xFAD mice and post mortem AD brains. Interestingly, treatment of cultured neurons with nanoparticles PLGA, which targets lysosomal system, attenuated Aβ toxicity by reducing the levels of carbonylated proteins, tau phosphorylation and the level/distribution/activity of CatD.ConclusionOur study reveals that increased cytosolic level/activity of CatD play an important role in determining neuronal vulnerability in AD. Additionally, native PLGA can protect neurons against Aβ toxicity by restoring lysosomal membrane integrity, thus signifying its implication in attenuating AD.
Project description:In eukaryotes, fumarase (FH in human) is a well-known tricarboxylic-acid-cycle enzyme in the mitochondrial matrix. However, conserved from yeast to humans is a cytosolic isoenzyme of fumarase whose function in this compartment remains obscure. A few years ago, FH was surprisingly shown to underlie a tumor susceptibility syndrome, Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC). A biallelic inactivation of FH has been detected in almost all HLRCC tumors, and therefore FH was suggested to function as a tumor suppressor. Recently it was suggested that FH inhibition leads to elevated intracellular fumarate, which in turn acts as a competitive inhibitor of HPH (HIF prolyl hydroxylase), thereby causing stabilization of HIF (Hypoxia-inducible factor) by preventing proteasomal degradation. The transcription factor HIF increases the expression of angiogenesis regulated genes, such as VEGF, which can lead to high microvessel density and tumorigenesis. Yet this mechanism does not fully explain the large cytosolic population of fumarase molecules. We constructed a yeast strain in which fumarase is localized exclusively to mitochondria. This led to the discovery that the yeast cytosolic fumarase plays a key role in the protection of cells from DNA damage, particularly from DNA double-strand breaks. We show that the cytosolic fumarase is a member of the DNA damage response that is recruited from the cytosol to the nucleus upon DNA damage induction. This function of fumarase depends on its enzymatic activity, and its absence in cells can be complemented by high concentrations of fumaric acid. Our findings suggest that fumarase and fumaric acid are critical elements of the DNA damage response, which underlies the tumor suppressor role of fumarase in human cells and which is most probably HIF independent. This study shows an exciting crosstalk between primary metabolism and the DNA damage response, thereby providing a scenario for metabolic control of tumor propagation.
Project description:Increasing evidence implicates mitochondrial dysfunction in the etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are considered a possible cause and this mechanism might be shared with the aging process and with other age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have recently proposed a computerized method for mutated mtDNA characterization able to discriminate between AD and aging. The present study deals with mtDNA mutation-based profiling of PD. Peripheral blood mtDNA sequences from late-onset PD patients and age-matched controls were analyzed and compared to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS). The chaos game representation (CGR) method, modified to visualize heteroplasmic mutations, was used to display fractal properties of mtDNA sequences and fractal lacunarity analysis was applied to quantitatively characterize PD based on mtDNA mutations. Parameter ?, from the hyperbola model function of our lacunarity method, was statistically different between PD and control groups when comparing mtDNA sequence frames corresponding to GenBank np 5713-9713. Our original method, based on CGR and lacunarity analysis, represents a useful tool to analyze mtDNA mutations. Lacunarity parameter ? is able to characterize individual mutation profile of mitochondrial genome and could represent a promising index to discriminate between PD and aging.
Project description:Alleviating odontoblast inflammation is crucial to control the progression of pulpitis. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a vital driver of inflammation when it leaks from mitochondria of inflamed odontoblasts into the cytosol. Bacteria-induced inflammation leads to a novel type of cell death named pyroptosis. The canonical pyroptosis is a gasdermin (GSDM)-dependent cytolytic programmed cell death characterized by cell swelling and pore formation in the plasma membrane. To date, whether odontoblast cytosolic mtDNA regulates dental pulp inflammation through the canonical pyroptosis pathway remains to be elucidated. In this study, high gasdermin D (GSDMD) expression was detected in human pulpitis. We found that LPS stimulation of mDPC6T cells promoted BAX translocation from the cytosol to the mitochondrial membrane, leading to mtDNA release. Moreover, overexpression of isolated mtDNA induced death in a large number of mDPC6T cells, which had the typical appearance of pyroptotic cells. Secretion of the inflammatory cytokines CXCL10 and IFN-β was also induced by mtDNA. These results suggest that cytosolic mtDNA participates in the regulation of odontoblast inflammation through GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis in vitro. Interestingly, after overexpression of mtDNA, the expression of inflammatory cytokines CXCL10 and IFN-β was increased and not decreased in GSDMD knockdown mDPC6T cells. We further proposed a novel model in which STING-dependent inflammation in odontoblast-like cell is a compensatory mechanism to control GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis, jointly promoting the immune inflammatory response of odontoblasts. Collectively, these findings provide the first demonstration of the role of the mtDNA-GSDMD-STING in controlling odontoblast inflammation and a detailed description of the underlying interconnected relationship.