Isolated Mitochondria (isolated + mitochondria)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Selective mitochondrial glutathione depletion by ethanol enhances acetaminophen toxicity in rat liver

HEPATOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
Ping Zhao
Chronic alcohol consumption may potentiate acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity through enhanced formation of N -acetyl- p -benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) via induction of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). However, CYP2E1 induction appears to be insufficient to explain the claimed magnitude of the interaction. We assessed the role of selective depletion of liver mitochondrial glutathione (GSH) by chronic ethanol. Rats were fed the Lieber-DeCarli diet for 10 days or 6 weeks. APAP toxicity in liver slices (% glutathione- S -transferase , released to the medium, GST release) and NAPQI toxicity in isolated liver mitochondria (succinate dehydrogenase inactivation, SDH) from these rats were compared with pair-fed controls. Ethanol induced CYP2E1 in both the 10-day and 6-week groups by ,2-fold. APAP toxicity in liver slices was higher in the 6-week ethanol group than the 10-day ethanol group. Partial inhibition of NAPQI formation by CYP2E1 inhibitor diethyldithiocarbamate to that of pair-fed controls abolished APAP toxicity in the 10-day ethanol group only. Ethanol selectively depleted liver mitochondrial GSH only in the 6-week group (by 52%) without altering cytosolic GSH. Significantly greater GSH loss and APAP covalent binding were observed in liver slice mitochondria of the 6-week ethanol group. Isolated mitochondria of the 6-week ethanol group were ,50% more susceptible to NAPQI (25-165 ,mol/L) induced SDH inactivation. This increased susceptibility was reproduced in pair-fed control mitochondria pretreated with diethylmaleate. In conclusion, 10-day ethanol feeding enhances APAP toxicity through CYP2E1 induction, whereas 6-week ethanol feeding potentiates APAP hepatotoxicity by inducing CYP2E1 and selectively depleting mitochondrial GSH. [source]


The Effects of Ecstasy (MDMA) on Rat Liver Bioenergetics

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2004
Daniel E. Rusyniak MD
Abstract Objectives: Use of the drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]) can result in life-threatening hyperthermia. Agents that uncouple mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation are known to cause severe hyperthermia. In the present study, the authors tested the hypothesis that MDMA directly uncouples oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria. Methods: Effects on mitochondrial bioenergetics were assessed both in vitro and ex vivo. In vitro studies consisted of measuring the effects of MDMA (0.1,5.0 mmol/L) on states of respiration in isolated rat liver mitochondria and on mitochondrial membrane potential in a rat liver cell line. In ex vivo studies, mitochondrial rates of respiration were measured in the livers of rats one hour after treatment with MDMA (40 mg/kg subcutaneously). Results: With the in vitro mitochondrial preparations, only concentrations of 5 mmol/L MDMA showed evidence of uncoupling with a slight increase in state 4 respiration and a corresponding decrease in the respiratory control index. MDMA (0.1,5.0 mmol/L) failed to decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential in 3,3-dihexyloxacarbocyanide iodide,stained WB-344 cells after either one or 24 hours of incubation. Ex vivo rates of respiration obtained from the livers of rats one hour after treatment with MDMA (40 mg/kg subcutaneously) showed no evidence of mitochondrial uncoupling. Conclusions: These data suggest that while high concentrations of MDMA have some mild uncoupling effects in isolated mitochondria, these effects do not translate to cell culture or ex vivo studies in treated animals. These data do not support the view that the hyperthermia induced by MDMA is from a direct effect on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. [source]


INTERPOPULATION HYBRID BREAKDOWN MAPS TO THE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME

EVOLUTION, Issue 3 2008
Christopher K. Ellison
Hybrid breakdown, or outbreeding depression, is the loss of fitness observed in crosses between genetically divergent populations. The role of maternally inherited mitochondrial genomes in hybrid breakdown has not been widely examined. Using laboratory crosses of the marine copepod Tigriopus californicus, we report that the low fitness of F3 hybrids is completely restored in the offspring of maternal backcrosses, where parental mitochondrial and nuclear genomic combinations are reassembled. Paternal backcrosses, which result in mismatched mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, fail to restore hybrid fitness. These results suggest that fitness loss in T. californicus hybrids is completely attributable to nuclear,mitochondrial genomic interactions. Analyses of ATP synthetic capacity in isolated mitochondria from hybrid and backcross animals found that reduced ATP synthesis in hybrids was also largely restored in backcrosses, again with maternal backcrosses outperforming paternal backcrosses. The strong fitness consequences of nuclear,mitochondrial interactions have important, and often overlooked, implications for evolutionary and conservation biology. [source]


Complementation of coenzyme Q-deficient yeast by coenzyme Q analogues requires the isoprenoid side chain

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 9 2010
Andrew M. James
The ubiquinone coenzyme Q (CoQ) is synthesized in mitochondria with a large, hydrophobic isoprenoid side chain. It functions in mitochondrial respiration as well as protecting membranes from oxidative damage. Yeast that cannot synthesize CoQ (,CoQ) are viable, but cannot grow on nonfermentable carbon sources, unless supplied with ubiquinone. Previously we demonstrated that the isoprenoid side chain of the exogenous ubiquinone was important for growth of a ,CoQ strain on the nonfermentable substrate glycerol [James AM et al. (2005) J Biol Chem280, 21295,21312]. In the present study we investigated the structural requirements of exogenously supplied CoQ2 for growth on glycerol and found that the first double bond of the initial isoprenoid unit is essential for utilization of respiratory substrates. As CoQ2 analogues that did not complement growth on glycerol supported respiration in isolated mitochondria, discrimination does not occur via the respiratory chain complexes. The endogenous form of CoQ in yeast (CoQ6) is extremely hydrophobic and transported to mitochondria via the endocytic pathway when supplied exogenously. We found that CoQ2 does not require this pathway when supplied exogenously and the pathway is unlikely to be responsible for the structural discrimination observed. Interestingly, decylQ, an analogue unable to support growth on glycerol, is not toxic, but antagonizes growth of ,CoQ yeast in the presence of exogenous CoQ2. Using a ,CoQ double-knockout library we identified a number of genes that decrease the ability of yeast to grow on exogenous CoQ. Here we suggest that CoQ or its redox state may be a signal for growth during the shift to respiration. [source]


The Y42H mutation in medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, which is prevalent in babies identified by MS/MS-based newborn screening, is temperature sensitive

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 20 2004
Linda O'Reilly
Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) is a homotetrameric flavoprotein which catalyses the initial step of the ,-oxidation of medium-chain fatty acids. Mutations in MCAD may cause disease in humans. A Y42H mutation is frequently found in babies identified by newborn screening with MS/MS, yet there are no reports of patients presenting clinically with this mutation. As a basis for judging its potential consequences we have examined the protein phenotype of the Y42H mutation and the common disease-associated K304E mutation. Our studies of the intracellular biogenesis of the variant proteins at different temperatures in isolated mitochondria after in vitro translation, together with studies of cultured patient cells, indicated that steady-state levels of the Y42H variant in comparison to wild-type were decreased at higher temperature though to a lesser extent than for the K304E variant. To distinguish between effects of temperature on folding/assembly and the stability of the native enzyme, the thermal stability of the variant proteins was studied after expression and purification by dye affinity chromatography. This showed that, compared with the wild-type enzyme, the thermostability of the Y42H variant was decreased, but not to the same degree as that of the K304E variant. Substrate binding, interaction with the natural electron acceptor, and the binding of the prosthetic group, FAD, were only slightly affected by the Y42H mutation. Our study suggests that Y42H is a temperature sensitive mutation, which is mild at low temperatures, but may have deleterious effects at increased temperatures. [source]


A folding variant of human ,-lactalbumin induces mitochondrial permeability transition in isolated mitochondria

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2001
Camilla Köhler
A human milk fraction containing multimeric ,-lactalbumin (MAL) is able to kill cells via apoptosis. MAL is a protein complex of a folding variant of ,-lactalbumin and lipids. Previous results have shown that upon treatment of transformed cells, MAL localizes to the mitochondria and cytochrome c is released into the cytosol. This is followed by activation of the caspase cascade. In this study, we further investigated the involvement of mitochondria in apoptosis induced by the folding variant of ,-lactalbumin. Addition of MAL to isolated rat liver mitochondria induced a loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential (,,m), mitochondrial swelling and the release of cytochrome c. These changes were Ca2+ -dependent and were prevented by cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition. MAL also increased the rate of state 4 respiration in isolated mitochondria by exerting an uncoupling effect. This effect was due to the presence of fatty acids in the MAL complex because it was abolished completely by BSA. BSA delayed, but failed to prevent, mitochondrial swelling as well as dissipation of ,,m, indicating that the fatty acid content of MAL facilitated, rather than caused, these effects. Similar results were obtained with HAMLET (human ,-lactalbumin made lethal to tumour cells), which is native ,-lactalbumin converted in vitro to the apoptosis-inducing folding variant of the protein in complex with oleic acid. Our findings demonstrate that a folding variant of ,-lactalbumin induces mitochondrial permeability transition with subsequent cytochrome c release, which in transformed cells may lead to activation of the caspase cascade and apoptotic death. [source]


Sensitivity of the 2-oxoglutarate carrier to alcohol intake contributes to mitochondrial glutathione depletion

HEPATOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
Olga Coll
The mitochondrial pool of reduced glutathione (mGSH) is known to play a protective role against liver injury and cytokine-mediated cell death. However, the identification of the mitochondrial carriers involved in its transport in hepatocellular mitochondria remains unestablished. In this study, we show that the functional expression of the 2-oxoglutarate carrier from HepG2 cells in mitochondria from Xenopus laevis oocytes conferred a reduced glutathione (GSH) transport activity that was inhibited by phenylsuccinate, a specific inhibitor of the carrier. In addition, the mitochondrial transport of GSH and 2-oxoglutarate in isolated mitochondria from rat liver exhibited mutual competition and sensitivity to glutamate and phenylsuccinate. Interestingly, the kinetics of 2-oxoglutarate transport in rat liver mitochondria displayed a single Michaelis-Menten component with a Michaelis constant of 3.1 ± 0.3 mmol/L and maximum velocity of 1.9 ± 0.1 nmol/mg protein/25 seconds. Furthermore, the initial rate of 2-oxoglutarate was reduced in mitochondria from alcohol-fed rat livers, an effect that was not accompanied by an alcohol-induced decrease in the 2-oxoglutarate messenger RNA levels but rather by changes in mitochondrial membrane dynamics induced by alcohol. The fluidization of mitochondria by the fluidizing agent 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl 8-(cis-2-n-octylcyclopropyl) (A2C) restored the initial transport rate of both GSH and 2-oxoglutarate. Finally, these changes were reproduced in normal liver mitochondria enriched in cholesterol where the fluidization of cholesterol-enriched mitochondria with A2C restored the order membrane parameter and the mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate uptake. In conclusion, these findings provide unequivocal evidence for 2-oxoglutarate as a GSH carrier and its sensitivity to membrane dynamics perturbation contributes in part to the alcohol-induced mGSH depletion. [source]


Metabolic effects of carbenoxolone in rat liver

JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR TOXICOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
Leandro Silva Pivato
The action of carbenoxolone on hepatic energy metabolism was investigated in the perfused rat liver and isolated mitochondria. In perfused livers, carbenoxolone (200,300 ,M) increased oxygen consumption, glucose production and glycolysis from endogenous glycogen. Gluconeogenesis from lactate or fructose, an energy-dependent process, was inhibited. This effect was already evident at a concentration of 25 ,M. The cellular ATP levels and the adenine nucleotide content were decreased by carbenoxolone, whereas the AMP levels were increased. In isolated mitochondria, carbenoxolone stimulated state IV respiration and decreased the respiratory coefficient with the substrates ,-hydroxybutyrate and succinate. The ATPase of intact mitochondria was stimulated, the ATPase of uncoupled mitochondria was inhibited, and the ATPase of disrupted mitochondria was not altered by carbenoxolone. These results indicate that carbenoxolone acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation and, possibly, as an inhibitor of the ATP/ADP exchange system. The inhibitory action of carbenoxolone on mitochondrial energy metabolism could be contributing to induce the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), a key phenomenon in apoptosis. The results of the present study can explain, partly at least, the in vivo hepatotoxic actions of carbenoxolone that were found in a previous clinical evaluation. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 20:230,240, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.20139 [source]


Study of the ,Raman spectroscopic signature of life' in mitochondria isolated from budding yeast

JOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 1 2010
Liang-da Chiu
Abstract The ,Raman spectroscopic signature of life' is a Raman band at 1602 cm,1 that sharply reflects the metabolic activity of cell mitochondria. Here we report the study of thissignature in isolated yeast mitochondria. The existence and behaviour of the 1602 cm,1 band in isolated mitochondria have been confirmed to be the same as in living yeast cells: the intensity of the band decreases with timewhen a respiration inhibitor, sodium azide, is added. The present study shows the significance of isolated mitochondria in elucidating the origin of this still unassigned Raman band. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Betulin induces mitochondrial cytochrome c release associated apoptosis in human cancer cells

MOLECULAR CARCINOGENESIS, Issue 7 2010
Yang Li
Abstract We examined whether betulin, a naturally abundant compound, has anticancer functions in human cancer cells. The results showed that betulin significantly inhibited cell viability in cervix carcinoma HeLa cells, hepatoma HepG2 cells, lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, and breast cancer MCF-7 cells with IC50 values ranging from 10 to 15,µg/mL. While betulin exhibited only moderate anticancer activity in other human cancer cells such as hepatoma SK-HEP-1 cells, prostate carcinoma PC-3, and lung carcinoma NCI-H460, with IC50 values ranging from 20 to 60,µg/mL, it showed minor growth inhibition in human erythroleukemia K562 cells (IC50,>,100,µg/mL). We further investigated the mechanism of anticancer activity by betulin, using HeLa cells as an experimental model. Betulin (10,µg/mL) induces apoptotic cell death, as evidenced by morphological characteristics such as membrane phosphatidylserine translocation, nuclear condensation/fragmentation, and apoptotic body formation. A kinetics analysis showed that the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c occurred as early as 30,min after treatment with betulin. Betulin, unlike its chemical derivative betulinic acid, did not directly trigger mitochondrial cytochrome c release in isolated mitochondria. Importantly, Bax and Bak were rapidly translocated to the mitochondria 30,min after betulin treatment. The sequential activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3/-7 and the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were observed behind those mitochondrial events. Furthermore, specific downregulation of either caspase-9, Bax, or Bak by siRNA effectively reduced PARP cleavage and caspase-3 activation. Taken together, the lines of evidence demonstrate that betulin triggers apoptosis of human cancer cells through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The Alternative Oxidase: in vivo Regulation and Function

PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
F. F. Millenaar
Abstract: This review focuses on the biochemical regulation and function of the alternative oxidase in vivo. About 10 years ago, two activation mechanisms were discovered in isolated mitochondria, namely activation by reducing sulfur bonds in the protein and activation by an allosteric effect of pyruvate. It was proposed that plants would have a regulatory mechanism to modify alternative oxidase activity in vivo. However, more recent studies have shown that these two activation mechanisms may not play such an important role in regulation of alternative oxidase activity in vivo after all. Pyruvate and reduction of the sulfide bonds in the protein are definitely required for alternative oxidase activity, but they do not appear to be regulating the activity in vivo. Despite the energy wasting nature of the alternative oxidase, there was no obvious physiological function for the pathway for many years. It is now more clear that the alternative oxidase can prevent the production of excess reactive oxygen species radicals by stabilizing the redox state of the mitochondrial ubiquinone pool, while allowing continued activity of the citric acid cycle. This may be important under conditions when the NADH supply is relatively high (reductant overflow), or when the cytochrome pathway is restrained. The cytochrome pathway might be inhibited by naturally occurring cyanide, nitric oxide, sulfide, high concentrations of CO2, low temperatures, or by limited phosphate supply. [source]