scholarly journals A hierarchy of ATP-consuming processes in mammalian cells

1995 ◽  
Vol 312 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Buttgereit ◽  
M D Brand

The rates of different ATP-consuming reactions were measured in concanavalin A-stimulated thymocytes, a model system in which more than 80% of the ATP consumption can be accounted for. There was a clear hierarchy of the responses of different energy-consuming reactions to changes in energy supply: pathways of macromolecule biosynthesis (protein synthesis and RNA/DNA synthesis) were most sensitive to energy supply, followed by sodium cycling and then calcium cycling across the plasma membrane. Mitochondrial proton leak was the least sensitive to energy supply. Control analysis was used to quantify the relative control over ATP production exerted by the individual groups of ATP-consuming reactions. Control was widely shared; no block of reactions had more than one-third of the control. A fuller control analysis showed that there appeared to be a hierarchy of control over the flux through ATP: protein synthesis > RNA/DNA synthesis and substrate oxidation > Na+ cycling and Ca2+ cycling > other ATP consumers and mitochondrial proton leak. Control analysis also indicated that there was significant control over the rates of individual ATP consumers by energy supply. Each ATP consumer had strong control over its own rate but very little control over the rates of the other ATP consumers.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 381-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Buttgereit ◽  
M. D. Brand ◽  
M. Müller

The influence of ConA on the energy metabolism of quiescent rat thymocytes was investigated by measuring the effects of inhibitors of protein synthesis, proteolysis, RNA/DNA synthesis, Na+K+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase and mitochondrial ATP synthesis on respiration. Only about 50% of the coupled oxygen consumption of quiescent thymocytes could be assigned to specific processes using two different media. Under these conditions the oxygen is mainly used to drive mitochondrial proton leak and to provide ATP for protein synthesis and cation transport, whereas oxygen consumption to provide ATP for RNA/DNA synthesis and ATP-dependent proteolysis was not measurable. The mitogen ConA produced a persistent increase in oxygen consumption by about 30% within seconds. After stimulation more than 80% of respiration could be assigned to specific processes. The major oxygen consuming processes of ConA-stimulated thymocytes are mitochondrial proton leak, protein synthesis and Na+K+-ATPase with about 20% each of total oxygen consumption, while Ca2+-ATPase and RNA/DNA synthesis contribute about 10% each. Quiescent thymocytes resemble resting hepatocytes in that most of the oxygen consumption remains unexplained. In constrast, the pattern of energy metabolism in stimulated thymocytes is similar to that described for Ehrlich Ascites tumour cells and splenocytes, which may also be in an activated state. Most of the oxygen consumption is accounted for, so the unexplained process(es) in unstimulated cells shut(s) off on stimulation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Buttgereit ◽  
M. D. Brand ◽  
M. Müller

The influence of ConA on the energy metabolism of quiescent rat thymocytes was investigated by measuring the effects of inhibitors of protein synthesis, proteolysis, RNA/DNA synthesis, Na+K+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase and mitochondrial ATP synthesis on respiration. Only about 50% of the coupled oxygen consumption of quiescent thymocytes could be assigned to specific processes using two different media. Under these conditions the oxygen is mainly used to drive mitochondrial proton leak and to provide ATP for protein synthesis and cation transport, whereas oxygen consumption to provide ATP for RNA/DNA synthesis and ATP-dependent proteolysis was not measurable. The mitogen ConA produced a persistent increase in oxygen consumption by about 30% within seconds. After stimulation more than 80% of respiration could be assigned to specific processes. The major oxygen consuming processes of ConA-stimulated thymocytes are mitochondrial proton leak, protein synthesis and Na+K+-ATPase with about 20% each of total oxygen consumption, while Ca2+-ATPase and RNA/DNA synthesis contribute about 10% each. Quiescent thymocytes resemble resting hepatocytes in that most of the oxygen consumption remains unexplained. In contrast, the pattern of energy metabolism in stimulated thymocytes is similar to that described for Ehrlich Ascites tumour cells and splenocytes, which may also be in an activated state. Most of the oxygen consumption is accounted for, so the unexplained process(es) in unstimulated cells shut(s) off on stimulation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2925-2932
Author(s):  
D L Coppock ◽  
A B Pardee

To investigate the mechanism which controls the onset of DNA synthesis, we examined the regulation of thymidine kinase (TK) and its mRNA in the cell cycle. TK activity provides a useful marker for the onset of the S phase in mammalian cells. The present analysis of regulation of TK mRNA in BALB/c 3T3 cells showed that (i) the increase in TK activity depended on the availability of TK mRNA, (ii) the level of TK mRNA between G0 and S increased more than 20-fold, (iii) the rate of run-on TK transcription increased at most 2- to 4-fold between the G0 and S phases, (iv) the half-life of TK mRNA was greater than 8 to 12 h in the S and M phases and decreased as cells entered quiescence, (v) the TK mRNA increase was fully blocked by inhibition of protein synthesis by only 60%, (vi) this inhibition was completely effective for up to about 10 h following serum addition and progressively much less effective when the drugs were added later. These results suggest that the appearance of TK mRNA at the beginning of the S phase in serum-stimulated 3T3 cells is controlled not only by the rate of gene transcription but importantly also by the decreased rate of mRNA degradation. Similar mechanisms may be involved in regulation of the onset of DNA synthesis and the increase in TK mRNA since both are controlled in a manner consistent with a requirement for a labile protein.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2959-2966 ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Wu ◽  
W M Bonner

It has been documented widely that when the generation times of eucaryotic cells are lengthened by slowing the rate of protein synthesis, the duration of the chromosome cycle (S, G2, and M phases) remains relatively invariant. Paradoxically, when the growth of exponentially growing cultures of CHO cells is partially inhibited with inhibitors of protein synthesis, the immediate effect is a proportionate reduction in the rate of total protein, histone protein, and DNA synthesis. However, on further investigation it was found that over the next 2 h the rates of histone protein and DNA synthesis recover, in some cases completely to the uninhibited rate, while the synthesis rates of other proteins do not recover. We called this process chromosome cycle compensation. The amount of compensation seen in CHO cell cultures can account quantitatively for the relative invariance in the length of the chromosome cycle (S, G2, and M phases) reported for these cells. The mechanism for this compensation involves a specific increase in the levels of histone mRNAs. An invariant chromosome cycle coupled with a lengthening growth cycle must result in a disproportionate lengthening of the G1 phase. Thus, these results suggest that chromosome cycle invariance may be due more to specific cellular compensation mechanisms rather than to the more usual interpretation involving a rate-limiting step for cell cycle progression in the G1 phase.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 2925-2932 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Coppock ◽  
A B Pardee

To investigate the mechanism which controls the onset of DNA synthesis, we examined the regulation of thymidine kinase (TK) and its mRNA in the cell cycle. TK activity provides a useful marker for the onset of the S phase in mammalian cells. The present analysis of regulation of TK mRNA in BALB/c 3T3 cells showed that (i) the increase in TK activity depended on the availability of TK mRNA, (ii) the level of TK mRNA between G0 and S increased more than 20-fold, (iii) the rate of run-on TK transcription increased at most 2- to 4-fold between the G0 and S phases, (iv) the half-life of TK mRNA was greater than 8 to 12 h in the S and M phases and decreased as cells entered quiescence, (v) the TK mRNA increase was fully blocked by inhibition of protein synthesis by only 60%, (vi) this inhibition was completely effective for up to about 10 h following serum addition and progressively much less effective when the drugs were added later. These results suggest that the appearance of TK mRNA at the beginning of the S phase in serum-stimulated 3T3 cells is controlled not only by the rate of gene transcription but importantly also by the decreased rate of mRNA degradation. Similar mechanisms may be involved in regulation of the onset of DNA synthesis and the increase in TK mRNA since both are controlled in a manner consistent with a requirement for a labile protein.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2959-2966
Author(s):  
R S Wu ◽  
W M Bonner

It has been documented widely that when the generation times of eucaryotic cells are lengthened by slowing the rate of protein synthesis, the duration of the chromosome cycle (S, G2, and M phases) remains relatively invariant. Paradoxically, when the growth of exponentially growing cultures of CHO cells is partially inhibited with inhibitors of protein synthesis, the immediate effect is a proportionate reduction in the rate of total protein, histone protein, and DNA synthesis. However, on further investigation it was found that over the next 2 h the rates of histone protein and DNA synthesis recover, in some cases completely to the uninhibited rate, while the synthesis rates of other proteins do not recover. We called this process chromosome cycle compensation. The amount of compensation seen in CHO cell cultures can account quantitatively for the relative invariance in the length of the chromosome cycle (S, G2, and M phases) reported for these cells. The mechanism for this compensation involves a specific increase in the levels of histone mRNAs. An invariant chromosome cycle coupled with a lengthening growth cycle must result in a disproportionate lengthening of the G1 phase. Thus, these results suggest that chromosome cycle invariance may be due more to specific cellular compensation mechanisms rather than to the more usual interpretation involving a rate-limiting step for cell cycle progression in the G1 phase.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1279-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Sariban ◽  
R S Wu ◽  
L C Erickson ◽  
W M Bonner

During the replication of chromatin, the syntheses of the histone protein and DNA components are closely coordinated but not totally linked. The interrelationships of total protein synthesis, histone protein synthesis, DNA synthesis, and mRNA levels have been investigated in Chinese hamster ovary cells subjected to several different types of inhibitors in several different temporal combinations. The results from these studies and results reported elsewhere can be brought together into a consistent framework which combines the idea of autoregulation of histone biosynthesis as originally proposed by W. B. Butler and G. C. Mueller (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 294:481-496, 1973] with the presence of basal histone synthesis and the effects of protein synthesis on DNA synthesis. The proposed framework obviates the difficulties of Butler and Mueller's model and may have wider application in understanding the control of cell growth.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1279-1286
Author(s):  
E Sariban ◽  
R S Wu ◽  
L C Erickson ◽  
W M Bonner

During the replication of chromatin, the syntheses of the histone protein and DNA components are closely coordinated but not totally linked. The interrelationships of total protein synthesis, histone protein synthesis, DNA synthesis, and mRNA levels have been investigated in Chinese hamster ovary cells subjected to several different types of inhibitors in several different temporal combinations. The results from these studies and results reported elsewhere can be brought together into a consistent framework which combines the idea of autoregulation of histone biosynthesis as originally proposed by W. B. Butler and G. C. Mueller (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 294:481-496, 1973] with the presence of basal histone synthesis and the effects of protein synthesis on DNA synthesis. The proposed framework obviates the difficulties of Butler and Mueller's model and may have wider application in understanding the control of cell growth.


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (1) ◽  
pp. R21-R31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilya O. Kurochkin ◽  
Markus Etzkorn ◽  
David Buchwalter ◽  
Larry Leamy ◽  
Inna M. Sokolova

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal and an important environmental pollutant that can strongly affect mitochondrial function and bioenergetics in animals. We investigated the mechanisms of Cd action on mitochondrial function of a marine mollusk (the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica ) by performing a top-down control analysis of the three major mitochondrial subsystems (substrate oxidation, proton leak, and phosphorylation). Our results showed that the substrate oxidation and proton leak subsystems are the main targets for Cd toxicity in oyster mitochondria. Exposure to 12.5 μM Cd strongly inhibited the substrate oxidation subsystem and stimulated the proton conductance across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Proton conductance was also elevated and substrate oxidation inhibited by Cd in the presence of a mitochondrially targeted antioxidant, MitoVitE, indicating that Cd effects on these subsystems were to a large extent ROS independent. Cd did not affect the kinetics of the phosphorylation system, indicating that it has negligible effects on F1, FO ATP synthase and/or the adenine nucleotide transporter in oyster mitochondria. Cd exposure altered the patterns of control over mitochondrial respiration, increasing the degree of control conferred by the substrate oxidation subsystem, especially in resting (state 4) mitochondria. Taken together, these data suggest that Cd-induced decrease of mitochondrial efficiency and ATP production are predominantly driven by the high sensitivity of substrate oxidation and proton leak subsystems to this metal.


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