The mitochondrial permeability transition: its molecular mechanism and role in reperfusion injury

1999 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 181-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Halestrap
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cyclosporin A ◽  
Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Molecular Mechanism ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Adenine Nucleotide ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Heart Function ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability

The mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) involves the opening of a non-specific pore in the inner membrane of mitochondria, converting them from organelles whose production of ATP sustains the cell, to instruments of death. Here, I first summarize the evidence in favour of our model for the molecular mechanism of the mPT. It is proposed that the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) is converted into a non-specific pore through a calcium-mediated conformational change. This requires the binding of a unique cyclophilin (cyclophilin-D, CyP-D) to the ANT, except when matrix [Ca2+] is very high. Binding of CyP-D is increased in response to oxidative stress and some thiol reagents which sensitize the mPT to [Ca2+]. Matrix adenine nucleotides decrease the sensitivity of the mPT to [Ca2+] by binding to the ANT. This is antagonized by carboxyatractyloside (an inhibitor of the ANT) and by modification of specific thiol groups on the ANT by oxidative stress or thiol reagents; such treatments thus enhance the mPT. In contrast, decreasing intracellular pH below 7.0 greatly desensitizes the mPT to [Ca2+]. Conditions which sensitize the mPT towards [Ca2+] are found in hearts reperfused after a period of ischaemia, a process that may irreversibly damage the heart (reperfusion injury). We have demonstrated directly that mPT pores open during reperfusion (but not ischaemia) using a technique that involves entrapment of [3H]deoxyglucose in mitochondria that have undergone the mPT. The mPT may subsequently reverse in hearts that recover from ischaemia/reperfusion, the extent of resealing correlating with recovery of heart function. A variety of agents that antagonize the mPT protect the heart from reperfusion injury, including cyclosporin A, pyruvate and propofol. Mitochondria that undergo the mPT and then reseal may cause cytochrome c release and thus initiate apoptosis in cells subjected to stresses less severe than those causing necrosis. An example is the apoptotic cell death in the hippocampus that occurs several days after insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, and can be prevented by prior treatment with cyclosporin A.

scholarly journals Cyclophilin-D promotes the mitochondrial permeability transition but has opposite effects on apoptosis and necrosis

2004 ◽  
Vol 383 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanmin LI ◽  
Nicholas JOHNSON ◽  
Michela CAPANO ◽  
Mina EDWARDS ◽  
Martin CROMPTON
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cell Injury ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Adenine Nucleotide ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Cyclophilin D ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Inner Membrane ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability ◽  
Apoptosis And Necrosis

Cyclophilin-D is a peptidylprolyl cis–trans isomerase of the mitochondrial matrix. It is involved in mitochondrial permeability transition, in which the adenine nucleotide translocase of the inner membrane is transformed from an antiporter to a non-selective pore. The permeability transition has been widely considered as a mechanism in both apoptosis and necrosis. The present study examines the effects of cyclophilin-D on the permeability transition and lethal cell injury, using a neuronal (B50) cell line stably overexpressing cyclophilin-D in mitochondria. Cyclophilin-D overexpression rendered isolated mitochondria far more susceptible to the permeability transition induced by Ca2+ and oxidative stress. Similarly, cyclophilin-D overexpression brought forward the onset of the permeability transition in intact cells subjected to oxidative stress. In addition, in the absence of stress, the mitochondria of cells overexpressing cyclophilin-D maintained a lower inner-membrane potential than those of normal cells. All these effects of cyclophilin-D overexpression were abolished by cyclosporin A. It is concluded that cyclophilin-D promotes the permeability transition in B50 cells. However, cyclophilin-D overexpression had opposite effects on apoptosis and necrosis; whereas NO-induced necrosis was promoted, NO- and staurosporine-induced apoptosis were inhibited. These findings indicate that the permeability transition leads to cell necrosis, but argue against its involvement in apoptosis.

Confocal microscopy of the mitochondrial permeability transition in necrotic and apoptotic cell death

1999 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 205-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Lemasters ◽  
Ting Qian ◽  
Lawrence C. Trost ◽  
Brian Herman ◽  
Wayne E. Cascio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Confocal Microscopy ◽  
Cyclosporin A ◽  
Cell Injury ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Matrix Space ◽  
Necrosis Factor Alpha ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability

Opening of a high-conductance pore in the mitochondrial inner membrane induces onset of the mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT). Cyclosporin A and trifluoperazine inhibit this pore and block necrotic cell death in oxidative stress, Ca2+ ionophore toxicity, Reye-related drug toxicity, pH-dependent ischaemia/reperfusion injury and other models of cell injury. Confocal fluorescence microscopy directly visualizes the increased mitochondrial membrane permeability of the mPT from the movement of calcein from the cytosol into the matrix space. Pyridine nucleotide oxidation, increased mitochondrial Ca2+ and mitochondrial generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) all contribute to the onset of the mPT in situ. Confocal microscopy also shows directly that the mPT is a critical link in apoptotic signalling by tumour necrosis factor-alpha at a point downstream of caspase 8 and upstream of caspase 3. Cyclosporin A blocks this mPT, preventing release of pro-apoptotic cytochrome c from mitochondria and subsequent apoptotic cell killing. Progression to necrosis or apoptosis after the mPT depends on the availability of ATP, which blocks necrosis but promotes the apoptotic programme. Given the pathophysiological importance of the mPT, development of agents to modulate the mPT represents an important new goal for pharmaceutical drug discovery.

scholarly journals Urocortin prevents mitochondrial permeability transition in response to reperfusion injury indirectly by reducing oxidative stress

2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (2) ◽  
pp. H928-H938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Townsend ◽  
Sean M. Davidson ◽  
Samantha J. Clarke ◽  
Igor Khaliulin ◽  
Christopher J. Carroll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Permeability Transition Pore ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Ischemia And Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability ◽  
Lactate Dehydrogenase Release ◽  
Mptp Opening

Urocortin (UCN) protects hearts against ischemia and reperfusion injury whether given before ischemia or at reperfusion. Here we investigate the roles of PKC, reactive oxygen species, and the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) in mediating these effects. In Langendorff-perfused rat hearts, acute UCN treatment improved hemodynamic recovery during reperfusion after 30 min of global ischemia; this was accompanied by less necrosis (lactate dehydrogenase release) and MPTP opening (mitochondrial entrapment of 2-[3H]deoxyglucose). UCN pretreatment protected mitochondria against calcium-induced MPTP opening, but only if the mitochondria had been isolated from hearts after reperfusion. These mitochondria also exhibited less protein carbonylation, suggesting that UCN decreases levels of oxidative stress. In isolated adult and neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, both acute (60 min) and chronic (16 h) treatment with UCN reduced cell death following simulated ischemia and re-oxygenation. This was accompanied by less MPTP opening as measured using tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester. The level of oxidative stress during reperfusion was reduced in cells that had been pretreated with UCN, suggesting that this is the mechanism by which UCN desensitizes the MPTP to reperfusion injury. Despite the fact that we could find no evidence that either PKC-ε or PKC-α translocate to the mitochondria following acute UCN treatment, inhibition of PKC with chelerythrine eliminated the effect of UCN on oxidative stress. Our data suggest that acute UCN treatment protects the heart by inhibiting MPTP opening. However, the mechanism appears to be indirect, involving a PKC-mediated reduction in oxidative stress.

scholarly journals High susceptibility of activated lymphocytes to oxidative stress-induced cell death

2008 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna R. Degasperi ◽  
Roger F. Castilho ◽  
Anibal E. Vercesi
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Cyclosporin A ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Iron Chelator ◽  
Activated Lymphocytes ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability ◽  
Spleen Lymphocytes

The present study provides evidence that activated spleen lymphocytes from Walker 256 tumor bearing rats are more susceptible than controls to tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH)-induced necrotic cell death in vitro. The iron chelator and antioxidant deferoxamine, the intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA, the L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedipine or the mitochondrial permeability transition inhibitor cyclosporin A, but not the calcineurin inhibitor FK-506, render control and activated lymphocytes equally resistant to the toxic effects of t-BOOH. Incubation of activated lymphocytes in the presence of t-BOOH resulted in a cyclosporin A-sensitive decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. These results indicate that the higher cytosolic Ca2+ level in activated lymphocytes increases their susceptibility to oxidative stress-induced cell death in a mechanism involving the participation of mitochondrial permeability transition.

Calcium, mitochondria and reperfusion injury: a pore way to die

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Halestrap
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Reperfusion Injury ◽  
Mitochondrial Permeability Transition ◽  
Adenine Nucleotide ◽  
Coronary Thrombosis ◽  
Permeability Transition ◽  
Cyclophilin D ◽  
Inner Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Apoptotic Pathway

When mitochondria are exposed to high Ca2+ concentrations, especially when accompanied by oxidative stress and adenine nucleotide depletion, they undergo massive swelling and become uncoupled. This occurs as a result of the opening of a non-specific pore in the inner mitochondrial membrane, known as the MPTP (mitochondrial permeability transition pore). If the pore remains open, cells cannot maintain their ATP levels and this will lead to cell death by necrosis. This article briefly reviews what is known of the molecular mechanism of the MPTP and its role in causing the necrotic cell death of the heart and brain that occurs during reperfusion after a long period of ischaemia. Such reperfusion injury is a major problem during cardiac surgery and in the treatment of coronary thrombosis and stroke. Prevention of MPTP opening either directly, using agents such as cyclosporin A, or indirectly by reducing oxidative stress or Ca2+ overload, provides a protective strategy against reperfusion injury. Furthermore, mice in which a component of the MPTP, CyP-D (cyclophilin D), has been knocked out are protected against heart and brain ischaemia/reperfusion. When cells experience a less severe insult, the MPTP may open transiently. The resulting mitochondrial swelling may be sufficient to cause release of cytochrome c and activation of the apoptotic pathway rather than necrosis. However, the CyP-D-knockout mice develop normally and show no protection against a range of apoptotic stimuli, suggesting that the MPTP does not play a role in most forms of apoptosis.

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