scholarly journals Regulatory cross-talk supports resistance to Zn intoxication in Streptococcus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J Sullivan ◽  
Kelvin GK Goh ◽  
Glen C Ulett

Metals such as copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are important trace elements that can effect bacterial cell physiology but can also intoxicate bacteria at high concentrations. Discrete genetic systems for management of Cu and Zn efflux have been described in several bacteria pathogens, including streptococci. However, insight into molecular cross-talk between systems for Cu and Zn management in bacteria that drive metal detoxification, is limited. Here, we describe a biologically consequential cross-system effect of metal management in group B Streptococcus (GBS) governed by the Cu-responsive copY regulator in response to Zn. RNAseq analysis of wild-type (WT) and copY-deficient GBS exposed to metal stress revealed unique transcriptional links between the systems for Cu and Zn detoxification. We show that the Cu-sensing functions of CopY extend beyond Cu, and enable CopY to regulate Cu and Zn stress responses to effect genes involved in central cellular processes, including riboflavin synthesis. CopY also contributed to supporting GBS virulence in vivo following infection of mice. Identification of the Zn resistome of GBS using TraDIS revealed a suite of genes essential for GBS growth in metal stress. Several of the genes identified are novel to systems that support bacterial survival in metal stress, and represent a diversity of mechanisms of microbial metal homeostasis during cell stress. Overall, this study reveals a new and important mechanism of cross-system complexity driven by CopY in bacteria to regulate cell management of metal stress and survival.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lele Song ◽  
Renxu Chang ◽  
Xia Sun ◽  
Liying Lu ◽  
Han Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractThe mucosa microenvironment is critical for intestinal stem cell self-renewal and reconstruction of the epithelial barrier in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), where the mechanisms underlying cross-talk between intestinal crypts and the microenvironment remain unclear. Here, we firstly identified miR-494-3p as an important protector in colitis. miR-494-3p levels were decreased and negatively correlated with the severity in human IBD samples, as well as in colitis mice. In colitis crypts, a notable cytokine–cytokine receptor, miR-494-3p-targeted EDA2R and the ligand EDA-A2, suppressed colonic stemness and epithelial repair by inhibiting β-catenin/c-Myc. In differentiated IECs, miR-494-3p inhibits macrophage recruitment, M1 activation and EDA-A2 secretion by targeting IKKβ/NF-κB in colitis. A miR-494-3p agomir system notably ameliorated the severity of colonic colitis in vivo. Collectively, our findings uncover a miR-494-3p-mediated cross-talk mechanism by which macrophage-induced intestinal stem cell impairment aggravates intestinal inflammation.


Author(s):  
Marietta Zita Poles ◽  
László Juhász ◽  
Mihály Boros

AbstractMammalian methanogenesis is regarded as an indicator of carbohydrate fermentation by anaerobic gastrointestinal flora. Once generated by microbes or released by a non-bacterial process, methane is generally considered to be biologically inactive. However, recent studies have provided evidence for methane bioactivity in various in vivo settings. The administration of methane either in gas form or solutions has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in an array of experimental conditions, such as ischemia/reperfusion, endotoxemia and sepsis. It has also been demonstrated that exogenous methane influences the key regulatory mechanisms and cellular signalling pathways involved in oxidative and nitrosative stress responses. This review offers an insight into the latest findings on the multi-faceted organ protective activity of exogenous methane treatments with special emphasis on its versatile effects demonstrated in sepsis models.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (3) ◽  
pp. E336-E339 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Uehara ◽  
Y. Habara ◽  
A. Kuroshima ◽  
C. Sekiya ◽  
Y. Takasugi ◽  
...  

We have recently reported that chronically repeated restraint stress results in improved cold tolerance in rats via an increased activity of nonshivering thermogenesis, a characteristic metabolic change observed during cold adaptation, suggesting the presence of cross-adaptation between cold and stress. It is well established that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated in various stress responses. In the present study, therefore, we examined whether cold adaptation would alter the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-releasing state in vivo using freely moving, conscious rats chronically implanted with intra-atrial cannulas. There was no difference in the basal levels of plasma ACTH between warm control and cold-adapted rats. On the other hand, the ACTH response to the intravenous administration of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF; 2 micrograms/animal) was significantly elevated in cold-adapted rats. However, the injection of 10 micrograms of CRF, which was considered as a dose to elicit the maximal ACTH response, resulted in similar ACTH release patterns between the two groups. These changes in the responsiveness of ACTH secretion have been observed in rats chronically exposed to stressful conditions. The results demonstrated in the present study, therefore, provide further evidence for our hypothesis that there may exist cross-adaptation between cold and nonthermal stress.


2012 ◽  
Vol 209 (13) ◽  
pp. 2409-2422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiyoun Jung ◽  
Benjamin Hsiung ◽  
Kathleen Pestal ◽  
Emily Procyk ◽  
David H. Raulet

The NKG2D stimulatory receptor expressed by natural killer cells and T cell subsets recognizes cell surface ligands that are induced on transformed and infected cells and facilitate immune rejection of tumor cells. We demonstrate that expression of retinoic acid early inducible gene 1 (RAE-1) family NKG2D ligands in cancer cell lines and proliferating normal cells is coupled directly to cell cycle regulation. Raet1 genes are directly transcriptionally activated by E2F family transcription factors, which play a central role in regulating cell cycle entry. Induction of RAE-1 occurred in primary cell cultures, embryonic brain cells in vivo, and cells in healing skin wounds and, accordingly, wound healing was delayed in mice lacking NKG2D. Transcriptional activation by E2Fs is likely coordinated with posttranscriptional regulation by other stress responses. These findings suggest that cellular proliferation, as occurs in cancer cells but also other pathological conditions, is a key signal tied to immune reactions mediated by NKG2D-bearing lymphocytes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Kamradt ◽  
Ji-Ung Jung ◽  
Kathryn M. Pflug ◽  
Dong W. Lee ◽  
Victor Fanniel ◽  
...  

AbstractCancers, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), undergo coordinated reprogramming of metabolic pathways that control glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to promote tumor growth in diverse tumor microenvironments. Adaptation to limited nutrient availability in the microenvironment is associated with remodeling of mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetic capacity. We recently demonstrated that NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) regulates mitochondrial morphology to promote GBM cell invasion. Here, we show that NIK is recruited to the outer membrane of dividing mitochondria with the master fission regulator, Dynamin-related protein1 (DRP1). Moreover, glucose deprivation-mediated metabolic shift to OXPHOS increases fission and mitochondrial localization of both NIK and DRP1. NIK deficiency results in decreased mitochondrial respiration, ATP production, and spare respiratory capacity (SRC), a critical measure of mitochondrial fitness. Although IκB kinase α and β (IKKα/β) and NIK are required for OXPHOS in high glucose media, only NIK is required to increase SRC under glucose deprivation. Consistent with an IKK-independent role for NIK in regulating metabolism, we show that NIK phosphorylates DRP1-S616 in vitro and in vivo. Notably, a constitutively active DRP1-S616E mutant rescues oxidative metabolism, invasiveness, and tumorigenic potential in NIK−/− cells without inducing IKK. Thus, we establish that NIK is critical for bioenergetic stress responses to promote GBM cell pathogenesis independently of IKK. Our data suggest that targeting NIK may be used to exploit metabolic vulnerabilities and improve therapeutic strategies for GBM.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7589-7599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Ubeda ◽  
Mario Vallejo ◽  
Joel F. Habener

ABSTRACT The transcription factor CHOP (C/EBP homologous protein 10) is a bZIP protein induced by a variety of stimuli that evoke cellular stress responses and has been shown to arrest cell growth and to promote programmed cell death. CHOP cannot form homodimers but forms stable heterodimers with the C/EBP family of activating transcription factors. Although initially characterized as a dominant negative inhibitor of C/EBPs in the activation of gene transcription, CHOP-C/EBP can activate certain target genes. Here we show that CHOP interacts with members of the immediate-early response, growth-promoting AP-1 transcription factor family, JunD, c-Jun, and c-Fos, to activate promoter elements in the somatostatin, JunD, and collagenase genes. The leucine zipper dimerization domain is required for interactions with AP-1 proteins and transactivation of transcription. Analyses by electrophoretic mobility shift assays and by an in vivo mammalian two-hybrid system for protein-protein interactions indicate that CHOP interacts with AP-1 proteins inside cells and suggest that it is recruited to the AP-1 complex by a tethering mechanism rather than by direct binding of DNA. Thus, CHOP not only is a negative or a positive regulator of C/EBP target genes but also, when tethered to AP-1 factors, can activate AP-1 target genes. These findings establish the existence of a new mechanism by which CHOP regulates gene expression when cells are exposed to cellular stress.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Sipol ◽  
Erik Hameister ◽  
Busheng Xue ◽  
Julia Hofstetter ◽  
Maxim Barenboim ◽  
...  

Cancer cells are in most instances characterized by rapid proliferation and uncontrolled cell division. Hence, they must adapt to proliferation-induced metabolic stress through intrinsic or acquired anti-metabolic stress responses to maintain homeostasis and survival. One mechanism to achieve this is to reprogram gene expression in a metabolism-dependent manner. MondoA (also known as MLXIP), a member of the MYC interactome, has been described as an example of such a metabolic sensor. However, the role of MondoA in malignancy is not fully understood and the underlying mechanism in metabolic responses remains elusive. By assessing patient data sets we found that MondoA overexpression is associated with a worse survival in pediatric common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Using CRISPR/Cas9 and RNA interference approaches, we observed that MondoA depletion reduces transformational capacity of B-ALL cells in vitro and dramatically inhibits malignant potential in an in vivo mouse model. Interestingly, reduced expression of MondoA in patient data sets correlated with enrichment in metabolic pathways. The loss of MondoA correlated with increased tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity. Mechanistically, MondoA senses metabolic stress in B-ALL cells by restricting oxidative phosphorylation through reduced PDH activity. Glutamine starvation conditions greatly enhance this effect and highlight the inability to mitigate metabolic stress upon loss of MondoA in B-ALL. Our findings give a novel insight into the function of MondoA in pediatric B-ALL and support the notion that MondoA inhibition in this entity offers a therapeutic opportunity and should be further explored.


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