scholarly journals Fatty Acid Synthesis Is Essential for Survival of Cryptococcus neoformans and a Potential Fungicidal Target

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 3537-3545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Methee Chayakulkeeree ◽  
Thomas H. Rude ◽  
Dena L. Toffaletti ◽  
John R. Perfect

ABSTRACT Fatty acid synthase in the yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is composed of two subunits encoded by FAS1 and FAS2 genes. We inserted a copper-regulated promoter (P CTR4-2 ) to regulate FAS1 and FAS2 expression in Cryptococcus neoformans (strains P CTR4-2 /FAS1 and P CTR4-2 /FAS2, respectively). Both mutants showed growth rates similar to those of the wild type in a low-copper medium in which FAS1 and FAS2 were expressed, but even in the presence of exogenous fatty acids, strains were suppressed in growth under high-copper conditions. The treatment of C. neoformans with fluconazole was shown to have an increased inhibitory activity and even became fungicidal when either FAS1 or FAS2 expression was suppressed. Furthermore, a subinhibitory dose of fluconazole showed anticryptococcal activity in vitro in the presence of cerulenin, a fatty acid synthase inhibitor. In a murine model of pulmonary cryptococcosis, a tissue census of yeast cells in P CTR4-2 /FAS2 strain at day 7 of infection was significantly lower than that in mice treated with tetrathiomolybdate, a copper chelator (P < 0.05), and a yeast census of P CTR4-2 /FAS1 strain at day 14 of infection in the brain was lower in the presence of more copper. In fact, no positive cultures from the brain were detected in mice (with or without tetrathiomolybdate treatment) infected with the P CTR4-2 /FAS2 strain, which implies that this mutant did not reach the brain in mice. We conclude that both FAS1 and FAS2 in C. neoformans are essential for in vitro and in vivo growth in conditions with and without exogenous fatty acids and that FAS1 and FAS2 can potentially be fungicidal targets for C. neoformans with a potential for synergistic behavior with azoles.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulianri Rizki Yanza ◽  
Malgorzata Szumacher-Strabel ◽  
Dorota Lechniak ◽  
Sylwester Ślusarczyk ◽  
Pawel Kolodziejski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect of biologically active compounds (BAC) of Coleus amboinicus Lour. (CAL) herb fed to growing lambs on ruminal methane production, ruminal biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids and meat characteristics. An in vitro trial (Experiment 1) comprising of control and three experimental diets (CAL constituting 10%, 15%, and 20% of the total diet) was conducted to determine an effective dose for in vivo experiments. After the in vitro trial, two in vivo experiments were conducted on six growing, rumen-cannulated lambs (Experiment 2) and 16 growing lambs (Experiment 3), which were assigned into the control (CON) and one experimental diet (20% of CAL). Several parameters were examined in vitro (pH, ammonia and VFA concentrations, protozoa, methanogens and select bacteria populations) and in vivo (methane production, digestibility, ruminal microorganism populations, meat quality, fatty acids profiles in rumen fluid and meat, transcript expression of 5 genes in meat). Results: The CAL lowered in vitro methane production by 51%. In the in vivo experiments, lambs fed CAL decreased methane production by 20% compared with the CON animals (Experiment 3), which corresponded to the reduced total methanogens counts in all experiments up to 28%, notably Methanobacteriales. In Experiment 3, CAL increased or tended to increase the numbers of Ruminococcus albus, Megasphaeraelsdenii, Butyrivibrioproteoclasticus, and Butyrivibriofibrisolvens. Dietary CAL suppressed the Holotricha population, but increased or tended to increase Entodiniomorpha population in Experiments 2 and 3. An increase in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportion in the rumen of lambs was noted in response to the CAL diet, which was mainly attributable to the increase in C18:3 cis-9 cis-12 cis-15 (LNA) proportion. The CAL reduced the mRNA expressions of four investigated genes in meat (fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, lipoprotein lipase, and fatty acid desaturase 1). Conclusions:Summarizing, polyphenols of CAL (20% in diet) origin can mitigate ruminal methane production by inhibiting the methanogens communities. Supplementation of CAL also provides favorable conditions in the rumen by modulating ruminal bacteria involved in fermentation and biohydrogenation of fatty acids. CAL elevated the LNA concentration, which led to improved meat quality through increased deposition of n-3 PUFA.


1970 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Goodridge

1. A single glucose meal stimulated the incorporation of acetate into fatty acids in liver slices. If the glucose was added in vitro, it had no effect. Fructose and glycerol in vitro markedly stimulated fatty acid synthesis from acetate. Fructose and glycerol probably by-passed a rate-controlling reaction between glucose and triose phosphate. This reaction may have been stimulated by glucose administered in vivo. 2. The stimulation of fatty acid synthesis caused by fructose did not require the synthesis of enzyme, thus indicating that fatty acid-synthesizing enzymes were present in a latent form in the livers from unfed chicks.


2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulianri Rizki Yanza ◽  
Malgorzata Szumacher-Strabel ◽  
Dorota Lechniak ◽  
Sylwester Ślusarczyk ◽  
Pawel Kolodziejski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Methane production and fatty acids (FA) biohydrogenation in the rumen are two main constraints in ruminant production causing environmental burden and reducing food product quality. Rumen functions can be modulated by the biologically active compounds (BACs) of plant origins as shown in several studies e.g. reduction in methane emission, modulation of FA composition with positive impact on the ruminant products. Coleus amboinicus Lour. (CAL) contains high concentration of polyphenols that may potentially reduce methane production and modulate ruminal biohydrogenation of unsaturated FA. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BAC of Coleus amboinicus Lour. (CAL) fed to growing lambs on ruminal methane production, biohydrogenation of unsaturated FA and meat characteristics. In this study, the in vitro experiment aiming at determining the most effective CAL dose for in vivo experiments was followed by two in vivo experiments in rumen-cannulated rams and growing lambs. Experiment 1 (RUSITEC) comprised of control and three experimental diets differing in CAL content (10%, 15%, and 20% of the total diet). The two in vivo experiments were conducted on six growing, rumen-cannulated lambs (Exp. 2) and 16 growing lambs (Exp. 3). Animals were assigned into the control (CON) and experimental (20% of CAL) groups. Several parameters were examined in vitro (pH, ammonia and VFA concentrations, protozoa, methanogens and select bacteria populations) and in vivo (methane production, digestibility, ruminal microorganism populations, meat quality, fatty acids profiles in rumen fluid and meat, transcript expression of 5 genes in meat). Results CAL lowered in vitro methane production by 51%. In the in vivo Exp. 3, CAL decreased methane production by 20% compared with the CON group, which corresponded to reduction of total methanogen counts by up to 28% in all experiments, notably Methanobacteriales. In Exp. 3, CAL increased or tended to increase populations of some rumen bacteria (Ruminococcus albus, Megasphaera elsdenii, Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus, and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens). Dietary CAL suppressed the Holotricha population, but increased or tended to increase Entodiniomorpha population in vivo. An increase in the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportion in the rumen of lambs was noted in response to the CAL diet, which was mainly attributable to the increase in C18:3 cis-9 cis-12 cis-15 (LNA) proportion. CAL reduced the mRNA expression of four out of five genes investigated in meat (fatty acid synthase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, lipoprotein lipase, and fatty acid desaturase 1). Conclusions Summarizing, polyphenols of CAL origin (20% in diet) mitigated ruminal methane production by inhibiting the methanogen communities. CAL supplementation also improved ruminal environment by modulating ruminal bacteria involved in fermentation and biohydrogenation of FA. Besides, CAL elevated the LNA concentration, which improved meat quality through increased deposition of n-3 PUFA.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Bartolacci ◽  
Cristina Andreani ◽  
Goncalo Dias do Vale ◽  
Stefano Berto ◽  
Margherita Melegari ◽  
...  

Mutant KRAS (KM) is the most common oncogene in lung cancer (LC). KM regulates several metabolic networks, but their role in tumorigenesis is still not sufficiently characterized to be exploited in cancer therapy. To identify metabolic networks specifically deregulated in KMLC, we characterized the lipidome of genetically engineered LC mice, cell lines, patient derived xenografts and primary human samples. We also determined that KMLC, but not EGFR-mutant (EGFR-MUT) LC, is enriched in triacylglycerides (TAG) and phosphatidylcholines (PC). We also found that KM upregulates fatty acid synthase (FASN), a rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid (FA) synthesis promoting the synthesis of palmitate and PC. We determined that FASN is specifically required for the viability of KMLC, but not of LC harboring EGFR-MUT or wild type KRAS. Functional experiments revealed that FASN inhibition leads to ferroptosis, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-and iron-dependent cell death. Consistently, lipidomic analysis demonstrated that FASN inhibition in KMLC leads to accumulation of PC with polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) chains, which are the substrate of ferroptosis. Integrating lipidomic, transcriptome and functional analyses, we demonstrated that FASN provides saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated FA (MUFA) that feed the Lands cycle, the main process remodeling oxidized phospholipids (PL), such as PC. Accordingly, either inhibition of FASN or suppression of the Lands cycle enzymes PLA2 and LPCAT3, promotes the intracellular accumulation of lipid peroxides and ferroptosis in KMLC both in vitro and in vivo. Our work supports a model whereby the high oxidative stress caused by KM dictates a dependency on newly synthesized FA to repair oxidated phospholipids, establishing a targetable vulnerability. These results connect KM oncogenic signaling, FASN induction and ferroptosis, indicating that FASN inhibitors already in clinical trial in KMLC patients (NCT03808558) may be rapidly deployed as therapy for KMLC.


2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Moibi ◽  
R. J. Christopherson ◽  
E. K. Okine

Twenty-four wether lambs were randomly allocated to six treatments to investigate the effect of temperature and dietary lipid supplements on fatty acid synthesis and metabolic activity in sheep. The treatments consisted of four groups exposed to either cold (0 °C) or warm temperature (+23 °C) and given ad libitum access to either a control barley-based diet or with lipid supplementation. Two other groups were placed on the dietary regimen at 0 °C, but pair-fed to intake of animals in the +23 °C environment. At 5 wk, fatty acid synthesis was measured by [1-14C]acetate incorporation into tissue lipids. Cold exposure and dietary lipid supplementation had no effect (P > 0.05) on in vivo fatty acid synthesis rates in either longissimus dorsi or the liver. In both subcutaneous and mesenteric adipose tissue depots, the rate of acetate incorporation into tissue lipid was not significantly affected by cold exposure. In the perirenal fat depot, cold exposure increased (P < 0.05) the rate of fatty acid synthesis, while lipid supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) the rate in all tissue adipose depots. In vitro, mesenteric and perirenal adipose tissues from cold pair-fed animals had higher (P < 0.05) rates of fatty acid synthesis compared to tissues from animals in the warm environment. However, there was no effect of dietary lipid supplementation in these two fat depots. Metabolic heat production, and energy and nitrogen excretion by animals were increased (P < 0.05) by cold exposure while lipid supplementation had the opposite effect (P < 0.05). The relationship between average daily gain and feed intake was linear at both warm and cold environments, but with higher (P < 0.05) average daily gain at all levels of intake in the cold compared to the warm environment. Results indicate that both environment and diet regulate metabolic activity in sheep. However, there were differences in lipogenic response by tissues to the treatments. Key words: Environmental temperature, dietary lipid, fatty acid synthesis, metabolic rate, sheep


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (38) ◽  
pp. 23557-23564
Author(s):  
Alex Ruppe ◽  
Kathryn Mains ◽  
Jerome M. Fox

Cells build fatty acids with biocatalytic assembly lines in which a subset of enzymes often exhibit overlapping activities (e.g., two enzymes catalyze one or more identical reactions). Although the discrete enzymes that make up fatty acid pathways are well characterized, the importance of catalytic overlap between them is poorly understood. We developed a detailed kinetic model of the fatty acid synthase (FAS) ofEscherichia coliand paired that model with a fully reconstituted in vitro system to examine the capabilities afforded by functional redundancy in fatty acid synthesis. The model captures—and helps explain—the effects of experimental perturbations to FAS systems and provides a powerful tool for guiding experimental investigations of fatty acid assembly. Compositional analyses carried out in silico and in vitro indicate that FASs with multiple partially redundant enzymes enable tighter (i.e., more independent and/or broader range) control of distinct biochemical objectives—the total production, unsaturated fraction, and average length of fatty acids—than FASs with only a single multifunctional version of each enzyme (i.e., one enzyme with the catalytic capabilities of two partially redundant enzymes). Maximal production of unsaturated fatty acids, for example, requires a second dehydratase that is not essential for their synthesis. This work provides a kinetic, control-theoretic rationale for the inclusion of partially redundant enzymes in fatty acid pathways and supplies a valuable framework for carrying out detailed studies of FAS kinetics.


1975 ◽  
Vol 228 (5) ◽  
pp. 1409-1414
Author(s):  
S Mishkin ◽  
M Yalovsky ◽  
JI Kessler

The uptake and esterification of micellar [3-H]oleate and [14-C] palmitate were uniform along the entire length of the small intestine in vivo. Fatty acids (FA) radioactivity taken up by the small intestine could be described in terms of four functionally distinct compartments analogous to those described in vitro. The KRP-extractable compartment (KEC) and albumin-extractable compartment (AEC) contained reversibly adherent unesterified FA radioactivity, while the tissue free and esterified FA compartments contained irreversibly bound radioactivity. Wheras 27% and 63% of FA uptake were reversibly bound in the KEC and AEC by the most proximal and most distal regions of the small intestine in vitro (15), less than 10% was contained in these compartments in vivo, independent of location. Linear inverse relationships were found betweeen tissue FA esterification and proportion of FA radioactivity present in the KEC,AEC, and the tissue free FA compartment in vivo. These observations allow for the possibility that FA molecules pass through these compartments prior to esterification.


2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ohlrogge ◽  
M. Pollard ◽  
X. Bao ◽  
M. Focke ◽  
T. Girke ◽  
...  

For over 25 years there has been uncertainty over the pathway from CO2, to acetyl-CoA in chloroplasts. On the one hand, free acetate is the most effective substrate for fatty acid synthesis by isolated chloroplasts, and free acetate concentrations reported in leaf tissue (0.1–1 mM) appear adequate to saturate fatty acid synthase. On the other hand, a clear mechanism to generate sufficient free acetate for fatty acid synthesis is not established and direct production of acetyl-CoA from pyruvate by a plastid pyruvate dehydrogenase seems a more simple and direct path. We have re-examined this question and attempted to distinguish between the alternatives. The kinetics of 13CO2 and 14CO2 movement into fatty acids and the absolute rate of fatty acid synthesis in leaves was determined in light and dark. Because administered 14C appears in fatty acids within < 2–3 min our results are inconsistent with a large pool of free acetate as an intermediate in leaf fatty acid synthesis. In addition, these studies provide an estimate of the turnover rate of fatty acid in leaves. Studies similar to the above are more complex in seeds, and some questions about the regulation of plant lipid metabolism seem difficult to solve using conventional biochemical or molecular approaches. For example, we have little understanding of why or how some seeds produce >50%, oil whereas other seeds store largely carbohydrate or protein. Major control over complex plant biochemical pathways may only become possible by understanding regulatory networks which provide ‘global’ control over these pathways. To begin to discover such networks and provide a broad analysis of gene expression in developing oilseeds, we have produced micro-arrays that display approx. 5000 seed-expressed Arabidopsis genes. Sensitivity of the arrays was 1–2 copies of mRNA/cell. The arrays have been hybridized with probes derived from seeds, leaves and roots, and analysis of expression ratios between the different tissues has allowed the tissue-specific expression patterns of many hundreds of genes to be described for the first time. Approx. 10% of the genes were expressed at ratios ≥ 10-fold higher in seeds than in leaves or roots. Included in this list are a large number of proteins of unknown function, and potential regulatory factors such as protein kinases, phosphatases and transcription factors. The arrays were also found to be useful for analysis of Brassica seeds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 778-789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su-Hyeong Kim ◽  
Eun-Ryeong Hahm ◽  
Krishna B Singh ◽  
Sruti Shiva ◽  
Jacob Stewart-Ornstein ◽  
...  

Abstract Withaferin A (WA) is a promising phytochemical exhibiting in vitro and in vivo anticancer activities against prostate and other cancers, but the mechanism of its action is not fully understood. In this study, we performed RNA-seq analysis using 22Rv1 human prostate cancer cell line to identify mechanistic targets of WA. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes showed most significant enrichment of genes associated with metabolism. These results were validated using LNCaP and 22Rv1 human prostate cancer cells and Hi-Myc transgenic mice as models. The intracellular levels of acetyl-CoA, total free fatty acids and neutral lipids were decreased significantly following WA treatment in both cells, which was accompanied by downregulation of mRNA (confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and protein levels of key fatty acid synthesis enzymes, including ATP citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1, fatty acid synthase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A. Ectopic expression of c-Myc, but not constitutively active Akt, conferred a marked protection against WA-mediated suppression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 and fatty acid synthase protein expression, and clonogenic cell survival. WA was a superior inhibitor of cell proliferation and fatty acid synthesis in comparison with known modulators of fatty acid metabolism including cerulenin and etomoxir. Intraperitoneal WA administration to Hi-Myc transgenic mice (0.1 mg/mouse, three times/week for 5 weeks) also resulted in a significant decrease in circulating levels of total free fatty acids and phospholipids, and expression of ATP citrate lyase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1, fatty acid synthase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A proteins in the prostate in vivo.


1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 917-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Homeyer ◽  
D. Schulze-Siebert ◽  
G. Schultz

Abstract In vitro incubation of intact spinach chloroplasts with 1 mᴍ Pyruvate was used to study the specificity of action of the herbicide Chlorsulfuron on the synthesis of valine, alanine and fatty acids. As a result, increasing concentrations of the herbicide strongly inhibited valine synthesis while fatty acid synthesis via pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and alanine formation by transamination reaction was promoted.


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