Abstract P385: Sarcolipin Reduction Prevents Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Dystrophic Myocardium

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satvik Mareedu ◽  
Nadezhda Fefelova ◽  
Lai-hua Xie ◽  
Gopal J Babu

Rationale & Hypothesis: Sarcolipin (SLN), an inhibitor of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ ATPase (SERCA) is abnormally high and enriched in the mitochondrial associated membrane (MAM) fractions of dystrophic hearts. We, therefore, hypothesized that in the dystrophic cardiomyocytes, SLN upregulation causes abnormal elevation of intracellular Ca 2+ (Ca 2+ i ) including Ca 2+ mishandling in the MAM region, resulting in sustained elevation of mitochondrial Ca 2+ (Ca 2+ m ) , which in turn affects mitochondrial structure and function. Approach: We chose dystrophin mutant and utrophin deficient, mdx:utr -/- mice for our studies and generated SLN haploinsufficient mdx:utr -/- (mdx:utr -/- :sln +/- ) mice. Single-cell Ca 2+ transients and Ca 2+ m efflux were measured in isolated cardiomyocytes to determine Ca 2+ i handling and Ca 2+ m content, respectively. Mitochondrial membrane potential was assessed with membrane-permeant dyes in isolated cardiomyocytes followed by confocal imaging. Mitochondrial respiration was measured using Complex activity assays and Seahorse metabolic profiling in ventricular tissue lysates and isolated mitochondria respectively. Mitochondrial structure, number, and area were evaluated using electron micrographs. Results: Heterozygous deletion of the SLN gene normalized SLN expression and improved Ca 2+ i cycling and prevented Ca 2+ m overload in dystrophic cardiac myocytes. Furthermore, reducing SLN expression prevents loss of membrane potential and improves mitochondrial respiration in the dystrophic cardiac myocytes. Transmission electron microscopic analyses of the dystrophic heart revealed significant cristae loss in the mitochondria globally as well as in the MAM-associated mitochondria. On the other hand, the reduction in SLN expression prevents these changes. Conclusions: In conclusion, reduction in SLN expression preserves the SR-mitochondrial interface and restores the mitochondrial function by mitigating the Ca 2+ overload, membrane potential loss, and structural damage. These changes improve cardiac function and prevent the development of cardiomyopathy in mdx:utr -/- mice. Our findings suggest that SLN reduction could be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and associated cardiomyopathy.

Author(s):  
Jenny L Gonzalez-Armenta ◽  
Ning Li ◽  
Rae-Ling Lee ◽  
Baisong Lu ◽  
Anthony J A Molina

Abstract Heterochronic parabiosis models have been utilized to demonstrate the role of blood-borne circulating factors in systemic effects of aging. In previous studies, heterochronic parabiosis has shown positive effects across multiple tissues in old mice. More recently, a study demonstrated old blood had a more profound negative effect on muscle performance and neurogenesis of young mice. In this study, we used heterochronic parabiosis to test the hypothesis that circulating factors mediate mitochondrial bioenergetic decline, a well-established biological hallmark of aging. We examined mitochondrial morphology, expression of mitochondrial complexes, and mitochondrial respiration from skeletal muscle of mice connected as heterochronic pairs, as well as young and old isochronic controls. Our results indicate that young heterochronic mice had significantly lower total mitochondrial content and on average had significantly smaller mitochondria compared to young isochronic controls. Expression of complex IV followed a similar pattern: young heterochronic mice had a trend for lower expression compared to young isochronic controls. Additionally, respirometric analyses indicate that young heterochronic mice had significantly lower complex I, complex I + II, and maximal mitochondrial respiration and a trend for lower complex II-driven respiration compared to young isochronic controls. Interestingly, we did not observe significant improvements in old heterochronic mice compared to old isochronic controls, demonstrating the profound deleterious effects of circulating factors from old mice on mitochondrial structure and function. We also found no significant differences between the young and old heterochronic mice, demonstrating that circulating factors can be a driver of age-related differences in mitochondrial structure and function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (1) ◽  
pp. F19-F28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahele A. Farahani ◽  
Xiang-Yang Zhu ◽  
Hui Tang ◽  
Kyra L. Jordan ◽  
Lilach O. Lerman ◽  
...  

Scattered tubular-like cells (STCs) are dedifferentiated surviving tubular epithelial cells that repair neighboring injured cells. Experimental renal artery stenosis (RAS) impairs STC reparative potency by inducing mitochondrial injury, but the exact mechanisms of mitochondrial damage remain unknown. We hypothesized that RAS alters expression of mitochondria-related genes, contributing to mitochondrial structural damage and dysfunction in swine STCs. CD24+/CD133+ STCs were isolated from pig kidneys after 10 wk of RAS or sham ( n = 3 each). mRNA sequencing was performed, and nuclear DNA (nDNA)-encoded mitochondrial genes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded genes were identified. Mitochondrial structure, ATP generation, biogenesis, and expression of mitochondria-associated microRNAs were also assessed. There were 96 nDNA-encoded mitochondrial genes upregulated and 12 mtDNA-encoded genes downregulated in RAS-STCs versus normal STCs. Functional analysis revealed that nDNA-encoded and mtDNA-encoded differentially expressed genes were primarily implicated in mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis. Mitochondria from RAS STCs were swollen and showed cristae remodeling and loss and decreased ATP production. Immunoreactivity of the mitochondrial biogenesis marker peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α and expression of the mitochondria-associated microRNAs miR-15a, miR-181a, miR-196a, and miR-296-3p, which target several mtDNA genes, were higher in RAS-STCs compared with normal STCs, suggesting a potential modulation of mitochondria-related gene expression. These results demonstrate that RAS induces an imbalance in mtDNA- and nDNA-mitochondrial gene expression, impairing mitochondrial structure and function in swine STCs. These observations support development of gene gain- and loss-of-function strategies to ameliorate mitochondrial damage and preserve the reparative potency of STCs in patients with renal ischemia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (5) ◽  
pp. F1142-F1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Aghajani Nargesi ◽  
Xiang-Yang Zhu ◽  
Sabena M. Conley ◽  
John R. Woollard ◽  
Ishran M. Saadiq ◽  
...  

Scattered tubular-like cells (STCs) contribute to repair neighboring injured renal tubular cells. Mitochondria mediate STC biology and function but might be injured by the ambient milieu. We hypothesized that the microenviroment induced by the ischemic and metabolic components of renovascular disease impairs STC mitochondrial structure and function in swine, which can be attenuated with mitoprotection. CD24+/CD133+ STCs were quantified in pig kidneys after 16 wk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) or lean diet (Lean) with or without concurrent renal artery stenosis (RAS) ( n = 6 each). Pig STCs were isolated and characterized, and mitochondrial structure, membrane potential, and oxidative stress were assessed in cells untreated or incubated with the mitoprotective drug elamipretide (1 nM for 6 h). STC-protective effects were assessed in vitro by their capacity to proliferate and improve viability of injured pig tubular epithelial cells. The percentage of STCs was higher in MetS, Lean + RAS, and MetS + RAS kidneys compared with Lean kidneys. STCs isolated from Lean + RAS and MetS + RAS pigs showed mitochondrial swelling and decreased matrix density, which were both restored by mitoprotection. In addition, mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production were reduced and production of reactive oxygen species elevated in MetS, Lean + RAS, and MetS + RAS STCs. Importantly, mitoprotection improved mitochondrial structure and function as well as the capacity of MetS + RAS STCs to repair injured tubular cells in vitro. Renovascular disease in swine is associated with a higher prevalence of STCs but induces structural and functional alterations in STC mitochondria, which impair their reparative potency. These observations suggest a key role for mitochondria in the renal reparative capacity of STCs.


Author(s):  
Mark Backus ◽  
Daniel Hockett ◽  
David Piwnica-Worms ◽  
Melvyn Lieberman ◽  
Peter Ingram ◽  
...  

Hexakis (methoxyisobutylisonitrile)99mTechnetium (Tc-MTBI) is a gamma emitting radiopharmaceutical currently in clinical use for evaluating myocardial perfusion. Because Tc-MIBI exists as a lipophilic cation with a single positive charge, it has been shown to concentrate in mitochondria in response to membrane potential in a Nernstian fashion similar to rhodamine 123. Use of electron probe x-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) for localization and quantitation of the element technetium in mitochondria and calculation of membrane potential allows correlation for the first time between mitochondrial structure and membrane potential in intact cells.Heart cells from 11-day-old chick embryos were cultured into spherical aggregates 50 -100 μm in diameter after Ebihara et al. Aggregates were then incubated for 60 minutes in HEPES balanced buffer salt solution containing either 0, 36,72, or 144 μMTc99-MIBI as well as 20 mCi metastable Tc99m-MIBI. Some aggregates were prepared for conventional fixation and subsequent electron microscopic evaluation, while other aggregates were plunge frozen in liquid propane and cryosectioned for quantitative EPXMA.


Author(s):  
S. K. Pena ◽  
C. B. Taylor ◽  
J. Hill ◽  
J. Safarik

Introduction: Oxidized cholesterol derivatives have been demonstrated in various cell cultures to be very potent inhibitors of 3-hvdroxy-3- methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase which is a principle regulator of cholesterol biosynthesis in the cell. The cholesterol content in the cells exposed to oxidized cholesterol was found to be markedly decreased. In aortic smooth muscle cells, the potency of this effect was closely related to the cytotoxicity of each derivative. Furthermore, due to the similarity of their molecular structure to that of cholesterol, these oxidized cholesterol derivatives might insert themselves into the cell membrane, alter membrane structure and function and eventually cause cell death. Arterial injury has been shown to be the initial event of atherosclerosis.


Author(s):  
D.J. Lim ◽  
W.C. Lane

The morphology and function of the vestibular sensory organs has been extensively studied during the last decade with the advent of electron microscopy and electrophysiology. The opening of the space age also accelerated active investigation in this area, since this organ is responsible for the sensation of balance and of linear, angular and gravitational acceleration.The vestibular sense organs are formed by the saccule, utricle and three ampullae of the semicircular canals. The maculae (sacculi and utriculi) have otolithic membranes on the top of the sensory epithelia. The otolithic membrane is formed by a layer of thick gelatin and sand-piles of calcium carbonate crystals (Fig.l).


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
N. Robakis ◽  
J.S. Wall

The three-dimensional structure and function of biological supramolecular complexes are, in general, determined and stabilized by conformation and interactions of their macromolecular components. In the case of ribosomes, it has been suggested that one of the functions of ribosomal RNAs is to act as a scaffold maintaining the shape of the ribosomal subunits. In order to investigate this question, we have conducted a comparative TEM and STEM study of the structure of the small 30S subunit of E. coli and its 16S RNA.The conventional electron microscopic imaging of nucleic acids is performed by spreading them in the presence of protein or detergent; the particles are contrasted by electron dense solution (uranyl acetate) or by shadowing with metal (tungsten). By using the STEM on freeze-dried specimens we have avoided the shearing forces of the spreading, and minimized both the collapse of rRNA due to air drying and the loss of resolution due to staining or shadowing. Figure 1, is a conventional (TEM) electron micrograph of 30S E. coli subunits contrasted with uranyl acetate.


Author(s):  
Grace C.H. Yang

The size and organization of collagen fibrils in the extracellular matrix is an important determinant of tissue structure and function. The synthesis and deposition of collagen involves multiple steps which begin within the cell and continue in the extracellular space. High-voltage electron microscopic studies of the chick embryo cornea and tendon suggested that the extracellular space is compartmentalized by the fibroblasts for the regulation of collagen fibril, bundle, and tissue specific macroaggregate formation. The purpose of this study is to gather direct evidence regarding the association of the fibroblast cell surface with newly formed collagen fibrils, and to define the role of the fibroblast in the control and the precise positioning of collagen fibrils, bundles, and macroaggregates during chick tendon development.


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