scholarly journals Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) Cycle Intermediates: Regulators of Immune Responses

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Inseok Choi ◽  
Hyewon Son ◽  
Jea-Hyun Baek

The tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) is a series of chemical reactions used in aerobic organisms to generate energy via the oxidation of acetylcoenzyme A (CoA) derived from carbohydrates, fatty acids and proteins. In the eukaryotic system, the TCA cycle occurs completely in mitochondria, while the intermediates of the TCA cycle are retained inside mitochondria due to their polarity and hydrophilicity. Under cell stress conditions, mitochondria can become disrupted and release their contents, which act as danger signals in the cytosol. Of note, the TCA cycle intermediates may also leak from dysfunctioning mitochondria and regulate cellular processes. Increasing evidence shows that the metabolites of the TCA cycle are substantially involved in the regulation of immune responses. In this review, we aimed to provide a comprehensive systematic overview of the molecular mechanisms of each TCA cycle intermediate that may play key roles in regulating cellular immunity in cell stress and discuss its implication for immune activation and suppression.

Author(s):  
Inseok Choi ◽  
Hyewon Son ◽  
Jea-Hyun Baek

Tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) is a series of chemical reactions in aerobic organisms used to generate energy via the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fatty acids, and proteins. In the eukaryotic system, the TCA cycle completely occurs in mitochondria, while the intermediates of the TCA cycle are retained in mitochondria due to their polarity and hydrophilicity. Under conditions of cell stress, mitochondria become disrupted and release their contents, which act as danger signals in the cytosol. Of note, the TCA cycle intermediates may also leak from dysfunctioning mitochondria and regulate cellular processes. Increasing evidence shows that the metabolites of the TCA cycle are substantially involved in the regulation of immune responses. In this review, we aimed to provide a comprehensive systematic overview of the molecular mechanisms of each TCA cycle intermediate that may play key roles in regulating cellular immunity in cell stress and discuss their implications for immune activation and suppression.


1987 ◽  
Vol 246 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
J K Kelleher ◽  
B M Bryan ◽  
R T Mallet ◽  
A L Holleran ◽  
A N Murphy ◽  
...  

The CO2-ratios method is applied to the analysis of abnormalities of TCA (tricarboxylic acid)-cycle metabolism in AS-30D rat ascites-hepatoma cells. This method utilizes steady-state 14CO2-production rates from pairs of tracers of the same compound to evaluate TCA-cycle flux patterns. Equations are presented that quantitatively convert CO2 ratios into estimates of probability of flux through TCA-cycle-related pathways. Results of this study indicated that the ratio of 14CO2 produced from [1,4-14C]succinate to 14CO2 produced from [2,3-14C]succinate was increased by the addition of glutamine (5 mM) to the medium. An increase in the succinate CO2 ratio is quantitatively related to an increased flux of unlabelled carbon into the TCA-cycle-intermediate pools. Analysis of 14C distribution in [14C]citrate derived from [2,3-14C]succinate indicated that flux from the TCA cycle to the acetyl-CoA-derived carbons of citrate was insignificant. Thus the increased succinate CO2 ratio observed in the presence of glutamine could only result from an increased flux of carbon into the span of the TCA cycle from citrate to oxaloacetate. This result is consistent with increased flux of glutamine to alpha-oxoglutarate in the incubation medium containing exogenous glutamine. Comparison of the pyruvate CO2 ratio, steady-state 14CO2 production from [2-14C]pyruvate versus [3-14C]pyruvate, with the succinate 14CO2 ratio detected flux of pyruvate to C4 TCA-cycle intermediates in the medium containing glutamine. This result was consistent with the observation that [14C]aspartate derived from [2-14C]pyruvate was labelled in C-2 and C-3. 14C analysis also produced evidence for flux of TCA-cycle carbon to alanine. This study demonstrates that the CO2-ratios method is applicable in the analysis of the metabolic properties of AS-30D cells. This methodology has verified that the atypical TCA-cycle metabolism previously described for AS-30D-cell mitochondria occurs in intact AS-30D rat hepatoma cells.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (1) ◽  
pp. C50-C57 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Hotchkiss ◽  
S. K. Song ◽  
J. J. Neil ◽  
R. D. Chen ◽  
J. K. Manchester ◽  
...  

Sepsis has been reported to cause mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibition of key enzymes that regulate the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. We investigated the effect of sepsis on high-energy phosphates, glycolytic and TCA cycle intermediates, and specific amino acids that are involved in regulating the size of the TCA cycle pool during changes in metabolic state of the heart. Sepsis was induced in 12 female rats by the cecal ligation and perforation technique under halothane anesthesia; seven control rats underwent cecal manipulation without ligation. At 36-42 h postsurgery, the rats were reanesthetized, the chest was opened, and the hearts were freeze-clamped. Perchloric acid extracts of the hearts were analyzed with fluorometric enzymatic methods and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. There were no significant differences in the levels of the TCA cycle intermediates or high-energy phosphates between the septic and control rats. The major metabolic changes were the 28% decrease in alanine and the 31% decrease in glutamate in the septic hearts compared with control (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.005, respectively). Phosphocholine, a component of membrane phospholipids, was increased by 91% in the septic hearts (P less than 0.01). We conclude that sepsis does not impair the TCA cycle or induce significant cellular ischemia in the heart. The increase in phosphocholine may represent significant cellular membrane disruption during sepsis.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (9) ◽  
pp. 2967-2973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuong Vuong ◽  
Joshua B. Kidder ◽  
Erik R. Jacobson ◽  
Michael Otto ◽  
Richard A. Proctor ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Staphylococcal polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA) is important for the development of a mature biofilm. PIA production is increased during growth in a nutrient-replete or iron-limited medium and under conditions of low oxygen availability. Additionally, stress-inducing stimuli such as heat, ethanol, and high concentrations of salt increase the production of PIA. These same environmental conditions are known to repress tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity, leading us to hypothesize that altering TCA cycle activity would affect PIA production. Culturing Staphylococcus epidermidis with a low concentration of the TCA cycle inhibitor fluorocitrate dramatically increased PIA production without impairing glucose catabolism, the growth rate, or the growth yields. These data lead us to speculate that one mechanism by which staphylococci perceive external environmental change is through alterations in TCA cycle activity leading to changes in the intracellular levels of biosynthetic intermediates, ATP, or the redox status of the cell. These changes in the metabolic status of the bacteria result in the attenuation or augmentation of PIA production.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. E239-E244 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Gibala ◽  
M. A. Tarnopolsky ◽  
T. E. Graham

Previous studies have used the muscle concentration of citrate + malate + fumarate to estimate tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle pool size in humans [e.g., Am. J. Physiol. 259 (Cell Physiol. 28): C834-C841, 1990]. Our purpose was to quantify changes in individual TCA cycle intermediates (TCAI) and total pool size by measuring the concentrations of the eight TCAI in human muscle. Eight males cycled to exhaustion (Exh) at approximately 70% of their maximal oxygen uptake, and biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis at rest and during exercise. Succinyl-CoA was not consistently detectable, but the sum of the other seven TCAI was 1.23 +/- 0.04 mmol/kg dry wt at rest, 4.80 +/- 0.25 and 4.87 +/- 0.30 mmol/kg after 5 and 15 min of exercise, respectively, and 3.08 +/- 0.15 mmol/kg at Exh. Pool size during exercise was approximately 50% higher than that seen in rodent muscle after intense electrical stimulation (Eur. J. Biochem. 110: 371-377, 1980). Relative changes in individual TCAI were not uniform, and no one intermediate was "representative" of the changes in total pool size. We conclude that changes in specific intermediates or total pool size cannot be used as indicators of cycle flux and that the apparent species differences in total pool size may reflect differences in fiber type composition, recruitment pattern, or relative intensity of contraction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liying Ruan ◽  
Lu Li ◽  
Dian Zou ◽  
Cong Jiang ◽  
Zhiyou Wen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) is a critical cofactor involved in many biochemical reactions. However, the low fermentation titer of SAM in methionine-free medium hampers commercial-scale production. The SAM synthesis pathway is specially related to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Therefore, the SAM synthesis pathway was engineered and coupled with the TCA cycle in B. amyloliquefaciens to improve SAM production in methionine-free medium. Results Four genes were found to significantly affect SAM production, including SAM2 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, metA and metB from Escherichia coli, and native mccA. These four genes were combined to engineer the SAM pathway, resulting in a 1.42-fold increase in SAM titer using recombinant strain HSAM1. The engineered SAM pathway was subsequently coupled with the TCA cycle through deletion of succinyl-CoA synthetase gene sucC, and the resulted HSAM2 mutant produced a maximum SAM titer of 107.47 mg/L, representing a 0.59-fold increase over HSAM1. Expression of SAM2 in this strain via a recombinant plasmid resulted in strain HSAM3 that produced 648.99 mg/L SAM following semi-continuous flask batch fermentation, a much higher yield than previously reported for methionine-free medium. Conclusions This study reports an efficient strategy for improving SAM production that can also be applied for generation of SAM cofactors supporting group transfer reactions, which could benefit metabolic engineering, chemical biology and synthetic biology.


1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mitchell ◽  
Michael Shaw

Mycelium of the flax rust fungus (Melampsora lini (Pers.) Lév.), grown on flax cotyledons in tissue culture, had a mean [Formula: see text]of 4.1 and a mean C6/C1 ratio of 0.14, measured after 4 hours in radioactive glucose. The C6/C1 ratio increased with time and also after treatment with 10−5 M 2,4-dinitrophenol. The relative labelling of the (80%) ethanol-soluble carbohydrates, and organic and amino acid fractions after incubation with glucose-1-, -2-, or -6-14C also indicated preferential release of C1 as 14CO2. Trehalose (unknown A) was tentatively identified in the carbohydrate fraction and was mildly radioactive after incubation of the mycelium with labelled glucose for 3 hours. The principal radioactive products of glucose in this fraction were two unknowns, B and C, which were tentatively identified as mannitol and arabitol. The labelling patterns were consistent with their formation from intermediates of the pentose phosphate pathway. The distribution of radioactivity derived from glucose in alanine, glutamate, and aspartate also indicated that hexose or triose units formed in the pentose phosphate pathway were converted to pyruvate, which either gave rise to alanine or was further oxidized in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Incubation with pyruvate-1-, -2-, or -3-14C for 3 hours gave rise to 14CO2 and labelled alanine, glutamate, and aspartate in a manner consistent with the operation of the TCA cycle. Mannitol-1-6-14C was not metabolized to any appreciable extent in this period, but did give rise to 14CO2 and to several unidentified compounds in the carbohydrate fraction.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroko Iijima ◽  
Atsuko Watanabe ◽  
Junko Takanobu ◽  
Masami Yokota Hirai ◽  
Takashi Osanai

The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and pyruvate metabolism of cyanobacteria are unique and important from the perspectives of biology and biotechnology research. Rre37, a response regulator induced by nitrogen depletion, activates gene expression related to sugar catabolism. Our previous microarray analysis has suggested that Rre37 controls the transcription of genes involved in sugar catabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and the TCA cycle. In this study, quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the transcript levels of 12 TCA cycle genes and 13 pyruvate metabolism genes. The transcripts of 6 genes (acnB,icd,ppc,pyk1,me, andpta) increased after 4 h of nitrogen depletion in the wild-type GT strain but the induction was abolished byrre37overexpression. The repression of gene expression offumC, ddh, andackAcaused by nitrogen depletion was abolished byrre37overexpression. The expression ofmewas differently affected byrre37overexpression, compared to the other 24 genes. These results indicate that Rre37 differently controls the genes of the TCA cycle and pyruvate metabolism, implying the key reaction of the primary in this unicellular cyanobacterium.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (2) ◽  
pp. E235-E242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J. Gibala ◽  
Dave A. MacLean ◽  
Terry E. Graham ◽  
Bengt Saltin

We examined the relationship between tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediate (TCAI) pool size, TCA cycle flux (calculated from leg O2uptake), and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity (PDHa) in human skeletal muscle. Six males performed moderate leg extensor exercise for 10 min, followed immediately by intense exercise until exhaustion (3.8 ± 0.5 min). The sum of seven measured TCAI (ΣTCAI) increased ( P ≤ 0.05) from 1.39 ± 0.11 at rest to 2.88 ± 0.31 after 10 min and to 5.38 ± 0.31 mmol/kg dry wt at exhaustion. TCA cycle flux increased ∼70-fold during submaximal exercise and was ∼100-fold higher than rest at exhaustion. PDHa corresponded to 77 and 90% of TCA cycle flux during submaximal and maximal exercise, respectively. The present data demonstrate that a tremendous increase in TCA cycle flux can occur in skeletal muscle despite a relatively small change in TCAI pool size. It is suggested that the increase in ΣTCAI during exercise may primarily reflect an imbalance between the rate of pyruvate production and its rate of oxidation in the TCA cycle.


2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 1130-1140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merlin Tchawa Yimga ◽  
Mary P. Leatham ◽  
James H. Allen ◽  
David C. Laux ◽  
Tyrrell Conway ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, the Cra protein (catabolite repressor/activator) regulates utilization of gluconeogenic carbon sources by activating transcription of genes in the gluconeogenic pathway, the glyoxylate bypass, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and electron transport and repressing genes encoding glycolytic enzymes. A serovar Typhimurium SR-11 Δcra mutant was recently reported to be avirulent in BALB/c mice via the peroral route, suggesting that gluconeogenesis may be required for virulence. In the present study, specific SR-11 genes in the gluconeogenic pathway were deleted (fbp, glpX, ppsA, and pckA), and the mutants were tested for virulence in BALB/c mice. The data show that SR-11 does not require gluconeogenesis to retain full virulence and suggest that as yet unidentified sugars are utilized by SR-11 for growth during infection of BALB/c mice. The data also suggest that the TCA cycle operates as a full cycle, i.e., a sucCD mutant, which prevents the conversion of succinyl coenzyme A to succinate, and an ΔsdhCDA mutant, which blocks the conversion of succinate to fumarate, were both attenuated, whereas both an SR-11 ΔaspA mutant and an SR-11 ΔfrdABC mutant, deficient in the ability to run the reductive branch of the TCA cycle, were fully virulent. Moreover, although it appears that SR-11 replenishes TCA cycle intermediates from substrates present in mouse tissues, fatty acid degradation and the glyoxylate bypass are not required, since an SR-11 ΔfadD mutant and an SR-11 ΔaceA mutant were both fully virulent.


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