Electron microscopic observations on extraneuronal lipofuscin in the monkey brain

The possible transport and exclusion mode of lipofuscin in rat myocardium under electron microscopy

Lipofuscin accumulation has been observed in human coronary arteries but whether or not myocardial tissue can release lipofuscin generated within cardiomyocytes must be clarified, as this may provide indicators for future anti-ageing research. The hearts of Sprague Dawley rats, aged 6-24 months, were embedded in resin and ultrathin sections cut for electron microscopy. Lipofuscin granules were abundant in cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes were seen to release lipofuscin granules into the myocardial interstitium as cytoplasmic fragments with irregular protrusions on the sarcolemma surface. The cytoplasmic fragments entering the stroma fused directly with the endothelial cells of adjacent capillaries, delivering lipofuscin to the vessel wall. These fragments were also seen to be engulfed by stromal macrophages or fused with fibroblasts, which then combined with capillary endothelial cells to deliver lipofuscin to the vessel wall. Some cytoplasmic fragments disaggregated and formed membrane-like waste, which travelled to the vessel wall from the myocardial stroma as soluble fine particles via diffusion or pinocytosis of capillary endothelial cells. Lipofuscin entered the vascular wall and endothelial cells, forming large and small protrusions or folds that transported the lipofuscin to the vascular lumen and bloodstream.

Redox changes in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes

"Life is an instantaneous encounter of circulating matter and flowing energy" (Jean Giaja, Serbian physiologist), is one of the most elegant definitions not only of life but the relationship of redox biology and metabolism. Their evolutionary liaison has created inseparable yet dynamic homeostasis in health, which, when disrupted, leads to disease. This interconnection is even more pertinent today, in an era of increasing metabolic diseases of epidemic proportions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Despite great advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of redox and metabolic regulation, we face significant challenges in preventing, diagnosing, and treating metabolic diseases. The etiological association and temporal overlap of these syndromes present significant challenges for the discrimination of appropriate clinical biomarkers for diagnosis, treatment, and outcome prediction. These multifactorial, multiorgan metabolic syndromes with complex etiopathogenic mechanisms are accompanied by disturbed redox equilibrium in target tissues and circulation. Free radicals and reactive species are considered both a causal factor and a consequence of disease status. Thus, determining the subtypes and levels of free radicals and reactive species, oxidatively damaged biomolecules (lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids) and antioxidant defense components as well as redox-sensitive transcription factors and fluxes of redox-dependent metabolic pathways will help define existing and establish novel redox biomarkers for stratifying metabolic diseases. This review aims to discuss diverse redox/metabolic aspects in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, with the imperative to help establish a platform for emerging and future redox-metabolic biomarkers research in precision medicine. Future research warrants detailed investigations into the status of redox biomarkers in healthy subjects and patients, including the use of emerging 'omic' profiling technologies (e.g., redox proteomes, lipidomes, metabolomes, and transcriptomes), taking into account the influence of lifestyle (diet, physical activity, sleep, work patterns) as well as circadian ~24h fluctuations in circulatory factors and metabolites.

Lipofuscin and lipid oxidation in human coronary endothelium

Coronary artery endothelium was studied in 13 human hearts removed in the course of heart transplants. Plasma cholesterol ranged from 60 to 240 mg/dl (median 151). In all cases, abundant endothelial lipid and lipofuscin droplets were found, with images of transition between the two types; ultrastructural evidence indicated that lipofuscin derived both by fusion of smaller lipofuscin droplets as well as by oxidation of lipid droplets. There was no evidence of lipofuscin generation by autophagocytosis as seen in other organs. It is concluded that endothelial lipofuscin is not "wear-and-tear pigment" but a byproduct of lipid oxidation, a process normally carried out by the endothelial cells. In the endothelium of human veins, lipofuscin granules were much smaller and rare; this points to a biological difference between arterial and venous endothelium.

Reversal of a hallmark of brain ageing: lipofuscin accumulation

The prospect of removing cellular deposits of lipofuscin is of considerable interest because they may contribute to age related functional decline and disease. Here, we use a decapod crustacean model to circumvent a number of problems inherent in previous studies on lipofuscin loss. We employ (a) validated lipofuscin quantification methods, (b) an in vivo context, (c) essentially natural environmental conditions and (d) a situation without accelerated production of residual material or (e) application of pharmacological compounds. We use a novel CNS biopsy technique that produces both an anti-ageing effect and also permits longitudinal sampling of individuals, thus (f) avoiding conventional purely cross-sectional population data that may suffer from selective mortality biases. We quantitatively demonstrate that lipofuscin, accrued through normal ageing, can be lost from neural tissue. The mechanism of loss probably involves exocytosis and possibly blood transport. If non-disruptive ways to accelerate lipofuscin removal can be found, our results suggest that therapeutic reversal of this most universal manifestation of cellular ageing may be possible.

Lipofuscin pigments in the spiral ganglion of the rat

The purpose of the present study was to clarify morphological differences in lipofuscin or so-called age pigments observed in the spiral ganglion cells of both young and adult rat groups and to characterize the size and structure of ceroid pigment granules generated in vitamin-E-deficient rats. The results showed different patterns of lipofuscin distribution in the two groups. The adult rat group had large aggregated lipoid, dark pigment granules of irregular shape in the cytoplasm. In contrast, the young group had small numbers of small, dense homogeneous granules, suggesting higher Schwann cell phagocytic activity. The ceroid pigments apparently included numerous vesicles and droplets of more variable density and size than the lipofuscin pigments appearing in the non-treated older animals. Both lipofuscin and ceroid pigments developing in such non-dividing cells are produced as a result of peroxidation reactions, so that the more they accumulate in the cytoplasm the more likely cell function deteriorates. The present study has shown that lipofuscin/ceroid granules are generated in the spiral ganglions under either endogenous (aging) or exogenous (vitamin E deficiency) conditions.

Quantitative studies of the autofluorescence derived from neuronal lipofuscin

The degree of accumulation of neuronal lipofuscin in the human brain can indicate the age of some neurones, may be correlated with certain disease processes and can be affected by drugs. The estimation of the volume of neuronal lipofuscin has usually employed relatively unreliable methods such as counting techniques or visual ratings, while the present paper describes and illustrates a method for measuring the intensity of the autofluorescence derived from neuronal lipofuscin. The relationship between autofluorescence intensity and amount of lipofuscin is discussed.