A cholesterol-binding and transporting protein from rat liver mitochondria

Mitochondrial Citrate Transporter-dependent Metabolic Signature in the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

The congenital disorder 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS), characterized by a hemizygous deletion of 1.5-3 Mb on chromosome 22 at locus 11.2, is the most common microdeletion disorder (estimated prevalence of 1 in 4000) and the second risk factor for schizophrenia. Nine of ∼30 genes involved in 22qDS have the potential of disrupting mitochondrial metabolism (COMT, UFD1L, DGCR8, MRPL40, PRODH, SLC25A1, TXNRD2, T10, and ZDHHC8). Deficits in bioenergetics during early postnatal brain development could set the basis for a disrupted neuronal metabolism or synaptic signaling, partly explaining the higher incidence in developmental and behavioral deficits in these individuals. Here, we investigated whether mitochondrial outcomes and metabolites from 22qDS children segregated with the altered dosage of one or several of these mitochondrial genes contributing to 22qDS etiology and/or morbidity. Plasma metabolomics, lymphocytic mitochondrial outcomes, and epigenetics (histone H3 Lys-4 trimethylation and 5-methylcytosine) were evaluated in samples from 11 22qDS children and 13 age- and sex-matched neurotypically developing controls. Metabolite differences between 22qDS children and controls reflected a shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis (higher lactate/pyruvate ratios) accompanied by an increase in reductive carboxylation of α-ketoglutarate (increased concentrations of 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, cholesterol, and fatty acids). Altered metabolism in 22qDS reflected a critical role for the haploinsufficiency of the mitochondrial citrate transporter SLC25A1, further enhanced by HIF-1α, MYC, and metabolite controls. This comprehensive profiling served to clarify the biochemistry of this disease underlying its broad, complex phenotype.

Mitochondrial membrane lipid remodeling in pathophysiology: a new target for diet and therapeutic interventions

Mitochondria are arbiters in the fragile balance between cell life and death. These organelles present an intricate membrane system, with a peculiar lipid composition and displaying transverse as well as lateral asymmetry. Some lipids are synthesized inside mitochondria, while others have to be imported or acquired in the form of precursors. Here, we review different processes, including external interventions (e.g., diet) and a range of biological events (apoptosis, disease and aging), which may result in alterations of mitochondrial membrane lipid content. Cardiolipin, the mitochondria lipid trademark, whose biosynthetic pathway is highly regulated, will deserve special attention in this review. The modulation of mitochondrial membrane lipid composition, especially by diet, as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of some pathologies will be also addressed.

Overexpression of a key regulator of lipid homeostasis, Scap, promotes respiration in prostate cancer cells

Prostate metabolism is unique, characterised by cholesterol accumulation and reduced respiration. Are these related? We modulated cholesterol levels and despite changes in mitochondrial cholesterol content, we saw no effects on lactate production or respiration. Instead, these features may be related via sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), the master transcriptional regulator of cholesterol synthesis. SREBP-2 diverts acetyl-CoA into cholesterol synthesis and may thus reduce respiration. We examined LNCaP cells overexpressing the SREBP-2 regulator, Scap: although having higher SREBP-2 activity, these cells displayed higher respiration. This striking observation warrants further investigation. Given that SREBP-2 and Scap are regulated by factors driving prostate growth, exploring this observation further could shed light on prostate carcinogenesis.

Retinal pigment epithelium, age-related macular degeneration and neurotrophic keratouveitis

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of impaired vision and blindness in the aging population. The aims of our studies were to identify qualitative and quantitative alterations in mitochondria in human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from AMD patients and controls and to test the protective effects of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a known neurotrophic and antiangiogenic substance, against neurotrophic keratouveitis. Histopathological alterations were studied by means of morphometry, light and electron microscopy. Unexpectedly, morphometric data showed that the RPE alterations noted in AMD may also develop in normal aging, 10-15 years later than appearing in AMD patients. Reduced tear secretion, corneal ulceration and leukocytic infiltration were found in capsaicin (CAP)-treated rats, but this effect was significantly attenuated by PEDF. These findings suggest that PEDF accelerated the recovery of tear secretion and also prevented neurotrophic keratouveitis and vitreoretinal inflammation. PEDF may have a clinical application in inflammatory and neovascular diseases of the eye.

Anticancer activity of the cholesterol exporter ABCA1 gene

The ABCA1 protein mediates the transfer of cellular cholesterol across the plasma membrane to apolipoprotein A-I. Loss-of-function mutations in the ABCA1 gene induce Tangier disease and familial hypoalphalipoproteinemia, both cardiovascular conditions characterized by abnormally low levels of serum cholesterol, increased cholesterol in macrophages, and subsequent formation of vascular plaque. Increased intracellular cholesterol levels are also frequently found in cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate anticancer activity of ABCA1 efflux function, which is compromised following inhibition of ABCA1 gene expression by oncogenic mutations or cancer-specific ABCA1 loss-of-function mutations. In concert with elevated cholesterol synthesis found in cancer cells, ABCA1 deficiency allows for increased mitochondrial cholesterol, inhibits release of mitochondrial cell death-promoting molecules, and thus facilitates cancer cell survival, suggesting that elevated mitochondrial cholesterol is essential to the cancer phenotype.

Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin induces mitochondrial cholesterol depletion and alters the mitochondrial structure and bioenergetics

There is growing evidence of mitochondrial membrane raft-like microdomains that are involved in the apoptotic pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MβCD), being a well-known lipid microdomain disrupting agent and cholesterol chelator, on the structure and bioenergetics of rat liver mitochondria (RLM). We observed that MβCD decreases the function of RLM, induces changes in the mitochondrial configuration state and decreases the calcium chloride-induced swelling. These data suggest that disruption of mitochondrial raft-like microdomains by cholesterol efflux on one hand impairs mitochondrial bioenergetics, but on the other hand it protects the mitochondria from swelling.

Mitochondrial membrane cholesterol, the voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC), and the Warburg effect

Normal cells of aerobic organisms synthesize the energy they require in the form of ATP via the process of oxidative phosphorylation. This complex system resides in the mitochondria of cells and utilizes oxygen to produce a majority of cellular ATP. However, in most tumors, especially those with elevated cholesterogenesis, there is an increased reliance on glycolysis for energy, even in conditions where oxygen is available. This aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) has far reaching ramifications on the tumor itself and the cells that surround it. In this brief review, we will discuss how abnormally high membrane cholesterol levels can result in a subsequent deficiency of oxidative energy production in mitochondria from cultured Morris hepatoma cells (MH-7777). We have identified the voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC) as a necessary component of a protein complex involved in mitochondrial membrane cholesterol distribution and transport. Work in our laboratory demonstrates that the ability of VDAC to influence mitochondrial membrane cholesterol distribution may have implications on mitochondrial characteristics such as oxidative phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis, as well as the propensity of cancer cells to exhibit a glycolytic phenotype.

The voltage dependent anion channel affects mitochondrial cholesterol distribution and function

We have observed abnormally high membrane cholesterol levels and a subsequent deficiency of oxidative energy production in mitochondria from cultured Morris hepatoma cells (MH7777). Using cholesterol affinity chromatography and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry, we have identified the voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC) as a necessary component of a protein complex involved in mitochondrial membrane cholesterol distribution. VDAC is known to associate strongly with hexokinase, particularly in glycolytic cancers. By constructing an E72Q mutant form of VDAC that inhibits its binding of hexokinase, we report an increase in oxidative phosphorylation activity of MH7777 cells, as well as reduced membrane cholesterol ratios to levels near that of normal liver mitochondria. This paper demonstrates that the ability of VDAC to influence mitochondrial membrane cholesterol distribution may have implications on mitochondrial characteristics such as oxidative phosphorylation and induction of apoptosis, as well as the propensity of cancer cells to exhibit a glycolytic phenotype.

Changes in liver mitochondrial plasticity induced by brain tumor

Background

Accumulating data suggest that liver is a major target organ of systemic effects observed in the presence of a cancer. In this study, we investigated the consequences of the presence of chemically induced brain tumors in rats on biophysical parameters accounting for the dynamics of water in liver mitochondria.

Methods

Tumors of the central nervous system were induced by intraveinous administration of ethylnitrosourea (ENU) to pregnant females on the 19th day of gestation. The mitochondrial crude fraction was isolated from the liver of each animal and the dynamic parameters of total water and its macromolecule-associated fraction (structured water, H₂Ost) were calculated from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements.

Results

The presence of a malignant brain tumor induced a loss of water structural order that implicated changes in the physical properties of the hydration shells of liver mitochondria macromolecules. This feature was linked to an increase in the membrane cholesterol content, a way to limit water penetration into the bilayer and then to reduce membrane permeability. As expected, these alterations in mitochondrial plasticity affected ionic exchanges and led to abnormal features of mitochondrial biogenesis and caspase activation.

Conclusion

This study enlightens the sensitivity of the structured water phase in the liver mitochondria machinery to external conditions such as tumor development at a distant site. The profound metabolic and functional changes led to abnormal features of ion transport, mitochondrial biogenesis and caspase activation.

Mitochondrial alterations of retinal pigment epithelium in age-related macular degeneration

Mitochondrial dysfunctions have been implicated in the pathophysiology of several age-related diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting primarily the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The aims of our electron microscopic and morphometric studies were to reveal qualitative and quantitative alterations of mitochondria in human RPE from AMD and from age- and sex-matched controls. With increasing age a significant decrease in number and area of mitochondria, as well as loss of cristae and matrix density were found in both AMD and control specimens. These decreases were significantly greater in AMD than in normal aging. Alterations of mitochondria were accompanied by proliferation of peroxisomes and lipofuscin granules in both AMD and control specimens, although the difference between groups was significant only for peroxisomes. Unexpectedly, morphometric data showed that the RPE alterations seen in AMD may also develop in normal aging, 10-15 years after appearing in AMD patients. These findings suggest that (i) the severity of mitochondrial and peroxisomal alterations are different between AMD and normal aging, and (ii) the timing of damage to RPE may be critical for the development of AMD. We conclude that besides the well-documented age-related changes in mitochondrial DNA, alterations of mitochondrial membranes may also play a role in the pathogenesis of AMD. These membranes could be a new target for treatment of AMD and other age-related diseases.

Hepatic mitochondrial glutathione: transport and role in disease and toxicity

Synthesized in the cytosol of cells, a fraction of cytosolic glutathione (GSH) is then transported into the mitochondrial matrix where it reaches a high concentration and plays a critical role in defending mitochondria against oxidants and electrophiles. Evidence mainly from kidney and liver mitochondria indicated that the dicarboxylate and the 2-oxoglutarate carriers contribute to the transport of GSH across the mitochondrial inner membrane. However, differential features between kidney and liver mitochondrial GSH (mGSH) transport seem to suggest the existence of additional carriers the identity of which remains to be established. One of the characteristic features of the hepatic mitochondrial transport of GSH is its regulation by membrane fluidity. Conditions leading to increased cholesterol deposition in the mitochondrial inner membrane such as in alcohol-induced liver injury decrease membrane fluidity and impair the mitochondrial transport of GSH. Depletion of mitochondrial GSH by alcohol is believed to contribute to the sensitization of the liver to alcohol-induced injury through tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-mediated hepatocellular death. Through control of mitochondrial electron transport chain-generated oxidants, mitochondrial GSH modulates cell death and hence its regulation may be a key target to influence disease progression and drug-induced cell death.

Cholesterol impairs the adenine nucleotide translocator-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition through altered membrane fluidity

Mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) has been proposed to play a key role in cell death. Downstream MPT events include the release of apoptogenic factors that sets in motion the mitochondrial apoptosome leading to caspase activation. The current work examined the regulation of MPT by membrane fluidity modulated upon cholesterol enrichment. Mitochondria enriched in cholesterol displayed increased microviscosity resulting in impaired MPT induced by atractyloside, a c-conformation stabilizing ligand of the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT). This effect was dependent on the dose of cholesterol loaded and reversed upon the fluidization of mitochondria by the fatty acid derivative A2C. Mitoplasts derived from cholesterol-enriched mitochondria responded to atractyloside in a similar fashion as intact mitochondria, indicating that a significant amount of cholesterol is still found in the inner membrane. The effects of cholesterol on MPT induced by atractyloside were mirrored by the release of intermembrane proteins, cytochrome c, Smac/Diablo, and apoptosis inducing factor. However, cholesterol loading did not affect the uptake rate of adenine nucleotide hence dissociating the function of ANT as a MPT-mediated protein from its adenine nucleotide exchange function. Thus, these findings indicate that the ability of atractyloside to induce MPT via ANT requires an appropriate membrane fluidity range.