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Sovilj D, Kelemen CD, Dvorakova S, Zobalova R, Raabova H, Kriska J, Hermanova Z, Knotek T, Anderova M, Klener P, Filimonenko V, Neuzil J, Andera L. Cell-specific modulation of mitochondrial respiration and metabolism by the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members Bax and Bak. Apoptosis 2024; 29:424-438. [PMID: 38001340 DOI: 10.1007/s10495-023-01917-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Proteins from the Bcl-2 family play an essential role in the regulation of apoptosis. However, they also possess cell death-unrelated activities that are less well understood. This prompted us to study apoptosis-unrelated activities of the Bax and Bak, pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family. We prepared Bax/Bak-deficient human cancer cells of different origin and found that while respiration in the glioblastoma U87 Bax/Bak-deficient cells was greatly enhanced, respiration of Bax/Bak-deficient B lymphoma HBL-2 cells was slightly suppressed. Bax/Bak-deficient U87 cells also proliferated faster in culture, formed tumours more rapidly in mice, and showed modulation of metabolism with a considerably increased NAD+/NADH ratio. Follow-up analyses documented increased/decreased expression of mitochondria-encoded subunits of respiratory complexes and stabilization/destabilization of the mitochondrial transcription elongation factor TEFM in Bax/Bak-deficient U87 and HBL-2 cells, respectively. TEFM downregulation using shRNAs attenuated mitochondrial respiration in Bax/Bak-deficient U87 as well as in parental HBL-2 cells. We propose that (post)translational regulation of TEFM levels in Bax/Bak-deficient cells modulates levels of subunits of mitochondrial respiratory complexes that, in turn, contribute to respiration and the accompanying changes in metabolism and proliferation in these cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Sovilj
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Cristina Daniela Kelemen
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Sarka Dvorakova
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Renata Zobalova
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Helena Raabova
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Kriska
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Hermanova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Knotek
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslava Anderova
- Institute of Experimental Medicine, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Klener
- First Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathological Physiology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vlada Filimonenko
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Neuzil
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Science, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, Australia
| | - Ladislav Andera
- Institute of Biotechnology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Macrì S, Aalto IM, Allemand R, Di-Poï N. Reconstructing the origin and early evolution of the snake brain. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadi6888. [PMID: 37756406 PMCID: PMC10530081 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Snakes represent one-eighth of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, encompassing various lifestyles, ecologies, and morphologies. However, the ecological origins and early evolution of snakes are controversial topics in biology. To address the paucity of well-preserved fossils and the caveats of osteological traits for reconstructing snake evolution, we applied a different ecomorphological hypothesis based on high-definition brain reconstructions of extant Squamata. Our predictive models revealed a burrowing lifestyle with opportunistic behavior at the origin of crown snakes, reflecting a complex ancestral mosaic brain pattern. These findings emphasize the importance of quantitatively tracking the phenotypic diversification of soft tissues-including the accurate definition of intact brain morphological traits such as the cerebellum-in understanding snake evolution and vertebrate paleobiology. Furthermore, our study highlights the power of combining extant and extinct species, soft tissue reconstructions, and osteological traits in tracing the deep evolution of not only snakes but also other groups where fossil data are scarce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Macrì
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ida-Maria Aalto
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Rémi Allemand
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Nicolas Di-Poï
- Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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