Search results for "mitochondria"

HSP60 activity on human bronchial epithelial cells

2017

HSP60 has been implicated in chronic inflammatory disease pathogenesis, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the mechanisms by which this chaperonin would act are poorly understood. A number of studies suggest a role for extracellular HSP60, since it can be secreted from cells and bind Toll-like receptors; however, the effects of this stimulation have never been extensively studied. We investigated the effects (pro- or anti-inflammatory) of HSP60 in human bronchial epithelial cells (16-HBE) alone and in comparison with oxidative, inflammatory, or bacterial challenges. 16-HBE cells were cultured for 1–4 h in the absence or presence of HSP60, H2O2, lipopolysaccharide (…

European contribution to the study of ROS : A summary of the findings and prospects for the future from the COST action BM1203 (EU-ROS)

2017

WOS: 000410470000009

Balancing of mitochondrial translation through METTL8-mediated m3C modification of mitochondrial tRNAs.

2021

Mitochondria contain a specific translation machinery for the synthesis of mitochondria-encoded respiratory chain components. Mitochondrial tRNAs (mt-tRNAs) are also generated from the mitochondrial DNA and, similar to their cytoplasmic counterparts, are post-transcriptionally modified. Here, we find that the RNA methyltransferase METTL8 is a mitochondrial protein that facilitates 3-methyl-cytidine (m3C) methylation at position C32 of the mt-tRNASer(UCN) and mt-tRNAThr. METTL8 knockout cells show a reduction in respiratory chain activity, whereas overexpression increases activity. In pancreatic cancer, METTL8 levels are high, which correlates with lower patient survival and an enhanced resp…

2020

The transfer of metabolites through the mitochondrial membranes is a vital process that is highly controlled and regulated by the inner membrane. A variety of metabolites, nucleotides, and cofactors are transported across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) by a superfamily of membrane transporters which are known as the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) or the solute carrier family 25 (SLC25 protein family). In humans, the MCF has 53 members encoded by nuclear genes. Members of the SLC25 family of transporters, which is the largest group of solute carriers, are also known as mitochondrial carriers (MCs). Because MCs are nuclear-coded proteins, they must be imported into the IMM. When c…

Disarrangement of Endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria communication impairs Ca2+ homeostasis in FRDA

2020

AbstractFriedreich ataxia (FRDA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by neuromuscular and neurological manifestations. It is caused by mutations in gene FXN, which results in loss of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Endoplasmic Reticulum-mitochondria associated membranes (MAMs) are inter-organelle structures involved in the regulation of essential cellular processes, including lipid metabolism and calcium signaling. In the present study, we have analyzed in both, unicellular and multicellular models of FRDA, an analysis of calcium management and of integrity of MAMs. We observed that function of MAMs is compromised in our cellular model of FRDA, which was improved upon treatmen…

Estimating the dwarfing rate of an extinct Sicilian elephant.

2021

Summary Evolution on islands, together with the often extreme phenotypic changes associated with it, has attracted much interest from evolutionary biologists. However, measuring the rate of change of phenotypic traits of extinct animals can be challenging, in part due to the incompleteness of the fossil record. Here, we use combined molecular and fossil evidence to define the minimum and maximum rate of dwarfing in an extinct Mediterranean dwarf elephant from Puntali Cave (Sicily). 1 Despite the challenges associated with recovering ancient DNA from warm climates, 2 we successfully retrieved a mitogenome from a sample with an estimated age between 175,500 and 50,000 years. Our results sugge…

2019

Abstract Background Physical activity and dietary intake of dairy products are associated with improved metabolic health. Dairy products are rich with branched chain amino acids that are essential for energy production. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the benefit of the sub-chronic effects of running and intake of milk protein supplements, we studied L ow C apacity R unner rats (LCR), a rodent exercise model with risk for metabolic disorders. We especially focused on the role of Sirtuins, energy level dependent proteins that affect many cellular metabolic processes. Methods Forty-seven adult LCR female rats sedentary or running voluntarily in wheels were fed normal chow and g…

PINK1: a critical protein kinase in the molecular mechanisms involved in Cancer and Parkinson's disease

2012

El cáncer y la enfermedad de Parkinson (PD) son dos enfermedades en las que el mecanismo pato- fisiológico final no está completamente definido. Datos epidemiológicos indican que los pacientes con PD poseen bajo riesgo de cáncer, con la excepción de melanoma maligno y cánceres de piel, tiroides y mama, lo que sugiere una conexión funcional entre PD y cáncer. Apoyando esta conexión, la desregulación de la homeostasis mitocondrial es una característica importante en la patogénesis de ambas enfermedades. Recientemente, varios genes asociados a PD, tales como Parkin, LRRK2, DJ-1, y PINK1, han sido propuestos como moduladores de procesos cancerígenos. Mutaciones en el gen de PINK1 están asociada…

Genetic structure and differentiation from early bronze age in the mediterranean island of sicily: Insights from ancient mitochondrial genomes

2022

Sicily is one of the main islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and it is characterized by a variety of archaeological records, material culture and traditions, reflecting the history of migrations and populations’ interaction since its first colonization, during the Paleolithic. These deep and complex demographic and cultural dynamics should have affected the genomic landscape of Sicily at different levels; however, the relative impact of these migrations on the genomic structure and differentiation within the island remains largely unknown. The available Sicilian modern genetic data gave a picture of the current genetic structure, but the paucity of ancient data did not allow so far to make p…

The lignan, (-)-sesamin reveals cytotoxicity toward cancer cells: pharmacogenomic determination of genes associated with sensitivity or resistance.

2013

(-)-Sesamin is a lignan present in sesam oil and a number of medicinal plants. It exerts various pharmacological effects, such as prevention of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and carcinogenesis. Moreover, (-)-sesamin has chemopreventive and anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. Multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors leads to fatal treatment outcome in many patients and novel drugs able to kill multidrug-resistant cells are urgently needed. P-glycoprotein (MDR1/ABCB1) is the best known ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporter mediating MDR. ABCB5 is a close relative to ABCB1, which also mediates MDR. We found that the mRNA expressions of ABCB1 and ABCB5 were not related to the 50% inhibi…