RESUMO
A ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that leads to the generation of ketones. While KDs improve certain health conditions and are popular for weight loss, detrimental effects have also been reported. Here, we show mice on two different KDs and, at different ages, induce cellular senescence in multiple organs, including the heart and kidney. This effect is mediated through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inactivation of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) by caspase-2, leading to p53 accumulation and p21 induction. This was established using p53 and caspase-2 knockout mice and inhibitors to AMPK, p21, and caspase-2. In addition, senescence-associated secretory phenotype biomarkers were elevated in serum from mice on a KD and in plasma samples from patients on a KD clinical trial. Cellular senescence was eliminated by a senolytic and prevented by an intermittent KD. These results have important clinical implications, suggesting that the effects of a KD are contextual and likely require individual optimization.
Assuntos
Senescência Celular , Dieta Cetogênica , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Animais , Camundongos , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP/metabolismo , Inibidor de Quinase Dependente de Ciclina p21/metabolismo , Inibidor de Quinase Dependente de Ciclina p21/genética , Dieta Cetogênica/efeitos adversos , Camundongos Knockout , Especificidade de Órgãos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genéticaRESUMO
The loss and/or dysregulation of several cellular and mitochondrial antioxidants' expression or enzymatic activity, which leads to the aberrant physiological function of these proteins, has been shown to result in oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules. In this regard, it has been surmised that the disruption of mitochondrial networks responsible for maintaining normal metabolism is an established hallmark of cancer and a novel mechanism of therapy resistance. This altered metabolism leads to aberrant accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which, under specific physiological conditions, leads to a potential tumor-permissive cellular environment. In this regard, it is becoming increasingly clear that the loss or disruption of mitochondrial oxidant scavenging enzymes may be, in specific tumors, either an early event in transformation or exhibit tumor-promoting properties. One example of such an antioxidant enzyme is manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, also referred to as SOD2), which detoxifies superoxide, a ROS that has been shown, when its normal physiological levels are disrupted, to lead to oncogenicity and therapy resistance. Here, we will also discuss how the acetylation of MnSOD leads to a change in detoxification function that leads to a cellular environment permissive for the development of lineage plasticity-like properties that may be one mechanism leading to tumorigenic and therapy-resistant phenotypes.
RESUMO
Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is an FDA-approved antimalarial drug that has been repurposed for cancer therapy because of its preferential antiproliferative effects on cancer versus normal cells. Mitochondria represent an attractive target for cancer therapy based on their regulatory role in proliferation and cell death. This study investigates whether DHA conjugated to innately fluorescent N-alkyl triphenylvinylpyridinium (TPVP) perturbs mitochondrial functions resulting in a differential toxicity of cancer versus normal cells. TPVP-DHA treatments resulted in a dose-dependent toxicity of human melanoma and pancreatic cancer cells, whereas normal human fibroblasts were resistant to this treatment. TPVP-DHA treatments resulted in a G1-delay of the cancer cell cycle, which was also associated with a significant inhibition of the mTOR-metabolic and ERK1/2-proliferative signaling pathways. TPVP-DHA treatments perturbed mitochondrial functions, which correlated with increases in mitochondrial fission. In summary, TPVP mediated mitochondrial targeting of DHA enhanced cancer cell toxicity by perturbing mitochondrial functions and morphology.