RESUMO
BACKGROUND: In developed countries, Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection has become a chronic disease despite the positive effects of anti-retroviral therapies (ART), but still at least half of the HIV infected population shown signs of cognitive impairment. Therefore, biomarkers of HIV cognitive decline are urgently needed. METHODS: We analyze the opening of one of the larger channels expressed by humans, pannexin-1 (Panx-1) channels, in the uninfected and HIV infected population (nâ¯=â¯175). We determined channel opening and secretion of intracellular second messengers released through the channel such as PGE2 and ATP. Also, we correlated the opening of Panx-1 channels with the circulating levels of PGE2 and ATP as well as cogntive status of the individuals analyzed. FINDINGS: Here, we demonstrate that Panx-1 channels on fresh PBMCs obtained from uninfected individuals are closed and no significant amounts of PGE2 and ATP are detected in the circulation. In contrast, in all HIV-infected individuals analyzed, even the ones under effective ART, a spontaneous opening of Panx-1 channels and increased circulating levels of PGE2 and ATP were detected. Circulating levels of ATP were correlated with cognitive decline in the HIV-infected population supporting that ATP is a biomarker of cognitive disease in the HIV-infected population. INTERPRETATION: We propose that circulating levels of ATP could predict CNS compromise and lead to the breakthroughs necessary to detect and prevent brain compromise in the HIV-infected population.
Assuntos
Trifosfato de Adenosina/sangue , Disfunção Cognitiva/sangue , Infecções por HIV/sangue , Adulto , Idoso , Biomarcadores/sangue , Barreira Hematoencefálica/patologia , Disfunção Cognitiva/fisiopatologia , Conexinas/sangue , Dinoprostona/sangue , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/fisiopatologia , Humanos , Mediadores da Inflamação/sangue , Ativação do Canal Iônico , Leucócitos Mononucleares/metabolismo , Leucócitos Mononucleares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/sangue , Migração Transendotelial e TransepitelialRESUMO
Glutamine is thought to play an important role in cancer cells by being deaminated via glutaminolysis to α-ketoglutarate (aKG) to fuel the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Supporting this notion, aKG supplementation can restore growth/survival of glutamine-deprived cells. However, pancreatic cancers are often poorly vascularized and limited in glutamine supply, in alignment with recent concerns on the significance of glutaminolysis in pancreatic cancer. Here, we show that aKG-mediated rescue of glutamine-deprived pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) cells requires glutamate ammonia ligase (GLUL), the enzyme responsible for de novo glutamine synthesis. GLUL-deficient PDAC cells are capable of the TCA cycle but defective in aKG-coupled glutamine biosynthesis and subsequent nitrogen anabolic processes. Importantly, GLUL expression is elevated in pancreatic cancer patient samples and in mouse PDAC models. GLUL ablation suppresses the development of KrasG12D-driven murine PDAC. Therefore, GLUL-mediated glutamine biosynthesis couples the TCA cycle with nitrogen anabolism and plays a critical role in PDAC.
Assuntos
Carbono/metabolismo , Glutamina/metabolismo , Nitrogênio/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Animais , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/enzimologia , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/metabolismo , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células , Feminino , Deleção de Genes , Glutamato-Amônia Ligase/antagonistas & inibidores , Glutamato-Amônia Ligase/metabolismo , Humanos , Ácidos Cetoglutáricos/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/enzimologia , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/patologiaRESUMO
Pannexin1 (Panx1) channels are large high conductance channels found in all vertebrates that can be activated under several physiological and pathological conditions. Our published data indicate that HIV infection results in the extended opening of Panx1 channels (5-60 min), allowing for the secretion of ATP through the channel pore with subsequent activation of purinergic receptors, which facilitates HIV entry and replication. In this article, we demonstrate that chemokines, which bind CCR5 and CXCR4, especially SDF-1α/CXCL12, result in a transient opening (peak at 5 min) of Panx1 channels found on CD4(+) T lymphocytes, which induces ATP secretion, focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation, cell polarization, and subsequent migration. Increased migration of immune cells is key for the pathogenesis of several inflammatory diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, we show that genetic deletion of Panx1 reduces the number of the CD4(+) T lymphocytes migrating into the spinal cord of mice subjected to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of MS. Our results indicate that opening of Panx1 channels in response to chemokines is required for CD4(+) T lymphocyte migration, and we propose that targeting Panx1 channels could provide new potential therapeutic approaches to decrease the devastating effects of MS and other inflammatory diseases.