Formoterol Acting via ß2-Adrenoreceptor Restores Mitochondrial Dysfunction Caused by Parkinson's Disease-Related UQCRC1 Mutation and Improves Mitochondrial Homeostasis Including Dynamic and Transport.

Formoterol, a ß2-adrenergic receptor (ß2AR) agonist, shows promise in various diseases, but its effectiveness in Parkinson's disease (PD) is debated, with unclear regulation of mitochondrial homeostasis. This study employed a cell model featuring mitochondrial ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase core protein 1 (UQCRC1) variants associated with familial parkinsonism, demonstrating mitochondrial dysfunction and dynamic imbalance, exploring the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of formoterol. Results revealed that 24-h formoterol treatment enhanced cell proliferation, viability, and neuroprotection against oxidative stress. Mitochondrial function, encompassing DNA copy number, repatriation, and complex III-linked respiration, was comprehensively restored, along with the dynamic rebalance of fusion/fission events. Formoterol reduced extensive hypertubulation, in contrast to mitophagy, by significantly upregulating protein Drp-1, in contrast to fusion protein Mfn2, mitophagy-related protein Parkin. The upstream mechanism involved the restoration of ERK signaling and the inhibition of Akt overactivity, contingent on the activation of ß2-adrenergic receptors. Formoterol additionally aided in segregating healthy mitochondria for distribution and transport, therefore normalizing mitochondrial arrangement in mutant cells. This study provides preliminary evidence that formoterol offers neuroprotection, acting as a mitochondrial dynamic balance regulator, making it a promising therapeutic candidate for PD.

The protocol of tagging endogenous proteins with fluorescent tags using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.

The currently widely used CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology enables the editing of target genes (knock-out or knock-in) with high accuracy and efficiency. Guided by the small guide RNA, the Cas9 nuclease induces a DNA double-strand break at the targeted genomic locus. The DNA double-strand break can be repaired by the homology-directed repair pathway in the presence of a repair template. With the repair template containing the coding sequence of a fluorescent tag, the targeted gene can be inserted with the sequence of a fluorescent tag at the designed position. The genome editing mediated labeling of endogenous proteins with fluorescent tags avoids the potential artifacts caused by gene overexpression and substantially improves the reproductivity of imaging experiments. This protocol focuses on creating mammalian cell lines with endogenous proteins tagged with fluorescent proteins or self-labeling protein tags using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.

Trichostatin A modulates thiazolidinedione-mediated suppression of tumor necrosis factor α-induced lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

In obesity, high levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) stimulate lipolysis in adipocytes, leading to hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs), the insulin-sensitizing drugs, antagonize TNFα-induced lipolysis in adipocytes, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity in diabetes patients. The cellular target of TZDs is peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a nuclear receptor that controls many adipocyte functions. As a transcription factor, PPARγ is closely modulated by coregulators, which include coactivators and corepressors. Previous studies have revealed that in macrophages, the insulin-sensitizing effect of PPARγ may involve suppression of proinflammatory gene expression by recruiting the corepressor complex that contains corepressors and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Therefore, we investigated whether the corepressor complex is involved in TZD-mediated suppression of TNFα-induced lipolysis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Trichostatin A (TSA), a pan HDAC inhibitor (HDACI) that inhibits class I and II HDACs, was used to examine the involvement of HDACs in the actions of TZDs. TSA alone increased basal lipolysis and attenuated TZD-mediated suppression of TNFα-induced lipolysis. Increased basal lipolysis may in part result from class I HDAC inhibition because selective class I HDACI treatment had similar results. However, attenuation of TZD-mediated TNFα antagonism may be specific to TSA and related hydroxamate-based HDACI rather than to HDAC inhibition. Consistently, corepressor depletion did not affect TZD-mediated suppression. Interestingly, TSA treatment greatly reduced PPARγ levels in differentiated adipocytes. Finally, extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) mediated TNFα-induced lipolysis, and TZDs suppressed TNFα-induced ERK phosphorylation. We determined that TSA increased basal ERK phosphorylation, and attenuated TZD-mediated suppression of TNFα-induced ERK phosphorylation, consistent with TSA's effects on lipolysis. These studies suggest that TSA, through down-regulating PPARγ, attenuates TZD-mediated suppression of TNFα-induced ERK phosphorylation and lipolysis in adipocytes.