Mutated Huntingtin Causes Testicular Pathology in Transgenic Minipig Boars.

BACKGROUND: Huntington's disease is induced by CAG expansion in a single gene coding the huntingtin protein. The mutated huntingtin (mtHtt) primarily causes degeneration of neurons in the brain, but it also affects peripheral tissues, including testes. OBJECTIVE: We studied sperm and testes of transgenic boars expressing the N-terminal region of human mtHtt. METHODS: In this study, measures of reproductive parameters and electron microscopy (EM) images of spermatozoa and testes of transgenic (TgHD) and wild-type (WT) boars of F1 (24-48 months old) and F2 (12-36 months old) generations were compared. In addition, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, hormonal analysis and whole-genome sequencing were done in order to elucidate the effects of mtHtt. RESULTS: Evidence for fertility failure of both TgHD generations was observed at the age of 13 months. Reproductive parameters declined and progressively worsened with age. EM revealed numerous pathological features in sperm tails and in testicular epithelium from 24- and 36-month-old TgHD boars. Moreover, immunohistochemistry confirmed significantly lower proliferation activity of spermatogonia in transgenic testes. mtHtt was highly expressed in spermatozoa and testes of TgHD boars and localized in all cells of seminiferous tubules. Levels of fertility-related hormones did not differ in TgHD and WT siblings. Genome analysis confirmed that insertion of the lentiviral construct did not interrupt any coding sequence in the pig genome. CONCLUSIONS: The sperm and testicular degeneration of TgHD boars is caused by gain-of-function of the highly expressed mtHtt.

Interlaboratory study of free monoclonal immunoglobulin light chain quantification.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of monoclonal immunoglobulin free light chains (FLCs) in serum is used increasingly in clinical practice for the diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and treatment monitoring of monoclonal gammopathies. It is used as an adjunct to standard serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation. However, methods for FLC quantification need further standardization and validation. METHODS: The Czech Myeloma Group and the Czech Society of Clinical Biochemistry have initiated an interlaboratory study where six laboratories collaborating with the primary myeloma treatment centres measured FLC concentrations in 12 serum samples from patients with monoclonal gammopathies. RESULTS: Repeatability of the measurements in five laboratories was calculated based on differences between the results of duplicate measurements. We found that repeatability depended more on the laboratory than on the device used for measurement. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed several weak points in the methodology, including the need for a uniform sample dilution procedure. Interlaboratory reproducibility was comparable with values achieved in the NEQAS programme. Because the κ/λ ratio cannot be measured with high precision, κ and λ FLC concentrations should be used where possible. Due to its impact on the clinical management of patients with gammopathy, FLC quantification needs to become a part of the regular quality control cycle in myeloma centres.

LACE1 interacts with p53 and mediates its mitochondrial translocation and apoptosis.

p53 is a major cellular tumor suppressor that in addition to its nuclear, transcription-dependent activity is also known to function extranuclearly. Cellular stressors such as reactive oxygen species can promote translocation of p53 into mitochondria where it acts to protect mitochondrial genome or trigger cell death via transcription-independent manner. Here we report that the mammalian homologue of yeast mitochondrial Afg1 ATPase (LACE1) promotes translocation of p53 into mitochondria. We further show that LACE1 exhibits significant pro-apoptotic activity, which is dependent on p53, and that the protein is required for normal mitochondrial respiratory function. LACE1 physically interacts with p53 and is necessary for mitomycin c-induced translocation of p53 into mitochondria. Conversely, increased expression of LACE1 partitions p53 to mitochondria, causes reduction in nuclear p53 content and induces apoptosis. Thus, LACE1 mediates mitochondrial translocation of p53 and its transcription-independent apoptosis.

Mitochondrial Respiration in the Platelets of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Mitochondrial dysfunctions significantly contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we studied the relationship between AD and changes in the mitochondrial rates of respiration in blood platelets, respiratory chain complexes activity, and coenzyme Q10 plasma concentrations. In intact platelets obtained from AD patients, we observed a decrease in endogenous basal respiration rates, a decrease in the maximal capacity of the electron transport system (ETS), and higher respiratory rates after inhibiting complex I of the ETS. When normalized for citrate synthase activity, rotenone inhibited respiratory rates and complex I activity was significantly altered. In permeabilized platelets, mitochondrial respiration was completely rescued by the addition of complex I substrates. The changes in mitochondrial respiratory parameters were not associated with the progression of AD except for the capacity of the ETS in permeabilized platelets. In AD, complex I activity was increased, complex IV activity was decreased, and coenzyme Q10 plasma concentrations were decreased. Our data indicate that both insufficiency in substrates entering into the oxidative phosphorylation system and functional disturbances in the ETS complex are responsible for the decrease in respiration observed in intact platelets in AD patients. Analyses of complex IV activity, the respiratory rates of intact platelets, and the capacity of the ETS in permeabilized platelets may enable the characterization of mitochondrial dysfunctions in the initial stage of AD.

Carnitine supplementation alleviates lipid metabolism derangements and protects against oxidative stress in non-obese hereditary hypertriglyceridemic rats.

The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of carnitine supplementation on lipid disorders and peripheral tissue insulin sensitivity in a non-obese animal model of insulin resistance, the hereditary hypertriglyceridemic (HHTg) rat. Male HHTg rats were fed a standard diet, and half of them received daily doses of carnitine (500 mg·kg(-1) body weight) for 8 weeks. Rats of the original Wistar strain were used for comparison. HHTg rats exhibited increased urinary excretion of free carnitine and reduced carnitine content in the liver and blood. Carnitine supplementation compensated for this shortage and promoted urinary excretion of acetylcarnitine without any signs of (acyl)carnitine accumulation in skeletal muscle. Compared with their untreated littermates, carnitine-treated HHTg rats exhibited lower weight gain, reduced liver steatosis, lower fasting triglyceridemia, and greater reduction of serum free fatty acid content after glucose load. Carnitine treatment was associated with increased mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative capacity for fatty acids, amelioration of oxidative stress, and restored substrate switching in the liver. In skeletal muscle (diaphragm), carnitine supplementation was associated with significantly higher palmitate oxidation and a more favorable complete to incomplete oxidation products ratio. Carnitine supplementation further enhanced insulin sensitivity ex vivo. No effects on whole-body glucose tolerance were observed. Our data suggest that some metabolic syndrome-related disorders, particularly fatty acid oxidation, steatosis, and oxidative stress in the liver, could be attenuated by carnitine supplementation. The effect of carnitine could be explained, at least partly, by enhanced substrate oxidation and increased fatty acid transport from tissues in the form of short-chain acylcarnitines.

Mitochondrially targeted vitamin E succinate modulates expression of mitochondrial DNA transcripts and mitochondrial biogenesis.

AIMS: To assess the effect of mitochondrially targeted vitamin E (VE) analogs on mitochondrial function and biogenesis. RESULTS: Mitochondrially targeted vitamin E succinate (MitoVES) is an efficient inducer of apoptosis in cancer cells. Here, we show that unlike its untargeted counterpart α-tocopheryl succinate, MitoVES suppresses proliferation of cancer cells at sub-apoptotic doses by way of affecting the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcripts. We found that MitoVES strongly suppresses the level of the displacement loop transcript followed by those of mtDNA genes coding for subunits of mitochondrial complexes. This process is coupled to the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential, and generation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, exposure of cancer cells to MitoVES led to decreased expression of TFAM and diminished mitochondrial biogenesis. The inhibition of mitochondrial transcription was replicated in vivo in a mouse model of HER2(high) breast cancer, where MitoVES lowered the level of mtDNA transcripts in cancer cells but not in normal tissue. INNOVATION: Our data show that mitochondrially targeted VE analogs represent a novel class of mitocans that not only induce apoptosis at higher concentrations but also block proliferation and suppress normal mitochondrial function and transcription at low, non-apoptogenic doses. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate a novel, selective anti-cancer activity of compounds that act by targeting mitochondria of cancer cells, inducing significant alterations in mitochondrial function associated with transcription of mtDNA-coded genes. These changes subsequently result in the arrest of cell proliferation.