Coxsackievirus B exits the host cell in shed microvesicles displaying autophagosomal markers.

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a member of the picornavirus family and enterovirus genus, causes viral myocarditis, aseptic meningitis, and pancreatitis in humans. We genetically engineered a unique molecular marker, "fluorescent timer" protein, within our infectious CVB3 clone and isolated a high-titer recombinant viral stock (Timer-CVB3) following transfection in HeLa cells. "Fluorescent timer" protein undergoes slow conversion of fluorescence from green to red over time, and Timer-CVB3 can be utilized to track virus infection and dissemination in real time. Upon infection with Timer-CVB3, HeLa cells, neural progenitor and stem cells (NPSCs), and C2C12 myoblast cells slowly changed fluorescence from green to red over 72 hours as determined by fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometric analysis. The conversion of "fluorescent timer" protein in HeLa cells infected with Timer-CVB3 could be interrupted by fixation, suggesting that the fluorophore was stabilized by formaldehyde cross-linking reactions. Induction of a type I interferon response or ribavirin treatment reduced the progression of cell-to-cell virus spread in HeLa cells or NPSCs infected with Timer-CVB3. Time lapse photography of partially differentiated NPSCs infected with Timer-CVB3 revealed substantial intracellular membrane remodeling and the assembly of discrete virus replication organelles which changed fluorescence color in an asynchronous fashion within the cell. "Fluorescent timer" protein colocalized closely with viral 3A protein within virus replication organelles. Intriguingly, infection of partially differentiated NPSCs or C2C12 myoblast cells induced the release of abundant extracellular microvesicles (EMVs) containing matured "fluorescent timer" protein and infectious virus representing a novel route of virus dissemination. CVB3 virions were readily observed within purified EMVs by transmission electron microscopy, and infectious virus was identified within low-density isopycnic iodixanol gradient fractions consistent with membrane association. The preferential detection of the lipidated form of LC3 protein (LC3 II) in released EMVs harboring infectious virus suggests that the autophagy pathway plays a crucial role in microvesicle shedding and virus release, similar to a process previously described as autophagosome-mediated exit without lysis (AWOL) observed during poliovirus replication. Through the use of this novel recombinant virus which provides more dynamic information from static fluorescent images, we hope to gain a better understanding of CVB3 tropism, intracellular membrane reorganization, and virus-associated microvesicle dissemination within the host.

Loss of cyclophilin D reveals a critical role for mitochondrial permeability transition in cell death.

Mitochondria play a critical role in mediating both apoptotic and necrotic cell death. The mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT) leads to mitochondrial swelling, outer membrane rupture and the release of apoptotic mediators. The mPT pore is thought to consist of the adenine nucleotide translocator, a voltage-dependent anion channel, and cyclophilin D (the Ppif gene product), a prolyl isomerase located within the mitochondrial matrix. Here we generated mice lacking Ppif and mice overexpressing cyclophilin D in the heart. Ppif null mice are protected from ischaemia/reperfusion-induced cell death in vivo, whereas cyclophilin D-overexpressing mice show mitochondrial swelling and spontaneous cell death. Mitochondria isolated from the livers, hearts and brains of Ppif null mice are resistant to mitochondrial swelling and permeability transition in vitro. Moreover, primary hepatocytes and fibroblasts isolated from Ppif null mice are largely protected from Ca2+-overload and oxidative stress-induced cell death. However, Bcl-2 family member-induced cell death does not depend on cyclophilin D, and Ppif null fibroblasts are not protected from staurosporine or tumour-necrosis factor-alpha-induced death. Thus, cyclophilin D and the mitochondrial permeability transition are required for mediating Ca2+- and oxidative damage-induced cell death, but not Bcl-2 family member-regulated death.

Bnip3 mediates permeabilization of mitochondria and release of cytochrome c via a novel mechanism.

Bnip3 is a member of the BH3-only subfamily of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins and is associated with loss of cardiac myocytes after a myocardial infarction. Previous studies have demonstrated that Bnip3 induces mitochondrial dysfunction, but the mechanisms involved in this process remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that Bnip3 induces permeabilization of the mitochondria via a novel mechanism that is different from other BH3-only proteins. We found that Bnip3 induced mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release in isolated heart mitochondria in vitro. Another BH3-only protein, tBid, also caused release of cytochrome c but failed to induce swelling of mitochondria. Swelling of mitochondria is a characteristic of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, but Bnip3-mediated mitochondrial swelling was insensitive to cyclosporine A, an inhibitor of the mPTP and independent of cyclophilin D (cypD), an essential component of the mPTP. Bnip3 also induced permeabilization of the mitochondrial membranes as evident by calcein release from the matrix in both wild type (WT) and cypD deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Moreover, Bnip3 induced mitochondrial matrix remodeling and large amplitude swelling of the inner membrane, which led to disassembly of OPA1 complexes and release from the mitochondria. Thus, these studies suggest that Bnip3 mediates mitochondrial permeabilization by a novel mechanism that is different from other BH3-only proteins.

TAT protein transduction into isolated perfused hearts: TAT-apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain is cardioprotective.

BACKGROUND: Linkage of the 11-amino-acid transduction domain of HIV TAT to a heterologous protein allows the protein to be transduced readily into cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, we inserted the apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain (ARC) or beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) cDNA into the pTAT-hemagglutinin bacterial expression vector to produce genetic in-frame TAT-ARC or TAT-beta-gal fusion proteins for use in cell culture and in Langendorff perfusion of adult rat hearts. TAT-beta-gal and TAT-ARC were conjugated with Texas Red and could be detected in >95% of cells. TAT-ARC was able to protect H9c2 cells against cell death mediated by hydrogen peroxide, as measured by protection against the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and preservation of nuclear morphology. Isolated adult hearts were perfused with recombinant TAT-beta-gal or TAT-ARC (20 nmol/L) for 15 minutes and then subjected to 30 minutes of global no-flow ischemia, followed by 2 hours of reperfusion. Protein transduction was assessed by Western blotting of cell lysates and cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions and by fluorescence microscopy of Texas Red-conjugated TAT proteins. TAT-beta-gal and TAT-ARC readily transduced into perfused hearts and were homogeneously distributed. Infarct size was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, and creatine kinase release was measured. Transduction of TAT-ARC was cardioprotective when administered before global ischemia and reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that TAT-linked fusion protein transduction into the myocardium is feasible and that transduction of TAT-ARC is protective in cell culture and in the perfused heart.

MitoTimer: a novel tool for monitoring mitochondrial turnover.

Fluorescent Timer, or DsRed1-E5, is a mutant of the red fluorescent protein, dsRed, in which fluorescence shifts over time from green to red as the protein matures. This molecular clock gives temporal and spatial information on protein turnover. To visualize mitochondrial turnover, we targeted Timer to the mitochondrial matrix with a mitochondrial-targeting sequence (coined "MitoTimer") and cloned it into a tetracycline-inducible promoter construct to regulate its expression. Here we report characterization of this novel fluorescent reporter for mitochondrial dynamics. Tet-On HEK 293 cells were transfected with pTRE-tight-MitoTimer and production was induced with doxycycline (Dox). Mitochondrial distribution was demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy and verified by subcellular fractionation and western blot analysis. Dox addition for as little as 1 h was sufficient to induce MitoTimer expression within 4 h, with persistence in the mitochondrial fraction for up to 6 d. The color-specific conformation of MitoTimer was stable after fixation with 4% paraformaldehyde. Ratiometric analysis of MitoTimer revealed a time-dependent transition from green to red over 48 h and was amenable to analysis by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry of whole cells or isolated mitochondria. A second Dox administration 48 h after the initial induction resulted in a second round of expression of green MitoTimer. The extent of new protein incorporation during a second pulse was increased by administration of a mitochondrial uncoupler or simvastatin, both of which trigger mitophagy and biogenesis. MitoTimer is a novel fluorescent reporter protein that can reveal new insights into mitochondrial dynamics within cells. Coupled with organelle flow cytometry, it offers new opportunities to investigate mitochondrial subpopulations by biochemical or proteomic methods.

The role of autophagy during coxsackievirus infection of neural progenitor and stem cells.

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) has previously been shown to utilize autophagy in an advantageous manner during the course of infection of the host cell. However, few studies have determined whether stem cells induce autophagy in a similar fashion, and whether virus-induced autophagy occurs following infection of stem cells. Therefore, we compared the induction of autophagy following CVB3 infection of neural progenitor and stem cells (NPSCs), which we have recently shown to be highly susceptible to CVB3 infection, to HL-1 cells, a transformed cardiomyocyte cell line. As previously demonstrated for other susceptible host cells, HL-1 cells showed an increase in the activity of autophagic signaling following infection with a CVB3 expressing dsRed protein (dsRed-CVB3). Furthermore, viral titers in HL-1 cells increased in the presence of an inducer of autophagy (CCPA), while viral titers decreased in the presence of an inhibitor of autophagy (3-MA). In contrast, no change in autophagic signaling was seen in NPSCs following infection with dsRed-CVB3. Also, basal levels of autophagy in NPSCs were found to be highly elevated in comparison to HL-1 cells. Autophagy could be induced in NPSCs in the presence of rapamycin without altering levels of dsRed-CVB3 replication. In differentiated NPSC precursors, autophagy was activated during the differentiation process, and a decrease in autophagic signaling was observed within all three CNS lineages following dsRed-CVB3 infection. Hence, we conclude that the role of autophagy in modulating CVB3 replication appears cell type-specific, and stem cells may uniquely regulate autophagy in response to infection.

A method to measure cardiac autophagic flux in vivo.

Autophagy, a highly conserved cellular mechanism wherein various cellular components are broken down and recycled through lysosomes, has been implicated in the development of heart failure. However, tools to measure autophagic flux in vivo have been limited. Here, we tested whether monodansylcadaverine (MDC) and the lysosomotropic drug chloroquine could be used to measure autophagic flux in both in vitro and in vivo model systems. Using HL-1 cardiac-derived myocytes transfected with GFP-tagged LC3 to track changes in autophagosome formation, autophagy was stimulated by mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. Administration of chloroquine to inhibit lysosomal activity enhanced the rapamycin-induced increase in the number of cells with numerous GFP-LC3-positive autophagosomes. The chloroquine-induced increase of autophagosomes occurred in a dose-dependent manner between 1 microM and 8 microM, and reached a maximum 2 hour after treatment. Chloroquine also enhanced the accumulation of autophagosomes in cells stimulated with hydrogen peroxide, while it attenuated that induced by Bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of V-ATPase that interferes with fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. The accumulation of autophagosomes was inhibited by 3-methyladenine, which is known to inhibit the early phase of the autophagic process. Using transgenic mice expressing 3 mCherry-LC3 exposed to rapamycin for 4 hr, we observed an increase in mCherry-LC3-labeled autophagosomes in myocardium, which was further increased by concurrent administration of chloroquine, thus allowing determination of flux as a more precise measure of autophagic activity in vivo. MDC injected 1 hr before sacrifice colocalized with mCherry-LC3 puncta, validating its use as a marker of autophagosomes. This study describes a method to measure autophagic flux in vivo even in non-transgenic animals, using MDC and chloroquine.

Reduction of ischemia and reperfusion-induced myocardial damage by cytochrome P450 inhibitors.

Ischemia and reperfusion both contribute to tissue damage after myocardial infarction. Although many drugs have been shown to reduce infarct size when administered before ischemia, few have been shown to be effective when administered at reperfusion. Moreover, although it is generally accepted that a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) occurs at the onset of reperfusion and contributes to tissue damage, the source of ROS and the mechanism of injury is unclear. We now report the finding that chloramphenicol administered at reperfusion reduced infarct size by 60% in a Langendorff isolated perfused rat heart model, and that ROS production was also substantially reduced. Chloramphenicol is an inhibitor of mitochondrial protein synthesis and is also an inhibitor of a subset of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs). We could not detect any effect on mitochondrial encoded proteins or mitochondrial respiration in chloramphenicol-perfused hearts, and hypothesized that the effect was caused by inhibition of CYPs. We tested additional CYP inhibitors and found that cimetidine and sulfaphenazole, two CYP inhibitors that have no effect on mitochondrial protein synthesis, were also able to reduce creatine kinase release and infarct size in the Langendorff model. We also showed that chloramphenicol reduced infarct size in an open chest rabbit model of regional ischemia. Taken together, these findings implicate CYPs in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.