-
International Journal of Molecular... May 2021Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant non-protein thiol, and plays crucial roles in the antioxidant defense system and the maintenance of redox homeostasis in neurons.... (Review)
Review
Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant non-protein thiol, and plays crucial roles in the antioxidant defense system and the maintenance of redox homeostasis in neurons. GSH depletion in the brain is a common finding in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and can cause neurodegeneration prior to disease onset. Excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1), a sodium-dependent glutamate/cysteine transporter that is selectively present in neurons, plays a central role in the regulation of neuronal GSH production. The expression of EAAC1 is posttranslationally controlled by the glutamate transporter-associated protein 3-18 (GTRAP3-18) or miR-96-5p in neurons. The regulatory mechanism of neuronal GSH production mediated by EAAC1 may be a new target in therapeutic strategies for these neurodegenerative diseases. This review describes the regulatory mechanism of neuronal GSH production and its potential therapeutic application in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Biomarkers; Brain; Disease Management; Disease Susceptibility; Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 3; Gene Expression Regulation; Glutamate Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Glutathione; Humans; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Microglia; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurons; Oxidation-Reduction; Reactive Oxygen Species
PubMed: 34065042
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22095010 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jun 2021Despite its abundance in the environment, iron is poorly bioavailable and subject to strict conservation and internal recycling by most organisms. In vertebrates, the... (Review)
Review
Despite its abundance in the environment, iron is poorly bioavailable and subject to strict conservation and internal recycling by most organisms. In vertebrates, the stability of iron concentration in plasma and extracellular fluid, and the total body iron content are maintained by the interaction of the iron-regulatory peptide hormone hepcidin with its receptor and cellular iron exporter ferroportin (SLC40a1). Ferroportin exports iron from duodenal enterocytes that absorb dietary iron, from iron-recycling macrophages in the spleen and the liver, and from iron-storing hepatocytes. Hepcidin blocks iron export through ferroportin, causing hypoferremia. During iron deficiency or after hemorrhage, hepcidin decreases to allow iron delivery to plasma through ferroportin, thus promoting compensatory erythropoiesis. As a host defense mediator, hepcidin increases in response to infection and inflammation, blocking iron delivery through ferroportin to blood plasma, thus limiting iron availability to invading microbes. Genetic diseases that decrease hepcidin synthesis or disrupt hepcidin binding to ferroportin cause the iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis. The opposite phenotype, iron restriction or iron deficiency, can result from genetic or inflammatory overproduction of hepcidin.
Topics: Animals; Autocrine Communication; Biological Transport; Cation Transport Proteins; Disease Susceptibility; Hepcidins; Homeostasis; Humans; Iron; Ligands; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Paracrine Communication; Protein Binding; Signal Transduction; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 34204327
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126493 -
Cell Apr 2020Many cytosolic proteins lacking a signal peptide, called leaderless cargoes, are secreted through unconventional secretion. Vesicle trafficking is a major pathway...
Many cytosolic proteins lacking a signal peptide, called leaderless cargoes, are secreted through unconventional secretion. Vesicle trafficking is a major pathway involved. It is unclear how leaderless cargoes enter into the vesicle. Here, we find a translocation pathway regulating vesicle entry and secretion of leaderless cargoes. We identify TMED10 as a protein channel for the vesicle entry and secretion of many leaderless cargoes. The interaction of TMED10 C-terminal region with a motif in the cargo accounts for the selective release of the cargoes. In an in vitro reconstitution assay, TMED10 directly mediates the membrane translocation of leaderless cargoes into the liposome, which is dependent on protein unfolding and enhanced by HSP90s. In the cell, TMED10 localizes on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi intermediate compartment and directs the entry of cargoes into this compartment. Furthermore, cargo induces the formation of TMED10 homo-oligomers which may act as a protein channel for cargo translocation.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Membrane; Cytosol; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Golgi Apparatus; Humans; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Protein Sorting Signals; Protein Translocation Systems; Protein Transport; Proteins; Secretory Pathway; Vesicular Transport Proteins
PubMed: 32272059
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.031 -
Nature Jan 2024Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has emerged as a major global pathogen with limited treatment options. No new antibiotic chemical class with activity...
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has emerged as a major global pathogen with limited treatment options. No new antibiotic chemical class with activity against A. baumannii has reached patients in over 50 years. Here we report the identification and optimization of tethered macrocyclic peptide (MCP) antibiotics with potent antibacterial activity against CRAB. The mechanism of action of this molecule class involves blocking the transport of bacterial lipopolysaccharide from the inner membrane to its destination on the outer membrane, through inhibition of the LptBFGC complex. A clinical candidate derived from the MCP class, zosurabalpin (RG6006), effectively treats highly drug-resistant contemporary isolates of CRAB both in vitro and in mouse models of infection, overcoming existing antibiotic resistance mechanisms. This chemical class represents a promising treatment paradigm for patients with invasive infections due to CRAB, for whom current treatment options are inadequate, and additionally identifies LptBFGC as a tractable target for antimicrobial drug development.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mice; Acinetobacter baumannii; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Lipopolysaccharides; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Membrane Transport Proteins; Biological Transport; Disease Models, Animal; Acinetobacter Infections; Drug Development
PubMed: 38172634
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06873-0 -
Cell Mar 2023Suppressing sensory arousal is critical for sleep, with deeper sleep requiring stronger sensory suppression. The mechanisms that enable sleeping animals to largely...
Suppressing sensory arousal is critical for sleep, with deeper sleep requiring stronger sensory suppression. The mechanisms that enable sleeping animals to largely ignore their surroundings are not well understood. We show that the responsiveness of sleeping flies and mice to mechanical vibrations is better suppressed when the diet is protein rich. In flies, we describe a signaling pathway through which information about ingested proteins is conveyed from the gut to the brain to help suppress arousability. Higher protein concentration in the gut leads to increased activity of enteroendocrine cells that release the peptide CCHa1. CCHa1 signals to a small group of dopamine neurons in the brain to modulate their activity; the dopaminergic activity regulates the behavioral responsiveness of animals to vibrations. The CCHa1 pathway and dietary proteins do not influence responsiveness to all sensory inputs, showing that during sleep, different information streams can be gated through independent mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Arousal; Biological Transport; Brain; Peptides; Sleep; Intestines
PubMed: 36958331
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.02.022 -
Journal of Pharmacological Sciences Feb 2022Prevention of atherosclerosis is important because it is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases globally. One of the causes of atherosclerosis is accumulation of... (Review)
Review
Prevention of atherosclerosis is important because it is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases globally. One of the causes of atherosclerosis is accumulation of cholesterol and triglycerides in peripheral cells. ATP-binding cassette protein A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1) are important in eliminating excess cholesterol from cells including macrophages and forming high-density lipoprotein, which contributes to the prevention and regression of atherosclerosis. Enhanced cholesterol efflux activities of ABCA1 and ABCG1 are expected to prevent the progression of atherosclerosis. ABCA1 and ABCG1 are induced by the LXR/RXR pathway and regulated transcriptionally, post-transcriptionally, and post-translationally. Their mRNAs are destabilized by microRNAs and their cellular localization and degradation are regulated by other proteins and phosphorylation. Furthermore, ABCA1 and ABCG1 suppress the inflammatory responses of macrophages. These proteins are effective targets because their increased activities can suppress cholesterol accumulation and inflammation in macrophages. Moreover, ABCA1 and ABCG1 prevent amyloid β accumulation; therefore, their increased activity may prevent Alzheimer's disease. Because ABCA1 and ABCG1 are affected by transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational regulation, the regulatory factors involved could also serve as therapeutic targets. This review highlights that ABCA1 and ABCG1 could be potential therapeutic targets for preventing atherosclerosis by regulating their expression, degradation, and localization.
Topics: ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 1; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Atherosclerosis; Biological Transport; Cholesterol; Disease Progression; Humans; Macrophages; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Retinoid X Receptors; Signal Transduction; Transcription, Genetic; Triglycerides
PubMed: 35063134
DOI: 10.1016/j.jphs.2021.11.005 -
Nature Nov 2021Glutathione (GSH) is a small-molecule thiol that is abundant in all eukaryotes and has key roles in oxidative metabolism. Mitochondria, as the major site of oxidative...
Glutathione (GSH) is a small-molecule thiol that is abundant in all eukaryotes and has key roles in oxidative metabolism. Mitochondria, as the major site of oxidative reactions, must maintain sufficient levels of GSH to perform protective and biosynthetic functions. GSH is synthesized exclusively in the cytosol, yet the molecular machinery involved in mitochondrial GSH import remains unknown. Here, using organellar proteomics and metabolomics approaches, we identify SLC25A39, a mitochondrial membrane carrier of unknown function, as a regulator of GSH transport into mitochondria. Loss of SLC25A39 reduces mitochondrial GSH import and abundance without affecting cellular GSH levels. Cells lacking both SLC25A39 and its paralogue SLC25A40 exhibit defects in the activity and stability of proteins containing iron-sulfur clusters. We find that mitochondrial GSH import is necessary for cell proliferation in vitro and red blood cell development in mice. Heterologous expression of an engineered bifunctional bacterial GSH biosynthetic enzyme (GshF) in mitochondria enables mitochondrial GSH production and ameliorates the metabolic and proliferative defects caused by its depletion. Finally, GSH availability negatively regulates SLC25A39 protein abundance, coupling redox homeostasis to mitochondrial GSH import in mammalian cells. Our work identifies SLC25A39 as an essential and regulated component of the mitochondrial GSH-import machinery.
Topics: Animals; Biological Transport; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Erythropoiesis; Glutathione; Homeostasis; Humans; Iron-Sulfur Proteins; Mice; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins; Oxidation-Reduction; Proteome; Proteomics
PubMed: 34707288
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04025-w -
Immunity Aug 2019Macrophage polarization is accompanied by drastic changes in L-arginine metabolism. Two L-arginine catalytic enzymes, iNOS and arginase 1, are well-characterized...
Macrophage polarization is accompanied by drastic changes in L-arginine metabolism. Two L-arginine catalytic enzymes, iNOS and arginase 1, are well-characterized hallmark molecules of classically and alternatively activated macrophages, respectively. The third metabolic fate of L-arginine is the generation of creatine that acts as a key source of cellular energy reserve, yet little is known about the role of creatine in the immune system. Here, genetic, genomic, metabolic, and immunological analyses revealed that creatine reprogrammed macrophage polarization by suppressing M(interferon-γ [IFN-γ]) yet promoting M(interleukin-4 [IL-4]) effector functions. Mechanistically, creatine inhibited the induction of immune effector molecules, including iNOS, by suppressing IFN-γ-JAK-STAT1 transcription-factor signaling while supporting IL-4-STAT6-activated arginase 1 expression by promoting chromatin remodeling. Depletion of intracellular creatine by ablation of the creatine transporter Slc6a8 altered macrophage-mediated immune responses in vivo. These results uncover a previously uncharacterized role for creatine in macrophage polarization by modulating cellular responses to cytokines such as IFN-γ and IL-4.
Topics: Animals; Arginine; Cell Differentiation; Cells, Cultured; Cellular Reprogramming; Creatine; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; Interferon-gamma; Liver Cirrhosis; Macrophages; Membrane Transport Proteins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Phenotype; Signal Transduction; Tetrachloroethylene
PubMed: 31399282
DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.06.007 -
Immunity Oct 2022The DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is important for antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. cGAS generates cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), a diffusible cyclic dinucleotide...
The DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is important for antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. cGAS generates cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), a diffusible cyclic dinucleotide that activates the antiviral response through the adaptor protein stimulator of interferon genes (STING). cGAMP cannot passively cross cell membranes, but recent advances have established a role for extracellular cGAMP as an "immunotransmitter" that can be imported into cells. However, the mechanism by which cGAMP exits cells remains unknown. Here, we identifed ABCC1 as a direct, ATP-dependent cGAMP exporter in mouse and human cells. We show that ABCC1 overexpression enhanced cGAMP export and limited STING signaling and that loss of ABCC1 reduced cGAMP export and potentiated STING signaling. We demonstrate that ABCC1 deficiency exacerbated cGAS-dependent autoimmunity in the Trex1 mouse model of Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. Thus, ABCC1-mediated cGAMP export is a key regulatory mechanism that limits cell-intrinsic activation of STING and ameliorates STING-dependent autoimmune disease.
Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; DNA; Humans; Interferons; Membrane Transport Proteins; Mice; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins; Nucleotides, Cyclic; Nucleotidyltransferases
PubMed: 36070769
DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.08.006 -
Nature Communications May 2022GLUT4 is the primary glucose transporter in adipose and skeletal muscle tissues. Its cellular trafficking is regulated by insulin signaling. Failed or reduced plasma...
GLUT4 is the primary glucose transporter in adipose and skeletal muscle tissues. Its cellular trafficking is regulated by insulin signaling. Failed or reduced plasma membrane localization of GLUT4 is associated with diabetes. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of human GLUT4 bound to a small molecule inhibitor cytochalasin B (CCB) at resolutions of 3.3 Å in both detergent micelles and lipid nanodiscs. CCB-bound GLUT4 exhibits an inward-open conformation. Despite the nearly identical conformation of the transmembrane domain to GLUT1, the cryo-EM structure reveals an extracellular glycosylation site and an intracellular helix that is invisible in the crystal structure of GLUT1. The structural study presented here lays the foundation for further mechanistic investigation of the modulation of GLUT4 trafficking. Our methods for cryo-EM analysis of GLUT4 will also facilitate structural determination of many other small size solute carriers.
Topics: Cryoelectron Microscopy; Cytochalasin B; Glucose; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative; Glucose Transporter Type 1; Glucose Transporter Type 4; Humans; Insulin
PubMed: 35562357
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30235-5