No description available.

<p>Mitochondria are responsible for producing the vast majority of cellular ATP, and are therefore critical to organismal health [1]. They contain thir own genomes (mtDNA) which encode 13 proteins that are all subunits of the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) and are essential for oxidative phosphorylation [2]. mtDNA is present in multiple copies per cell, usually between 103 and 104 , though this number is reduced during certain developmental stages [3, 4]. The health of the mitochondrial genome is also important to the health of the organism, as mutations in mtDNA lead to human diseases that collectively affect approximately 1 in 4000 people [5, 6]. mtDNA is more susceptible than nuclear DNA (nucDNA) to damage by many environmental pollutants, for reasons including the absence of Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) in the mitochondria [7]. NER is a highly functionally conserved DNA repair pathway that removes bulky, helix distorting lesions such as those caused by ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation and also many environmental toxicants, including benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) [8]. While these lesions cannot be repaired, they are slowly removed through a process that involves mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy [9, 10]. However, when present during development in C. elegans, this damage reduces mtDNA copy number and ATP levels [11]. We hypothesize that this damage, when present during development, will result in mitochondrial dysfunction and increase the potential for adverse outcomes later in life.</p><p>To test this hypothesis, 1st larval stage (L1) C. elegans are exposed to 3 doses of 7.5J/m2 ultraviolet C radiation 24 hours apart, leading to the accumulation of mtDNA damage [9, 11]. After exposure, many mitochondrial endpoints are assessed at multiple time points later in life. mtDNA and nucDNA damage levels and genome copy numbers are measured via QPCR and real-time PCR , respectively, every 2 day for 10 days. Steady state ATP levels are measured via luciferase expressing reporter strains and traditional ATP extraction methods. Oxygen consumption is measured using a Seahorse XFe24 extra cellular flux analyzer. Gene expression changes are measured via real time PCR and targeted metabolomics via LC-MS are used to investigate changes in organic acid, amino acid and acyl-carnitine levels. Lastly, nematode developmental delay is assessed as growth, and measured via imaging and COPAS biosort.</p><p>I have found that despite being removed, UVC induced mtDNA damage during development leads to persistent deficits in energy production later in life. mtDNA copy number is permanently reduced, as are ATP levels, though oxygen consumption is increased, indicating inefficient or uncoupled respiration. Metabolomic data and mutant sensitivity indicate a role for NADPH and oxidative stress in these results, and exposed nematodes are more sensitive to the mitochondrial poison rotenone later in life. These results fit with the developmental origin of health and disease hypothesis, and show the potential for environmental exposures to have lasting effects on mitochondrial function.</p><p>Lastly, we are currently working to investigate the potential for irreparable mtDNA lesions to drive mutagenesis in mtDNA. Mutations in mtDNA lead to a wide range of diseases, yet we currently do not understand the environmental component of what causes them. In vitro evidence suggests that UVC induced thymine dimers can be mutagenic [12]. We are using duplex sequencing of C. elegans mtDNA to determine mutation rates in nematodes exposed to our serial UVC protocol. Furthermore, by including mutant strains deficient in mitochondrial fission and mitophagy, we hope to determine if deficiencies in these processes will further increase mtDNA mutation rates, as they are implicated in human diseases.</p> / Dissertation

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a prominent disease in developed countries, and age is an important factor in functional outcome. Although aged patients typically show diminished recovery compared to young patients, and have higher mortality and morbidity following TBI, the mechanism is not well understood. To date, there is no effective therapeutic for TBI. Previous studies indicate a secondary injury in TBI begins immediately after impact, and is likely the major contribution to delayed neuron dysfunction and loss. Studies also suggest mitochondrial dysfunction and increased free radical species (ROS) production following TBI may play a key role in the process. To evaluate oxidative damage following TBI, especially in aging, young (3 months), middle aged (12 months) and aged (22 months) Fisher-344 rats were subjected to a unilateral controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury, and tissue sparing, 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) and acrolein levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities, and DNA oxidative damage were measured. In order to evaluate changes in mitochondria following TBI, mitochondrial protein levels were investigated using young adult animals. To evaluate a potential therapeutic for TBI, the effect of creatine on oxidative damage was evaluated. These studies show an age dependent increase of oxidative damage following TBI, demonstrated by increased levels of 4-HNE, acrolein and 8-hydroxyguanine. Middle aged and aged animals showed increased tissue loss compared to young animals 7 days post injury. Mitochondrial proteins involved in the respiratory chain, carrier proteins and channel proteins were significantly decreased 24 h post injury in ipsilateral cortex, but increased in both ipsilateral and contralateral hippocampus. To study potentially protective compounds in TBI, animals were fed with creatine two weeks before TBI and showed less oxidative damage and increased antioxidant capacity, which suggests creatine may be a potential drug for clinical treatment of TBI. The work described in this dissertation is the first to show increased oxidative damage and diminished antioxidant capacity in TBI in aging. The study of mitochondriafollowing TBI using quantitative proteomics is also the first time to show multiple mitochondrial proteins change following TBI. These data are also the first to show creatine can increase antioxidant defenses. These studies contribute to our understanding the mechanisms of secondary injury in TBI in aging.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A obesidade é uma doença crônica, resultante do excesso de gordura no organismo. O aumento da obesidade no mundo, tem se revelado como um dos fenômenos clínicos e epidemiológicos da atualidade. Estudos populacionais e em modelos animais demonstram que a origem da epidemia da obesidade está relacionada a fatores genéticos, modificações de hábitos nutricionais, redução da atividade física, e alterações nutricionais durante a lactação, desempenhando um papel relevante no desenvolvimento da obesidade, DM2 e cardiomiopatias. As mitocôndrias são os coordenadores centrais do metabolismo energético, assim, alterações funcionais e estruturais dessa organela têm sido associadas à desordens metabólicas. Elas exercem um papel na sobrevivência e função dos cardiomiócitos devido à alta demanda energética do miocárdio. Desta forma, disfunções mitocondriais estão relacionadas com disfunções no miocárdio e conseqüente progressão de cardiomiopatias. Neste estudo, avaliamos a bioenergética e a ultraestrutura de cardiomiócitos de camundongos obesos e controle hiperalimentados durante a lactação. O consumo de oxigênio das fibras cardíacas foi avaliado por respirometria de alta-resolução, utilizando um oxígrafo-2K-Oroboros. A ultraestrutura dos cardiomiócitos foi analisada por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão e o conteúdo das proteínas Carnitina palmitoil transferase 1 (CPT1), Proteína desacopladora 2 (UCP2) , Transportador de glicose 1 e 4 (GLUT1) e (GLUT4), Proteína Kinase ativada por AMP (AMPK) e Proteína kinase ativada por AMP fosforilada p(AMPK) por Western blotting (WB). Além disso, o peso dos animais, a gordura retroperitoneal, epididimal e a glicemia em jejum foram determinadas. Nossos resultados confirmaram que os animais do grupo hiperalimentados (GH), aos 90 dias de vida, apresentaram aumento da massa corporal, de gordura epididimária e retroperitoneal comparado ao grupo controle (GC). As taxas respiratórias foram semelhantes nos dois grupos quando foram utilizados os substratos dos complexos I e II. Entretanto, quando o ácido graxo palmitoil-L-carnitina foi utilizado, a taxa respiratória máxima do GH foi significativamente menor. A análise ultraestrutural dos cardiomiócitos do GH demonstrou intenso dano na matriz mitocondrial e maior presença de gotículas de lipídios, caracterizando deposição ectópica. Os resultados do WB mostraram aumento significativo do conteúdo de CPT1 e UCP2 no GH comparado ao GC. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas no conteúdo de GLUT1 entre os grupos, entretanto, observamos maior conteúdo do GLUT4 no GH. Além disso, encontramos maior conteúdo de AMPK no GH, ao passo que o conteúdo de pAMPK foi semelhante entre os grupos. Entretanto, a razão pAMPK/AMPK é significativamente menor no GH. Esses resultados sugerem que a hiperalimentação durante a lactação leva a obesidade na vida adulta com alterações na bioenergética e ultraestrutura dos cardiomiócitos. / Obesity is a chronic disease resulting from the excess of fat in the body. The increase of obesity in the world has been on the clinical and epidemiological phenomenon of the present. Population studies and animal models, show that the origin of the "obesity epidemic", is related to genetic factors and habits acquired during early and adult life, such as changes in dietary habits and reduction in physical activity. In this context, nutritional changes during the period of lactation play an important role in the development of obesity, type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Mitochondria are the central coordinators of energy metabolism, playing a role in the survival and function of the cardiomyocytes due to high energy demand of the myocardium. Functional and structural alterations of this organelle have been associated with metabolic disorders as well to myocardium dysfunction, and consequent progression of cardiomyopathies. In this study, we evaluated the bioenergetics and the ultrastructure of cardiomyocytes from obese (OG) and control (CG) mice overfed during lactation. The oxygen consumption of cardiac fibers was assessed by high resolution respirometry, using a 2K-oxigraph-Oroboros. The ultrastructure of the cardiomyocytes was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, and the content of proteins carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1), uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), glucose transporter 1 and 4, (GLUT1) and (GLUT4), activated Protein kinase by AMP (AMPK) and AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylated (pAMPK) was assessed by Western Blotting (WB). In addition, animal body mass, retroperitoneal and epididymal fat, and fasting blood glucose were determined. Our results confirmed that animals in group OG, at 90 days of life, showed an increase in body mass and mediastinun and retroperitoneal fat when compared with CG. Respiratory rates were similar in both groups when we used complexes I and II substrates. However, when palmitoil-L-carnitine fatty acid was used, the maximum respiratory rate of OG was significantly lower than CG. The ultrastructural analysis of the cardiomyocytes of OG showed intense damage in mitochondrial matrix and greater presence of lipid droplets, characterizing ectopic deposition. WB analyses showed a significant increase of CPT1 and UCP2 contents in OG compared to CG. There were no significant differences in GLUT1 content between groups; however, we observed a greater content of GLUT4 in OG. In addition, we found a higher content of AMPK in OG, while the content of pAMPK was similar between groups. However, the pAMPK/AMPK ratio was significantly lower in OG. These results suggest that overfeeding during lactation leads to obesity in adult life with changes in bioenergetics and ultrastructure of cardiomyocytes.

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder with alarming rates of morbidity and mortality. Since the pathophysiology of the disease is not well understood, it is difficult to develop treatments or even explain why the current treatments are successful. An increasingly popular hypothesis is that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role. This paper examines the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and bipolar disorder by examining the following: (i) mitochondrial complex I dysfunction and oxidative damage, (ii) mitochondrial complex I dysfunction, epigenetic modifications, and treatment with lithium, (iii) post-mortem brain studies, (iv) the mtDNA common deletion, (v) calcium, (vi) comorbidity with mitochondrial disorders, (vii) lactate and intracellular pH levels, (viii) phosphocreatine, (ix) apoptosis, and (x) inositol. These studies point to a definitive correlation between the bipolar disorder and mitochondrial dysfunction, but it is too soon to determine causation. Further research is needed.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A obesidade é uma doença crônica, resultante do excesso de gordura no organismo. O aumento da obesidade no mundo, tem se revelado como um dos fenômenos clínicos e epidemiológicos da atualidade. Estudos populacionais e em modelos animais demonstram que a origem da epidemia da obesidade está relacionada a fatores genéticos, modificações de hábitos nutricionais, redução da atividade física, e alterações nutricionais durante a lactação, desempenhando um papel relevante no desenvolvimento da obesidade, DM2 e cardiomiopatias. As mitocôndrias são os coordenadores centrais do metabolismo energético, assim, alterações funcionais e estruturais dessa organela têm sido associadas à desordens metabólicas. Elas exercem um papel na sobrevivência e função dos cardiomiócitos devido à alta demanda energética do miocárdio. Desta forma, disfunções mitocondriais estão relacionadas com disfunções no miocárdio e conseqüente progressão de cardiomiopatias. Neste estudo, avaliamos a bioenergética e a ultraestrutura de cardiomiócitos de camundongos obesos e controle hiperalimentados durante a lactação. O consumo de oxigênio das fibras cardíacas foi avaliado por respirometria de alta-resolução, utilizando um oxígrafo-2K-Oroboros. A ultraestrutura dos cardiomiócitos foi analisada por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão e o conteúdo das proteínas Carnitina palmitoil transferase 1 (CPT1), Proteína desacopladora 2 (UCP2) , Transportador de glicose 1 e 4 (GLUT1) e (GLUT4), Proteína Kinase ativada por AMP (AMPK) e Proteína kinase ativada por AMP fosforilada p(AMPK) por Western blotting (WB). Além disso, o peso dos animais, a gordura retroperitoneal, epididimal e a glicemia em jejum foram determinadas. Nossos resultados confirmaram que os animais do grupo hiperalimentados (GH), aos 90 dias de vida, apresentaram aumento da massa corporal, de gordura epididimária e retroperitoneal comparado ao grupo controle (GC). As taxas respiratórias foram semelhantes nos dois grupos quando foram utilizados os substratos dos complexos I e II. Entretanto, quando o ácido graxo palmitoil-L-carnitina foi utilizado, a taxa respiratória máxima do GH foi significativamente menor. A análise ultraestrutural dos cardiomiócitos do GH demonstrou intenso dano na matriz mitocondrial e maior presença de gotículas de lipídios, caracterizando deposição ectópica. Os resultados do WB mostraram aumento significativo do conteúdo de CPT1 e UCP2 no GH comparado ao GC. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas no conteúdo de GLUT1 entre os grupos, entretanto, observamos maior conteúdo do GLUT4 no GH. Além disso, encontramos maior conteúdo de AMPK no GH, ao passo que o conteúdo de pAMPK foi semelhante entre os grupos. Entretanto, a razão pAMPK/AMPK é significativamente menor no GH. Esses resultados sugerem que a hiperalimentação durante a lactação leva a obesidade na vida adulta com alterações na bioenergética e ultraestrutura dos cardiomiócitos. / Obesity is a chronic disease resulting from the excess of fat in the body. The increase of obesity in the world has been on the clinical and epidemiological phenomenon of the present. Population studies and animal models, show that the origin of the "obesity epidemic", is related to genetic factors and habits acquired during early and adult life, such as changes in dietary habits and reduction in physical activity. In this context, nutritional changes during the period of lactation play an important role in the development of obesity, type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Mitochondria are the central coordinators of energy metabolism, playing a role in the survival and function of the cardiomyocytes due to high energy demand of the myocardium. Functional and structural alterations of this organelle have been associated with metabolic disorders as well to myocardium dysfunction, and consequent progression of cardiomyopathies. In this study, we evaluated the bioenergetics and the ultrastructure of cardiomyocytes from obese (OG) and control (CG) mice overfed during lactation. The oxygen consumption of cardiac fibers was assessed by high resolution respirometry, using a 2K-oxigraph-Oroboros. The ultrastructure of the cardiomyocytes was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, and the content of proteins carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1), uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), glucose transporter 1 and 4, (GLUT1) and (GLUT4), activated Protein kinase by AMP (AMPK) and AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylated (pAMPK) was assessed by Western Blotting (WB). In addition, animal body mass, retroperitoneal and epididymal fat, and fasting blood glucose were determined. Our results confirmed that animals in group OG, at 90 days of life, showed an increase in body mass and mediastinun and retroperitoneal fat when compared with CG. Respiratory rates were similar in both groups when we used complexes I and II substrates. However, when palmitoil-L-carnitine fatty acid was used, the maximum respiratory rate of OG was significantly lower than CG. The ultrastructural analysis of the cardiomyocytes of OG showed intense damage in mitochondrial matrix and greater presence of lipid droplets, characterizing ectopic deposition. WB analyses showed a significant increase of CPT1 and UCP2 contents in OG compared to CG. There were no significant differences in GLUT1 content between groups; however, we observed a greater content of GLUT4 in OG. In addition, we found a higher content of AMPK in OG, while the content of pAMPK was similar between groups. However, the pAMPK/AMPK ratio was significantly lower in OG. These results suggest that overfeeding during lactation leads to obesity in adult life with changes in bioenergetics and ultrastructure of cardiomyocytes.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder resulting in the loss of motor neurons from the spinal cord and frontal cortex. The patterns of neurodegeneration, affected regions, age of onset, and time course of disease progression are all highly variable between and within variants of the disease. Familial ALS (fALS), inherited versions of ALS due to genetic changes, accounts for between 5-20% of all ALS cases, while the rest are sporadic, with either no causative mutation identified or no familial history of ALS. Recently, the discovery of C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions have been identified as one of the most common causes of familial ALS, with some patients presenting with dual phenotypes of ALS and frontotemporal dementia, leading to new hypotheses about the nature of neurodegenerative diseases. Despite the continued discovery of new ALS causative genes, little is known about the pathogenesis of the disease. While almost all variants include the presence of intracellular protein inclusions, the site of the protein plaques and involved proteins varies between genetic and phenotypic variants of this disease. Due to the lack of clear pathogenic mechanisms, several hypotheses have been developed to explain the process of neurodegeneration. Autophagy, the process of self-eating, leading to destruction of damaged or excess proteins and organelles, has been implicated as being altered in ALS. Multiple variants have demonstrated altered mitochondrial morphology and cellular energetic dynamics, which could explain previous observations that implicate the process of apoptosis in cellular death. Many of the involved proteins in ALS have functional roles for intracellular, nucleocytoplasmic, and axonal transport of various proteins or RNA. These three competing hypotheses are currently the most prominent hypotheses in the pathogenesis of ALS, and have largely been considered as separate and competing in past research. Is there a chance that the true pathogenesis leading to neuronal destruction via apoptosis involve all three hypotheses? Altered protein and RNA transport dynamics could lead to changes in cellular stress responses or overload autophagy pathways, leading to exacerbated cellular stress responses, leading to alterations in mitochondrial morphology and eventually cell death via apoptosis.

The primary objective of this proposal was to determine whether mitochondrial oxidative stress and variation in a particular mtDNA lineage contribute to the risk of developing cortical dysplasia and are potential contributing factors in epileptogenesis in children. The occurrence of epilepsy in children is highly associated with malformations of cortical development (MCD). It appears that MCD might arise from developmental errors due to environmental exposures in combination with inherited variation in response to environmental exposures and mitochondrial function. Therefore, it is postulated that variation in a particular mtDNA lineage of children contributes to the effects of mitochondrial DNA damage on MCD phenotype. Quantitative PCR and dot blot were used to examine mitochondrial oxidative damage and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the mitochondrial genome in brain tissue from 48 pediatric intractable epilepsy patients from Miami Children’s Hospital and 11 control samples from NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank for Developmental Disorders. Epilepsy patients showed higher mtDNA copy number compared to normal health subjects (controls). Oxidative mtDNA damage was lower in non-neoplastic but higher in neoplastic epilepsy patients compared to controls. There was a trend of lower mtDNA oxidative damage in the non-neoplastic (MCD) patients compared to controls, yet, the reverse was observed in neoplastic (MCD and Non-MCD) epilepsy patients. The presence of mtDNA SNP and haplogroups did not show any statistically significant relationships with epilepsy phenotypes. However, SNPs G9804A and G9952A were found in higher frequencies in epilepsy samples. Logistic regression analysis showed no relationship between mtDNA oxidative stress, mtDNA copy number, mitochondrial haplogroups and SNP variations with epilepsy in pediatric patients. The levels of mtDNA copy number and oxidative mtDNA damage and the SNPs G9952A and T10010C predicted neoplastic epilepsy, however, this was not significant due to a small sample size of pediatric subjects. Findings of this study indicate that an increase in mtDNA content may be compensatory mechanisms for defective mitochondria in intractable epilepsy and brain tumor. Further validation of these findings related to mitochondrial genotypes and mitochondrial dysfunction in pediatric epilepsy and MCD may lay the ground for the development of new therapies and prevention strategies during embryogenesis.

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome has been shown in response to numerous activators; here we show that the oxazolidinone antibiotic linezolid results in both the NLRP3-dependent in vitro release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 Α; and in vivo neutrophilic influx following its intraperitoneal administration. Clinical use of linezolid is commonly limited by hematologic side effects; herein we also show NLRP3-deficiency protected animals against linezolid-induced effects on the bone marrow. Importantly, all previously described activators of the NLRP3 inflammasome have required the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Linezolid is however unique amongst NLRP3 agonists in that its ability to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in a ROS-independent manner. The pathways for ROS-dependent and ROS-independent NLRP3 activation converge upon mitochondrial dysfunction and specifically the mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin. We demonstrated that interference with cardiolipin synthesis specifically inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation. These findings firstly suggests that ROS generation is not the canonical activator of NLRP3 but rather an intermediary step leading to the mitochondrial perturbation that is tied to NLRP3 inflammasome activation and also implicate the involvement of mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin in this process; secondarily, linezolid-induced NLRP3 activation may account for thetoxicity associated with prolonged usage of this antibiotic.

No description available.