Inhibition of prostaglandin-degrading enzyme 15-PGDH rejuvenates aged muscle mass and strength
Treatments are lacking for sarcopenia, a debilitating age-related skeletal muscle wasting syndrome. We identifed increased amounts of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), the prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)–degrading enzyme, as a hallmark of aged tissues, including skeletal muscle. The consequent reduction in PGE2 signaling contributed to muscle atrophy in aged mice and results from 15-PGDH–expressing myofibers and interstitial cells, such as macrophages, within muscle. Overexpression of 15-PGDH in young muscles induced atrophy. Inhibition of 15-PGDH, by targeted genetic depletion or a small-molecule inhibi...
Source: ScienceNOW - January 28, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Palla, A. R., Ravichandran, M., Wang, Y. X., Alexandrova, L., Yang, A. V., Kraft, P., Holbrook, C. A., Schürch, C. M., Ho, A. T. V., Blau, H. M. Tags: Cell Biology, Medicine, Diseases, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news
Mitochondrial mutation increases the risk of diabetes in Japanese men
(University of Southern California) A new study of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Japanese populations has uncovered a previously uncharacterized genetic variant that puts male carriers at greater risk for the disease, as well as the mechanism by which it does so. The impact of the variant was most pronounced in sedentary men; those with the variant had a 65% greater rate of T2D than sedentary men without it. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 21, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Rapid blood test identifies COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease
(Washington University School of Medicine) Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a relatively simple and rapid blood test can predict which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death. The blood test measures levels of mitochondrial DNA, which normally resides inside the energy factories of cells. Mitochondrial DNA spilling out of cells and into the bloodstream is a sign that a particular type of violent cell death is taking place in the body. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 15, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
New findings help explain how COVID-19 overpowers the immune system
(University of Southern California) Seeking to understand why COVID-19 is able to suppress the body's immune response, new research from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology suggests that mitochondria are one of the first lines of defense against COVID-19 and identifies key differences in how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, interacts with mitochondrial genes when compared to other viruses. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - January 8, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Mitochondrial DNA alterations underlie an irreversible shift to aerobic glycolysis in fumarate hydratase-deficient renal cancer
Understanding the mechanisms of the Warburg shift to aerobic glycolysis is critical to defining the metabolic basis of cancer. Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC) is an aggressive cancer characterized by biallelic inactivation of the gene encoding the Krebs cycle enzyme fumarate hydratase, an early shift to aerobic glycolysis, and rapid metastasis. We observed impairment of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in tumors from patients with HLRCC. Biochemical and transcriptomic analyses revealed that respiratory chain dysfunction in the tumors was due to loss of expression of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)&n...
Source: Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment - January 5, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Crooks, D. R., Maio, N., Lang, M., Ricketts, C. J., Vocke, C. D., Gurram, S., Turan, S., Kim, Y.-Y., Cawthon, G. M., Sohelian, F., De Val, N., Pfeiffer, R. M., Jailwala, P., Tandon, M., Tran, B., Fan, T. W.- M., Lane, A. N., Ried, T., Wangsa, D., Malayeri Tags: STKE Research Articles Source Type: news
Gene Therapy Shows No Long-Term Harm in Animals: Study
FRIDAY, Dec. 11, 2020 -- Results from a long-term study of a gene therapy technique to prevent inherited mitochondrial disease show promise, researchers say.
Studies of the technique at Oregon Health& Science University in Portland show no... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - December 11, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: news
Comparative host-coronavirus protein interaction networks reveal pan-viral disease mechanisms
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a grave threat to public health and the global economy. SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the more lethal but less transmissible coronaviruses SARS-CoV-1 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Here, we have carried out comparative viral-human protein-protein interaction and viral protein localization analyses for all three viruses. Subsequent functional genetic screening identified host factors that functionally impinge on coronavirus proliferation, including Tom70, a mitochondrial chaperone protein that i...
Source: ScienceNOW - December 3, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Gordon, D. E., Hiatt, J., Bouhaddou, M., Rezelj, V. V., Ulferts, S., Braberg, H., Jureka, A. S., Obernier, K., Guo, J. Z., Batra, J., Kaake, R. M., Weckstein, A. R., Owens, T. W., Gupta, M., Pourmal, S., Titus, E. W., Cakir, M., Soucheray, M., McGregor, M Tags: Engineering, Microbiology, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news
TTUHSC scientist takes next step in search for bone disease treatment
(Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center) For more than a decade, TTUHSC's Hiranmoy Das, Ph.D., has been investigating how KLF2 influences the development of bone and musculoskeletal diseases. Most recently, Das attempted to determine if inducing KLF2 levels in dental pulp derived stem cells will promote osteoblast and the building of new bone. His study, " KLF2 regulates dental pulp-derived stem cell differentiation through the induction of mitophagy and altering mitochondrial metabolism, " was published in the September issue of Redox Biology. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - November 20, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Mitochondrial dysfunction, disease explored through prestigious award
<div class="rxbodyfield">Interactions between mitochondria and other organelles, and how disruptions may harm health, are the focus of a new project led by NIEHS.</div> (read more) (Source: Environmental Factor - NIEHS Newsletter)
Source: Environmental Factor - NIEHS Newsletter - November 3, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: news
Coupling of NMDA receptors and TRPM4 guides discovery of unconventional neuroprotectants
Excitotoxicity induced by NMDA receptors (NMDARs) is thought to be intimately linked to high intracellular calcium load. Unexpectedly, NMDAR-mediated toxicity can be eliminated without affecting NMDAR-induced calcium signals. Instead, excitotoxicity requires physical coupling of NMDARs to TRPM4. This interaction is mediated by intracellular domains located in the near-membrane portions of the receptors. Structure-based computational drug screening using the interaction interface of TRPM4 in complex with NMDARs identified small molecules that spare NMDAR-induced calcium signaling but disrupt the NMDAR/TRPM4 complex. These i...
Source: ScienceNOW - October 8, 2020 Category: Science Authors: Yan, J., Bengtson, C. P., Buchthal, B., Hagenston, A. M., Bading, H. Tags: Neuroscience, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news
Gladstone investigator receives NIH Director's New Innovator Award
(Gladstone Institutes) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has granted an NIH Director's New Innovator Award to Seth Shipman, PhD, assistant investigator at Gladstone Institutes. The award will support the development of innovative technologies to edit the DNA found in mitochondria--energy-producing structures within human cells. Shipman's efforts could lead to new treatments for a range of currently incurable diseases caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - October 6, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Researchers solve decades old mitochondrial mystery that could lead to new disease treatments
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Penn Medicine researchers have solved a decades old mystery around a key molecule fueling the power plant of cells that could be exploited to find new ways to treat diseases, from neurodegenerative disorders to cancer. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - September 9, 2020 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
Single-cell analysis provides new insights into mitochondrial diseases
(Massachusetts General Hospital) Investigators led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have made discoveries at the single cell level to uncover new details concerning mitochondrial diseases-- inherited disorders that interfere with energy production in the body and currently have no cure. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - August 13, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
What Are Common Fatty Acid Oxidation Metabolic Disorders?
Discussion
All cells and particularly their mitochondria need an energy source. Glucose is one of the most common ones, but also fatty acids, lactate, pyruvate, ketones, and amino acids.
Fatty acids are formed with a carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic carbon chain usually with even numbers of carbon atoms (usually 4-28 most commonly).
Most are unbranched and in foods are usually found in the form of esters.
Fatty acids are important energy sources for the heart (50-70%) but also skeletal muscle where resting muscle uses both glucose and fatty acids. During fasting or increased stress fatty acids become a major source o...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - July 27, 2020 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Neural vulnerability in Huntington's disease tied to release of mitochondrial RNA
(Picower Institute at MIT) A uniquely comprehensive survey of gene expression by cell type in humans and mice revealed several deficits affecting the most vulnerable neurons in Huntigton's disease. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - July 17, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
