TY - THES A1 - Zink, Christoph T1 - Biochemische und strukturbiologische Charakterisierung der Inhibition der Pyridoxal 5´-Phosphat Phosphatase durch 7,8-Dihydroxyflavon T1 - Biochemical and structural characterization of pyridoxal 5´-phosphate phosphatase inhibitor 7,8-dihydroxyflavone N2 - Die Pyridoxal-5‘-Phosphat Phosphatase (PDXP), auch bekannt als Chronophin (CIN), ist eine HAD-Phosphatase, die beim Menschen ubiquitär exprimiert wird und eine entscheidende Rolle im zellulären Vitamin-B6-Metabolismus einnimmt. PDXP ist in der Lage Pyridoxal-5‘-Phosphat (PLP), die co-enzymatisch aktive Form von Vitamin B6, zu dephosphorylieren. In-vivo Studien mit Mäusen zeigten, dass die Abwesenheit von PDXP mit verbesserten kognitiven Leistungen und einem verringerten Wachstum von Hirntumoren assoziiert ist. Dies begründet die gezielte Suche nach einem pharmakologischen Inhibitor für PDXP. Ein Hochdurchsatz-Screen legte nahe, dass 7,8-Dihydroxyflavon (7,8-DHF) hierfür ein potenzieller Kandidat ist. Zahlreiche Studien beschreiben bereits vielfältige positive neurologische Effekte nach in-vivo Administration von 7,8-DHF, allerdings bleibt der genaue Wirkmechanismus umstritten und wird bis dato nicht mit PDXP in Zusammenhang gebracht. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Inhibition von PDXP durch 7,8-DHF näher zu charakterisieren und damit einen Beitrag zur Beantwortung der Frage zu leisten, ob PDXP an den 7,8-DHF-induzierten Effekten beteiligt ist. Hierzu wurde der Effekt von 7,8-DHF auf die enzymatische Aktivität von rekombinant hergestelltem, gereinigtem PDXP in in-vitro Phosphatase-Assays charakterisiert. Um die Selektivität von 7,8-DHF gegenüber PDXP zu untersuchen, wurden fünf weitere HAD-Phosphatasen getestet. Unter den analysierten Phosphatasen zeigte einzig die dem PDXP nah verwandte Phosphoglykolat Phosphatase (PGP) eine geringer ausgeprägte Sensitivität gegen 7,8-DHF. Ein Vergleich von 7,8-DHF mit sechs strukturell verwandten, hydroxylierten Flavonen zeigte, dass 7,8-DHF unter den getesteten Substanzen die höchste Potenz und Effektivität aufwies. Außerdem wurde eine Co-Kristallisation von PDXP mit 7,8-DHF durchgeführt, deren Struktur bis zu einer Auflösung von 2,0 Å verfeinert werden konnte. Die in der Kristallstruktur identifizierte Bindungsstelle von 7,8-DHF an PDXP wurde mittels verschiedener, neu generierter PDXP-Mutanten enzymkinetisch bestätigt. Zusammenfassend zeigen die hier beschriebenen Ergebnisse, dass 7,8-DHF ein direkter, selektiver und vorwiegend kompetitiver Inhibitor der PDXP-Aktivität ist, mit einer IC50 im submikromolaren Bereich. Die Ergebnisse dieser in-vitro Untersuchungen motivieren zu weiterer Forschung bezüglich der 7,8-DHF-vermittelten Inhibition der PDXP-Aktivität in Zellen, um die Frage beantworten zu können, ob PDXP auch in-vivo ein relevantes Target für 7,8-DHF darstellt. N2 - Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate phosphatase (PDXP, also known as chronophin, CIN), is a ubiquitously expressed HAD-phosphatase. PDXP is known to dephosphorylate pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP), the biologically active form of vitamin B6 that is one of the most versatile cofactors found in nature. In-vivo studies revealed improved cognition and impaired glial tumor growth with mice absent of PDXP, and caused the search for a pharmacological inhibitor of PDXP. The result of a high-throughput screen suggested that 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) is a suitable candidate for this. Interestingly, numerous scientific studies highlighted diverse positive neurological effects after administration of 7,8-DHF to mice, however, the precise mode of action remains disputed, and at this date is unrelated to PDXP. The aim of this work is to characterize the inhibition of PDXP by 7,8-DHF. This approach is a first step to determine whether 7,8-DHF may indeed exert some of its neurological effects via PDXP inhibition. For this purpose, the effect of 7,8-DHF on the enzymatic activity of recombinantly expressed and purified PDXP was characterized in in-vitro phosphatase assays. To investigate the selectivity of 7,8-DHF on PDXP, five additional HAD phosphatases were tested. Among the phosphatases analyzed, only the phosphoglycolate phosphatase (PGP), closely related to PDXP, showed a less pronounced sensitivity to 7,8-DHF. A comparison of 7,8-DHF with six structurally related, hydroxylated flavones showed that 7,8-DHF had the highest potency and effectiveness among the substances tested. In addition, a co-crystallization of PDXP with 7,8-DHF was carried out. The resulting co-crystal structure could be resolved and refined to a resolution of 2.0 Å. The binding site of the ligand to the enzyme identified in the crystal structure was confirmed via activity-based assays using various newly generated PDXP mutants. In summary, the results described here show that 7,8-DHF is a direct, selective, and predominantly competitive inhibitor of PDXP activity with an IC50 in the submicromolar range. The results of these in-vitro studies motivate further research into the 7,8-DHF-mediated inhibition of PDXP activity in cells to be able to answer the question of whether PDXP is also a relevant target for 7,8-DHF in-vivo. KW - Pyridoxalphosphat KW - Pyridoxalphosphat Phosphatase KW - PDXP KW - 7,8-Dihydroxyflavon KW - 7,8-dihydroxyflavone KW - Chronophin KW - Pyridoxal phosphate phosphatase Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-251511 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nwogha, Jeremiah S. A1 - Abtew, Wosene G. A1 - Raveendran, Muthurajan A1 - Oselebe, Happiness O. A1 - Obidiegwu, Jude E. A1 - Chilaka, Cynthia A. A1 - Amirtham, Damodarasamy D. T1 - Role of non-structural sugar metabolism in regulating tuber dormancy in white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) JF - Agriculture N2 - Changes in sugar composition occur continuously in plant tissues at different developmental stages. Tuber dormancy induction, stability, and breaking are very critical developmental transitions in yam crop production. Prolonged tuber dormancy after physiological maturity has constituted a great challenge in yam genetic improvement and productivity. In the present study, biochemical profiling of non-structural sugar in yam tubers during dormancy was performed to determine the role of non-structural sugar in yam tuber dormancy regulation. Two genotypes of the white yam species, one local genotype (Obiaoturugo) and one improved genotype (TDr1100873), were used for this study. Tubers were sampled at 42, 56, 87, 101, 115, and 143 days after physiological maturity (DAPM). Obiaoturugo exhibited a short dormant phenotype and sprouted at 101-DAPM, whereas TDr1100873 exhibited a long dormant phenotype and sprouted at 143-DAPM. Significant metabolic changes were observed in non-structural sugar parameters, dry matter, and moisture content in Obiaoturugo from 56-DAPM, whereas in TDr1100873, significant metabolic changes were observed from 101-DAPM. It was observed that the onset of these metabolic changes occurred at a point when the tubers of both genotypes exhibited a dry matter content of 60%, indicating that a dry matter content of 60% might be a critical threshold for white yam tuber sprouting. Non-reducing sugars increased by 9–10-fold during sprouting in both genotypes, which indicates their key role in tuber dormancy regulation in white yam. This result implicates that some key sugar metabolites can be targeted for dormancy manipulation of the yam crop. KW - sugars KW - metabolism KW - yam KW - tuber KW - genotypes KW - dormancy KW - regulation Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304486 SN - 2077-0472 VL - 13 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hadi, Naji Said Aboud A1 - Bankoglu, Ezgi Eyluel A1 - Stopper, Helga T1 - Genotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in metabolically inactive human cervical cancer HeLa cells co-cultured with human hepatoma HepG2 cells JF - Archives of Toxicology N2 - Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant metabolites, which can be found as contaminant in various foods and herbal products. Several PAs can cause hepatotoxicity and liver cancer via damaging hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) after hepatic metabolization. HSECs themselves do not express the required metabolic enzymes for activation of PAs. Here we applied a co-culture model to mimic the in vivo hepatic environment and to study PA-induced effects on not metabolically active neighbour cells. In this co-culture model, bioactivation of PA was enabled by metabolically capable human hepatoma cells HepG2, which excrete the toxic and mutagenic pyrrole metabolites. The human cervical epithelial HeLa cells tagged with H2B-GFP were utilized as non-metabolically active neighbours because they can be identified easily based on their green fluorescence in the co-culture. The PAs europine, riddelliine and lasiocarpine induced micronuclei in HepG2 cells, and in HeLa H2B-GFP cells co-cultured with HepG2 cells, but not in HeLa H2B-GFP cells cultured alone. Metabolic inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes with ketoconazole abrogated micronucleus formation. The efflux transporter inhibitors verapamil and benzbromarone reduced micronucleus formation in the co-culture model. Furthermore, mitotic disturbances as an additional genotoxic mechanism of action were observed in HepG2 cells and in HeLa H2B-GFP cells co-cultured with HepG2 cells, but not in HeLa H2B-GFP cells cultured alone. Overall, we were able to show that PAs were activated by HepG2 cells and the metabolites induced genomic damage in co-cultured HeLa cells. KW - co-culture KW - micronuclei KW - mitotic disturbance KW - cytochrome P450s KW - membrane transporters KW - pyrrolizidine alkaloids Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324708 VL - 97 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bittner, Nataly A1 - Boon, Andy A1 - Delbanco, Evert H. A1 - Walter, Christof A1 - Mally, Angela T1 - Assessment of aromatic amides in printed food contact materials: analysis of potential cleavage to primary aromatic amines during simulated passage through the gastrointestinal tract JF - Archives of Toxicology N2 - Recent analyses conducted by German official food control reported detection of the aromatic amides N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)acetamide (NDPA), N-acetoacetyl-m-xylidine (NAAX) and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthanilide (Naphthol AS) in cold water extracts from certain food contact materials made from paper or cardboard, including paper straws, paper napkins, and cupcake liners. Because aromatic amides may be cleaved to potentially genotoxic primary amines upon oral intake, these findings raise concern that transfer of NDPA, NAAX and Naphthol AS from food contact materials into food may present a risk to human health. The aim of the present work was to assess the stability of NDPA, NAAX and Naphthol AS and potential cleavage to 2,4-dimethylaniline (2,4-DMA) and aniline during simulated passage through the gastrointestinal tract using static in vitro digestion models. Using the digestion model established by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM, Bilthoven, NL) and a protocol recommended by the European Food Safety Authority, potential hydrolysis of the aromatic amides to the respective aromatic amines was assessed by LC–MS/MS following incubation of the aromatic amides with digestive fluid simulants. Time-dependent hydrolysis of NDPA and NAAX resulting in formation of the primary aromatic amine 2,4-DMA was consistently observed in both models. The highest rate of cleavage of NDPA and NAAX was recorded following 4 h incubation with 0.07 M HCl as gastric-juice simulant, and amounted to 0.21% and 0.053%, respectively. Incubation of Naphthol AS with digestive fluid simulants did not give rise to an increase in the concentration of aniline above the background that resulted from the presence of aniline as an impurity of the test compound. Considering the lack of evidence for aniline formation from Naphthol AS and the extremely low rate of hydrolysis of the amide bonds of NDPA and NAAX during simulated passage through the gastrointestinal tract that gives rise to only very minor amounts of the potentially mutagenic and/or carcinogenic aromatic amine 2,4-DMA, risk assessment based on assumption of 100% cleavage to the primary aromatic amines would appear to overestimate health risks related to the presence of aromatic amides in food contact materials. KW - aromatic amides KW - primary aromatic amine KW - food contact materials KW - simulated digestion Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324697 VL - 96 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Naseem, Muhammad A1 - Othman, Eman M. A1 - Fathy, Moustafa A1 - Iqbal, Jibran A1 - Howari, Fares M. A1 - AlRemeithi, Fatima A. A1 - Kodandaraman, Geema A1 - Stopper, Helga A1 - Bencurova, Elena A1 - Vlachakis, Dimitrios A1 - Dandekar, Thomas T1 - Integrated structural and functional analysis of the protective effects of kinetin against oxidative stress in mammalian cellular systems JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Metabolism and signaling of cytokinins was first established in plants, followed by cytokinin discoveries in all kingdoms of life. However, understanding of their role in mammalian cells is still scarce. Kinetin is a cytokinin that mitigates the effects of oxidative stress in mammalian cells. The effective concentrations of exogenously applied kinetin in invoking various cellular responses are not well standardized. Likewise, the metabolism of kinetin and its cellular targets within the mammalian cells are still not well studied. Applying vitality tests as well as comet assays under normal and hyper-oxidative states, our analysis suggests that kinetin concentrations of 500 nM and above cause cytotoxicity as well as genotoxicity in various cell types. However, concentrations below 100 nM do not cause any toxicity, rather in this range kinetin counteracts oxidative burst and cytotoxicity. We focus here on these effects. To get insights into the cellular targets of kinetin mediating these pro-survival functions and protective effects we applied structural and computational approaches on two previously testified targets for these effects. Our analysis deciphers vital residues in adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) and adenosine receptor (A2A-R) that facilitate the binding of kinetin to these two important human cellular proteins. We finally discuss how the therapeutic potential of kinetin against oxidative stress helps in various pathophysiological conditions. KW - cytokinins KW - 6-benzylaminopurine Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231317 VL - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Maiellaro, Isabella A1 - Lohse, Martin J. A1 - Kitte, Robert J. A1 - Calebiro, Davide T1 - cAMP Signals in Drosophila Motor Neurons Are Confined to Single Synaptic Boutons JF - Cell Reports N2 - The second messenger cyclic AMP (cAMP) plays an important role in synaptic plasticity. Although there is evidence for local control of synaptic transmission and plasticity, it is less clear whether a similar spatial confinement of cAMP signaling exists. Here, we suggest a possible biophysical basis for the site-specific regulation of synaptic plasticity by cAMP, a highly diffusible small molecule that transforms the physiology of synapses in a local and specific manner. By exploiting the octopaminergic system of Drosophila, which mediates structural synaptic plasticity via a cAMP-dependent pathway, we demonstrate the existence of local cAMP signaling compartments of micrometer dimensions within single motor neurons. In addition, we provide evidence that heterogeneous octopamine receptor localization, coupled with local differences in phosphodiesterase activity, underlies the observed differences in cAMP signaling in the axon, cell body, and boutons. KW - cAMP KW - synaptic plasticity KW - PDE KW - octopamine KW - FRET KW - active zone KW - dunce KW - GPCR Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-162324 VL - 17 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weigand, Isabel A1 - Ronchi, Cristina L. A1 - Vanselow, Jens T. A1 - Bathon, Kerstin A1 - Lenz, Kerstin A1 - Herterich, Sabine A1 - Schlosser, Andreas A1 - Kroiss, Matthias A1 - Fassnacht, Martin A1 - Calebiro, Davide A1 - Sbiera, Silviu T1 - PKA Cα subunit mutation triggers caspase-dependent RIIβ subunit degradation via Ser\(^{114}\) phosphorylation JF - Science Advances N2 - Mutations in the PRKACA gene are the most frequent cause of cortisol-producing adrenocortical adenomas leading to Cushing’s syndrome. PRKACA encodes for the catalytic subunit α of protein kinase A (PKA). We already showed that PRKACA mutations lead to impairment of regulatory (R) subunit binding. Furthermore, PRKACA mutations are associated with reduced RIIβ protein levels; however, the mechanisms leading to reduced RIIβ levels are presently unknown. Here, we investigate the effects of the most frequent PRKACA mutation, L206R, on regulatory subunit stability. We find that Ser\(^{114}\) phosphorylation of RIIβ is required for its degradation, mediated by caspase 16. Last, we show that the resulting reduction in RIIβ protein levels leads to increased cortisol secretion in adrenocortical cells. These findings reveal the molecular mechanisms and pathophysiological relevance of the R subunit degradation caused by PRKACA mutations, adding another dimension to the deregulation of PKA signaling caused by PRKACA mutations in adrenal Cushing’s syndrome. KW - mutation triggers KW - phosphorylation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-270445 VL - 7 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Awad, Eman A1 - Othman, Eman M. A1 - Stopper, Helga T1 - Effects of resveratrol, lovastatin and the mTOR-inhibitor RAD-001 on insulin-induced genomic damage in vitro JF - Molecules N2 - Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major current health problems due to lifestyle changes. Before diagnosis and in the early years of disease, insulin blood levels are elevated. However, insulin generates low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are integral to the regulation of a variety of intracellular signaling pathways, but excess levels of insulin may also lead to DNA oxidation and DNA damage. Three pharmaceutical compounds, resveratrol, lovastatin and the mTOR-inhibitor RAD-001, were investigated due to their known beneficial effects. They showed protective properties against genotoxic damage and significantly reduced ROS after in vitro treatment of cultured cells with insulin. Therefore, the selected pharmaceuticals may be attractive candidates to be considered for support of DM therapy. KW - genomic damage KW - insulin KW - resveratrol KW - lovastatin KW - mTOR-inhibitor RAD-001 Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-159260 VL - 22 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lohse, Christian A1 - Bock, Andreas A1 - Maiellaro, Isabella A1 - Hannawacker, Annette A1 - Schad, Lothar R. A1 - Lohse, Martin J. A1 - Bauer, Wolfgang R. T1 - Experimental and mathematical analysis of cAMP nanodomains JF - PLoS ONE N2 - In their role as second messengers, cyclic nucleotides such as cAMP have a variety of intracellular effects. These complex tasks demand a highly organized orchestration of spatially and temporally confined cAMP action which should be best achieved by compartmentalization of the latter. A great body of evidence suggests that cAMP compartments may be established and maintained by cAMP degrading enzymes, e.g. phosphodiesterases (PDEs). However, the molecular and biophysical details of how PDEs can orchestrate cAMP gradients are entirely unclear. In this paper, using fusion proteins of cAMP FRET-sensors and PDEs in living cells, we provide direct experimental evidence that the cAMP concentration in the vicinity of an individual PDE molecule is below the detection limit of our FRET sensors (<100nM). This cAMP gradient persists in crude cytosol preparations. We developed mathematical models based on diffusion-reaction equations which describe the creation of nanocompartments around a single PDE molecule and more complex spatial PDE arrangements. The analytically solvable equations derived here explicitly determine how the capability of a single PDE, or PDE complexes, to create a nanocompartment depend on the cAMP degradation rate, the diffusive mobility of cAMP, and geometrical and topological parameters. We apply these generic models to our experimental data and determine the diffusive mobility and degradation rate of cAMP. The results obtained for these parameters differ by far from data in literature for free soluble cAMP interacting with PDE. Hence, restricted cAMP diffusion in the vincinity of PDE is necessary to create cAMP nanocompartments in cells. KW - fluorescence resonance energy transfer KW - yellow fluorescent protein KW - radii KW - adenylyl cyclase signaling cascade KW - cell fusion KW - cytosol KW - isoproterenol KW - absorption KW - cyclic nucleotides such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170972 VL - 12 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schupp, Nicole A1 - Stopper, Helga A1 - Heidland, August T1 - DNA Damage in Chronic Kidney Disease: Evaluation of Clinical Biomarkers JF - Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity N2 - Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) exhibit an increased cancer risk compared to a healthy control population. To be able to estimate the cancer risk of the patients and to assess the impact of interventional therapies thereon, it is of particular interest to measure the patients’ burden of genomic damage. Chromosomal abnormalities, reduced DNA repair, and DNA lesions were found indeed in cells of patients with CKD. Biomarkers for DNA damage measurable in easily accessible cells like peripheral blood lymphocytes are chromosomal aberrations, structural DNA lesions, and oxidatively modified DNA bases. In this review the most common methods quantifying the three parameters mentioned above, the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay, the comet assay, and the quantification of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine, are evaluated concerning the feasibility of the analysis and regarding the marker’s potential to predict clinical outcomes. KW - chronic kidney disease KW - cancer risk KW - DNA damage KW - biomarkers Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166569 VL - 2016 IS - 3592042 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fathy, Moustafa A1 - Fawzy, Michael Atef A1 - Hintzsche, Henning A1 - Nikaido, Toshio A1 - Dandekar, Thomas A1 - Othman, Eman M. T1 - Eugenol exerts apoptotic effect and modulates the sensitivity of HeLa cells to cisplatin and radiation JF - Molecules N2 - Eugenol is a phytochemical present in different plant products, e.g., clove oil. Traditionally, it is used against a number of different disorders and it was suggested to have anticancer activity. In this study, the activity of eugenol was evaluated in a human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line and cell proliferation was examined after treatment with various concentrations of eugenol and different treatment durations. Cytotoxicity was tested using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme leakage. In order to assess eugenol’s potential to act synergistically with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, cell survival was calculated after eugenol treatment in combination with cisplatin and X-rays. To elucidate its mechanism of action, caspase-3 activity was analyzed and the expression of various genes and proteins was checked by RT-PCR and western blot analyses. Eugenol clearly decreased the proliferation rate and increased LDH release in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. It showed synergistic effects with cisplatin and X-rays. Eugenol increased caspase-3 activity and the expression of Bax, cytochrome c (Cyt-c), caspase-3, and caspase-9 and decreased the expression of B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) indicating that eugenol mainly induced cell death by apoptosis. In conclusion, eugenol showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects via apoptosis and also synergism with cisplatin and ionizing radiation in the human cervical cancer cell line. KW - eugenol KW - HeLa cells KW - cisplatin KW - radiation KW - apoptosis Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193227 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 24 IS - 21 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wölfel, Angela A1 - Sättele, Mathias A1 - Zechmeister, Christina A1 - Nikolaev, Viacheslov O. A1 - Lohse, Martin J. A1 - Boege, Fritz A1 - Jahns, Roland A1 - Boivin-Jahns, Valérie T1 - Unmasking features of the auto-epitope essential for β\(_1\)-adrenoceptor activation by autoantibodies in chronic heart failure JF - ESC Heart Failure N2 - Aims Chronic heart failure (CHF) can be caused by autoantibodies stimulating the heart via binding to first and/or second extracellular loops of cardiac β1-adrenoceptors. Allosteric receptor activation depends on conformational features of the autoantibody binding site. Elucidating these features will pave the way for the development of specific diagnostics and therapeutics. Our aim was (i) to fine-map the conformational epitope within the second extracellular loop of the human β\(_1\)-adrenoceptor (β1ECII) that is targeted by stimulating β\(_1\)-receptor (auto)antibodies and (ii) to generate competitive cyclopeptide inhibitors of allosteric receptor activation, which faithfully conserve the conformational auto-epitope. Methods and results Non-conserved amino acids within the β\(_1\)EC\(_{II}\) loop (compared with the amino acids constituting the ECII loop of the β\(_2\)-adrenoceptor) were one by one replaced with alanine; potential intra-loop disulfide bridges were probed by cysteine–serine exchanges. Effects on antibody binding and allosteric receptor activation were assessed (i) by (auto)antibody neutralization using cyclopeptides mimicking β1ECII ± the above replacements, and (ii) by (auto)antibody stimulation of human β\(_1\)-adrenoceptors bearing corresponding point mutations. With the use of stimulating β\(_1\)-receptor (auto)antibodies raised in mice, rats, or rabbits and isolated from exemplary dilated cardiomyopathy patients, our series of experiments unmasked two features of the β\(_1\)EC\(_{II}\) loop essential for (auto)antibody binding and allosteric receptor activation: (i) the NDPK\(^{211–214}\) motif and (ii) the intra-loop disulfide bond C\(^{209}\)↔C\(^{215}\). Of note, aberrant intra-loop disulfide bond C\(^{209}\)↔C\(^{216}\) almost fully disrupted the functional auto-epitope in cyclopeptides. Conclusions The conformational auto-epitope targeted by cardio-pathogenic β\(_1\)-receptor autoantibodies is faithfully conserved in cyclopeptide homologues of the β\(_1\)EC\(_{II}\) loop bearing the NDPK\(^{211–214}\) motif and the C\(^{209}\)↔C\(^{215}\) bridge while lacking cysteine C216. Such molecules provide promising tools for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in β\(_1\)-autoantibodypositive CHF. KW - antibody/autoantibody KW - β1-adrenoceptor/β1-adrenergic receptor KW - chronic heart failure KW - conformational auto-epitope KW - cyclic peptides/cyclopeptides KW - cyclopeptide therapy Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235974 VL - 7 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scholz, Nicole A1 - Guan, Chonglin A1 - Nieberler, Matthias A1 - Grotmeyer, Alexander A1 - Maiellaro, Isabella A1 - Gao, Shiqiang A1 - Beck, Sebastian A1 - Pawlak, Matthias A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Asan, Esther A1 - Rothemund, Sven A1 - Winkler, Jana A1 - Prömel, Simone A1 - Nagel, Georg A1 - Langenhan, Tobias A1 - Kittel, Robert J T1 - Mechano-dependent signaling by Latrophilin/CIRL quenches cAMP in proprioceptive neurons JF - eLife N2 - Adhesion-type G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs), a large molecule family with over 30 members in humans, operate in organ development, brain function and govern immunological responses. Correspondingly, this receptor family is linked to a multitude of diverse human diseases. aGPCRs have been suggested to possess mechanosensory properties, though their mechanism of action is fully unknown. Here we show that the Drosophila aGPCR Latrophilin/dCIRL acts in mechanosensory neurons by modulating ionotropic receptor currents, the initiating step of cellular mechanosensation. This process depends on the length of the extended ectodomain and the tethered agonist of the receptor, but not on its autoproteolysis, a characteristic biochemical feature of the aGPCR family. Intracellularly, dCIRL quenches cAMP levels upon mechanical activation thereby specifically increasing the mechanosensitivity of neurons. These results provide direct evidence that the aGPCR dCIRL acts as a molecular sensor and signal transducer that detects and converts mechanical stimuli into a metabotropic response. KW - Latrophilin KW - adhesion GPCR KW - dCIRL KW - sensory physiology KW - metabotropic signalling KW - mechanotransduction Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170520 VL - 6 IS - e28360 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gmach, Philipp A1 - Bathe-Peters, Marc A1 - Telugu, Narasimha A1 - Miller, Duncan C. A1 - Annibale, Paolo T1 - Fluorescence spectroscopy of low-level endogenous β-adrenergic receptor expression at the plasma membrane of differentiating human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - The potential of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to be differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CMs) mimicking adult CMs functional morphology, marker genes and signaling characteristics has been investigated since over a decade. The evolution of the membrane localization of CM-specific G protein-coupled receptors throughout differentiation has received, however, only limited attention to date. We employ here advanced fluorescent spectroscopy, namely linescan Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), to observe how the plasma membrane abundance of the β\(_1\)- and β\(_2\)-adrenergic receptors (β\(_{1/2}\)-ARs), labelled using a bright and photostable fluorescent antagonist, evolves during the long-term monolayer culture of hiPSC-derived CMs. We compare it to the kinetics of observed mRNA levels in wildtype (WT) hiPSCs and in two CRISPR/Cas9 knock-in clones. We conduct these observations against the backdrop of our recent report of cell-to-cell expression variability, as well as of the subcellular localization heterogeneity of β-ARs in adult CMs. KW - GPCR KW - β-adrenergic receptors KW - hiPSC-CM KW - cardiomyocyte KW - fluorescence correlation spectroscopy KW - FCS KW - fluorescence KW - CRISPR/Cas9 KW - differentiation Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-288277 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 23 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schanbacher, Constanze A1 - Hermanns, Heike M. A1 - Lorenz, Kristina A1 - Wajant, Harald A1 - Lang, Isabell T1 - Complement 1q/tumor necrosis factor-related proteins (CTRPs): structure, receptors and signaling JF - Biomedicines N2 - Adiponectin and the other 15 members of the complement 1q (C1q)/tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related protein (CTRP) family are secreted proteins composed of an N-terminal variable domain followed by a stalk region and a characteristic C-terminal trimerizing globular C1q (gC1q) domain originally identified in the subunits of the complement protein C1q. We performed a basic PubMed literature search for articles mentioning the various CTRPs or their receptors in the abstract or title. In this narrative review, we briefly summarize the biology of CTRPs and focus then on the structure, receptors and major signaling pathways of CTRPs. Analyses of CTRP knockout mice and CTRP transgenic mice gave overwhelming evidence for the relevance of the anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects of CTRPs in autoimmune diseases, obesity, atherosclerosis and cardiac dysfunction. CTRPs form homo- and heterotypic trimers and oligomers which can have different activities. The receptors of some CTRPs are unknown and some receptors are redundantly targeted by several CTRPs. The way in which CTRPs activate their receptors to trigger downstream signaling pathways is largely unknown. CTRPs and their receptors are considered as promising therapeutic targets but their translational usage is still hampered by the limited knowledge of CTRP redundancy and CTRP signal transduction. KW - adiponectin KW - AMPK KW - C1q/TNF related protein (CTRP) KW - inflammation KW - metabolism Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304136 SN - 2227-9059 VL - 11 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Janz, Anna A1 - Walz, Katharina A1 - Cirnu, Alexandra A1 - Surjanto, Jessica A1 - Urlaub, Daniela A1 - Leskien, Miriam A1 - Kohlhaas, Michael A1 - Nickel, Alexander A1 - Brand, Theresa A1 - Nose, Naoko A1 - Wörsdörfer, Philipp A1 - Wagner, Nicole A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro A1 - Maack, Christoph A1 - Dudek, Jan A1 - Lorenz, Kristina A1 - Klopocki, Eva A1 - Ergün, Süleyman A1 - Duff, Henry J. A1 - Gerull, Brenda T1 - Mutations in DNAJC19 cause altered mitochondrial structure and increased mitochondrial respiration in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes JF - Molecular Metabolism N2 - Highlights • Loss of DNAJC19's DnaJ domain disrupts cardiac mitochondrial structure, leading to abnormal cristae formation in iPSC-CMs. • Impaired mitochondrial structures lead to an increased mitochondrial respiration, ROS and an elevated membrane potential. • Mutant iPSC-CMs show sarcomere dysfunction and a trend to more arrhythmias, resembling DCMA-associated cardiomyopathy. Background Dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia (DCMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder arising from truncating mutations in DNAJC19, which encodes an inner mitochondrial membrane protein. Clinical features include an early onset, often life-threatening, cardiomyopathy associated with other metabolic features. Here, we aim to understand the metabolic and pathophysiological mechanisms of mutant DNAJC19 for the development of cardiomyopathy. Methods We generated induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) of two affected siblings with DCMA and a gene-edited truncation variant (tv) of DNAJC19 which all lack the conserved DnaJ interaction domain. The mutant iPSC-CMs and their respective control cells were subjected to various analyses, including assessments of morphology, metabolic function, and physiological consequences such as Ca\(^{2+}\) kinetics, contractility, and arrhythmic potential. Validation of respiration analysis was done in a gene-edited HeLa cell line (DNAJC19tv\(_{HeLa}\)). Results Structural analyses revealed mitochondrial fragmentation and abnormal cristae formation associated with an overall reduced mitochondrial protein expression in mutant iPSC-CMs. Morphological alterations were associated with higher oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) in all three mutant iPSC-CMs, indicating higher electron transport chain activity to meet cellular ATP demands. Additionally, increased extracellular acidification rates suggested an increase in overall metabolic flux, while radioactive tracer uptake studies revealed decreased fatty acid uptake and utilization of glucose. Mutant iPSC-CMs also showed increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an elevated mitochondrial membrane potential. Increased mitochondrial respiration with pyruvate and malate as substrates was observed in mutant DNAJC19tv HeLa cells in addition to an upregulation of respiratory chain complexes, while cellular ATP-levels remain the same. Moreover, mitochondrial alterations were associated with increased beating frequencies, elevated diastolic Ca\(^{2+}\) concentrations, reduced sarcomere shortening and an increased beat-to-beat rate variability in mutant cell lines in response to β-adrenergic stimulation. Conclusions Loss of the DnaJ domain disturbs cardiac mitochondrial structure with abnormal cristae formation and leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting that DNAJC19 plays an essential role in mitochondrial morphogenesis and biogenesis. Moreover, increased mitochondrial respiration, altered substrate utilization, increased ROS production and abnormal Ca\(^{2+}\) kinetics provide insights into the pathogenesis of DCMA-related cardiomyopathy. KW - cell biology KW - molecular biology KW - dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia KW - genetics KW - metabolism KW - mitochondria KW - OXPHOS KW - ROS KW - contractility Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350393 SN - 2212-8778 VL - 79 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guth, Sabine A1 - Hüser, Stephanie A1 - Roth, Angelika A1 - Degen, Gisela A1 - Diel, Patrick A1 - Edlund, Karolina A1 - Eisenbrand, Gerhard A1 - Engel, Karl-Heinz A1 - Epe, Bernd A1 - Grune, Tilman A1 - Heinz, Volker A1 - Henle, Thomas A1 - Humpf, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Jäger, Henry A1 - Joost, Hans-Georg A1 - Kulling, Sabine E. A1 - Lampen, Alfonso A1 - Mally, Angela A1 - Marchan, Rosemarie A1 - Marko, Doris A1 - Mühle, Eva A1 - Nitsche, Michael A. A1 - Röhrdanz, Elke A1 - Stadler, Richard A1 - van Thriel, Christoph A1 - Vieths, Stefan A1 - Vogel, Rudi F. A1 - Wascher, Edmund A1 - Watzl, Carsten A1 - Nöthlings, Ute A1 - Hengstler, Jan G. T1 - Contribution to the ongoing discussion on fluoride toxicity JF - Archives of Toxicology N2 - Since the addition of fluoride to drinking water in the 1940s, there have been frequent and sometimes heated discussions regarding its benefits and risks. In a recently published review, we addressed the question if current exposure levels in Europe represent a risk to human health. This review was discussed in an editorial asking why we did not calculate benchmark doses (BMD) of fluoride neurotoxicity for humans. Here, we address the question, why it is problematic to calculate BMDs based on the currently available data. Briefly, the conclusions of the available studies are not homogeneous, reporting negative as well as positive results; moreover, the positive studies lack control of confounding factors such as the influence of well-known neurotoxicants. We also discuss the limitations of several further epidemiological studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria of our review. Finally, it is important to not only focus on epidemiological studies. Rather, risk analysis should consider all available data, including epidemiological, animal, as well as in vitro studies. Despite remaining uncertainties, the totality of evidence does not support the notion that fluoride should be considered a human developmental neurotoxicant at current exposure levels in European countries. KW - pharmacology/toxicology KW - occupational medicine/industrial medicine KW - environmental health KW - biomedicine, general Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307161 SN - 0340-5761 SN - 1432-0738 VL - 95 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Barile, Frank A. A1 - Berry, Colin A1 - Blaauboer, Bas A1 - Boobis, Alan A1 - Bolt, Herrmann M. A1 - Borgert, Christopher A1 - Dekant, Wolfgang A1 - Dietrich, Daniel A1 - Domingo, Jose L. A1 - Galli, Corrado L. A1 - Gori, Gio Batta A1 - Greim, Helmut A1 - Hengstler, Jan G. A1 - Heslop-Harrison, Pat A1 - Kacew, Sam A1 - Marquardt, Hans A1 - Mally, Angela A1 - Pelkonen, Olavi A1 - Savolainen, Kai A1 - Testai, Emanuela A1 - Tsatsakis, Aristides A1 - Vermeulen, Nico P. T1 - The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability: in support of the BfR position JF - Archives of Toxicology N2 - The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability (CSS) asserts that both human health and the environment are presently threatened and that further regulation is necessary. In a recent Guest Editorial, members of the German competent authority for risk assessment, the BfR, raised concerns about the scientific justification for this strategy. The complexity and interdependence of the networks of regulation of chemical substances have ensured that public health and wellbeing in the EU have continuously improved. A continuous process of improvement in consumer protection is clearly desirable but any initiative directed towards this objective must be based on scientific knowledge. It must not confound risk with other factors in determining policy. This conclusion is fully supported in the present Commentary including the request to improve both, data collection and the time-consuming and bureaucratic procedures that delay the publication of regulations. KW - pharmacology/toxicology KW - occupational medicine/industrial medicine KW - environmental health KW - biomedicine, general Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307154 SN - 0340-5761 SN - 1432-0738 VL - 95 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rebs, Sabine A1 - Streckfuss-Bömeke, Katrin T1 - How can we use stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to understand the involvement of energetic metabolism in alterations of cardiac function? JF - Frontiers in Molecular Medicine N2 - Mutations in the mitochondrial-DNA or mitochondria related nuclear-encoded-DNA lead to various multisystemic disorders collectively termed mitochondrial diseases. One in three cases of mitochondrial disease affects the heart muscle, which is called mitochondrial cardiomyopathy (MCM) and is associated with hypertrophic, dilated, and noncompact cardiomyopathy. The heart is an organ with high energy demand, and mitochondria occupy 30%–40% of its cardiomyocyte-cell volume. Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to energy depletion and has detrimental effects on cardiac performance. However, disease development and progression in the context of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA mutations, remains incompletely understood. The system of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CM) is an excellent platform to study MCM since the unique genetic identity to their donors enables a robust recapitulation of the predicted phenotypes in a dish on a patient-specific level. Here, we focus on recent insights into MCM studied by patient-specific iPSC-CM and further discuss research gaps and advances in metabolic maturation of iPSC-CM, which is crucial for the study of mitochondrial dysfunction and to develop novel therapeutic strategies. KW - mitochondrial cardiomyopathy KW - iPSC-cardiomyocytes KW - maturation strategies KW - Barth syndrome KW - Friedreich’s ataxia KW - lysosomal storage disorders Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-327344 VL - 3 ER - TY - INPR A1 - Brenner, Marian A1 - Zink, Christoph A1 - Witzinger, Linda A1 - Keller, Angelika A1 - Hadamek, Kerstin A1 - Bothe, Sebastian A1 - Neuenschwander, Martin A1 - Villmann, Carmen A1 - von Kries, Jens Peter A1 - Schindelin, Hermann A1 - Jeanclos, Elisabeth A1 - Gohla, Antje T1 - 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone is a direct inhibitor of pyridoxal phosphatase T2 - eLife N2 - Vitamin B6 deficiency has been linked to cognitive impairment in human brain disorders for decades. Still, the molecular mechanisms linking vitamin B6 to these pathologies remain poorly understood, and whether vitamin B6 supplementation improves cognition is unclear as well. Pyridoxal phosphatase (PDXP), an enzyme that controls levels of pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP), the co-enzymatically active form of vitamin B6, may represent an alternative therapeutic entry point into vitamin B6-associated pathologies. However, pharmacological PDXP inhibitors to test this concept are lacking. We now identify a PDXP and age-dependent decline of PLP levels in the murine hippocampus that provides a rationale for the development of PDXP inhibitors. Using a combination of small molecule screening, protein crystallography and biolayer interferometry, we discover and analyze 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) as a direct and potent PDXP inhibitor. 7,8-DHF binds and reversibly inhibits PDXP with low micromolar affinity and sub-micromolar potency. In mouse hippocampal neurons, 7,8-DHF increases PLP in a PDXP-dependent manner. These findings validate PDXP as a druggable target. Of note, 7,8-DHF is a well-studied molecule in brain disorder models, although its mechanism of action is actively debated. Our discovery of 7,8-DHF as a PDXP inhibitor offers novel mechanistic insights into the controversy surrounding 7,8-DHF-mediated effects in the brain. KW - 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) KW - pyridoxal phosphatase (PDXP) KW - vitamin B6 KW - PDXP inhibitors Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350446 ER -