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Biomedical subjects

C D Moyes

Publications and source records attributed to C D Moyes.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Control of mitochondrial biogenesis during myogenesis.

We used expression and reporter gene analysis to understand how changes in transcription factors impinge on mitochondrial gene expression during myogenesis of cultured murine myoblasts (C2C12 and Sol8). The mRNA levels for nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) and NRF-2alpha increased 60% by the third day of myogenesis, whereas NRF-1 and NRF-2 reporter gene activity increased by fivefold over the same period. Although peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPARalpha) mRNA levels increased almost 10-fold, the activity of a PPAR reporter was unchanged during myogenesis. The PPAR coactivator PPAR-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC1alpha), a master controller of mitochondrial biogenesis, was not expressed at detectable levels. However, the mRNA for both PGC1alpha-related coactivator and PGC1beta was abundant, with the latter increasing by 50% over 3 days of differentiation. We also conducted promoter analysis of the gene for citrate synthase (CS), a common mitochondrial marker enzyme. The proximal promoter ( approximately 2,100 bp) of the human CS lacks binding sites for PPAR, NRF-1, or NRF-2. Deletion mutants, a targeted mutation, and an Sp1 site-containing reporter construct suggest that changes in Sp1 regulation also participate in mitochondrial biogenesis during myogenesis. Because most mitochondrial genes are regulated by PPARs, NRF-1, and/or NRF-2, we conducted inhibitor studies to further support the existence of a distinct pathway for CS gene regulation in myogenesis. Although both LY-294002 (a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor) and SB-203580 (a p38-MAPK inhibitor) blocked myogenesis (as indicated by creatine phosphokinase activity), only SB-203580 prevented the myogenic increase in cytochrome oxidase activity, whereas only LY-294002 blocked the increase in CS (enzyme and reporter gene activities). Collectively, these studies help delineate the roles of some transcriptional regulators involved in mitochondrial biogenesis associated with myogenesis and underscore an import role for posttranscriptional regulation of transcription factor activity.

Animals↗

Muscle remodeling in relation to blood supply: implications for seasonal changes in mitochondrial enzymes.

We investigated if seasonal changes in rainbow trout muscle energetics arise in response to seasonal changes in erythrocyte properties. We assessed if skeletal muscle mitochondrial enzymes changed (1) acutely in response to changes in erythrocyte abundance, or (2) seasonally when we altered the age profile of erythrocytes. Rainbow trout were treated with pheynylhydrazine, causing a 75% reduction in hematocrit within 4 days. After erythropoiesis had returned hematocrit to normal, treated and control fish were subjected to a seasonal cold acclimation regime to assess the impact of erythrocyte age on skeletal muscle remodeling. Anemia (i.e. phenylhydrazine treatment) did not alter the specific activities (U g(-1) tissue) of mitochondrial enzymes in white or red muscle. Anemic pretreatment did not alter the normal pattern of cold-induced mitochondrial proliferation in skeletal muscle, suggesting erythrocyte age was not an important influence on seasonal remodeling of muscle. Anemia and cold acclimation both induced a 25-30% increase in relative ventricular mass. The increase in relative ventricular mass with phenylhydrazine treatment was accompanied by a 35% increase in DNA content (mg DNA per ventricle), suggesting an increase in number of cells. In contrast, the increase in ventricular mass with cold temperature acclimation occurred without a change in DNA content (mg DNA per ventricle), suggesting an increase in cell size. Despite the major increases in relative ventricular mass, neither anemia nor seasonal acclimation had a major influence on the specific activities of a suite of mitochondrial enzymes in heart. Collectively, these studies argue against a role for erythrocyte dynamics in seasonal adaptive remodeling of skeletal muscle energetics.

Acclimatization↗

Leptin and the control of respiratory gene expression in muscle.

Leptin plays a central role in the regulation of fatty acid homeostasis, promoting lipid storage in adipose tissue and fatty acid oxidation in peripheral tissues. Loss of leptin signaling leads to accumulation of lipids in muscle and loss of insulin sensitivity secondary to obesity. In this study, we examined the direct and indirect effects of leptin signaling on mitochondrial enzymes including those essential for peripheral fatty acid oxidation. We assessed the impact of leptin using the JCR:LA-cp rat, which lacks functional leptin receptors. The activities of marker mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase (CS) and cytochrome oxidase (COX) were similar between wild-type (+/?) and corpulent (cp/cp) rats. In contrast, several tissues showed variations in the fatty acid oxidizing enzymes carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II), long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCAD) and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HOAD). It was not clear if these changes were due to loss of leptin signaling or to insulin insensitivity. Consequently, we examined the effects of leptin on cultured C(2)C(12) and Sol8 cells. Leptin (3 days at 0, 0.2, or 2.0 nM) had no direct effect on the activities of CS, COX, or fatty acid oxidizing enzymes. Leptin treatment did not affect luciferase-based reporter genes under the control of transcription factors involved in mitochondrial biogenesis (nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), nuclear respiratory factor-2 (NRF-2)) or fatty acid enzyme expression (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs)). These studies suggest that leptin exerts only indirect effects on mitochondrial gene expression in muscle, possibly arising from insulin resistance.

3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenases↗

Fiber-type differences in muscle mitochondrial profiles.

Although striated muscles differ in mitochondrial content, the extent of fiber-type specific mitochondrial specializations is not well known. To address this issue, we compared mitochondrial structural and functional properties in red muscle (RM), white muscle (WM), and cardiac muscle of rainbow trout. Overall preservation of the basic relationships between oxidative phosphorylation complexes among fiber types was confirmed by kinetic analyses, immunoblotting of native holoproteins, and spectroscopic measurements of cytochrome content. Fiber-type differences in mitochondrial properties were apparent when parameters were expressed per milligram mitochondrial protein. However, the differences diminished when expressed relative to cytochrome oxidase (COX), possibly a more meaningful denominator than mitochondrial protein. Expressed relative to COX, there were no differences in oxidative phosphorylation enzyme activities, pyruvate-based respiratory rates, H2O2 production, or state 4 proton leak respiration. These data suggest most mitochondrial qualitative properties are conserved across fiber types. However, there remained modest differences ( approximately 50%) in stoichiometries of selected enzymes of the Krebs cycle, beta-oxidation, and antioxidant enzymes. There were clear differences in membrane fluidity (RM > cardiac, WM) and proton conductance (H+/min/mV/U COX: WM > RM > cardiac). The pronounced differences in mitochondrial content between fiber types could be attributed to a combination of differences in myonuclear domain and modest effects on the expression of nuclear- and mitochondrially encoded respiratory genes. Collectively, these studies suggest constitutive pathways that transcend fiber types are primarily responsible for determining most quantitative and qualitative properties of mitochondria.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Origins and consequences of mitochondrial decline in nucleated erythrocytes.

Cellular aging in nucleated erythrocytes from lower vertebrates is accompanied by losses in mitochondria but it remains unclear (i) how these losses accrue (ii) if these changes alter energetics and (iii) whether such changes increase the propensity for apoptosis. We addressed these questions using trout erythrocytes that were separated into age classes using inherent differences in buoyant density. The oldest cells showed a profound decline in mtDNA transcripts, due to reductions in both transcription (90% decline in total RNA) and mtDNA copy number (35%). No alterations in the ratio of 16S rRNA to COX I mRNA were detected, nor was there an accumulation of unprocessed mtDNA transcripts. While older cells had reduced basal respiration, there were no changes in mitochondrial enzymes stoichiometries, tissue ATP levels or dinitrophenol-induced (maximal) respiration rates. Apoptosis could not be induced in either whole blood, young or old erythrocytes by pro-oxidants, mitochondrial inhibitors or staurosporine. In contrast, cyclosporin A (CsA) caused caspase 3 activation, DNA laddering and LDH leakage, but only in young cells. Both CsA and a combination of azide, oligomycin and dinitrophenol cause mitochondrial depolarization and caspase 9 activation, but only CsA induced caspase 3 and apoptosis. Caspase inhibitor studies support the conclusion that mitochondrial changes may accompany CsA-induced cell death, but are not essential in its progression. While pifithrin failed to induce cell death, it enhanced the effects of CsA, implicating a role for p53. Collectively, these studies suggest that the mitochondrial changes with aging do not compromise cellular function, although trout erythrocytes can initiate apoptosis by non-mitochondrial pathways.

Animals↗

Characterization of erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase in an ancient fish, the longnose gar ( Lepisosteus osseus).

This study investigates the evolutionary history of vertebrate red blood cell carbonic anhydrase (CA) by characterizing the isozyme properties and nucleotide sequence of an ancient fish, the longnose gar ( Lepisosteus osseus). The inhibitor sensitivities of gar rbc CA closely resembled those for mammalian CA II, as well as those for CAs from more recently evolved fishes. The kinetic properties of gar rbc CA were not closely aligned with either mammalian CA I and CA II, but fit well into an emerging phylogenetic pattern for early vertebrates. Gar rbc CA cDNA was also amplified from mRNA using 5' and 3'-RACE and the open reading frame consisted of 786 bp. This sequence shares approximately 65% identity with the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of both mammalian CA I and CA II. When the amino acid sequences within the active site are compared, gar rbc CA differs from mammalian CA I, CA II and CA VII by 9, 4 and 3 of the 36 amino acids, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that gar rbc CA diverged before the amniotic CAs (CA I, CA II and CA III), but after CA V and CA VII.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bioenergetic remodeling of heart during treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats with enalapril.

We used spontaneously hypertensive rats to study remodeling of cardiac bioenergetics associated with changes in blood pressure. Blood pressure was manipulated with aggressive antihypertensive treatment combining low dietary salt and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril. Successive cycles of 2 wk on, 2 wk off treatment led to rapid, reversible changes in left ventricular (LV) mass (30% change in <10 days). Despite changes in LV mass, specific activities of bioenergetic (cytochrome-c oxidase, citrate synthase, lactate dehydrogenase) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) (total cellular superoxide dismutase) enzymes were actively maintained within relatively narrow ranges regardless of treatment duration, organismal age, or transmural region. Although enalapril led to parallel declines in mitochondrial enzyme content and ventricular mass, total ventricular mtDNA content was unaffected. Altered enzymatic content occurred without significant changes in relevant mRNA and protein levels. Transcript levels of gene products involved in mtDNA maintenance (Tfam), mitochondrial protein degradation (LON protease), fusion (fuzzy onion homolog), and fission (dynamin-like protein, synaptojanin-2alpha) were also unchanged. In contrast, enalapril-mediated ventricular and mitochondrial remodeling was accompanied by a twofold increase in specific activity of catalase, an indicator of oxidative stress, suggesting that rapid cardiac adaptation is accompanied by tight regulation of mitochondrial enzyme activities and increased ROS production.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Anoxia induces thermotolerance in the locust flight system.

Heat shock and anoxia are environmental stresses that are known to trigger similar cellular responses. In this study, we used the locust to examine stress cross-tolerance by investigating the consequences of a prior anoxic stress on the effects of a subsequent high-temperature stress. Anoxic stress and heat shock induced thermotolerance by increasing the ability of intact locusts to survive normally lethal temperatures. To determine whether induced thermotolerance observed in the intact animal was correlated with electrophysiological changes, we measured whole-cell K(+) currents and action potentials from locust neurons. K(+) currents recorded from thoracic neuron somata were reduced after anoxic stress and decreased with increases in temperature. Prior anoxic stress and heat shock increased the upper temperature limit for generation of an action potential during a subsequent heat stress. Although anoxia induced thermotolerance in the locust flight system, a prior heat shock did not protect locusts from a subsequent anoxic stress. To determine whether changes in bioenergetic status were implicated in whole-animal cross-tolerance, phosphagen levels and rates of mitochondrial respiration were assayed. Heat shock alone had no effect on bioenergetic status. Prior heat shock allowed rapid recovery after normally lethal heat stress but afforded no protection after a subsequent anoxic stress. Heat shock also afforded no protection against disruption of bioenergetic status after a subsequent exercise stress. These metabolite studies are consistent with the electrophysiological data that demonstrate that a prior exposure to anoxia can have protective effects against high-temperature stress but that heat shock does not induce tolerance to anoxia.

Action Potentials↗

Liver function and hepatitis markers in carriers of hepatitis B virus in New Zealand.

AIMS: The Hepatitis Foundation has identified many chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in community surveys of schools and family contacts. This study reports the characteristics of carriers and the relationship between hepatitis markers and liver function. METHODS: Demographic data from confirmed chronic carriers of HBV in the North Island were correlated with liver function and hepatitis markers. Longitudinal data were obtained by following a cohort for two years with regular blood tests. RESULTS: Of 2778 confirmed carriers of HBV most were children or young adults and 56% were male. Sixty percent were Maori and 26% Pacific Island people. Loss of HBsAg occurred at less than 1% per year compared to 9% for HBeAg. Mean ages for 50% loss of HBeAg were 14 years for children of HBV negative mothers and 19 years for those of HBV carrier mothers. Fewer adult males than females were HBeAg positive. Alanine aminotransferase levels above 50 IU/L were found in 16% of HBeAg positive and 6% HBeAg negative cases. Other factors significantly associated with raised alanine aminotransferase were male gender (OR 1.8) and age more than 15 years (OR 2.0). Thirty five percent of HBeAg positive carriers with raised alanine aminotransferase levels spontaneously seroconverted to HBeAg negative in two years. However, raised alanine aminotransferase in HBeAg negative carriers was persistent in most cases and 38% had HBV-DNA detectable in serum. CONCLUSIONS: HBV carriage is less benign in adults than children, even after loss of HBeAg. It is recommended that all HBV carriers have regular checks of liver function. Those with persistent abnormality should be strongly advised to restrict alcohol and be assessed for possible antiviral treatment.

Adolescent↗

The effects of cell ageing on protein synthesis in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) red blood cells.

The effects of cell age on protein synthesis were examined in the nucleated red blood cells of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Total DNA content was unaffected by cell age, whereas total RNA content in young red blood cells was roughly ten times as high as that in old red blood cells. The mRNA levels for haemoglobin, carbonic anhydrase and the chloride/bicarbonate (Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-)) exchanger were also approximately tenfold higher in young red blood cells. Although young red blood cells synthesized roughly five times more protein under steady-state conditions, total protein concentration was not affected by cell age. Despite large reductions in mRNA levels with red blood cell ageing, the concentrations and/or activities of the respiratory proteins were largely preserved. In contrast, the ability to mount a heat shock response was greatly reduced in older red blood cells. Young red blood cells produced 13 times more heat shock protein 70 mRNA following heat shock and four times more 70 kDa protein after recovery. They also transcribed much more heat shock cognate 71 and heat shock factor mRNA than did older red blood cells under steady-state conditions.

Animals↗

The effects of cell ageing on metabolism in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) red blood cells.

The effects of cell age on metabolism in the nucleated red blood cells of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were examined. Red blood cells were separated according to age using fixed-angle centrifugation. The mean erythrocyte haemoglobin concentration in old red blood cells was found to be 120 % of that in young red blood cells. In young red blood cells, the activities of the mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase and cytochrome oxidase were 135-200 %, respectively, of those measured in old red blood cells. The activity of the glycolytic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase in young red blood cells was 170 % of that in old red blood cells, whereas the activity of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase was not significantly affected by cell age. In addition, young red blood cells consumed over twice as much O(2) and devoted 50 % more O(2) to protein synthesis and the activity of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase than old red blood cells. Red blood cell age did not significantly affect the rate of lactate production. This study shows that ageing in rainbow trout nucleated red blood cells is accompanied by a significant decline in aerobic energy production and the processes it supports, as well as a corresponding increase in the glycolytic contribution to metabolism.

Animals↗

Influence of bioenergetic stress on heat shock protein gene expression in nucleated red blood cells of fish.

The physiological and biochemical signals that induce stress protein (HSP) synthesis remain conjectural. In this study, we used the nucleated red blood cells from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, to address the interaction between energy status and HSP gene expression. Heat shock (25 degrees C) did not significantly affect ATP levels but resulted in an increase in HSP70 mRNA. Hypoxia alone did not induce HSP transcription in these cells despite a significant depression in ATP. Inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation with azide, in the absence of thermal stress, decreased ATP by 56% and increased lactate production by 62% but did not induce HSP gene transcription. Inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis with azide and iodoacetic acid respectively, decreased ATP by 79% and prevented lactate production, but did not induce either HSP70 or HSP30 gene transcription in these cells. This study demonstrates that a reduction in the cellular energy status will not induce stress protein gene transcription in rainbow trout red blood cells and may, in fact, limit induction during extreme metabolic inhibition.

Animals↗

Temperature-dependent expression of cytochrome-c oxidase in Antarctic and temperate fish.

Seasonal acclimation versus permanent adaptation to low temperatures leads to a differential response in the expression of cytochrome-c oxidase (CCO) in temperate and Antarctic eelpouts. Although eurythermal eelpout from the North Sea (Zoarces viviparus) displayed a cold-induced rise of CCO activity in white muscle, enzyme activity in the cold stenothermal Antarctic eelpout Pachycara brachycephalum failed to reflect such a compensatory increase. In Antarctic eelpout, CCO activity correlates with transcript levels of mitochondrial encoded subunits of CCO (CCO I and CCO II), whereas cold-acclimated eelpout from the North Sea show lower enzyme activities than expected on the basis of mitochondrial mRNA levels. In these animals, CCO expression at low temperatures may be limited either by nuclear CCO transcripts or by posttranscriptional processes. These may comprise translation of the subunits or assembly of the CCO holoenzyme. mRNA levels of CCO IV, one of the nuclear encoded subunits, increased strongly during cold acclimation, indicating that the expression of CCO is likely not message limited in cold-acclimated Z. viviparus. Our data suggest that seasonal cold acclimation of Z. viviparus results in a modification of the relationship between transcription and translation or posttranslational processes. In permanently cold-adapted P. brachycephalum, on the other hand, CCO expression shows similar characteristics as in the warm-acclimated confamilial species, e.g., low levels of enzyme activity correlated with low levels of mitochondrial message.

Acclimatization↗

Allometric scaling of RNA, DNA, and enzyme levels: an intraspecific study.

The activities of oxidative and glycolytic enzymes show body size-dependent relationships across a wide variety of taxa; however, the mechanistic basis remains unknown. We sampled white epaxial muscle from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) spanning a 100-fold range in body mass. We measured activities of enzymes from aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways, RNA [total RNA and mRNA, pyruvate kinase (PK), citrate synthase (CS), and MyoD mRNA], and total DNA. Total RNA and DNA showed a biphasic relationship with body size, with a break point occurring after fish reached 1 yr of age. In contrast, total RNA/total DNA was constant across the entire size range. Neither CS activity nor CS mRNA levels scaled with body mass. PK activity and PK mRNA levels increased in parallel in yearling fish only (r(2) = 0.91, P < 0.01). This suggests that although PK expression is transcriptionally regulated in yearlings, the molecular mechanisms regulating expression change with growth and age. This was supported by a positive correlation between MyoD and PK mRNA levels (r(2) = 0.17, P < 0.05).

Aging↗

Interactions between bioenergetics and mitochondrial biogenesis.

We studied the interaction between energy metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis during myogenesis in C2C12 myoblasts. Metabolic rate was nearly constant throughout differentiation, although there was a shift in the relative importance of glycolytic and oxidative metabolism, accompanied by increases in pyruvate dehydrogenase activation state and total activity. These changes in mitochondrial bioenergetic parameters observed during differentiation occurred in the absence of a hypermetabolic stress. A chronic (3 day) energetic stress was imposed on differentiated myotubes using sodium azide to inhibit oxidative metabolism. When used at low concentrations, azide inhibited more than 70% of cytochrome oxidase (COX) activity without changes in bioenergetics (either lactate production or creatine phosphorylation) or mRNA for mitochondrial enzymes. Higher azide concentrations resulted in changes in bioenergetic parameters and increases in steady state COX II mRNA levels. Azide did not affect mtDNA copy number or mRNA levels for other mitochondrial transcripts, suggesting azide affects stability, rather than synthesis, of COX II mRNA. These results indicate that changes in bioenergetics can alter mitochondrial genetic regulation, but that mitochondrial biogenesis accompanying differentiation occurs in the absence of hypermetabolic challenge.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

GLP-1 action in L6 myotubes is via a receptor different from the pancreatic GLP-1 receptor.

The incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-(7-36) amide is best known for its antidiabetogenic actions mediated via a GLP-1 receptor present on pancreatic endocrine cells. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of GLP-1 action in muscle, we used cultured L6 myotubes. In L6 myotubes, GLP-1 enhanced insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis by 140% while stimulating CO2 production and lactate formation by 150%. In the presence of IBMX, GLP-1 diminished cAMP levels to 83% of IBMX alone. In L6 myotubes transfected with pancreatic GLP-1 receptor, GLP-1 increased cAMP levels and inhibited glycogen synthesis by 60%. An antagonist of pancreatic GLP-1 receptor, exendin-4-(9-39), inhibited GLP-1-mediated glycogen synthesis in GLP-1 receptor-transfected L6 myotubes. However, in parental L6 myotubes, exendin-4-(9-39) and GLP-1-(1-36) amide, an inactive peptide on pancreatic GLP-1 receptor, displaced 125I-labeled GLP-1 binding and stimulated glycogen synthesis by 186 and 130%, respectively. These results suggest that the insulinomimetic effects of GLP-1 in L6 cells are likely to be mediated by a receptor that is different from the GLP-1 receptor found in the pancreas.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Influence of acclimation temperature on mitochondrial DNA, RNA, and enzymes in skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscle fibers typically undergo modifications in their mitochondrial content, concomitant with alterations in oxidative metabolism that occur during the development of muscle fiber and in response to physiological stimuli. We examined how cold acclimation affects the mitochondrial properties of two fish skeletal muscle fiber types and how the regulators of mitochondrial content differed between tissues. After 2 mo of acclimation to either 4 or 18 degrees C, mitochondrial enzyme activities in both red and white muscle were higher in cold-acclimated fish. No significant differences were detected between acclimation temperatures in the abundance of steady-state mitochondrial mRNA (cytochrome-c oxidase 1, subunit 6 of F0F1-ATPase), rRNA (16S), or DNA copy number. Steady-state mRNA for nuclear-encoded respiratory (adenine nucleotide translocase 1) and glycolytic genes showed high interindividual variability, particularly in the cold-acclimated fish. Although mitochondrial enzymes were 10-fold different between the two muscle types, mitochondrial DNA copy number differed only 4-fold. The relative abundance of mitochondrial mRNA and nuclear mRNA in red and white muscle reflected the differences in copy number of their respective genes. These data suggest that the response to physiological stimuli and determination of tissue-specific mitochondrial properties likely result from the regulation of nuclear-encoded genes.

Acclimatization↗