Rationale Recent studies suggest an important role of autophagy in protection against αB-crystallin-based (CryABR120G) desmin-related cardiomyopathies (DRC) but this has not been demonstrated in a different model of cardiac proteinopathy. Mechanisms underlying the response of cardiomyocytes to proteotoxic stress remain incompletely understood. Objective First, to determine whether and how the autophagic activity is changed in a mouse model of desminopathy; second, to investigate the role of p62 in the protein quality control of cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results Using an autophagosome reporter and determining changes in LC3-II protein levels in response to lysosomal inhibition, we found significantly increased autophagic flux in mouse hearts with transgenic overexpression of a DRC-linked mutant desmin. Similarly, autophagic flux was increased in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) expressing a mutant desmin. Suppression of autophagy by 3-methyladenine increased, whereas enhancement of autophagy by rapamycin reduced, the ability of a comparable level of mutant desmin overexpression to accumulate ubiquitinated proteins in NRVMs. Furthermore, p62 mRNA and protein expression was significantly upregulated in cardiomyocytes by transgenic overexpression of the mutant desmin or CryABR120G both in intact mice and in vitro. p62 depletion impaired aggresome and autophagosome formation, exacerbated cell injury, and decreased cell viability in cultured NRVMs expressing the misfolded proteins. Conclusions Autophagic flux is increased in desminopathic hearts and, as previously suggested in CryABR120G-based DRC, this increased autophagic flux serves as an adaptive response to overexpression of misfolded proteins. p62 is upregulated in mouse proteinopathic hearts. p62 promotes aggresome formation and autophagy activation and protects cardiomyocytes against proteotoxic stress.
Objective The goal of this preclinical study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of doxycycline (Doxy) for desmin-related cardiomyopathy (DRC) and to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved. Background DRC, exemplifying cardiac proteinopathy, is characterized by intrasarcoplasmic protein aggregation and cardiac insufficiency. No effective treatment for DRC is presently available. Doxy was shown to attenuate aberrant intranuclear aggregation and toxicity of misfolded proteins in non-cardiac cells and animal models of other proteinopathies. Methods Mice and cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes with transgenic (TG) expression of a human DRC-linked missense mutant αB-crystallin (CryABR120G) were used for testing the effect of Doxy. Doxy was administered via drinking water (6 mg/ml) initiated at 8 or 16 weeks of age. Results Doxy treatment initiated at 16 weeks of age significantly delayed the premature death of CryABR120G TG mice, with a median lifespan of 30.4 weeks (placebo group 25 weeks, p<0.01). In another cohort of CryABR120G TG mice, Doxy treatment initiated at 8 weeks of age significantly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy in one month. Further investigation revealed that Doxy significantly reduced the abundance of CryAB-positive microscopic aggregates, detergent-resistant CryAB oligomers, and total ubiquitinated proteins in CryABR120G TG hearts. In cell culture, Doxy treatment dose-dependently suppressed the formation of both microscopic protein aggregates and detergent-resistant soluble CryABR120G oligomers, and reversed the upregulation of p62 protein induced by adenovirus-mediated CryABR120G expression. Conclusions Doxy suppresses CryABR120G induced aberrant protein aggregation in cardiomyocytes and prolongs CryABR120G based DRC mouse survival.
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline materials that are formed by self-assembling organic linkers and metal ions with large specific areas and pore volumes. Their chemical tunability, structural diversity, and tailor-ability make them adaptive to decorate many substrate materials, such as biomass-derived carbon materials, and competitive in many environmental biosystems, such as biofuel cells, bioelectrocatalysts, microbial metal reduction, and fermentation systems. In this review, we surmised the recent progress of MOFs and MOF-derived materials and their applications in environmental biosystems. The behavior of MOFs and MOF-derived materials in different environmental biosystems and their influences on performance are described. The inherent mechanisms will guide the rational design of MOF-related materials and lead to a better understanding of their interaction with biocomponents.
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