Most differentiated cells convert glucose to pyruvate in the cytosol through glycolysis, followed by pyruvate oxidation in the mitochondria. These processes are linked by the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC), which is required for efficient mitochondrial pyruvate uptake. In contrast, proliferative cells, including many cancer and stem cells, perform glycolysis robustly but limit fractional mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation. We sought to understand the role this transition from glycolysis to pyruvate oxidation plays in stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Loss of the MPC in Lgr5-EGFP positive stem cells, or treatment of intestinal organoids with an MPC inhibitor, increases proliferation and expands the stem cell compartment. Similarly, genetic deletion of the MPC in Drosophila intestinal stem cells also increases proliferation, whereas MPC overexpression suppresses stem cell proliferation. These data demonstrate that limiting mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is necessary and sufficient to maintain the proliferation of intestinal stem cells.
Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (FASII) and iron sulfur cluster (FeS) biogenesis are both vital biosynthetic processes within mitochondria. In this study, we demonstrate that the mitochondrial acyl carrier protein (ACP), which has a well-known role in FASII, plays an unexpected and evolutionarily conserved role in FeS biogenesis. ACP is a stable and essential subunit of the eukaryotic FeS biogenesis complex. In the absence of ACP, the complex is destabilized resulting in a profound depletion of FeS throughout the cell. This role of ACP depends upon its covalently bound 4’-phosphopantetheine (4-PP)-conjugated acyl chain to support maximal cysteine desulfurase activity. Thus, it is likely that ACP is not simply an obligate subunit but also exploits the 4-PP-conjugated acyl chain to coordinate mitochondrial fatty acid and FeS biogenesis.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17828.001
Highlights d Intestinal tumors exhibit low MPC expression d MPC inactivation is sufficient to promote intestinal tumor formation in mice and flies d MPC overexpression in the fly is sufficient to prevent oncogene-induced tumorigenesis d MPC expression correlates negatively with expression of Wnt/b-catenin target genes
Nitric oxide (NO.) is believed to mediate nitrovasodilators and acetylcholine-induced vasodilatation via increasing intracellular guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) levels. The cellular mechanisms involved in No.-mediated pulmonary vasodilatation are complex and include membrane hyperpolarization. Using the patch-clamp technique in cell-attached and inside-out configurations, we examined the effect of NO. gas, 3-morpholinosydnomimine hydrochloride (SIN-1), and perfusate from ACh-stimulated human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells, or endothelium-derived relaxing factors (EDRF), on the Ca(2+)-dependent K+ (KCa) channels in isolated cultured human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (HPSMC). NO., SIN-1, and EDRF caused similar increases in KCa channel activity. Inhibiting cGMP generation with methylene blue or inhibiting the effect(s) of cGMP with the cGMP antagonist 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate Rp isomer Rp-cGMPS prevented the NO.- and SIN-1-mediated activation of KCa channels, respectively. Treating the human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells with methylene blue blocked the EDRF-mediated activation of KCa channels in HPSMC. The cGMP analogue 8-bromo-cGMP increased KCa channel activity in intact cells and in excised inside-out HPSMC membrane patches. In the presence of cGMP and ATP, the alpha-isozyme of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (I alpha-cGMP-PK) significantly increased KCa channel activity, and the channel activation was further increased on addition of the protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and calyculin A. Furthermore, the cGMP-mediated KCa channel activation was reduced by the cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase inhibitor N-[2-methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinlinesulfonamide (H-8). Thus, in HPSMC, the mechanism of NO.- and native EDRF-induced KCa channel activation appears to be mediated via cGMP-I alpha-cGMP-PK phosphorylation of KCa channels.
In the present study, we investigated the effects of the naturally occurring hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPVC) in isolated ferret lungs and on K+ currents in isolated and cultured ferret pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (FPSMCs). Severe alveolar hypoxia (3% O2-5% CO2-92% N2) caused an initial increase in pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa) that was followed by a reversal in pulmonary hypertension. Maintaining alveolar hypoxia caused a sustained secondary increase in Ppa. Pretreating the lungs with the K+-channel inhibitor tetraethylammonium (TEA) caused a small increase in baseline Ppa, potentiated HPVC, and prevented the reversal of HPVC during the sustained alveolar hypoxia. Treating the lungs with DHEA caused a near-complete reversal of HPVC in control lungs and in lungs that were pretreated with TEA. DHEA also reversed the KCl-induced increase in Ppa. In FPSMCs, DHEA caused an adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate- and guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate-independent increase in activity of the Ca2+-activated K+(KCa) current. In a cell-attached configuration, DHEA caused a mean shift of −22 mV in the voltage-dependent activation of the KCa channel. We conclude that DHEA is a novel KCa-channel opener of the pulmonary vasculature.
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