The role of mitochondria in direct cell-to-cell connection dependent rescue of postischemic cardiomyoblasts

In this in vitro study we induced ischemic injury on H9c2 rat cardiomyoblasts using the oxygen-glucose deprivation model (OGD). We monitored if the addition of healthy or mitochondria-depleted cells can save OGD treated cells from post-ischemic injury. We were able to significantly improve the surviving cell number of oxidatively damaged H9c2 cells by the addition of healthy cells to the culture. On the contrary, cells with disturbed mitochondria did not increase the number of surviving cells. High-resolution confocal time-lapse imaging also proved that mitochondria are drifting from cell-to-cell through tunneling membrane bridges, however, they do not get into the cytoplasm of the other cell. We conclude that addition of healthy cells to severly injured post-ischemic cardiomyoblasts can rescue them from death during the first 24h after reoxigenation. Grafted cells must maintain their mitochondria in an actively respiring state, and although cell contact is required for the mechanism, neither cell fusion nor organelle transfer occurs. This novel mechanism opens a new possiblity for cell-based cardiac repair in ischemic heart disease.     

Positive selection driving the evolution of a gene of male reproduction, Acp26Aa, of Drosophila: II. Divergence versus polymorphism

The evolution of the gene for a male ejaculatory protein, Acp26Aa, has been shown to be driven by positive selection when nonsibling species in the Drosophila melanogaster subgroup are compared. To know if selection has been operating in the recent past and to understand the details of its dynamics, we obtained DNA sequences of Acp26Aa and the nearby Acp26Ab gene from 39 D. melanogaster chromosomes. Together with the 10 published sequences, we analyzed 49 sequences from five populations in four continents. The southern African population is somewhat differentiated from all other populations, but its nucleotide diversity is lower at these two loci. We find the following results for Acp26Aa: (1) The R: S (replacement : silent changes) ratio is significantly higher in the between-species comparisons than in the within-species data by the McDonald and Kreitman test. Positive selection is probably responsible for the excess of amino acid replacements between species. (2) However, within-species nucleotide diversity is high. Neither the Tajima test nor the Fu and Li test indicates a reduction in nucleotide diversity due to positive selection in the recent past. (3) The newly derived nucleotides in D. melanogaster are at high frequency significantly more often than predicted by the neutral equilibrium. Since the nearby Acp26Ab gene does not show these patterns, these observations cannot be attributed to the characteristics of this chromosomal region. We suggest that positive selection is active, but may be weak, for each amino acid change in the Acp26Aa gene.      

Stem cell transplantation in an in vitro simulated ischemia/reperfusion model

Stem cell transplantation protocols are finding their way into clinical practice. Getting better results, making the protocols more robust, and finding new sources for implantable cells are the focus of recent research. Investigating the effectiveness of cell therapies is not an easy task and new tools are needed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the treatment process. We designed an experimental protocol of ischemia/reperfusion in order to allow the observation of cellular connections and even subcellular mechanisms during ischemia/reperfusion injury and after stem cell transplantation and to evaluate the efficacy of cell therapy. H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells were placed onto cell culture plates. Ischemia was simulated with 150 minutes in a glucose free medium with oxygen level below 0.5%. Then, normal media and oxygen levels were reintroduced to simulate reperfusion. After oxygen glucose deprivation, the damaged cells were treated with transplantation of labeled human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells by adding them to the culture. Mesenchymal stem cells are preferred in clinical trials because they are easily accessible with minimal invasive surgery, easily expandable and autologous. After 24 hours of co-cultivation, cells were stained with calcein and ethidium-homodimer to differentiate between live and dead cells. This setup allowed us to investigate the intercellular connections using confocal fluorescent microscopy and to quantify the survival rate of postischemic cells by flow cytometry. Confocal microscopy showed the interactions of the two cell populations such as cell fusion and formation of intercellular nanotubes. Flow cytometry analysis revealed 3 clusters of damaged cells which can be plotted on a graph and analyzed statistically. These populations can be investigated separately and conclusions can be drawn on these data on the effectiveness of the simulated therapeutical approach.     

Activation of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase pathway in human heart failure

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic myocardial dysfunction and heart failure. The goal of the present study was to investigate PARP activation in human heart failure, and to correlate PARP activation with various indices of apoptosis and oxidative and nitrosative stress in healthy (donor) and failing (NYHA class III-IV) human heart tissue samples. Higher levels of oxidized protein end-products were found in failing hearts compared with donor heart samples. On the other hand, no differences in tyrosine nitration (a marker of peroxynitrite generation) were detected. Activation of PARP was demonstrated in the failing hearts by an increased abundance of poly-ADP ribosylated proteins. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that PARP activation was localized to the nucleus of the cardiomyocytes from the failing hearts. The expression of full-length PARP-1 was not significantly different in donor and failing hearts. The expression of caspase-9, in contrast, was significantly higher in the failing than in the donor hearts. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways. We found no significant translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) into the nucleus. Overall, the current data provide evidence of oxidative stress and PARP activation in human heart failure. Interventional studies with antioxidants or PARP inhibitors are required to define the specific roles of these factors in the pathogenesis of human heart failure.     

Population structure of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences that include (a) a part of the cytochrome b gene, (b) two tRNA genes, and (c) a part of the noncoding D-loop region of 31 Anguilla japonica (Japanese eel) and 1 A. marmorata collected from Taiwan, Japan, and mainland China were determined to evaluate the population structure of Japanese eel. Among 30 genotypes identified from the 31 Japanese eel mtDNAs sequenced, there are 58 variable sites, predominantly clustered at the D-loop region. The phylogenetic tree constructed by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean shows neither significant genealogical branches nor geographic clusters. Furthermore, the sequence-statistics test reveals little, if any, significant genetic differentiation. These results indicate that the 31 Japanese eels might come from a single population. Analysis of sequence variation in mtDNA by using the relationship between the number of segregating sites and the average number of nucleotide differences under the neutral mutation hypothesis reveals that neutral mutation acts as a major factor influencing the evolutionary divergence of the Japanese eel mitochondrial genome sequenced, especially in the noncoding region.      

Urotensin-II is a nitric oxide-dependent vasodilator in the pial arteries of the newborn pig

Urotensin-II (UT-II) is a small circular peptide and is described as the most potent endogenous vasoconstrictor in various vascular beds. However, the in vivo effects of UT-II can be either vasoconstriction or vasodilation depending on the species and the tissue investigated. The present study sought to characterize the vasoactive effect of UT-II in the piglet cerebral circulation in vivo. Pial arteries of 99 +/- 6 microm were visualized with intravital microscopy through a closed cranial window in anesthetized newborn piglets. Topical application of UT-II elicited a weak dose-dependent vasodilation of the arteries (0.001 microM: 3 +/- 3 microm, 0.1 microM: 10 +/- 5 microm, 10 microM: 14 +/- 7 microm). Smaller arteries with an initial diameter below 100 microm showed minimal or no vasodilation, while larger arteries between 100 and 120 microm had a pronounced dose-dependent effect. Systemic application of 15 mg/kg Nomega-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME) completely inhibited the vasodilation. We conclude that UT-II, in contrast to most other vascular beds, is a weak NO-dependent vasodilator in the piglet pial vasculature.     

Hypersensitivity to thromboxane receptor mediated cerebral vasomotion and CBF oscillations during acute NO-deficiency in rats

Background

Low frequency (4–12 cpm) spontaneous fluctuations of the cerebrovascular tone (vasomotion) and oscillations of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) have been reported in diseases associated with endothelial dysfunction. Since endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) suppresses constitutively the release and vascular effects of thromboxane A₂ (TXA₂), NO-deficiency is often associated with activation of thromboxane receptors (TP). In the present study we hypothesized that in the absence of NO, overactivation of the TP-receptor mediated cerebrovascular signaling pathway contributes to the development of vasomotion and CBF oscillations.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Effects of pharmacological modulation of TP-receptor activation and its downstream signaling pathway have been investigated on CBF oscillations (measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry in anesthetized rats) and vasomotion (measured by isometric tension recording in isolated rat middle cerebral arteries, MCAs) both under physiological conditions and after acute inhibition of NO synthesis. Administration of the TP-receptor agonist U-46619 (1 µg/kg iv.) to control animals failed to induce any changes of the systemic or cerebral circulatory parameters. Inhibition of the NO synthesis by nitro-L-arginine methyl esther (L-NAME, 100 mg/kg iv.) resulted in increased mean arterial blood pressure and a decreased CBF accompanied by appearance of CBF-oscillations with a dominant frequency of 148±2 mHz. U-46619 significantly augmented the CBF-oscillations induced by L-NAME while inhibition of endogenous TXA₂ synthesis by ozagrel (10 mg/kg iv.) attenuated it. In isolated MCAs U-46619 in a concentration of 100 nM, which induced weak and stable contraction under physiological conditions, evoked sustained vasomotion in the absence of NO, which effect could be completely reversed by inhibition of Rho-kinase by 10 µM Y-27632.

Conclusion/Significance

These results suggest that hypersensitivity of the TP-receptor – Rho-kinase signaling pathway contributes to the development of low frequency cerebral vasomotion which may propagate to vasospasm in pathophysiological states associated with NO-deficiency.     

Gastric cancers of Western European and African patients show different patterns of genomic instability

Background

Infection with H. pylori is important in the etiology of gastric cancer. Gastric cancer is infrequent in Africa, despite high frequencies of H. pylori infection, referred to as the African enigma. Variation in environmental and host factors influencing gastric cancer risk between different populations have been reported but little is known about the biological differences between gastric cancers from different geographic locations. We aim to study genomic instability patterns of gastric cancers obtained from patients from United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA), in an attempt to support the African enigma hypothesis at the biological level.

Methods

DNA was isolated from 67 gastric adenocarcinomas, 33 UK patients, 9 Caucasian SA patients and 25 native SA patients. Microsatellite instability and chromosomal instability were analyzed by PCR and microarray comparative genomic hybridization, respectively. Data was analyzed by supervised univariate and multivariate analyses as well as unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis.

Results

Tumors from Caucasian and native SA patients showed significantly more microsatellite instable tumors (p < 0.05). For the microsatellite stable tumors, geographical origin of the patients correlated with cluster membership, derived from unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (p = 0.001). Several chromosomal alterations showed significantly different frequencies in tumors from UK patients and native SA patients, but not between UK and Caucasian SA patients and between native and Caucasian SA patients.

Conclusions

Gastric cancers from SA and UK patients show differences in genetic instability patterns, indicating possible different biological mechanisms in patients from different geographical origin. This is of future clinical relevance for stratification of gastric cancer therapy.