12. 12. 2023
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Two new co-authored publications by the Department of Cellular Neurophysiology have been published in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience and Springer Apoptosis. This is the third publication of this department in the last three months.
The first study, entitled “A view of the genetic and proteomic profile of extracellular matrix molecules in ageing and stroke (open in a new window)“, investigates the molecular structure of the intercellular matrix and provides new insights into the processes underlying ischemic damage in the ageing brain. In the second study, entitled “Cell-specific modulation of mitochondrial respiration and metabolism by the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members Bax and Bak (open in a new window)“, the researchers focused on proteins from the Bcl-2 family that play a critical role in the regulation of apoptosis, or controlled cell death. However, these proteins are also involved in several other vital processes that have not yet been sufficiently explored.
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A view of the genetic and proteomic profile of extracellular matrix molecules in aging and stroke
Authors from the IEM CAS: Martina Chmelová, Denisa Kirdajová, Jana Turečková, Ján Kriška, Lukáš Valihrach, Miroslava Anděrová, Lydia Vargová
Modification of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the major processes in the pathology of brain damage following an ischemic stroke. However, our understanding of how age-related ECM alterations may affect stroke pathophysiology and its outcome is still very limited. Therefore, we conducted an ECM-targeted re-analysis of our previously obtained RNA-Seq dataset of aging, ischemic stroke and their interactions in young adult (3month-old) and aged (18-month-old) mice. The permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAo) in rodents was used as a model of ischemic stroke. Altogether 56 genes of interest were chosen for this study. We identified an increased activation of the genes encoding proteins related to ECM degradation, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), proteases of A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with the thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) family and molecules that regulate their activity, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Moreover, significant upregulation was also detected in the mRNA of other ECM molecules, such as proteoglycans, syndecans and link proteins. Notably, we identified 8 genes where this upregulation was enhanced in aged mice in comparison with the young ones. Ischemia evoked a significant downregulation in only 6 of our genes of interest, including those encoding proteins associated with the protective function of ECM molecules (e.g. brevican, Hapln4, Sparcl1); downregulation in brevican was more prominent in aged mice. The study was expanded by proteome analysis, where we observed an ischemia-induced overexpression in three proteins, which are associated with neuroinflammation (fibronectin and vitronectin) and neurodegeneration (link protein Hapln2). In fibronectin and Hapln2, this overexpression was more pronounced in aged post-ischemic animals. Based on these results, we can conclude that the ratio between the protecting and degrading mechanisms in the aged brain is shifted towards degradation and contributes to the aged tissues’ increased sensitivity to ischemic insults. Altogether, our data provide fresh perspectives on the processes underlying ischemic injury in the aging brain and serve as a freely accessible resource for upcoming research.
Cell-specific modulation of mitochondrial respiration and metabolism by the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members Bax and Bak
Authors from the IEM CAS: Ján Kriška, Zuzana Heřmanová, Tomáš Knotek, Miroslava Anděrová
Proteins from the Bcl-2 family play an essential role in the regulation of apoptosis. However, they also possess cell death-unrelated activities that are less well understood. This prompted us to study apoptosis-unrelated activities of the Bax and Bak, pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family. We prepared Bax/Bak-deficient human cancer cells of different origin and found that while respiration in the glioblastoma U87 Bax/Bak-deficient cells was greatly enhanced, respiration of Bax/Bak-deficient B lymphoma HBL-2 cells was slightly suppressed. Bax/Bak-deficient U87 cells also proliferated faster in culture, formed tumours more rapidly in mice, and showed modulation of metabolism with a considerably increased NAD+/NADH ratio. Follow-up analyses documented increased/decreased expression of mitochondria-encoded subunits of respiratory complexes and stabilization/destabilization of the mitochondrial transcription elongation factor TEFM in Bax/Bak-deficient U87 and HBL-2 cells, respectively. TEFM downregulation using shRNAs attenuated mitochondrial respiration in Bax/Bak-deficient U87 as well as in parental HBL-2 cells. We propose that (post)translational regulation of TEFM levels in Bax/Bak-deficient cells modulates levels of subunits of mitochondrial respiratory complexes that, in turn, contribute to respiration and the accompanying changes in metabolism and proliferation in these cells.