Sedentary Lifestyles and a Hypercaloric Diets During Middle Age, are Binomial Conducive to Fatal Progression, That is Counteracted by the Hormetic Treatment of Exercise, Metformin, and Tert-Butyl Hydroquinone: An Analysis of Female Middle-Aged Rat Liver Mitochondria.

The world's population continuous to shift towards older, less active and more sedentary lifestyles especially during middle age. In addition consumption of high-caloric diets, increases the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular afflictions. Developing clinical strategies to mitigate those health complications represent a difficult challenge.

Progesterone modulates extracellular heat-shock proteins and interlukin-1β in human choriodecidual after Escherichia coli infection.

Introduction: Chorioamnionitis is an adverse condition in human pregnancy caused by many bacterial pathogens including Escherichia coli (E. coli); which has been associated with higher risk of preterm birth. We recently reported that human maternal decidua (MDec) tissue responds to E.

The mRNA and protein levels of the glycolytic enzymes lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP) are good predictors of survival time, recurrence, and risk of death in cervical cancer patients.

Introduction: Patients with cervical cancer (CC) may experience local recurrence very often after treatment; when only clinical parameters are used, most cases are diagnosed in late stages, which decreases the chance of recovery. Molecular markers can improve the prediction of clinical outcome. Glycolysis is altered in 70% of CCs, so molecular markers of this pathway associated with the aggressiveness of CC can be identified.

Deletion of the ATP20 gene in Ustilago maydis produces an unstable dimer of FF-ATP synthase associated with a decrease in mitochondrial ATP synthesis and a high HO production.

The FF-ATP synthase uses the energy stored in the electrochemical proton gradient to synthesize ATP. This complex is found in the inner mitochondrial membrane as a monomer and dimer. The dimer shows higher ATPase activity than the monomer and is essential for cristae folding.

Moderate exercise combined with metformin-treatment improves mitochondrial bioenergetics of the quadriceps muscle of old female Wistar rats.

Sarcopenia is a syndrome that leads to physical disability and that deteriorates elderly people´s life quality. The etiology of sarcopenia is multifactorial, but mitochondrial dysfunction plays a paramount role in this pathology. Our research group has shown that the combined treatment of metformin (MTF) and exercise has beneficial effects for preventing muscle loss and fat accumulation, by modulating the redox state.

Isolation of Mitochondria from Protoplasts.

, a basidiomycete that infects , is one of the top ten fungal models for studying DNA repair, signal transduction pathways, and dimorphic transitions, among other processes. From a metabolic point of view, lacks fermentative capacity, pointing to mitochondria as a key player in central metabolism. Oxidative phosphorylation, synthesis of heme groups, Krebs cycle, β-oxidation of fatty acids, and synthesis of amino acids are some of the processes that take place in mitochondria.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces spatio-temporal secretion of IL-1β, TNFα, proMMP-9, and reduction of epithelial E-cadherin in human alveolar epithelial type II (A549) cells.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is an opportunistic bacterium with a high prevalence in diverse pulmonary infections. Although several genes are involved in the system of resistance and evasion of the immunological response of the host, little is known about the inflammatory, degradative, and cell-binding response induced by P. aeruginosa in human lung alveolar epithelial cells.

Deletion of the natural inhibitory protein Inh1 in Ustilago maydis has no effect on the dimeric state of the FF-ATP synthase but increases the ATPase activity and reduces the stability.

Transduction of electrochemical proton gradient into ATP synthesis is performed by FF-ATP synthase. The reverse reaction is prevented by the regulatory subunit Inh1. Knockout of the inh1 gene in the basidiomycete Ustilago maydis was generated in order to study the function of this protein in the mitochondrial metabolism and cristae architecture.

Steady-state persistence of respiratory syncytial virus in a macrophage-like cell line and sequence analysis of the persistent viral genome.

Long-term infection by human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) has been reported in immunocompromised patients. Cell lines are valuable in vitro model systems to study mechanisms associated with viral persistence. Persistent infections in cell cultures have been categorized at least as in "carrier-state", where there exist a low proportion of cells infected by a lytic virus, and as in "steady-state", where most of cells are infected, but in absence of cytophatic effect.

Carbon and Nitrogen Sources Have No Impact on the Organization and Composition of Respiratory Supercomplexes.

Respiratory supercomplexes are found in mitochondria of eukaryotic cells and some bacteria. A hypothetical role of these supercomplexes is electron channeling, which in principle should increase the respiratory chain efficiency and ATP synthesis. In addition to the four classic respiratory complexes and the ATP synthase, mitochondria contain three type II NADH dehydrogenases (NADH for reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and the alternative oxidase.

Rapamycin induces morphological and physiological changes without increase in lipid content in Ustilago maydis.

The evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine kinase TOR recruits different subunits to assemble the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1), which is inhibited by rapamycin and regulates ribosome biogenesis, autophagy, and lipid metabolism by regulating the expression of lipogenic genes. In addition, TORC1 participates in the cell cycle, increasing the length of the G2 phase. In the present work, we investigated the effect of rapamycin on cell growth, cell morphology and neutral lipid metabolism in the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis.

Isocitrate dehydrogenase type 2 (IDH2) is part of a multiprotein complex for placental steroidogenesis.

Background: Human syncytiotrophoblast mitochondria require the activity of the isocitrate dehydrogenase type 2 (IDH2) to obtain reduced coenzymes for progesterone (P4) synthesis. Data from the literature indicate that mitochondrial steroidogenic contact sites transform efficiently cholesterol into P4. In this research, we identified the IDH2 as a member of the steroidogenic contact site and analyzed the steroidogenic role of its activity.

Mitochondrial respirasome works as a single unit and the cross-talk between complexes I, III and IV stimulates NADH dehydrogenase activity.

Ustilago maydis is an aerobic basidiomycete that depends on oxidative phosphorylation for its ATP supply, pointing to the mitochondrion as a key player in its energy metabolism. Mitochondrial respiratory complexes I, III, and IV occur in supramolecular structures named respirasome. In this work, we characterized the subunit composition and the kinetics of NADH:Q oxidoreductase activity of the digitonine-solubilized respirasome (1600 kDa) and the free-complex I (990 kDa).

The relevance of the supramolecular arrangements of the respiratory chain complexes in human diseases and aging.

Mitochondrial dysfunction, a common factor in several diseases is accompanied with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These molecules react with proteins and lipids at their site of generation, establishing a vicious cycle which might result in further mitochondrial injury. It is well established that mitochondrial respiratory complexes can be organized into supramolecular structures called supercomplexes (SCs) or respirasomes; yet, the physiological/pathological relevance of these structures remains unresolved.

Insight into the Mechanistic Basis of the Hysteretic-Like Kinetic Behavior of Thioredoxin-Glutathione Reductase (TGR).

A kinetic study of thioredoxin-glutathione reductase (TGR) from metacestode (cysticerci) was carried out. The results obtained from both initial velocity and product inhibition experiments suggest the enzyme follows a two-site ping-pong bi bi kinetic mechanism, in which both substrates and products are bound in rapid equilibrium fashion. The substrate GSSG exerts inhibition at moderate or high concentrations, which is concomitant with the observation of hysteretic-like progress curves.

Secretion of heat shock -60, -70 kD protein, IL-1β and TNFα levels in serum of a term normal pregnancy and patients with pre-eclampsia development.

The extracellular heat shock proteins (eHsp) family act as molecular chaperones regulating folding, transporting protein and are associated with immune modulation in different physiological and pathological processes. They have been localized in different gestational tissues and their concentration in amniotic fluid and serum has been determined. In the present study, we proposed to determine the concentration of eHsp-60, -70, IL-1β and TNFα in the serum of pregnant patients with 34 weeks of gestation with and without clinical evidences of preeclampsia (PE).

Effects of Leaves Extract on High Glucose-Induced Metabolic Changes in HepG2 Cells.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of diabetes, but the metabolic alterations during early stages of the disease remain unknown. The ability of liver cells to rearrange their metabolism plays an important role in compensating the energy shortage and may provide cell survival. leaves have been studied for its health properties against diabetes, insulin resistance, and non-alcoholic liver disease.

Streptozotocin-Induced Adaptive Modification of Mitochondrial Supercomplexes in Liver of Wistar Rats and the Protective Effect of Lam.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes continues to be a major health issue worldwide. Alteration of mitochondrial electron transport chain is a recognized hallmark of the diabetic-associated decline in liver bioenergetics; however, the molecular events involved are only poorly understood. is used for the treatment of diabetes.

Microbiological comparison of blood culture and amplification of 16S rDNA methods in combination with DGGE for detection of neonatal sepsis in blood samples.

Unlabelled: It is estimated that 15% of all newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for suspected sepsis receive multiple broad-spectrum antibiotics without pathogen identification. The gold standard for bacterial sepsis detection is blood culture, but the sensitivity of this method is very low. Recently, amplification and analysis of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) bacterial gene in combination with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) has proven to be a useful approach for identifying bacteria that are difficult to isolate by standard culture methods.

Structural and kinetics characterization of the FF-ATP synthase dimer. New repercussion of monomer-monomer contact.

Ustilago maydis is an aerobic basidiomycete that fully depends on oxidative phosphorylation for its supply of ATP, pointing to mitochondria as a key player in the energy metabolism of this organism. Mitochondrial FF-ATP synthase occurs in supramolecular structures. In this work, we isolated the monomer (640kDa) and the dimer (1280kDa) and characterized their subunit composition and kinetics of ATP hydrolysis.

Differential expression of disulfide reductase enzymes in a free-living platyhelminth (Dugesia dorotocephala).

A search of the disulfide reductase activities expressed in the adult stage of the free-living platyhelminth Dugesia dorotocephala was carried out. Using GSSG or DTNB as substrates, it was possible to obtain a purified fraction containing both GSSG and DTNB reductase activities. Through the purification procedure, both disulfide reductase activities were obtained in the same chromatographic peak.

Multiple functions of syncytiotrophoblast mitochondria.

The human placenta plays a central role in pregnancy, and the syncytiotrophoblast cells are the main components of the placenta that support the relationship between the mother and fetus, in apart through the production of progesterone. In this review, the metabolic processes performed by syncytiotrophoblast mitochondria associated with placental steroidogenesis are described. The metabolism of cholesterol, specifically how this steroid hormone precursor reaches the mitochondria, and its transformation into progesterone are reviewed.

Mitochondrial proteases act on STARD3 to activate progesterone synthesis in human syncytiotrophoblast.

Background: STARD1 transports cholesterol into mitochondria of acutely regulated steroidogenic tissue. It has been suggested that STARD3 transports cholesterol in the human placenta, which does not express STARD1. STARD1 is proteolytically activated into a 30-kDa protein.

Membrane potential regulates mitochondrial ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity but is not involved in progesterone biosynthesis in human syncytiotrophoblast cells.

ATP-diphosphohydrolase is associated with human syncytiotrophoblast mitochondria. The activity of this enzyme is implicated in the stimulation of oxygen uptake and progesterone synthesis. We reported previously that: (1) the detergent-solubilized ATP-diphosphohydrolase has low substrate specificity, and (2) purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, tri- or diphosphates, are fully dephosphorylated in the presence of calcium or magnesium (Flores-Herrera 1999, 2002).