NEU3 sialidase is activated under hypoxia and protects skeletal muscle cells from apoptosis through the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway and the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α.

NEU3 sialidase, a key enzyme in ganglioside metabolism, is activated under hypoxic conditions in cultured skeletal muscle cells (C2C12). NEU3 up-regulation stimulates the EGF receptor signaling pathway, which in turn activates the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α), resulting in a final increase of cell survival and proliferation. In the same cells, stable overexpression of sialidase NEU3 significantly enhances cell resistance to hypoxia, whereas stable silencing of the enzyme renders cells more susceptible to apoptosis.

The synthetic purine reversine selectively induces cell death of cancer cells.

The synthetic purine reversine has been shown to possess a dual activity as it promotes the de-differentiation of adult cells, including fibroblasts, into stem-cell-like progenitors, but it also induces cell growth arrest and ultimately cell death of cancer cells, suggesting its possible application as an anti-cancer agent. Aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism underneath reversine selectivity in inducing cell death of cancer cells by a comparative analysis of its effects on several tumor cells and normal dermal fibroblasts. We found that reversine is lethal for all cancer cells studied as it induces cell endoreplication, a process that malignant cells cannot effectively oppose due to aberrations in cell cycle checkpoints.

Chemoselective synthesis of sialic acid 1,7-lactones.

The chemoselective synthesis of the 1,7-lactones of N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-glycolylneuraminic acid, and 3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-nononic acid is accomplished in two steps: a simple treatment of the corresponding free sialic acid with benzyloxycarbonyl chloride and a successive hydrogenolysis of the formed 2-benzyloxycarbonyl 1,7-lactone. The instability of the 1,7-lactones to protic solvents has been also evidenced together with the rationalization of the mechanism of their formation under acylation conditions. The results permit to dispose of authentic 1,7-sialolactones to be used as reference standards and of a procedure useful for the preparation of their isotopologues to be used as inner standards in improved analytical procedures for the gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GLC-MS) analysis of 1,7-sialolactones in biological media.

cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulates post-translational processing and expression of complex I subunits in mammalian cells.

Work is presented on the role of cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation in post-translational processing and biosynthesis of complex I subunits in mammalian cell cultures. PKA-mediated phosphorylation of the NDUFS4 subunit of complex I promotes in cell cultures in vivo import/maturation in mitochondria of the precursor of this protein. The import promotion appears to be associated with the observed cAMP-dependent stimulation of the catalytic activity of complex I.

Mammalian complex I: a regulable and vulnerable pacemaker in mitochondrial respiratory function.

In this paper the regulatory features of complex I of mammalian and human mitochondria are reviewed. In a variety of mitotic cell-line cultures, activation in vivo of the cAMP cascade, or direct addition of cAMP, promotes the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity of complex I and lower the cellular level of ROS. These effects of cAMP are found to be associated with PKA-mediated serine phosphorylation in the conserved C-terminus of the subunit of complex I encoded by the nuclear gene NDUFS4.