Cancer cells in acidic tumor regions are aggressive and a key therapeutic target, but distinguishing between acid-exposed and hypoxic cells is challenging. Here, we use carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) antibodies to mark acidic areas in both hypoxic and respiring tumor areas, along with an HRE-GFP reporter for hypoxia, to isolate distinct cell populations from 3D tumor spheroids. Transcriptomic analysis of CA9-positive, hypoxia-negative cells highlights enriched fatty acid desaturase activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression, there is a decline in the bioactive sphingolipid sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). Previous research showed that FTY720, an S1P mimetic, prevented cognitive decline and reduced ceramide levels in transgenic mice with familial AD carrying the human APOE4 gene (E4FAD) at 6-7 months of age.
Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the protective effects of FTY720 at late-stage AD.
A spontaneously occurring temperature increase in solid tumors has been reported sporadically, but is largely overlooked in terms of cancer biology. Here we show that temperature is increased in tumors of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and explore how this could affect therapy response. By mimicking this observation in PDAC cell lines, we demonstrate that through adaptive changes in lipid metabolism, the temperature increase found in human PDAC confers protection to lipid peroxidation and contributes to gemcitabine resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Internationally, peritoneal dialysis (PD) is increasingly being commenced within 2 weeks of catheter insertion. Studies are warranted to evaluate outcomes of this strategy.
Methods: This study examines outcomes of early-start PD (ESPD) and conventional-start PD (CSPD), commencing at ≤14 days and >14 days after catheter insertion, respectively.
Zinc (Zn) shortage is a common micronutrient deficiency affecting plants worldwide, while Zn toxicity may occur when this metal is in excess. Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are known to be able to modulate the transfer of macro- and microelements, among them Zn, to the plant. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWolfram syndrome (WS) is a rare childhood disease characterized by diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, blindness, deafness, neurodegeneration and eventually early death, due to autosomal recessive mutations in the WFS1 (and WFS2) gene. While it is categorized as a neurodegenerative disease, it is increasingly becoming clear that other cell types besides neurons may be affected and contribute to the pathogenesis. MRI studies in patients and phenotyping studies in WS rodent models indicate white matter/myelin loss, implicating a role for oligodendroglia in WS-associated neurodegeneration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Intense androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) before radical prostatectomy (RP) produced favorable pathologic responses in approximately 20% of patients. The molecular reason for the low rate of response remains unclear. Lipid metabolism is known to influence androgen receptor signaling and ARPI efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZinc (Zn) is a major soil contaminant and high Zn levels can disrupt growth, survival, and reproduction of fungi. Some fungal species evolved Zn tolerance through cell processes mitigating Zn toxicity, although the genes and detailed mechanisms underlying mycorrhizal fungal Zn tolerance remain unexplored. To fill this gap in knowledge, we investigated the gene expression of Zn tolerance in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus luteus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple common cardiovascular comorbidities produce coronary microvascular dysfunction. We previously observed in swine that a combination of diabetes mellitus (DM), high fat diet (HFD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) induced systemic inflammation, increased oxidative stress and produced coronary endothelial dysfunction, altering control of coronary microvascular tone via loss of NO bioavailability, which was associated with an increase in circulating endothelin (ET). In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that (1) ROS scavenging and (2) ET-receptor blockade improve myocardial oxygen delivery in the same female swine model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndothelial cells (ECs) are highly glycolytic, but whether they generate glycolytic intermediates via gluconeogenesis (GNG) in glucose-deprived conditions remains unknown. Here, we report that glucose-deprived ECs upregulate the GNG enzyme PCK2 and rely on a PCK2-dependent truncated GNG, whereby lactate and glutamine are used for the synthesis of lower glycolytic intermediates that enter the serine and glycerophospholipid biosynthesis pathways, which can play key roles in redox homeostasis and phospholipid synthesis, respectively. Unexpectedly, however, even in normal glucose conditions, and independent of its enzymatic activity, PCK2 silencing perturbs proteostasis, beyond its traditional GNG role.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffective treatment of bacterial infections proves increasingly challenging due to the emergence of bacterial variants that endure antibiotic exposure. Antibiotic resistance and persistence have been identified as two major bacterial survival mechanisms, and several studies have shown a rapid and strong selection of resistance or persistence mutants under repeated drug treatment. Yet, little is known about the impact of the environmental conditions on resistance and persistence evolution and the potential interplay between both phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSolid tumors are highly reliant on lipids for energy, growth, and survival. In prostate cancer, the activity of the androgen receptor (AR) is associated with reprogramming of lipid metabolic processes. Here, we identified acyl-CoA synthetase medium chain family members 1 and 3 (ACSM1 and ACSM3) as AR-regulated mediators of prostate cancer metabolism and growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Peroxisomes are central metabolic organelles that have key roles in fatty acid homoeostasis. As prostate cancer (PCa) is particularly reliant on fatty acid metabolism, we explored the contribution of peroxisomal β-oxidation (perFAO) to PCa viability and therapy response.
Methods: Bioinformatic analysis was performed on clinical transcriptomic datasets to identify the perFAO enzyme, 2,4-dienoyl CoA reductase 2 (DECR2) as a target gene of interest.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by selective loss of motor neurons (MNs). A number of causative genetic mutations underlie the disease, including mutations in the fused in sarcoma (FUS) gene, which can lead to both juvenile and late-onset ALS. Although ALS results from MN death, there is evidence that dysfunctional glial cells, including oligodendroglia, contribute to neurodegeneration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMacrophages play major roles in the pathophysiology of various neurological disorders, being involved in seemingly opposing processes such as lesion progression and resolution. Yet, the molecular mechanisms that drive their harmful and benign effector functions remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by repair-associated macrophages (RAMs) enhance remyelination ex vivo and in vivo by promoting the differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, the fatty acid elongation enzyme ELOVL5 was identified as a critical pro-metastatic factor in prostate cancer, required for cell growth and mitochondrial homeostasis. The fatty acid elongation reaction catalyzed by ELOVL5 utilizes malonyl-CoA as the carbon donor. Here, we demonstrate that ELOVL5 knockdown causes malonyl-CoA accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sex differences have been observed in the development of obesity-related complications in patients, as well as in animal models. Accumulating evidence suggests that sex-dependent regulation of lipid metabolism contributes to sex-specific physiopathology. Lipid accumulation in the renal tissue has been shown to play a major role in the pathogenesis of obesity-induced kidney injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Resour Announc
October 2023