Publications by authors named "Wieckowski M"

Article Synopsis
  • - p66Shc is an adaptor protein crucial for regulating cellular functions including signaling pathways, mitochondrial activity, and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), with its location shifting to mitochondria under oxidative stress.
  • - The protein is also implicated in mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), which play a role in key cellular processes like calcium balance, apoptosis (cell death), and autophagy (cell cleaning), suggesting p66Shc's involvement in determining cell fate.
  • - This study investigates the distribution of p66Shc in different parts of mouse liver tissue and HepG2 cells, demonstrating a significant presence of p66Shc in MAM under both normal and oxidative stress conditions.
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Mitochondria are considered one of the main sites of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the eukaryotic cells. For this reason, mitochondrial dysfunction associated with increased ROS production underlies various pathological conditions as well as promotes aging. Chronically increased rates of ROS production contribute to oxidative damage to macromolecules, i.

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  • Mutations in several genes, like PANK2 and PLA2G6, are linked to different subtypes of the inherited disease Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA), with four main subtypes accounting for the majority of cases.
  • Recent findings suggest additional mutations affecting iron and lipid metabolism may also contribute to the disease's development.
  • A study on fibroblasts from patients with C19orf12 mutations found abnormalities that correlated with disease severity, indicating these cellular changes could be important in understanding the pathomechanism of NBIA.
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This work presents a comprehensive evaluation of the role of p66Shc protein in mitochondrial physiology in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The use of human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and its genetically modified clones (obtained with the use of the CRISPR-Cas9 technique), expressing different levels of p66Shc protein, allowed us to demonstrate how the p66Shc protein affects mitochondrial metabolism of human breast cancer cells. Changes in the level of p66Shc (its overexpression, and overexpressing of its Serine 36-mutated version, as well as the knockout of p66Shc) exert different effects in breast cancer cells.

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  • Paediatric Leigh syndrome (LS) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the NDUFS4 gene, which affects mitochondrial function, and currently has no effective treatments.
  • Researchers used whole-body Ndufs4 knockout (KO) mice to analyze differences in brain proteomes between these mice and wildtype mice, identifying variations across different brain regions.
  • Findings highlighted reduced levels of critical mitochondrial components in specific brain areas and suggested that attempts to stimulate certain metabolic pathways could be harmful, prompting the need for new therapeutic strategies for managing LS.
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Article Synopsis
  • Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a rare group of inherited diseases affecting 1-3 patients per 1,000,000, with around 15,000-20,000 cases globally characterized by abnormal iron buildup in the brain.
  • Symptoms include progressive movement issues, neuropathy, cognitive decline, and various neuropsychiatric disorders, with eleven identified subtypes, including common forms like PKAN and PLAN.
  • The overview addresses cellular imbalances and metabolic changes in NBIA subtypes, particularly focusing on mitochondrial function and lipid metabolism to enhance understanding of the disease.
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  • - The study investigated whether swim training can improve copper metabolism in the skeletal muscles of mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), analyzing the effects at different disease stages.
  • - Results indicated that ALS negatively impacts copper levels and related metabolism proteins in mice, with significant changes observed by the terminal stage of the disease, including a notable decrease in copper importer protein (CTR1) and increases in copper chaperone and exporter proteins.
  • - The findings suggest that while swim training has a moderate effect on copper metabolism, incorporating water exercise into rehabilitation programs could help enhance the quality of life for ALS patients.
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Introduction: In the process of bone regeneration, a prominent role is played by macrophages involved in both the initial inflammation and the regeneration/vascularization phases, due to their M2 anti-inflammatory phenotype. Together with osteoclasts, they participate in the degradation of the bone matrix if the inflammatory process does not end. In this complex scenario, recently, much attention has been paid to extracellular communication mediated by nanometer-sized vesicles, with high information content, called exosomes (EVs).

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Oxidative stress has been known about in biological sciences for several decades; however, the understanding of this concept has evolved greatly since its foundation. Over the past years, reactive oxygen species, once viewed as solely deleterious, have become recognized as intrinsic components of life. In contrast, antioxidants, initially believed to be cure-all remedies, have failed to prove their efficacy in clinical trials.

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) occurs in subjects with obesity and metabolic syndrome. MASLD may progress from simple steatosis (i.e.

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Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process that plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and its impairment has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various metabolic diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This review synthesizes the current evidence from human studies on autophagy alterations under these metabolic conditions. In obesity, most data point to autophagy upregulation during the initiation phase of autophagosome formation, potentially in response to proinflammatory conditions in the adipose tissue.

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Objectives And Scope: Primary mitochondrial diseases (PMDs) are rare genetic disorders resulting from mutations in genes crucial for effective oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) that can affect mitochondrial function. In this review, we examine the bioenergetic alterations and oxidative stress observed in cellular models of primary mitochondrial diseases (PMDs), shedding light on the intricate complexity between mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular pathology. We explore the diverse cellular models utilized to study PMDs, including patient-derived fibroblasts, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and cybrids.

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Despite decades of research, the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is still not completely understood. Based on the evidence from preclinical models, one of the factors proposed as a main driver of disease development is oxidative stress. This study aimed to search for the resemblance between the profiles of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in the animal model of MASLD and the group of MASLD patients.

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The order of Cyanidiales comprises seven acido-thermophilic red microalgal species thriving in hot springs of volcanic origin characterized by extremely low pH, moderately high temperatures and the presence of high concentrations of sulphites and heavy metals that are prohibitive for most other organisms. Little is known about the physiological processes underlying the long-term adaptation of these extremophiles to such hostile environments. Here, we investigated the long-term adaptive responses of a red microalga Cyanidioschyzon merolae, a representative of Cyanidiales, to extremely high nickel concentrations.

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Swim training has increased the life span of the transgenic animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Conversely, the progress of the disease is associated with the impairment of iron metabolism and insulin signaling. We used transgenic hmSOD1 G93A (ALS model) and non-transgenic mice in the present study.

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Hyperreactive platelets are commonly observed in diabetic patients indicating a potential link between glucose homeostasis and platelet reactivity. This raises the possibility that platelets may play a role in the regulation of metabolism. Pancreatic β cells are the central regulators of systemic glucose homeostasis.

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Cold thermal energy storage is an issue of increasing importance on a global scale particularly in the format of passive thermal protection. This study presents three eutectic Phase Change Materials (ePCMs) composed of -alkanes, which provide passive temperature control (their operation is automatically induced by exceeding the limit temperature without the need for a control system) around 4 °C (277.2 ± 2 K) and are chemically neutral.

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Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide and in particular, ischemic heart disease holds the most considerable position. Even if it has been deeply studied, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is still a side-effect of the clinical treatment for several heart diseases: ischemia process itself leads to temporary damage to heart tissue and obviously the recovery of blood flow is promptly required even if it worsens the ischemic injury. There is no doubt that mitochondria play a key role in pathogenesis of IRI: dysfunctions of these important organelles alter cell homeostasis and survival.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many endocrine disruptors, like Bisphenol A (BPA), negatively affect meiosis, a process crucial for healthy gamete production, leading to conditions like oocyte aneuploidy.
  • Research on BPA alternatives, such as BADGE and BPAF, reveals they also delay meiosis, increase specific foci in cells, and cause defects in gene expression and DNA integrity during oogenesis in mice.
  • The study suggests that oxidative DNA damage may be a common harmful mechanism in female meiosis caused by various environmental pollutants, highlighting the need to reevaluate the risks of mixtures of bisphenols found in our surroundings.
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Uncontrolled inflammatory response arising from the tumor microenvironment (TME) significantly contributes to cancer progression, prompting an investigation and careful evaluation of counter-regulatory mechanisms. We identified a trimeric complex at the mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs), in which the purinergic P2X7 receptor - NLRP3 inflammasome liaison is fine-tuned by the tumor suppressor PML. PML downregulation drives an exacerbated immune response due to a loss of P2X7R-NLRP3 restraint that boosts tumor growth.

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In this study, we aim to verify whether swim training can improve lactate metabolism, NAD+ and NADH levels, as well as modify the activity of glycolytic and NADH shuttle enzymes and monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) in skeletal muscle of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice. ALS mice (SOD1G93A) (n = 7 per group) were analyzed before the onset of ALS, at first disease symptoms (trained and untrained), and the last stage of disease (trained and untrained), and then compared with a wild-type (WT) group of mice. The blood lactate and the skeletal muscle concentration of lactate, NAD+ and NADH, MCT1 and MCT4 protein levels, as well as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities in skeletal muscle were determined by fluorometric, Western blotting, liquid chromatography-MS3 spectrometry, and spectrometric methods.

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Maintenance of mitochondrial quality is essential for cellular homeostasis. Among processes responsible for preserving healthy mitochondria, mitophagy selectively eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria by targeting them to the autophagosome for degradation. Alterations in mitophagy lead to the accumulation of damaged mitochondria, which plays an essential role in several diseases such as carcinogenesis and tumor progression, neurodegenerative disorders, and autoimmune and cardiovascular pathologies.

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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a health concern affecting 24% of the population worldwide. Although the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying disease are not fully clarified, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are key players in disease progression. Consequently, efforts to develop more efficient pharmacologic strategies targeting mitochondria for NAFLD prevention/treatment are underway.

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Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a disease associated with a mitochondrial DNA mutation, is characterized by blindness due to degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons, which form the optic nerve. We show that a sustained pathological autophagy and compartment-specific mitophagy activity affects LHON patient-derived cells and cybrids, as well as induced pluripotent-stem-cell-derived neurons. This is variably counterbalanced by compensatory mitobiogenesis.

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