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Effects of antidepressants and depressive disorders on mitochondrial functions
Hroudová, Jana ; Fišar, Zdeněk (advisor)
Mood disorders are serious diseases. Nevertheless, their pathophysiology is not sufficiently clarified. Biological markers that would facilitate the diagnosis or successful prediction of pharmacotherapy are still being sought. The aim of the study was to find out whether mitochondrial functions are affected by antidepressants, mood stabilizers and depression. Our research is based on recent hypotheses of mood disorders, the advanced monoamine hypothesis, the neurotrophic hypothesis, and the mitochondrial dysfunction hypothesis. We assume that impaired function of mitochondria leads to neuronal damage and can be related to the origin of mood disorders. Effects of antidepressants and mood stabilizers on mitochondrial functions can be related to their therapeutic or side effects. In vitro effects of pharmacologically different antidepressants and mood stabilizers on the activities of mitochondrial enzymes were measured in mitochondria isolated from pig brains (in vitro model). Activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) isoforms was determined radiochemically, activities of other mitochondrial enzymes were measured spectrophotometrically. Overall activity of the system of oxidative phosphorylation was measured electrochemically using high- resolution respirometry. Methods were modified to measure the same...
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Bacterial proteins in the biogenesis of mitochondria of unicellular eukaryotes.
Petrů, Markéta
in English Formation of mitochondria by the conversion of a bacterial endosymbiont is the fundamental moment in the evolution of eukaryotes. An integral part of the organelle genesis was the displacement of the endosymbiont genes to host nucleus and simultaneous creation of new pathways for delivery of proteins synthesized now in the host cytoplasm. Resulting protein translocases are complexes combining original bacterial components and eukaryote-specific proteins. In addition to these novel protein import machines, some components of the original bacterial secretory pathways have remained in the organelle. While the function of a widely distributed mitochondrial homolog of YidC, Oxa1, is well understood, the role of infrequent components of Sec or Tat translocases has not yet been elucidated. So far, more attention has been paid to their abundant plastid homologs, which assemble photosynthetic complexes in the thylakoid membrane. In the thesis, the structure and function of prokaryotic YidC, Sec and Tat machineries and their eukaryotic homologs are described. By comparing both organelles of the endosymbiotic origin, the hypothesis is drawn on why these translocases have been more "evolutionary successful" in plastids than in mitochondria.
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Biochemical and molecular studies of cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase deficiencies
Fornůsková, Daniela ; Zeman, Jiří (advisor) ; Hyánek, Josef (referee) ; Stiborová, Marie (referee)
Mgr. Daniela Fornuskova PhD thesis Biochemical and molecular studies of cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase deficiencies ABSTRACT The mammalian organism fully depends on the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) as the major energy (ATP) producer of the cell. Disturbances of OXPHOS may be caused by mutations in either mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear DNA (nDNA). One part of the thesis is focused on the role of early and late assembled nuclear-encoded structural subunits of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) as well as Oxa1l, the human homologue of the yeast mitochondrial Oxa1 translocase, in the biogenesis and function of the human CcO complex using stable RNA interference of COX4, COX5A, COX6A1 and OXA1L, as well as expression of epitope-tagged Cox6a, Cox7a and Cox7b, in HEK (human embryonic kidney)- 293 cells. Our results indicate that, whereas nuclear- encoded CcO subunits Cox4 and Cox5a are required for the assembly of the functional CcO complex, the Cox6a subunit is required for the overall stability of the holoenzyme. In OXA1L knockdown HEK-293 cells, intriguingly, CcO activity and holoenzyme content were unaffected, although the inactivation of OXA1 in yeast was shown to cause complete absence of CcO activity. In addition, we compared OXPHOS protein deficiency patterns in mitochondria from skeletal...
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Molecular bases of sensitivity to electron transport chain inhibition-induced cell death
Blecha, Jan
1 Abstract in English Mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) targeting shows a great promise in cancer therapy. However, why modern ETC-targeted compounds are tolerated on the organismal level and what are the molecular reasons for this tolerance remains unclear. Most somatic cells are in a non-proliferative state, and features associated with the ETC in quiescence might therefore contribute to specificity. Thus, we investigated the ETC status and the role of two major consequences of ETC blockade, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inhibition of ATP production, in cell death induction in breast cancer cells and in proliferating and quiescent non-transformed cells. First, we characterised the effect of a newly developed ETC inhibitor mitochondria- targeted tamoxifen (MitoTam) in in vitro and in vivo tumour models of breast cancer with varying status of the Her2 oncogene. We document that Her2high cells and tumours have increased assembly of respiratory supercomplexes (SCs) and increased complex I-driven respiration in vitro and in vivo. They are also highly sensitive to MitoTam. Unlike the parental compound tamoxifen, MitoTam efficiently suppressed experimental Her2high tumours without systemic toxicity. Mechanistically, MitoTam inhibits complex I- driven respiration and disrupts respiratory...
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Effects of antidepressants and depressive disorders on mitochondrial functions
Hroudová, Jana ; Fišar, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee) ; Kuča, Kamil (referee)
Mood disorders are serious diseases. Nevertheless, their pathophysiology is not sufficiently clarified. Biological markers that would facilitate the diagnosis or successful prediction of pharmacotherapy are still being sought. The aim of the study was to find out whether mitochondrial functions are affected by antidepressants, mood stabilizers and depression. Our research is based on recent hypotheses of mood disorders, the advanced monoamine hypothesis, the neurotrophic hypothesis, and the mitochondrial dysfunction hypothesis. We assume that impaired function of mitochondria leads to neuronal damage and can be related to the origin of mood disorders. Effects of antidepressants and mood stabilizers on mitochondrial functions can be related to their therapeutic or side effects. In vitro effects of pharmacologically different antidepressants and mood stabilizers on the activities of mitochondrial enzymes were measured in mitochondria isolated from pig brains (in vitro model). Activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) isoforms was determined radiochemically, activities of other mitochondrial enzymes were measured spectrophotometrically. Overall activity of the system of oxidative phosphorylation was measured electrochemically using high- resolution respirometry. Methods were modified to measure the same...
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The role of energy metabolism in cardioprotection induced by the adaptation to chronic hypoxia
Kolář, David
Cardiac energy metabolism is the one of the most complex system in the body. To sustain life, but also to respond quickly to any sudden changes (e.g. running, emotional stress), the heart has developed a unique ability and has become a metabolic "omnivore". At physiological conditions, long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) present the major energetic source for the adult myocardium. However, the cardiac energy metabolism may be compromised during pathophysiological states. One of the most dangerous is, undoubtedly, ischaemia-reperfusion injury with its acute form, myocardial infarction. However, the adaptation to chronic hypoxia has been known for decades for its cardioprotective effect against I/R. Changes of cardiac energy metabolism induced by the adaptation have not been fully explored and the system conceals still too many secrets. This thesis has aimed to determine how adaptation to chronic hypoxia affects the cardiac metabolism of the rat LVs in the following set-ups: 1. The effect of chronic normobaric hypoxia (CNH; 3 weeks, 5500m) during a brief I/R protocol in vitro on the protein kinase B/hexokinase (Akt/HK) pathway, including the expression and phosphorylation of Akt, the expression and localization of HK, the expression of mitochondrial creatine kinase (mtCKS), and the level of Bcl-2 family...
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The role of mitochondrial genome in cardioprotection induced by the adaptation to chronic hypoxia
Nedvědová, Iveta
Cardiovascular intervention studies are a very important issue given that the ischaemic heart disease is one of the main mortality and morbidity causes in the Western world. Cardioprotection is mediated through a variety of signalling pathways in the cell that may directly or indirectly affect energy metabolism and mitochondria. Ischaemia-reperfusion injury of the heart significantly affect mitochondrial function revealing a potential therapeutic target. The role of mitochondria in the myocardium is not only in the field of energy homeostasis, but also in mediating the cellular response to reduced oxygen supply and in apoptosis regulation. This thesis aims to elucidate the response of the hypertrophied heart of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and the derived conplastic strain with mitochondrial genome of normotensive Brown Norway (SHR-mtBN ) to the cardioprotective regime of adaptation to chronic normobaric hypoxia (CNH, Fi 0.1). The adaptive changes were studied at the cellular, protein and gene levels using Real-time RT-PCR, Biomark Chip Analysis, Western Blot, spectrophotometric measurements of enzyme activity and quantitative immunofluorescence analyses. The present thesis was based on a different cardioprotective phenotype between SHR and SHR-mtBN strains, i.e. a significantly smaller...
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Genetické příčiny deficitu cytochrom c oxidázy u dětí
Vondráčková, Alžběta ; Tesařová, Markéta (advisor) ; Brdička, Radim (referee) ; Procházková, Dagmar (referee)
Mitochondria are the key source of vital ATP molecules, which are largely produced within cells by a system of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Genetic defects affecting any of the components of the oxidative phosphorylation system or the structure and function of mitochondria lead to mitochondrial disorders, which occur at an incidence rate of 1 in 5000 live births. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is the terminal enzyme and electron acceptor of a respiratory chain that catalyses oxygen to produce a water molecule. In addition to complex I deficiency, isolated or combined COX deficiency is the most common respiratory chain defect in paediatric patients, and it can arise from mutations located either in mitochondrial DNA or in nuclear genes encoding the structural subunits or corresponding assembly factors of the enzyme complex. However, the molecular basis of COX deficiency remains elusive in many patients despite advances in the identification of an increasing number of mutations and genes involved in the disease. This thesis focuses on the identification of the genetic causes of mitochondrial diseases in a cohort of 60 unrelated Czech children with clinically and laboratory confirmed COX-deficiency. With the use of a high-resolution melting analysis mutation screen, four heterozygous sequence...
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The role of mitochondrial creatine kinase and hexokinase in cardioprotective mechanisms induced by chronic hypoxia
Wasková, Petra
IN ENGLISH The ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is a consequence of myocardial infarction, represents a major cause of death worldwide. One of the most effective cardioprotective interventions increasing the resistance of hearts to the I/R injury is the adaptation to a chronic hypoxia (CH). However, the molecular mechanisms of CH are still not well understood. The most important factors responsible for the I/R injury are reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by complexes I and III within the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Potential candidates maintaining ROS at a low level are mitochondrial creatine kinase (mtCK) and two hexokinase isoforms (HK1 and HK2). These enzymes highly support the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation by increasing the availability of ADP for complex V of the respiratory chain. In addition, the HK binding to mitochondria inhibits binding of the pro- apoptotic protein BAX, thereby protecting cardiac cells against apoptosis. Besides the mitochondrial CK isoform, there are two cytosolic CK (CKM and CKB) present in cardiomyocytes that help to maintain energy homeostasis. Based on the known anatomical and physiological differences between the left (LV) and the right (RV) ventricles, the first study focused on the comparing ventricles in terms of the energy...
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Structural and Functional Interactions of Mitochondrial ADP-Phosphorylating Apparatus
Nůsková, Hana ; Houštěk, Josef (advisor) ; Kolarov, Jordan (referee) ; Kuda, Ondřej (referee) ; Panicucci Zíková, Alena (referee)
The complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system in the inner mitochondrial membrane are organised into structural and functional super-assemblies, so-called supercomplexes. This type of organisation enables substrate channelling and hence improves the overall OXPHOS efficiency. ATP synthase associates into dimers and higher oligomers. Within the supercomplex of ATP synthasome, it interacts with ADP/ATP translocase (ANT), which exchanges synthesised ATP for cytosolic ADP, and inorganic phosphate carrier (PiC), which imports phosphate into the mitochondrial matrix. The existence of this supercomplex is generally accepted. Experimental evidence is however still lacking. In this thesis, structural interactions between ATP synthase, ANT and PiC were studied in detail. In addition, the interdependence of their expression was examined either under physiological conditions in rat tissues or using model cell lines with ATP synthase deficiencies of different origin. Specifically, they included mutations in the nuclear genes ATP5E and TMEM70 that code for subunit ε and the ancillary factor of ATP synthase biogenesis TMEM70, respectively, and a microdeletion at the interface of genes MT-ATP6 and MT-COX3 that impairs the mitochondrial translation of both subunit a of ATP synthase and subunit Cox3...
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