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Gene expression of enzymes involved in the regulation of apoptosis in rat moycardium - effect of chronic and acute hypoxia
Blahová, Tereza ; Žurmanová, Jitka (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee)
Adaptation to chronic hypoxia provides myocardial protection against ischemia - reperfusion injury (IR). Cardioprotective effect of adaptation depends on the degree and duration of hypoxic exposure and daily regime of adaptation. Certain protective regimes of adaptations to hypoxia have been reported to activate proapoptotic signaling pathways and bioactive sphingolipids were recently shown to play important role in the regulation of apoptosis in the heart. We aimed to determine the mRNA level of selected genes related to apoptotic pathways and to sphingolipid metabolism in two models of hypoxic adaptation, continous normobaric hypoxia (CNH 10% O2) with different exposures (4h, 48h, 120h, 21days) and intermitent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH 7000 m, 8h/day). Both ventricles, LV and RV, were analysed after adaptation to CNH and only LV was analysed after IHH adaptation. Our results show that both types of adaptation increased mRNA of proapoptotic genes, CNH mainly in RV and IHH in LV. Furthermore, increased expressions of proapoptotic genes were accompanied by the increase of expression of enzymes producing predominantly protective kinds of sphingolipids. The exact role of apoptosis and sphingolipid signaling molecules in endogenous myocardial protection requires further research. Key words: Apoptosis,...
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The study of the changes of hepatocyte energy metabolism: the effect of oxidative stress and triiodthyronine
Endlicher, René ; Červinková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee) ; Rauchová, Hana (referee)
Changes of energy metabolism of hepatocytes: The effect of oxidative stress and triiodothyronine Liver is a vital organ performing numerous essential functions. Due to its position in the blood circulation, liver is the first organ incessantly exposed to a great number of toxic substances. Respiratory chain located in mitochondria is a frequent target of toxic action of these substances. There are various mechanisms that participate in hepatocyte damage, nevertheless the most important mechanism of hepatotoxic effect is oxidative stress induced by increased production of free radicals. Impact of oxidative stress on hepatocytes is very complex and still not fully elucidated. The aim of my thesis was to investigate the effect of oxidative stress on energy metabolism of rat hepatocytes using isolated hepatocytes and isolated mitochondria. We evaluated the effect of oxidative stress on the activity of mitochondrial enzymes and function of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), respectively. Opening of this pore induces activation of apoptotic and necrotic processes. Our results document selective action of oxidative stress on the activity of various mitochondrial enzymes. Tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP) causes significant inhibition of NADH-dependent substrates, while oxidation of...
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Expression of selected defects of oxidative phosphorylation system in cultivated fibroblasts
Marková, Michaela ; Hansíková, Hana (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee)
AAbbssttrraacctt:: The mammalian organism is entirely dependent on ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) on the inner mitochondrial membrane. OXPHOS is composed of respiratory chain complexes I-IV, ATP synthase and also include two electron transporters cytochrome c and coenzyme Q. Disorders of mitochondrial energy metabolism caused by OXPHOS defects are characterized by extreme heterogeneity of clinical symptoms, variability of tissues affected and the severity of the defect at the level of individual tissues. The mitochondrial disorders are not always clearly expressed at the level of available tissue or most easily available cultured fibroblasts and/or currently available methods are not capable to detect the defects on the fibroblasts level. The aim of this master thesis was to identify by biochemical methods, especially by high sensitive polarography, OXPHOS disorders in cultured fibroblasts. Cell lines from 10 patients with isolated (SURF21, SCO1 ND1, ND5) or combined defects of OXPHOS complexes whose biochemical defect was confirmed in muscle tissue as well as 14 patients with non- mitochondrial diseases (8 patients with Huntington disease, 6 patients with disorder of sulphur amino acids metabolism) were analysed. Furthermore impact of various cultivation conditions on OXPHOS...
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Mitochondrial ATP synthase deficiencies of a nuclear genetic origin
Karbanová, Vendula ; Houštěk, Josef (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee) ; Rossmeisl, Martin (referee)
ATP synthase represents the key enzyme of cellular energy provision and ATP synthase disorders belong to the most deleterious mitochondrial diseases affecting pediatric population. The aim of this thesis was to identify nuclear genetic defects and describe the pathogenic mechanism of altered biosynthesis of ATP synthase that leads to isolated deficiency of this enzyme manifesting as an early onset mitochondrial encephalo-cardiomyopathy. Studies in the group of 25 patients enabled identification of two new disease-causing nuclear genes responsible for ATP synthase deficiency. The first affected gene was TMEM70 that encodes an unknown mitochondrial protein. This protein was identified as a novel assembly factor of ATP synthase, first one specific for higher eukaryotes. TMEM70 protein of 21 kDa is located in mitochondrial inner membrane and it is absent in patient tissues. TMEM70 mutation was found in 23 patients and turned to be the most frequent cause of ATP synthase deficiency. Cell culture studies also revealed that enzyme defect leads to compensatory-adaptive upregulation of respiratory chain complexes III and IV due to posttranscriptional events. The second affected gene was ATP5E that encodes small structural epsilon subunit of ATP synthase. Replacement of conserved Tyr12 with Cys caused...
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Peripheral metabolism of glucocoricoids in immune cells
Ergang, Peter ; Pácha, Jiří (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee) ; Teisinger, Jan (referee)
4 Abstract Glucocorticoids are hormones that regulate a variety of homeostatic processes including metabolism, cell proliferation, differentiation and immune functions, including inflammation. Acute inflammatory response is associated with an increase in glucocorticoid levels via the stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and activation of the hypothalamo- pituitary-adrenal axis. Within target cells or tissues the glucocorticoid action depends not only on the plasma level of the hormone, its receptors and receptor-effector coupling, but also on the local metabolism of glucocorticoids. Two distinct types of this enzyme have been cloned and characterized. Type 1 (11HSD1) is a NADP+ (H)-dependent enzyme whose reductase activity predominates in intact cells. This enzyme activates cortisol and corticosterone from their 11-keto derivatives and thus increases the local concentration of active glucocorticoid. In contrast, type 2 (11HSD2) requires NAD+ as a co-substrate and possesses only dehydrogenase activity, thereby inactivating endogenous glucocorticoid hormones. We have demonstrated that inflammation (arthritis or experimental colitis) is accompanied by elevated 11-reductase activity and the expression of 11HSD1 mRNA, moreover in the case of colitis also with a decrease in the expression of 11HSD2....
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Molecular mechanism of reactive oxygen species production by flavin dehydrogenases of mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Holzerová, Eliška ; Mráček, Tomáš (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to investigate molecular mechanism of reactive oxygen species production by flavin dehydrogenases mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPDH) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Together, they represent important source of reactive oxygen species in mammalian mitochondria, but the mechanism of electron leak is still poorly understood. Because mechanisms of reactive oxygen species production by other complexes of respiratory chain are better characterized, they can serve as case studies to get insight into mechanisms of reactive oxygen species by flavin dehydrogenases. Relevant knowledge is therefore summarized in the first part of the thesis. To study the production of reactive oxygen species by the isolated flavin dehydrogenases, we used brown adipose tissue mitochondria solubilized by digitonin as a model. Enzyme activity measurements, hydrogen peroxide production studies by Amplex UltraRed fluorescence and luminol luminescence revealed flavin as the most likely source of electron leak in SDH under in vivo conditions, while we propose coenzyme Q binding site as the site of reactive oxygen species production in the case of mGPDH. Distinct mechanism of this production by the two dehydrogenases is also apparent from induction of reactive oxygen species...
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The role of mitochondria in adaptation to chronic hypoxia in the spontaneously hypertensive and conplastic rats.
Weissová, Romana ; Kalous, Martin (advisor) ; Rauchová, Hana (referee)
Adaptation to chronic hypoxia provides cardioprotective effects. Molecular mechanism of this phenomenon is not yet completely understood, but it is known that cardiac mitochondria play an essential role in induction of protective effects. The purpose of this diploma thesis is to study effects of continuous normobaric hypoxia (CNH; 10 % O2, 21 days) on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and conplastic strain that is derived from SHR. These animals have nuclear genome of SHR strain and mitochondrial genome of Brown Norway (BN) strain. Cardiac homogenate was used to measure enzymatic activity of malate dehydrogenase (MDH), citrate synthase (CS), NADH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase, succinate-cytochrome c oxidoreductase and cytochrome oxidase (COX). Using Western blot procedure the protein amount of antioxidant enzymes was measured - manganese superoxide dismutase and copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, Cu/ZnSOD), catalase and chosen subunits of oxidative phosphorylation complexes (Ndufa9, Sdha, Uqcrc2, COX-4, MTCO1, Atp5a1). Under normoxic conditions the conplastic strain has lower amount of complex IV subunit MTCO1 in comparison with SHR. This subunit is encoded by mitochondrial DNA and it is one of the seven protein-coding genes in conplastic strain that differ from SHR. Adaptation to hypoxia causes an...
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Myocardial cell signaling in spontaneously hypertensive rats with transgenic and congenic expression of CD36
Klevstigová, Martina ; Nováková, Olga (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee) ; Zicha, Josef (referee)
Long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) are the primary energy source in the myocardium and an imbalance in the LCFA and glucose utilization could cause cardiovascular diseases. More than 50% of LCFA uptake by the heart is mediated by the fatty acid translocase CD36 and disruption of its function has been shown to impair cardiovascular functions. The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) harbors a deletion variant of the Cd36 gene that results in reduced LCFA transport into myocytes. Therefore, the main aim of this thesis was to investigate the importance of a functional CD36 to sustain normal physiological functions of the heart. We used SHR and two genetic modified SHR strains, the congenic SHR-4 and the transgenic SHR-Cd36, with fully functional CD36. They differ in the CD36 expression and in the manner how they were derived from the SHR. CD36 has been proven to play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Therefore we analyzed the effect of a functional CD36 on insulin resistance and protein kinase C (PKC) expression, which is known to be involved in the mechanism of insulin resistance, in the heart of SHR-4 and SHR. We showed that the SHR-4 had lower serum free fatty acids (FFA) and triacylglycerols (TAG) concentrations, indicating improved insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, SHR-4 had increased...
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Maturation of AMPK in skeletal muscle during early postnatal development
Hansíková, Jana ; Janovská, Petra (advisor) ; Kalous, Martin (referee)
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important metabolic sensor in eukaryotic organisms and it plays an important role in regulating energy homeostasis, at both the cells and the whole organism. AMPK controls glucose and lipid metabolism by direct stimulation of enzymes or by long term stimulation of the gene expression of energy metabolism. Skeletal muscles significantly contribute to the total body weight and metabolic rate and to the maintenance of glucose homeostasis. Due to the ability of the muscle to increase energy expenditure to 95% of whole-body energy expenditure, could be the proper development and programming of metabolism in the early postnatal period crucial for the further development of the organism in adulthood. Early postnatal development leads to substantial changes in energy requirements of the body and this suggests the significant involvement of AMPK in this period. The aim of this thesis was to study the activity and expression of isoforms of the catalytic subunit of AMPK in skeletal muscle during early postnatal development of both mouse strains A/J and C57BL/6 that differ in the development of diet-induced obesity. The next task was to analyze the expression of selected genes involved in energy metabolism - GLUT4, PGC-1α and UCP3 that AMPK regulates. It was found that the...
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Effect of ectopic synthesis of mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 in white adipose tissue on whole-body metabolism in mice
Janovská, Petra ; Kopecký, Jan (advisor) ; Drahota, Zdeněk (referee) ; Kalous, Martin (referee)
The prevention and treatment of obesity is a major problem of health care systems in affluent societies. Metabolism of adipose tissue belongs to the therapeutical targets, since accumulation of adipose tissue is the basis of obesity development. Experiments using transgenic mice with ectopic expression of brown- fat uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in white adipose tissue (WAT), verified a concept that obesity could be ameliorated by increasing energy expenditure in WAT. The goal of the experiments of this PhD Thesis was to characterize in detail the phenotype of this unique animal model of obesity resistance. We have shown that mitochondrial uncoupling in WAT resulted in increased oxidation of fatty acids (FA), in face of decreased lipogenesis and induced mitochondrial biogenesis in this tissue. In further studies, we aimed to modulate propensity to obesity be increasing FA oxidation in WAT in response to physiological stimuli. This could be accomplished in response to the combination treatment using n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and mild calorie restriction in mice fed high-fat diet. Synergistic induction of mitochondrial oxidative capacity and lipid catabolism in epididymal WAT was associated with suppression of low-grade inflammation of WAT, which is typical for obesity. The improvement of lipid...
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