Jinzi Wu

Hyperglycemic Stress and Carbon Stress in Diabetic Glucotoxicity.

Diabetes and its complications are caused by chronic glucotoxicity driven by persistent hyperglycemia. In this article, we review the mechanisms of diabetic glucotoxicity by focusing mainly on hyperglycemic stress and carbon stress. Mechanisms of hyperglycemic stress include reductive stress or pseudohypoxic stress caused by redox imbalance between NADH and NAD(+) driven by activation of both the polyol pathway and poly ADP ribose polymerase; the hexosamine pathway; the advanced glycation end products pathway; the protein kinase C activation pathway; and the enediol formation pathway. Mechanisms of carbon stress include excess production of acetyl-CoA that can over-acetylate a proteome and excess production of fumarate that can over-succinate a proteome; both of which can increase glucotoxicity in diabetes. For hyperglycemia stress, we also discuss the possible role of mitochondrial complex I in diabetes as this complex, in charge of NAD(+) regeneration, can make more reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of excess NADH. For carbon stress, we also discuss the role of sirtuins in diabetes as they are deacetylases that can reverse protein acetylation thereby attenuating diabetic glucotoxicity and improving glucose metabolism. It is our belief that targeting some of the stress pathways discussed in this article may provide new therapeutic strategies for treatment of diabetes and its complications.

Protein Modifications as Manifestations of Hyperglycemic Glucotoxicity in Diabetes and Its Complications

Diabetes and its complications are hyperglycemic toxicity diseases. Many metabolic pathways in this array of diseases become aberrant, which is accompanied with a variety of posttranslational protein modifications that in turn reflect diabetic glucotoxicity. In this review, we summarize some of the most widely studied protein modifications in diabetes and its complications. These modifications include glycation, carbonylation, nitration, cysteine S-nitrosylation, acetylation, sumoylation, ADP-ribosylation, O-GlcNAcylation, and succination. All these posttranslational modifications can be significantly attributed to oxidative stress and/or carbon stress induced by diabetic redox imbalance that is driven by activation of pathways, such as the polyol pathway and the ADP-ribosylation pathway. Exploring the nature of these modifications should facilitate our understanding of the pathological mechanisms of diabetes and its associated complications.

Two dimensional blue native/SDS-PAGE to identify mitochondrial complex I subunits modified by 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE)

The lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) can form protein-linked HNE adducts, thereby impacting protein structure and function. Mitochondrial complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase), containing at least 45 subunits in mammalian cells, sits in a lipid-rich environment and is thus very susceptible to HNE modifications. In this paper, a procedure for the identification of HNE-modified complex I subunits is described. Complex I was isolated by first dimensional non-gradient blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE). The isolated complex I band, visualized by either Coomassie blue staining or silver staining, was further analyzed by second dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). HNE-modified proteins were visualized by Western blotting probed with anti-HNE antibodies. HNE-positive bands were then excised and the proteins contained in them were identified by mass spectrometric peptide sequencing. The method was successfully applied for the identification of two complex I subunits that showed enhanced HNE-modifications in diabetic kidney mitochondria.

Chemical Conditioning as an Approach to Ischemic Stroke Tolerance: Mitochondria as the Target

It is well established that the brain can be prepared to resist or tolerate ischemic stroke injury, and mitochondrion is a major target for this tolerance. The preparation of ischemic stroke tolerance can be achieved by three major approaches: ischemic conditioning, hypoxic conditioning and chemical conditioning. In each conditioning approach, there are often two strategies that can be used to achieve the conditioning effects, namely preconditioning (Pre-C) and postconditioning (Post-C). In this review, we focus on chemical conditioning of mitochondrial proteins as targets for neuroprotection against ischemic stroke injury. Mitochondrial targets covered include complexes I, II, IV, the ATP-sensitive potassium channel (mitoKATP), adenine dinucleotide translocase (ANT) and the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). While numerous mitochondrial proteins have not been evaluated in the context of chemical conditioning and ischemic stroke tolerance, the paradigms and approaches reviewed in this article should provide general guidelines on testing those mitochondrial components that have not been investigated. A deep understanding of mitochondria as the target of chemical conditioning for ischemic stroke tolerance should provide valuable insights into strategies for fighting ischemic stroke, a leading cause of death in the world.

Redox imbalance and mitochondrial abnormalities in the diabetic lung.

Although the lung is one of the least studied organs in diabetes, increasing evidence indicates that it is an inevitable target of diabetic complications. Nevertheless, the underlying biochemical mechanisms of lung injury in diabetes remain largely unexplored. Given that redox imbalance, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in diabetic tissue injury, we set out to investigate mechanisms of lung injury in diabetes. The objective of this study was to evaluate NADH/NAD+ redox status, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial abnormalities in the diabetic lung. Using STZ induced diabetes in rat as a model, we measured redox-imbalance related parameters including aldose reductase activity, level of poly ADP ribose polymerase (PAPR-1), NAD+ content, NADPH content, reduced form of glutathione (GSH), and glucose 6-phophate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity. For assessment of mitochondrial abnormalities in the diabetic lung, we measured the activities of mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes I to IV and complex V as well as dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH) content and activity. We also measured the protein content of NAD+ dependent enzymes such as sirtuin3 (sirt3) and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). Our results demonstrate that NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance occurs in the diabetic lung. This redox imbalance upregulates the activities of complexes I to IV, but not complex V; and this upregulation is likely the source of increased mitochondrial ROS production, oxidative stress, and cell death in the diabetic lung. These results, together with the findings that the protein contents of DLDH, sirt3, and NQO1 all are decreased in the diabetic lung, demonstrate that redox imbalance, mitochondrial abnormality, and oxidative stress contribute to lung injury in diabetes.

Pancreatic mitochondrial complex I exhibits aberrant hyperactivity in diabetes

It is well established that NADH/NAD+ redox balance is heavily perturbed in diabetes, and the NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance is a major source of oxidative stress in diabetic tissues. In mitochondria, complex I is the only site for NADH oxidation and NAD+ regeneration and is also a major site for production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). Yet how complex I responds to the NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance and any potential consequences of such response in diabetic pancreas have not been investigated. We report here that pancreatic mitochondrial complex I showed aberrant hyperactivity in either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Further studies focusing on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes indicate that complex I hyperactivity could be attenuated by metformin. Moreover, complex I hyperactivity was accompanied by increased activities of complexes II to IV, but not complex V, suggesting that overflow of NADH via complex I in diabetes could be diverted to ROS production. Indeed in diabetic pancreas, ROS production and oxidative stress increased and mitochondrial ATP production decreased, which can be attributed to impaired pancreatic mitochondrial membrane potential that is responsible for increased cell death. Additionally, cellular defense systems such as glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, sirtuin 3, and NQO1 were found to be compromised in diabetic pancreas. Our findings point to the direction that complex I aberrant hyperactivity in pancreas could be a major source of oxidative stress and β cell failure in diabetes. Therefore, inhibiting pancreatic complex I hyperactivity and attenuating its ROS production by various means in diabetes might serve as a promising approach for anti-diabetic therapies.

Sources and implications of NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance in diabetes and its complications

NAD+ is a fundamental molecule in metabolism and redox signaling. In diabetes and its complications, the balance between NADH and NAD+ can be severely perturbed. On one hand, NADH is overproduced due to influx of hyperglycemia to the glycolytic and Krebs cycle pathways and activation of the polyol pathway. On the other hand, NAD+ can be diminished or depleted by overactivation of poly ADP ribose polymerase that uses NAD+ as its substrate. Moreover, sirtuins, another class of enzymes that also use NAD+ as their substrate for catalyzing protein deacetylation reactions, can also affect cellular content of NAD+. Impairment of NAD+ regeneration enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase in erythrocytes and complex I in mitochondria can also contribute to NADH accumulation and NAD+ deficiency. The consequence of NADH/NAD+ redox imbalance is initially reductive stress that eventually leads to oxidative stress and oxidative damage to macromolecules, including DNA, lipids, and proteins. Accordingly, redox imbalance-triggered oxidative damage has been thought to be a major factor contributing to the development of diabetes and its complications. Future studies on restoring NADH/NAD+ redox balance could provide further insights into design of novel antidiabetic strategies.

Mitochondrial Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase is Upregulated in Response to Intermittent Hypoxic Preconditioning.

Intermittent hypoxia preconditioning (IHP) has been shown to protect neurons against ischemic stroke injury. Studying how proteins respond to IHP may identify targets that can help fight stroke. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether mitochondrial dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH) would respond to IHP and if so, whether such a response could be linked to neuroprotection in ischemic stroke injury. To do this, we subjected male rats to IHP for 20 days and measured the content and activity of DLDH as well as the three α-keto acid dehydrogenase complexes that contain DLDH. We also measured mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activities. Results show that DLDH content was indeed upregulated by IHP and this upregulation did not alter the activities of the three α-keto acid dehydrogenase complexes. Results also show that the activities of the five mitochondrial complexes (I-V) were not altered either by IHP. To investigate whether IHP-induced DLDH upregulation is linked to neuroprotection against ischemic stroke injury, we subjected both DLDH deficient mouse and DLDH transgenic mouse to stroke surgery followed by measurement of brain infarction volume. Results indicate that while mouse deficient in DLDH had exacerbated brain injury after stroke, mouse overexpressing human DLDH also showed increased brain injury after stroke. Therefore, the physiological significance of IHP-induced DLDH upregulation remains to be further investigated.

Non‐Gradient Blue Native Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Gradient blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN‐PAGE) is a well established and widely used technique for activity analysis of high‐molecular‐weight proteins, protein complexes, and protein‐protein interactions. Since its inception in the early 1990s, a variety of minor modifications have been made to this gradient gel analytical method. Here we provide a major modification of the method, which we call non‐gradient BN‐PAGE. The procedure, similar to that of non‐gradient SDS‐PAGE, is simple because there is no expensive gradient maker involved. The non‐gradient BN‐PAGE protocols presented herein provide guidelines on the analysis of mitochondrial protein complexes, in particular, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH) and those in the electron transport chain. Protocols for the analysis of blood esterases or mitochondrial esterases are also presented. The non‐gradient BN‐PAGE method may be tailored for analysis of specific proteins according to their molecular weight regardless of whether the target proteins are hydrophobic or hydrophilic.

Potential Biochemical Mechanisms of Lung Injury in Diabetes

Accumulating evidence has shown that the lung is one of the target organs for microangiopathy in patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetes is associated with physiological and structural abnormalities in the diabetic lung concurrent with attenuated lung function. Despite intensive investigations in recent years, the pathogenic mechanisms of diabetic lung injury remain largely elusive. In this review, we summarize currently postulated mechanisms of diabetic lung injury. We mainly focus on the pathogenesis of diabetic lung injury that implicates key pathways, including oxidative stress, non-enzymatic protein glycosylation, polyol pathway, NF-κB pathway, and protein kinase c pathway. We also highlight that while numerous studies have mainly focused on tissue or cell damage in the lung, studies focusing on mitochondrial dysfunction in the diabetic lung have remained sketchy. Hence, further understanding of mitochondrial mechanisms of diabetic lung injury should provide invaluable insights into future therapeutic approaches for diabetic lung injury.