1 2772 211 EXTRACELLULAR ATP AND NEURODEGENERATION. ATP IS A POTENT SIGNALING MOLECULE ABUNDANTLY PRESENT IN THE CNS. IT ELICITS A WIDE ARRAY OF PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND IS REGARDED AS THE PHYLOGENETICALLY MOST ANCIENT EPIGENETIC FACTOR PLAYING CRUCIAL BIOLOGICAL ROLES IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT TISSUES. THESE CAN RANGE FROM NEUROTRANSMISSION, SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTION, CHEMOSENSORY SIGNALING, SECRETION AND VASODILATATION, TO MORE COMPLEX PHENOMENA SUCH AS IMMUNE RESPONSES, PAIN, MALE REPRODUCTION, FERTILIZATION AND EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT. ATP IS RELEASED INTO THE EXTRACELLULAR SPACE EITHER EXOCYTOTICALLY OR FROM DAMAGED AND DYING CELLS. IT IS OFTEN CO-RELEASED WITH OTHER NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND IT CAN INTERACT WITH GROWTH FACTORS AT BOTH RECEPTOR- AND/OR SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION-LEVEL. ONCE IN THE EXTRACELLULAR ENVIRONMENT, ATP BINDS TO SPECIFIC RECEPTORS TERMED P2. BASED ON PHARMACOLOGICAL PROFILES, ON SELECTIVITY OF COUPLING TO SECOND-MESSENGER PATHWAYS AND ON MOLECULAR CLONING, TWO MAIN SUBCLASSES WITH MULTIPLE SUBTYPES HAVE BEEN DISTINGUISHED. THEY ARE P2X, I.E. FAST CATION-SELECTIVE RECEPTOR CHANNELS (NA+, K+, CA2+), POSSESSING LOW AFFINITY FOR ATP AND RESPONSIBLE FOR FAST EXCITATORY NEUROTRANSMISSION, AND P2Y, I.E. SLOW G PROTEIN-COUPLED METABOTROPIC RECEPTORS, POSSESSING HIGHER AFFINITY FOR THE LIGAND. IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, THEY ARE BROADLY EXPRESSED IN BOTH NEURONS AND GLIAL CELLS AND CAN MEDIATE DUAL EFFECTS: SHORT-TERM SUCH AS NEUROTRANSMISSION, AND LONG-TERM SUCH AS TROPHIC ACTIONS. SINCE MASSIVE EXTRACELLULAR RELEASE OF ATP OFTEN OCCURS AFTER METABOLIC STRESS, BRAIN ISCHEMIA AND TRAUMA, PURINERGIC MECHANISMS ARE ALSO CORRELATED TO AND INVOLVED IN THE ETIOPATHOLOGY OF MANY NEURODEGENERATIVE CONDITIONS. FURTHERMORE, EXTRACELLULAR ATP PER SE IS TOXIC FOR PRIMARY NEURONAL DISSOCIATED AND ORGANOTYPIC CNS CULTURES FROM CORTEX, STRIATUM AND CEREBELLUM AND P2 RECEPTORS CAN MEDIATE AND AGGRAVATE HYPOXIC SIGNALING IN MANY CNS NEURONS. CONVERSELY, SEVERAL P2 RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS ABOLISH THE CELL DEATH FATE OF PRIMARY NEURONAL CULTURES EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE GLUTAMATE, SERUM/POTASSIUM DEPRIVATION, HYPOGLYCEMIA AND CHEMICAL HYPOXIA. IN PARALLEL WITH THESE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS, ALSO TROPHIC FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY DESCRIBED FOR EXTRACELLULAR PURINES (BOTH FOR NEURONAL AND NON-NEURONAL CELLS), BUT THESE MIGHT EITHER AGGRAVATE OR AMELIORATE THE NORMAL CELLULAR CONDITIONS. IN SUMMARY, EXTRACELLULAR ATP PLAYS A VERY COMPLEX ROLE NOT ONLY IN THE REPAIR, REMODELING AND SURVIVAL OCCURRING IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, BUT EVEN IN CELL DEATH AND THIS CAN OCCUR EITHER AFTER NORMAL DEVELOPMENTAL CONDITIONS, AFTER INJURY, OR ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES. 2003 2 5329 46 PURINERGIC SIGNALING IN THE LUMEN OF A NORMAL NEPHRON AND IN REMODELED PKD ENCAPSULATED CYSTS. THE NEPHRON IS THE FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF THE KIDNEY. BLOOD AND PLASMA ARE CONTINUALLY FILTERED WITHIN THE GLOMERULI THAT BEGIN EACH NEPHRON. ADENOSINE 5' TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP) AND ITS METABOLITES ARE FREELY FILTERED BY EACH GLOMERULUS AND ENTER THE LUMEN OF EACH NEPHRON BEGINNING AT THE PROXIMAL CONVOLUTED TUBULE (PCT). FLOW RATE, OSMOLALITY, AND OTHER MECHANICAL OR CHEMICAL STIMULI FOR ATP SECRETION ARE PRESENT IN EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT. THESE ATP-RELEASE STIMULI ARE ALSO DIFFERENT IN EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT DUE TO WATER OR SALT PERMEABILITY OR IMPERMEABILITY ALONG DIFFERENT LUMINAL MEMBRANES OF THE CELLS THAT LINE EACH NEPHRON SEGMENT. EACH OF THE ABOVE STIMULI CAN TRIGGER ADDITIONAL ATP RELEASE INTO THE LUMEN OF A NEPHRON SEGMENT. EACH NEPHRON-LINING EPITHELIAL CELL IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF SECRETED ATP. TOGETHER WITH FILTERED ATP AND ITS METABOLITES DERIVED FROM THE GLOMERULUS, SECRETED ATP AND ADENOSINE DERIVED FROM CELLS ALONG THE NEPHRON ARE LIKELY THE PRINCIPAL TWO OF SEVERAL NUCLEOTIDE AND NUCLEOSIDE CANDIDATES FOR RENAL AUTOCRINE AND PARACRINE LIGANDS WITHIN THE TUBULAR FLUID OF THE NEPHRON. THIS MINIREVIEW DISCUSSES THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF PURINERGIC SIGNALING AS THEY RELATE TO THE NEPHRON AND THE URINARY BLADDER. THE REVIEW DISCUSSES HOW THE LUMEN OF A RENAL TUBULE PRESENTS AN IDEAL PURINERGIC SIGNALING MICROENVIRONMENT. THE REVIEW ALSO ILLUSTRATES HOW REMODELED AND ENCAPSULATED CYSTS IN AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE (ADPKD) AND REMODELED PSEUDOCYSTS IN AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE PKD (ARPKD) OF THE RENAL COLLECTING DUCT LIKELY CREATE AN EVEN MORE IDEAL MICROENVIRONMENT FOR PURINERGIC SIGNALING. ONCE TRAPPED IN THESE CLOSED MICROENVIRONMENTS, PURINERGIC SIGNALING BECOMES CHRONIC AND LIKELY PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT EPIGENETIC AND DETRIMENTAL ROLE IN THE SECONDARY PROGRESSION OF PKD, ONCE THE REMODELING OF THE RENAL TISSUE HAS BEGUN. IN PKD CYSTIC MICROENVIRONMENTS, WE ARGUE THAT NORMAL PURINERGIC SIGNALING WITHIN THE LUMEN OF THE NEPHRON PROVIDES DETRIMENTAL ACCELERATION OF ADPKD ONCE REMODELING IS COMPLETE. 2008 3 5252 37 PROGRAMMING AND REGULATION OF METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS. EVIDENCE IS PRESENTED THAT THE RATE AND EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS IN MITOCHONDRIAL OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION SET AND MAINTAIN METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS IN EUKARYOTIC CELLS. THESE INTERNAL CONSTANTS DETERMINE THE ENERGY STATE ([ATP]/[ADP][PI]), AND THE ENERGY STATE MAINTAINS HOMEOSTASIS THROUGH A BIDIRECTIONAL SENSORY/SIGNALING CONTROL NETWORK THAT REACHES EVERY ASPECT OF CELLULAR METABOLISM. THE ENERGY STATE IS MAINTAINED WITH HIGH PRECISION (TO APPROXIMATELY 1 PART IN 10(10)), AND THE CONTROL SYSTEM CAN RESPOND TO TRANSIENT CHANGES IN ENERGY DEMAND (ATP UTILIZATION) OF MORE THAN 100 TIMES THE RESTING RATE. EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE ABLE TO "FINE-TUNE" THE PROGRAMMED SET POINT OVER A NARROW RANGE TO MEET THE SPECIAL NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND CHRONIC CHANGES IN METABOLIC REQUIREMENTS. THE RESULT IS ROBUST ACROSS-PLATFORM CONTROL OF METABOLISM, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL TO CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF COMPLEX ORGANISMS. A MODEL OF OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION IS PRESENTED, FOR WHICH THE STEADY-STATE RATE EXPRESSION HAS BEEN DERIVED AND COMPUTER PROGRAMMED. THE BEHAVIOR OF OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION PREDICTED BY THE MODEL IS SHOWN TO FIT THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA AVAILABLE FOR ISOLATED MITOCHONDRIA AS WELL AS FOR CELLS AND TISSUES. THIS INCLUDES MEASUREMENTS FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT MAMMALIAN TISSUES AS WELL AS FROM INSECT FLIGHT MUSCLE AND PLANTS. THE RESPIRATORY CHAIN AND OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION IS REMARKABLY SIMILAR FOR ALL HIGHER PLANTS AND ANIMALS. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF ATP AND PRECISE CONTROL OF METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS PROVIDED BY OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION BEING A KEY TO CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF STRUCTURES WITH SPECIALIZED FUNCTION. 2015 4 5820 36 STRESS DYNAMICALLY REGULATES BEHAVIOR AND GLUTAMATERGIC GENE EXPRESSION IN HIPPOCAMPUS BY OPENING A WINDOW OF EPIGENETIC PLASTICITY. EXCITATORY AMINO ACIDS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN BOTH ADAPTIVE AND DELETERIOUS EFFECTS OF STRESSORS ON THE BRAIN, AND DYSREGULATED GLUTAMATE HOMEOSTASIS HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH PSYCHIATRIC AND NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS. HERE, WE ELUCIDATE MECHANISMS OF EPIGENETIC PLASTICITY IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS IN THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN A HISTORY OF CHRONIC STRESS AND FAMILIAR AND NOVEL ACUTE STRESSORS THAT ALTER EXPRESSION OF ANXIETY- AND DEPRESSIVE-LIKE BEHAVIORS. WE DEMONSTRATE THAT ACUTE RESTRAINT AND ACUTE FORCED SWIM STRESSORS INDUCE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS ON THESE BEHAVIORS IN NAIVE MICE AND IN MICE WITH A HISTORY OF CHRONIC-RESTRAINT STRESS (CRS). THEY REVEAL A KEY ROLE FOR EPIGENETIC UP- AND DOWN-REGULATION OF THE PUTATIVE PRESYNAPTIC TYPE 2 METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE (MGLU2) RECEPTORS AND THE POSTSYNAPTIC NR1/NMDA RECEPTORS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS AND PARTICULARLY IN THE DENTATE GYRUS (DG), A REGION OF ACTIVE NEUROGENESIS AND A TARGET OF ANTIDEPRESSANT TREATMENT. WE SHOW CHANGES IN DG LONG-TERM POTENTIATION (LTP) THAT PARALLEL BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES, WITH HABITUATION TO THE SAME ACUTE RESTRAINT STRESSOR AND SENSITIZATION TO A NOVEL FORCED-SWIM STRESSOR. IN WT MICE AFTER CRS AND IN UNSTRESSED MICE WITH A BDNF LOSS-OF-FUNCTION ALLELE (BDNF VAL66MET), WE SHOW THAT THE EPIGENETIC ACTIVATOR OF HISTONE ACETYLATION, P300, PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE DYNAMIC UP- AND DOWN-REGULATION OF MGLU2 IN HIPPOCAMPUS VIA HISTONE-3-LYSINE-27-ACETYLATION (H3K27AC) WHEN ACUTE STRESSORS ARE APPLIED. THESE HIPPOCAMPAL RESPONSES REVEAL A WINDOW OF EPIGENETIC PLASTICITY THAT MAY BE USEFUL FOR TREATMENT OF DISORDERS IN WHICH GLUTAMATERGIC TRANSMISSION IS DYSREGULATED. 2015 5 5416 24 REGULATION OF CELLULAR METABOLISM: PROGRAMMING AND MAINTAINING METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS. MITOCHONDRIAL OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION IS PROGRAMMED TO SET AND MAINTAIN METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH AN INTRINSIC PROGRAM THAT DETERMINES THE METABOLIC [ATP]/[ADP]/[PI], WHERE [PI] IS THE CONCENTRATION OF INORGANIC PHOSPHATE (ENERGY STATE) AND MAINTAINS IT THROUGH A BIDIRECTIONAL SENSORY/SIGNALING CONTROL NETWORK THAT REACHES EVERY ASPECT OF CELLULAR METABOLISM. THE PROGRAM SETS THE ENERGY STATE WITH HIGH PRECISION (TO BETTER THAN ONE PART IN 10(9)) AND CAN RESPOND TO TRANSIENT CHANGES IN ENERGY DEMAND (ATP USE) TO MORE THAN 100 TIMES THE RESTING RATE. EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE ABLE TO "FINE TUNE" THE PROGRAMMED SET POINT OVER A NARROW RANGE TO MEET THE SPECIAL NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND CHRONIC CHANGES IN METABOLIC REQUIREMENTS. THE RESULT IS ROBUST, ACROSS PLATFORM CONTROL OF METABOLISM, ESSENTIAL TO CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF COMPLEX ORGANISMS. 2013 6 313 25 ALCOHOL METABOLISM AND EPIGENETICS CHANGES. METABOLITES, INCLUDING THOSE GENERATED DURING ETHANOL METABOLISM, CAN IMPACT DISEASE STATES BY BINDING TO TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND/OR MODIFYING CHROMATIN STRUCTURE, THEREBY ALTERING GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ACTIVITIES OF ENZYMES INVOLVED IN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS DNA AND HISTONE METHYLATION AND HISTONE ACETYLATION, ARE INFLUENCED BY THE LEVELS OF METABOLITES SUCH AS NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD), ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP), AND S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAM). CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN SAM LEVELS, THEREBY CONTRIBUTING TO DNA HYPOMETHYLATION. SIMILARLY, ETHANOL METABOLISM ALTERS THE RATIO OF NAD+ TO REDUCED NAD (NADH) AND PROMOTES THE FORMATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND ACETATE, ALL OF WHICH IMPACT EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION TO ALTERED CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM, INDUCTION OF CELL DEATH, AND CHANGES IN MITOCHONDRIAL PERMEABILITY TRANSITION, THESE METABOLISM-RELATED CHANGES CAN LEAD TO MODULATION OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THESE EPIGENETIC CHANGES WILL HELP RESEARCHERS DESIGN NOVEL MEDICATIONS TO TREAT OR AT LEAST AMELIORATE ALCOHOL-INDUCED ORGAN DAMAGE. 2013 7 1637 39 DOES DYSREGULATION OF KEY EPIGENETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS OCCUR IN POSTULATED VASOACTIVE NEUROPEPTIDE AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS? AUTOIMMUNE DYSFUNCTION OF CERTAIN VASOACTIVE NEUROPEPTIDES (VNS) HAS BEEN POSTULATED AS A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE OF SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS), CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS), GULF WAR SYNDROME (GWS) AND OTHER FATIGUE-RELATED DISORDERS. THIS FAMILY OF VNS INCLUDES PITUITARY ADENYLATE CYCLASE ACTIVATING POLYPEPTIDE (PACAP), VASOACTIVE INTESTINAL PEPTIDE (VIP) AND CALCITONIN GENE RELATED PEPTIDE (CGRP). THE POSTULATED MECHANISM IS COMPROMISE OF ADENYLATE CYCLASE ACTIVATION, A VITAL AND UNIQUE STEP IN CYCLIC AMP PRODUCTION FROM ATP, THROUGH AUTOIMMUNE DYSFUNCTION OF VNS, THEIR RECEPTORS OR THEIR GENES POSSIBLY INVOLVING CYTOSINE-PHOSPHATE-GUANINE (CPG) FRAGMENTS. CPG FRAGMENTS ARE IMMUNOMODULATORY DINUCLEOTIDES SERVING AS 'FRIEND OR FOE' RECOGNITION SYSTEMS TO DIFFERENTIATE BACTERIAL AND VIRAL (HYPOMETHYLATED CPG) FROM MAMMALIAN (METHYLATED CPG) DNA. HOWEVER HYPOMETHYLATION DISORDERS AFFECTING THESE FRAGMENTS IN MAMMALS MAY CONVERT THEM TO DYSFUNCTIONAL STATES BY PROMOTING AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATORY REACTIONS. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ACTING ON GENE PROMOTER REGIONS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF VN AUTOIMMUNE FATIGUE-RELATED DISORDERS THROUGH CPG FRAGMENTS LOCATED IN VITAL SEGMENTS OF VN/RECEPTOR GENES BY CAUSING SIGNALLING DEFECTS WITH PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS FOR VN FUNCTION. NEUROTRANSMITTER DYSFUNCTION PARTICULARLY GLUTAMATERGIC TRANSMISSION COULD ALSO RESULT WITH DISRUPTION OF NEURONAL CELLULAR BIOCHEMICAL FUNCTIONS SUCH AS AMMONIA REGULATION. ENDOSOMAL ACIDITY AND MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE POTENTIAL MODIFIERS SUCH AS CHLOROQUINE, TOGETHER WITH IMMUNOREGULATORY THERAPIES, MAY HAVE THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS IN PROTECTING AGAINST THESE APPARENT AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS. THIS PAPER EXAMINES SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS POSSIBLY MEDIATED BY VN OR RECEPTOR GENES RESULTING IN POSTULATED VN AUTOIMMUNE FATIGUE-RELATED DISORDERS. THESE MECHANISMS MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OPTIONS FOR VN AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS. VN AUTOIMMUNE PROCESSES HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR MILITARY MEDICINE WHERE RADIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PATHOGENESIS. 2005 8 3940 41 LNCRNA DLEU2 REGULATES SIRTUINS AND MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATORY CHAIN COMPLEX IV: A NOVEL PATHWAY IN OBESITY AND OFFSPRING'S HEALTH. BACKGROUND: LONG NON-CODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) HAVE EMERGED AS A RAPIDLY EXPANDING AREA OF INTEREST IN CHRONIC DISEASES. THEY ARE MOSTLY UNKNOWN FOR ROLES IN METABOLIC REGULATION. SIRTUINS, AN EPIGENETIC MODULATOR CLASS, REGULATE METABOLIC PATHWAYS. HOWEVER, HOW SIRTUINS ARE REGULATED VIA LNCRNA IS UNKNOWN. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT A HIGH-FAT HIGH-FRUCTOSE DIET (HFD-HF) DURING PREGNANCY WOULD INCREASE THE RISK FOR OBESITY VIA LNCRNA-SIRTUIN PATHWAYS. METHODS: FEMALE C57BL/6 MICE (F0) WERE FED EITHER CHOW DIET (CD) OR HFD-HF FOR 6 WEEKS TILL BIRTH. THE PUPS (F1) WERE FED EITHER CD OR HFD-HF FOR 20 WEEKS. EXPRESSION OF DLEU2, SIRTUINS, MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATORY COMPLEXES, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS WERE INVESTIGATED IN THE F1 LIVERS. FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE, INSULIN SENSITIVITY, GLUCOSE TOLERANCE, BODY AND TISSUES WEIGHT WERE MEASURED. A MECHANISTIC INTERACTION WAS THEN CARRIED OUT USING A DLEU2 KNOCKDOWN EXPERIMENT IN THE HEPG2 CELL. RESULTS: DLEU2 AND SIRTUINS WERE BOTH SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE LIVERS OF HFD-HF FED MALE F1 WHOSE MOTHERS WERE EITHER FED CD OR HFD-HF DURING REPRODUCTIVE AND PREGNANCY WINDOWS. CONFIRMING THIS CONNECTION, UPON SILENCING DLEU2, TRANSCRIPTION LEVELS OF SIRT1 THROUGH 6 AND TRANSLATIONAL LEVELS OF SIRT1, 3, 5, AND 6 WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DOWNREGULATED. KNOCKDOWN OF DLEU2 SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE PROTEIN LEVEL OF CYTOCHROME-C OXIDASE (COMPLEX IV, MTCO1) WITHOUT ALTERING OTHER MITOCHONDRIAL COMPLEXES, DECREASED MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE POTENTIAL, DECREASED ATP, AND INCREASED REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES. INTERESTINGLY, IN F1 LIVERS, THE PROTEIN LEVEL OF MTCO1 WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED UNDER AN HFD-HF DIET OR EVEN UNDER CHOW DIET IF THE MOTHER WAS EXPOSED TO HFD-HF. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS REVEAL FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT ONE LNCRNA CAN REGULATE SIRTUINS AND A SPECIFIC MITOCHONDRIAL COMPLEX. FURTHERMORE, DIET OR MATERNAL DIET CAN MODULATE DLEU2 AND ITS DOWNSTREAM REGULATORS IN OFFSPRING, SUGGESTING A POTENTIAL ROLE OF DLEU2 IN METABOLIC DISORDERS OVER ONE OR MORE GENERATIONS. 2022 9 5559 29 ROLE OF HIPPOCAMPAL CIRCKCNK9 IN VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY COMORBIDITY OF IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME. IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS) IS A COMMON GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY RECURRENT VISCERAL PAIN AND ALTERED BOWEL HABITS (DIARRHEA OR CONSTIPATION). HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR AND PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THIS STUDY FOUND NEONATAL COLORECTAL DISTENSION TO INDUCE VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY. THE EXPRESSION OF HIPPOCAMPAL CIRCKCNK9, A NOVEL CIRCRNA, WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN IBS-LIKE RATS. INTERESTINGLY, CA1 SHCIRCKCNK9 TREATMENT INHIBITED LONG-TERM POTENTIATION (LTP) AND ALLEVIATED VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY IN IBS-LIKE RATS, WHEREAS OVEREXPRESSION OF CA1 CIRCKCNK9 INDUCED LTP, VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY, AND ANXIETY IN CONTROLS. SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS INDICATED THAT INCREASED CA1 CIRCKCNK9 ACTED AS A MIR-124-3P SPONGE, WHICH RESULTED IN THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF MIR-124-3P ON GENE SILENCING. THERE WAS A NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN CIRCKCNK9 AND MIR-124-3P EXPRESSION. AS EXPECTED, CA1 ADMINISTRATION OF AGOMIR-124-3P DECREASED CA1 LTP, VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY, AND ANXIETY IN THE IBS-LIKE RATS. IN CONTRAST, CA1 TREATMENT WITH ANTAGOMIR-124-3P INDUCED LTP, VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY, AND ANXIETY IN THE CONTROLS. FURTHERMORE, BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA SHOWED THAT EZH2 IS A CIRCKCNK9/MIR-124-3P TARGET GENE, AND INCREASED EZH2 EXPRESSION WAS INVOLVED IN VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY IN IBS-LIKE RATS BY ENHANCING HIPPOCAMPAL SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY. IN CONCLUSION, EARLY LIFE STRESS INDUCES INCREASED EXPRESSION OF CIRCKCNK9 IN THE CA1 OF IBS-LIKE RATS. INCREASED CIRCKCNK9 EXPRESSION REGULATES SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND ENHANCES LTP, LEADING TO VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY IN IBS-LIKE RATS. THE UNDERLYING CIRCKCNK9 SIGNALING PATHWAY IS MIR124-3P/EZH2. INCREASED CIRCKCNK9 REINFORCES ITS SPONGING OF MIR124-3P AND STRONGLY SUPPRESSES MIR124-3P ACTIVITY, RESULTING IN INCREASED EXPRESSION OF THE TARGET GENE EZH2. THIS STUDY PROVIDES A NEW EPIGENETIC MECHANISM FOR VISCERAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND ANXIETY IN IBS-LIKE RATS. 2022 10 5781 34 SPINAL SIRT1 ACTIVATION ATTENUATES NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN MICE. ABNORMAL HISTONE ACETYLATION OCCURS DURING NEUROPATHIC PAIN THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. SILENT INFORMATION REGULATOR 1 (SIR2 OR SIRT1), A NAD-DEPENDENT DEACETYLASE, PLAYS COMPLEX SYSTEMIC ROLES IN A VARIETY OF PROCESSES THROUGH DEACETYLATING ACETYLATED HISTONE AND OTHER SPECIFIC SUBSTRATES. BUT THE ROLE OF SIRT1 IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS NOT WELL ESTABLISHED YET. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS INTENDED TO DETECT SIRT1 CONTENT AND ACTIVITY, NICOTINAMIDE (NAM) AND NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD) IN THE SPINAL CORD USING IMMUNOBLOTTING OR MASS SPECTROSCOPY OVER TIME IN MICE FOLLOWING CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY (CCI) OR SHAM SURGERY. IN ADDITION, THE EFFECT OF INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF NAD OR RESVERATROL ON THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA WAS EVALUATED IN CCI MICE. FINALLY, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER SIRT1 INHIBITOR EX-527 COULD REVERSE THE ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF NAD OR RESVERATROL. IT WAS FOUND THAT SPINAL SIRT1 EXPRESSION, DEACETYLASE ACTIVITY AND NAD/NAM DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY 1, 3, 7, 14 AND 21 DAYS AFTER CCI SURGERY AS COMPARED WITH SHAM GROUP. IN ADDITION, DAILY INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF 5 MICROL 800 MM NAD 1 H BEFORE AND 1 DAY AFTER CCI SURGERY OR SINGLE INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF 5 MICROL 90 MM RESVERATROL 1 H BEFORE CCI SURGERY PRODUCED A TRANSIENT INHIBITORY EFFECT ON THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND MECHANICAL ALLODYNIA IN CCI MICE. FINALLY, AN INTRATHECAL INJECTION OF 5 MICROL 1.2 MM EX-527 1 H BEFORE NAD OR RESVERATROL ADMINISTRATION REVERSED THE ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF NAD OR RESVERATROL. THESE DATA INDICATE THAT THE REDUCTION IN SIRT1 DEACETYLASE ACTIVITY MAY BE A FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN IN CCI MICE. OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE ENHANCEMENT OF SPINAL NAD/NAM AND/OR SIRT1 ACTIVITY MAY BE A POTENTIALLY PROMISING STRATEGY FOR THE PREVENTION OR TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. 2014 11 1201 30 CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR RECEPTOR-1 MODULATES BIOMARKERS OF DNA OXIDATION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE MICE. INCREASED PRODUCTION OF HYDROXYL RADICAL IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF OXIDATIVE DAMAGE IN MAMMALIAN DNA THAT ACCUMULATES IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) REACT WITH BOTH NUCLEAR DNA (NDNA) AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA (MTDNA) TO GENERATE 8-HYDROXY-2'-DEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OHDG), BOTH OF WHICH CAN BE MEASURED IN THE URINE. KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PATHWAY HAS POSITIONED MEASUREMENT OF URINE 8-OHDG AS A RELIABLE INDEX OF DNA OXIDATION AND A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER TARGET FOR TRACKING EARLY CELLULAR DYSFUNCTION IN AD. FURTHERMORE, EPIGENETIC STUDIES DEMONSTRATE DECREASED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION LEVELS (E.G. 5-METHYL-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE, 5-MDC) IN AD TISSUES. MOREOVER, STRESS HORMONES CAN ACTIVATE NEURONAL OXIDATIVE STRESS WHICH WILL STIMULATE THE RELEASE OF ADDITIONAL STRESS HORMONES AND RESULT IN DAMAGES TO HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS IN THE AD BRAIN. OUR PREVIOUS WORK SUGGESTS THAT TREATING AD TRANSGENIC MICE THE TYPE-1 CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR RECEPTOR (CRFR1) ANTAGONIST, R121919, TO REDUCE STRESS SIGNALING, PREVENTED ONSET OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, SYNAPTIC/DENDRITIC LOSS AND ABETA PLAQUE ACCUMULATION. THEREFORE, TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER LEVELS OF DNA OXIDATION CAN BE IMPACTED BY THE SAME THERAPEUTIC APPROACH, URINE LEVELS OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, 8-OHDG, 5-MDC AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY (TAC) WERE ANALYZED USING AN AD TG MOUSE MODEL. WE FOUND THAT TG ANIMALS HAD AN 80% INCREASE IN HYDROGEN PEROXIDE LEVELS COMPARED TO WILD TYPE (WT) COUNTERPARTS, AN EFFECT THAT COULD BE DRAMATICALLY REVERSED BY THE CHRONIC ADMINISTRATION WITH R121919. A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE OF 8-OHDG LEVELS WAS OBSERVED IN TG MICE TREATED WITH CRFR1 ANTAGONIST. COLLECTIVELY OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CRFR1 ANTAGONISM SEEN IN TG MICE MAY BE MECHANISTICALLY LINKED TO THE MODULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS PATHWAYS. 2017 12 5856 30 SUBSTRATE UTILISATION OF CULTURED SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH CFS. CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS) PATIENTS OFTEN SUFFER FROM SEVERE MUSCLE PAIN AND AN INABILITY TO EXERCISE DUE TO MUSCLE FATIGUE. IT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN THAT CFS SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS HAVE LOWER LEVELS OF ATP AND HAVE AMP-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE DYSFUNCTION. THIS STUDY OUTLINES EXPERIMENTS LOOKING AT THE UTILISATION OF DIFFERENT SUBSTRATES BY SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS FROM CFS PATIENTS (N = 9) AND HEALTHY CONTROLS (N = 11) USING EXTRACELLULAR FLUX ANALYSIS. RESULTS SHOW THAT CFS SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS ARE UNABLE TO UTILISE GLUCOSE TO THE SAME EXTENT AS HEALTHY CONTROL CELLS. CFS SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS WERE SHOWN TO OXIDISE GALACTOSE AND FATTY ACIDS NORMALLY, INDICATING THAT THE BIOENERGETIC DYSFUNCTION LIES UPSTREAM OF THE TCA CYCLE. THE DYSFUNCTION IN GLUCOSE OXIDATION IS SIMILAR TO WHAT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN IN BLOOD CELLS FROM CFS PATIENTS. THE CONSISTENCY OF CELLULAR BIOENERGETIC DYSFUNCTION IN DIFFERENT CELL TYPES SUPPORTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CFS IS A SYSTEMIC DISEASE. THE RETENTION OF BIOENERGETIC DEFECTS IN CULTURED CELLS INDICATES THAT THERE IS A GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC COMPONENT TO THE DISEASE. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO USE CELLS DERIVED FROM SKELETAL MUSCLE BIOPSIES IN CFS PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS TO LOOK AT CELLULAR BIOENERGETIC FUNCTION IN WHOLE CELLS. 2020 13 6166 37 THE GLUTATHIONE SYSTEM: A NEW DRUG TARGET IN NEUROIMMUNE DISORDERS. GLUTATHIONE (GSH) HAS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CELLULAR SIGNALING AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSES EITHER BY REACTING DIRECTLY WITH REACTIVE OXYGEN OR NITROGEN SPECIES OR BY ACTING AS AN ESSENTIAL COFACTOR FOR GSH S-TRANSFERASES AND GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASES. GSH ACTING IN CONCERT WITH ITS DEPENDENT ENZYMES, KNOWN AS THE GLUTATHIONE SYSTEM, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DETOXIFICATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES (ROS/RNS) AND ELECTROPHILES PRODUCED BY XENOBIOTICS. ADEQUATE LEVELS OF GSH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN GENERAL AND T CELL ACTIVATION AND DIFFERENTIATION IN PARTICULAR. GSH IS A UBIQUITOUS REGULATOR OF THE CELL CYCLE PER SE. GSH ALSO HAS CRUCIAL FUNCTIONS IN THE BRAIN AS AN ANTIOXIDANT, NEUROMODULATOR, NEUROTRANSMITTER, AND ENABLER OF NEURON SURVIVAL. DEPLETION OF GSH LEADS TO EXACERBATION OF DAMAGE BY OXIDATIVE AND NITROSATIVE STRESS; HYPERNITROSYLATION; INCREASED LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS AND INFLAMMATORY POTENTIAL; DYSFUNCTIONS OF INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORKS, E.G., P53, NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB, AND JANUS KINASES; DECREASED CELL PROLIFERATION AND DNA SYNTHESIS; INACTIVATION OF COMPLEX I OF THE ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN; ACTIVATION OF CYTOCHROME C AND THE APOPTOTIC MACHINERY; BLOCKADE OF THE METHIONINE CYCLE; AND COMPROMISED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION. AS SUCH, GSH DEPLETION HAS MARKED CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HOMEOSTATIC CONTROL OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, OXIDATIVE AND NITROSATIVE STRESS (O&NS) PATHWAYS, REGULATION OF ENERGY PRODUCTION, AND MITOCHONDRIAL SURVIVAL AS WELL. GSH DEPLETION AND CONCOMITANT INCREASE IN O&NS AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTIONS PLAY A ROLE IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF DIVERSE NEUROIMMUNE DISORDERS, INCLUDING DEPRESSION, MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SUGGESTING THAT DEPLETED GSH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THESE DISEASES. THERAPEUTICAL INTERVENTIONS THAT AIM TO INCREASE GSH CONCENTRATIONS IN VIVO INCLUDE N-ACETYL CYSTEINE; NRF-2 ACTIVATION VIA HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY; DIMETHYL FUMARATE; PHYTOCHEMICALS, INCLUDING CURCUMIN, RESVERATROL, AND CINNAMON; AND FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION. 2014 14 1829 36 EFFECTS OF INHIBITING ASTROCYTES AND BET/BRD4 CHROMATIN READER ON SPATIAL MEMORY AND SYNAPTIC PROTEINS IN RATS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ASTROCYTES AND NEURONS HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). ASTROCYTES REGULATE HOMEOSTASIS AND INCREASE SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY IN PHYSIOLOGICAL SITUATIONS, HOWEVER, THEY BECOME ACTIVATED DURING THE PROGRESSION OF AD. WHETHER OR NOT THESE REACTIONS ARE SUPPORTIVE OR DETRIMENTAL FOR THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM HAVE NOT BEEN UNDERSTOOD YET. CONSIDERING EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF NEUROINFLAMMATORY GENES BY CHROMATIN READERS, PARTICULARLY BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL DOMAIN (BET) FAMILY, HERE WE EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF CHRONIC CO-INHIBITION OF ASTROCYTES METABOLISM (WITH FLUOROCITRATE) AND ALSO BRD4 (WITH JQ1) ON COGNITION DEFICIT AT EARLY STAGES OF AD. FORTY ADULT MALE WISTAR RATS UNDERWENT STEREOTAXIC CANNULATION FOR INDUCING AD BY INTRAHIPPOCAMPAL INJECTION OF ABETA(1-42) (4 MUG/8 MUL/RAT). THEN ANIMALS WERE DIVIDED INTO FIVE GROUPS OF SALINE+DMSO, ABETA + SALINE+DMSO, ABETA + JQ1, ABETA + FC (FLUOROCITRATE), AND ABETA + JQ1 + FC AND RECEIVED THE RELATED TREATMENTS. TWO WEEKS LATER, SPATIAL MEMORY WAS RECORDED BY MORRIS WATER MAZE (MWM), AND THE LEVELS OF PHOSPHORYLATED CYCLIC-AMP RESPONSE ELEMENT BINDING PROTEIN (CREB), POSTSYNAPTIC DENSITY 95 (PSD95), SYNAPTOPHYSIN (SYP), AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) WERE MEASURED IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS BY WESTERN BLOTTING AND RT-QPCR. ADMINISTRATION OF JQ1 SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED BOTH ACQUISITION AND RETRIEVAL OF SPATIAL MEMORY, WHICH WERE EVIDENT BY DECREASED ESCAPE LATENCY AND INCREASED TOTAL TIME SPENT (TTS) IN TARGET QUADRANT, AND SIGNIFICANT RISE IN P-CREB, PSD95, AND SYNAPTOPHYSIN COMPARED WITH ABETA + SALINE+DMSO GROUP. IN CONTRAST, BOTH GROUPS RECEIVING FC DEMONSTRATED MEMORY DECLINE, AND REDUCTION IN P-CREB, PSD95 AND SYNAPTOPHYSIN IN PARALLEL WITH INCREASE IN TNF-ALPHA. OUR DATA INDICATE THAT CHRONIC INHIBITION OF BRD4 SIGNIFICANTLY RESTORES MEMORY IMPAIRED BY AMYLOID BETA PARTLY VIA CREB SIGNALING AND UPREGULATING SYNAPTIC PROTEINS OF PSD95 AND SYNAPTOPHYSIN. HOWEVER, INHIBITION OF ASTROCYTES NULLIFIES THE MEMORY-BOOSTING EFFECTS OF JQ1 AND REDUCES CREB/PSD95/SYNAPTOPHYSIN LEVELS IN HIPPOCAMPUS. 2022 15 449 17 APOCYNIN PREVENTS ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES OVEREXPRESSION INDUCED BY SUB-CHRONIC STRESS IN MICE. ANXIETY DISORDERS ARE COMMON MENTAL HEALTH DISEASES AFFECTING UP TO 7% OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. STRESS IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS TO PROMOTE ANXIETY DISORDERS THROUGH MECHANISMS INVOLVING EPIGENETIC CHANGES. MOREOVER, ALTERATION IN REDOX BALANCE AND INCREASED REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) PRODUCTION HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN ANXIETY PATIENTS AND IN STRESSED-ANIMAL MODELS OF ANXIETY. HERE WE TESTED IF THE ADMINISTRATION OF APOCYNIN, A NATURAL ORIGIN ANTIOXIDANT, MAY PREVENT THE ANXIETY-LIKE PHENOTYPE AND REDUCTION OF HISTONE ACETYLATION INDUCED BY A SUBCHRONIC FORCED SWIMMING STRESS (FSS) PARADIGM. WE FOUND THAT APOCYNIN PREVENTED THE ENHANCED LATENCY TIME IN THE NOVELTY-SUPPRESSED FEEDING TEST, AND THE PRODUCTION OF MALONDIALDEHYDE INDUCED BY FSS. MOREOVER, APOCYNIN WAS ABLE TO BLOCK THE UPREGULATION OF P47PHOX, A KEY SUBUNIT OF THE NADPH OXIDASE COMPLEX. FINALLY, APOCYNIN PREVENTED THE RISE OF HIPPOCAMPAL HDAC1, HDAC4 AND HDAC5, AND THE REDUCTION OF HISTONE-3 ACETYLATION LEVELS PROMOTED BY FSS EXPOSURE. IN CONCLUSION, OUR RESULTS PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT APOCYNIN REDUCES THE DELETERIOUS EFFECT OF STRESS AND SUGGESTS THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS MAY REGULATE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. 2021 16 1803 18 EFFECT OF PROLONGED EMOTIONAL AND PAIN STRESS ON THE CONTENT OF METHYLCYTOSINE-BINDING PROTEIN MECP2 IN NUCLEI OF HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS IN RATS WITH DIFFERENT EXCITABILITY OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. IN RATS WITH LOW EXCITABILITY THRESHOLD OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM DEMONSTRATING SIGNIFICANT AND PERSISTENT BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS, THE CONTENT OF METHYLCYTOSINE-BINDING PROTEIN MECP2 IN NEURONAL NUCLEI OF HIPPOCAMPAL FIELD CA3 DECREASED OVER 2 WEEKS AFTER LONG-TERM EMOTIONAL AND PAIN STRESS. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT PROTEIN MECP2 TRIGGERS EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN DNA THAT UNDERLIE "STRESS MEMORY". 2006 17 6615 34 ULTRAVIOLET-A1 IRRADIATION THERAPY FOR SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS. SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (LUPUS, SLE) IS A CHRONIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRODUCTION OF AUTOANTIBODIES, WHICH BIND TO ANTIGENS AND ARE DEPOSITED WITHIN TISSUES TO FIX COMPLEMENT, RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION. THE STUDIES PRESENTED HEREIN ARE CONSISTENT WITH HYPERPOLARIZED, ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP)-DEFICIENT MITOCHONDRIA BEING CENTRAL TO THE DISEASE PROCESS. THESE HYPERPOLARIZED MITOCHONDRIA RESIST THE DEPOLARIZATION REQUIRED FOR ACTIVATION-INDUCED APOPTOSIS. THE MITOCHONDRIAL ATP DEFICITS ADD TO THIS RESISTANCE TO APOPTOSIS AND ALSO REDUCE THE MACROPHAGE ENERGY THAT IS NEEDED TO CLEAR APOPTOTIC BODIES. IN BOTH CASES, NECROSIS, THE ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY OF CELL DEATH, RESULTS. INTRACELLULAR CONSTITUENTS SPILL INTO THE BLOOD AND TISSUES, ELICITING INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES DIRECTED AT THEIR REMOVAL. WHAT RESULTS IS "AUTOIMMUNITY." ULTRAVIOLET (UV)-A1 PHOTONS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REMEDIATE THIS ABERRANCY. EXOGENOUS EXPOSURE TO LOW-DOSE, FULL-BODY, UV-A1 RADIATION GENERATES SINGLET OXYGEN. SINGLET OXYGEN HAS TWO MAJOR PALLIATIVE ACTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH LUPUS AND THE UV-A1 PHOTONS THEMSELVES HAVE SEVERAL MORE. SINGLET OXYGEN DEPOLARIZES THE HYPERPOLARIZED MITOCHONDRION, TRIGGERING NON-ATP-DEPENDENT APOPTOSIS THAT DETERS NECROSIS. NEXT, SINGLET OXYGEN ACTIVATES THE GENE ENCODING HEME OXYGENASE (HO-1), A MAJOR GOVERNOR OF SYSTEMIC HOMEOSTASIS. HO-1 CATALYZES THE DEGRADATION OF THE OXIDANT HEME INTO BILIVERDIN (CONVERTED TO BILIRUBIN), FE, AND CARBON MONOXIDE (CO), THE FIRST THREE OF THESE EXERTING POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS, AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH A FOURTH, CO, PROTECTING AGAINST INJURY TO THE CORONARY ARTERIES, THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, AND THE LUNGS. THE UV-A1 PHOTONS THEMSELVES DIRECTLY ATTENUATE DISEASE IN LUPUS BY REDUCING B CELL ACTIVITY, PREVENTING THE SUPPRESSION OF CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY, SLOWING AN EPIGENETIC PROGRESSION TOWARD SLE, AND AMELIORATING DISCOID AND SUBACUTE CUTANEOUS LUPUS. FINALLY, A COMBINATION OF THESE MECHANISMS REDUCES LEVELS OF ANTICARDIOLIPIN ANTIBODIES AND PROTECTS DURING LUPUS PREGNANCY. CAPPING ALL OF THIS IS THAT UV-A1 IRRADIATION IS AN ESSENTIALLY INNOCUOUS, HIGHLY MANAGEABLE, AND COMFORTABLE THERAPEUTIC AGENCY. 2017 18 5720 29 SIRTUINS LINK INFLAMMATION AND METABOLISM. SIRTUINS (SIRT), FIRST DISCOVERED IN YEAST AS NAD+ DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REGULATORS, HAVE COMPARABLE ACTIVITIES IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY AND DISEASE. MOUNTING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT THE SEVEN-MEMBER MAMMALIAN SIRTUIN FAMILY (SIRT1-7) GUARD HOMEOSTASIS BY SENSING BIOENERGY NEEDS AND RESPONDING BY MAKING ALTERATIONS IN THE CELL NUTRIENTS. SIRTUINS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN RESTORING HOMEOSTASIS DURING STRESS RESPONSES. INFLAMMATION IS DESIGNED TO "DEFEND AND MEND" AGAINST THE INVADING ORGANISMS. EMERGING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT METABOLISM AND BIOENERGY REPROGRAMMING DIRECT THE SEQUENTIAL COURSE OF INFLAMMATION; FAILURE OF HOMEOSTASIS RETRIEVAL RESULTS IN MANY CHRONIC AND ACUTE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. ANABOLIC GLYCOLYSIS QUICKLY INDUCED (COMPARED TO OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION) FOR ROS AND ATP GENERATION IS NEEDED FOR IMMUNE ACTIVATION TO "DEFEND" AGAINST INVADING MICROORGANISMS. LIPOLYSIS/FATTY ACID OXIDATION, ESSENTIAL FOR CELLULAR PROTECTION/HIBERNATION AND CELL SURVIVAL IN ORDER TO "MEND," LEADS TO IMMUNE REPRESSION. ACUTE/CHRONIC INFLAMMATIONS ARE LINKED TO ALTERED GLYCOLYSIS AND FATTY ACID OXIDATION, AT LEAST IN PART, BY NAD+ DEPENDENT FUNCTION OF SIRTUINS. THERAPEUTICALLY TARGETING SIRTUINS MAY PROVIDE A NEW CLASS OF INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNE REGULATORS. THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES HOW SIRTUINS INTEGRATE METABOLISM, BIOENERGETICS, AND IMMUNITY DURING INFLAMMATION AND HOW SIRTUIN-DIRECTED TREATMENT IMPROVES OUTCOME IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND IN THE EXTREME STRESS RESPONSE OF SEPSIS. 2016 19 3127 24 GINSENOSIDE RG1 REDUCED MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION TO ALLEVIATE DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIOUR VIA THE GAS5/EZH2/SOCS3/NRF2 AXIS. GINSENOSIDE RG1 IS THE PRINCIPAL ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN GINSENG. THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF RG1 HAVE BEEN VALIDATED; HOWEVER, THE SPECIFIC UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF THIS EFFECT NEEDS FURTHER RESEARCH. RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO THE CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS (CRS) DEPRESSION MODEL. RG1, OR A POSITIVE CONTROL DRUG, WAS ADMINISTERED TO THE RATS. DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIOURS WERE EVALUATED THROUGH BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIMENTS. CYTOKINE, MRNA, PROTEIN, ATP, AND MITOCHONDRIA DNA LEVELS WERE DETECTED USING THE INDICATED METHODS. LENTIVIRUS-PACKAGED PLASMIDS WERE INJECTED INTO THE RAT BRAIN FOR GAS5 OVEREXPRESSION OR KNOCKDOWN. IN VITRO MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION WAS EVALUATED BY DETECTING MITOCHONDRIAL REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE POTENTIAL. DIRECT INTERACTION BETWEEN GAS5 AND EZH2 WAS VALIDATED BY RNA IMMUNOPRECIPITATION AND RNA PULL-DOWN ASSAY. THE ENRICHMENT OF EZH2 AND H3K27ME3 WAS EVALUATED THROUGH CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME PCR. RG1 TREATMENT ALLEVIATED DEPRESSION-LIKE BEHAVIOURS, MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION, AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN CRS RATS. SIMILARLY, GAS5 KNOCKDOWN REVEALED A SIMILAR PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF RG1 TREATMENT. GAS5 OVEREXPRESSION IN THE RAT BRAIN COMPROMISED THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF RG1 TREATMENT. MOREOVER, RG1 TREATMENT OR GAS5 KNOCKDOWN ATTENUATED MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN VITRO. MECHANICALLY, GAS5 WAS SUPPRESSED SOCS3 AND NRF2 EXPRESSION BY FACILITATING EZH2-MEDIATED TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSION. RG1 ATTENUATED MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION AND IMPROVED MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN DEPRESSION BY DOWNREGULATING GAS5 EXPRESSION. MECHANICALLY, GAS5 MIGHT REGULATE MICROGLIAL ACTIVATION AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION VIA THE EPIGENETIC SUPPRESSION OF NRF2 AND SOCS3. 2022 20 3840 36 IRON DEFICIENCY REPROGRAMS PHOSPHORYLATION SIGNALING AND REDUCES O-GLCNAC PATHWAYS IN NEURONAL CELLS. MICRONUTRIENT SENSING IS CRITICAL FOR CELLULAR GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION. DEFICIENCIES IN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS SUCH AS IRON STRONGLY AFFECT NEURONAL CELL DEVELOPMENT AND MAY LEAD TO DEFECTS IN NEURONAL FUNCTION THAT CANNOT BE REMEDIED BY SUBSEQUENT IRON SUPPLEMENTATION. TO UNDERSTAND THE ADAPTIVE INTRACELLULAR RESPONSES TO IRON DEFICIENCY IN NEURONAL CELLS, WE DEVELOPED AND UTILIZED A STABLE ISOTOPIC LABELING OF AMINO ACIDS IN CELL CULTURE (SILAC)-BASED QUANTITATIVE PHOSPHOPROTEOMICS WORKFLOW. OUR INTEGRATED APPROACH WAS DESIGNED TO COMPREHENSIVELY ELUCIDATE THE CHANGES IN PHOSPHORYLATION SIGNALING UNDER BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC IRON-DEFICIENT CELL MODELS. IN ADDITION, WE ANALYZED THE DIFFERENTIAL CELLULAR RESPONSES BETWEEN IRON DEFICIENCY AND HYPOXIA (OXYGEN-DEPRIVED) IN NEURONAL CELLS. OUR ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED NEARLY 16,000 PHOSPHORYLATION SITES IN HT-22 CELLS, A HIPPOCAMPAL-DERIVED NEURONAL CELL LINE, MORE THAN TEN PERCENT OF WHICH SHOWED AT LEAST 2-FOLD CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO EITHER HYPOXIA OR ACUTE/CHRONIC IRON DEFICIENCY. BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT IRON DEFICIENCY ALTERED KEY METABOLIC AND EPIGENETIC PATHWAYS INCLUDING THE PHOSPHORYLATION OF PROTEINS INVOLVED IN IRON SEQUESTRATION, GLUTAMATE METABOLISM, AND HISTONE METHYLATION. IN PARTICULAR, IRON DEFICIENCY INCREASED GLUTAMINE-FRUCTOSE-6-PHOSPHATE TRANSAMINASE (GFPT1) PHOSPHORYLATION, WHICH IS A KEY ENZYME IN THE GLUCOSAMINE BIOSYNTHESIS PATHWAY AND A TARGET OF 5' AMP-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE (AMPK), LEADING TO REDUCED GFPT1 ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY AND CONSEQUENTLY LOWER GLOBAL O-GLCNAC MODIFICATION IN NEURONAL CELLS. TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR ANALYSIS OF THE PHOSPHOPROTEOME DYNAMICS IN RESPONSE TO IRON AND OXYGEN DEPRIVATION DEMONSTRATED AN ADAPTIVE CELLULAR RESPONSE BY MOUNTING POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING AND EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING IN NEURONAL CELLS. 2021