Functional as well as structural alterations in mitochondria size, shape and distribution are precipitating, early events in progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). We reported that a 20-22 kDa NH2-tau fragment (aka NH2htau), mapping between 26 and 230 amino acids of the longest human tau isoform, is detected in cellular and animal AD models and is neurotoxic in hippocampal neurons. The NH2htau -but not the physiological full-length protein- interacts with A? at human AD synapses and cooperates with it in inhibiting the mitochondrial ANT-1-dependent ADP/ATP exchange. Here we show that the NH2htau also adversely affects the interplay between the mitochondria dynamics and their selective autophagic clearance. Fragmentation and perinuclear mislocalization of mitochondria with smaller size and density are early found in dying NH2htau-expressing neurons. The specific effect of NH2htau on quality control of mitochondria is accompanied by (i) net reduction in their mass in correlation with a general Parkin-mediated remodeling of membrane proteome; (ii) their extensive association with LC3 and LAMP1 autophagic markers; (iii) bioenergetic deficits and (iv) in vitro synaptic pathology. These results suggest that NH2htau can compromise the mitochondrial biology thereby contributing to AD synaptic deficits not only by ANT-1 inactivation but also, indirectly, by impairing the quality control mechanism of these organelles.

In this paper, we discuss the interplay between beta-amyloid (A?) peptide, Tau fragments, oxidative stress, and mitochondria in the neuronal model of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) in which the molecular events reminiscent of AD are activated. The identification of the death route and the cause/effect relationships between the events leading to death could be helpful to manage the progression of apoptosis in neurodegeneration and to define antiapoptotic treatments acting on precocious steps of the death process. Mitochondrial dysfunction is among the earliest events linked to AD and might play a causative role in disease onset and progression. Recent studies on CGNs have shown that adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) impairment, due to interaction with toxic N-ter Tau fragment, contributes in a significant manner to bioenergetic failure and mitochondrial dysfunction. These findings open a window for new therapeutic strategies aimed at preserving and/or improving mitochondrial function.

To find out whether and how the adenine nucleotide translocator-1 (ANT-1) inhibition due to NH2htau and A?1-42 is due to an interplay between these two Alzheimer's peptides, ROS and ANT-1 thiols, use was made of mersalyl, a reversible alkylating agent of thiol groups that are oriented toward the external hydrophilic phase, to selectively block and protect, in a reversible manner, the -SH groups of ANT-1. The rate of ATP appearance outside mitochondria was measured as the increase in NADPH absorbance which occurs, following external addition of ADP, when ATP is produced by oxidative phosphorylation and exported from mitochondria in the presence of glucose, hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. We found that the mitochondrial superoxide anions, whose production is induced at the level of Complex I by externally added A?1-42 and whose release from mitochondria is significantly reduced by the addition of the VDAC inhibitor DIDS, modify the thiol group/s present at the active site of mitochondrial ANT-1, impair ANT-1 in a mersalyl-prevented manner and abrogate the toxic effect of NH2htau on ANT-1 when A?1-42 is already present. A molecular mechanism is proposed in which the pathological A?-NH2htau interplay on ANT-1 in Alzheimer's neurons involves the thiol redox state of ANT-1 and the A?1-42-induced ROS increase. This result represents an important innovation because it suggests the possibility of using various strategies to protect cells at the mitochondrial level, by stabilizing or restoring mitochondrial function or by interfering with the energy metabolism providing a promising tool for treating or preventing AD.

The metabolism of benthic aquatic invertebrates, populating transitional water ecosystems, is influenced by both physiological and environmental factors, thus involving an adjustment of physiological processes which has a metabolic cost. In order to discover changes in metabolic pathways in response to specific factors, it's firstly necessary characterizing the principal cellular metabolic activities of the small benthic aquatic organisms. We approach here the bioenergetic state issue of two benthic organisms, i.e. Lekanesphaera monodi and Gammarus insensibilis, evidencing that no apparent and statistically significative differences between them in aerobic as well in glycolytic capacities are detected, except for COX activity.

We have investigated the ability of certain dietary flavonoids, known to exert beneficial effects on the central nervous system, to affect neuronal apoptosis. We used cerebellar granule cells undergoing apoptosis due to potassium deprivation in a serum-free medium in either the absence or presence of the flavonoids genistein and daidzein, which are present in soy, and of catechin and epicatechin, which are present in cocoa. These compounds were used in a blood dietary concentration range. We found that genistein and daidzein, but not catechin and epicatechin, prevented apoptosis, with cell survival measured 24 h after the induction of apoptosis being higher than that of the same cells incubated in flavonoid free medium (80% and 40%, respectively); there was no effect in control cells. A detailed investigation of the effect of these compounds on certain mitochondrial events that occur in cells en route to apoptosis showed that genistein and daidzein prevented the impairment of glucose oxidation and mitochondrial coupling, reduced cytochrome c release, and prevented both impairment of the adenine nucleotide translocator and opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Interestingly, genistein and daidzein were found to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species, which are elevated in cerebellar granule cell apoptosis. These findings strongly suggest that the prevention of apoptosis depends mainly on the antioxidant properties of genistein and daidzein. This could lead to the development of a flavonoid-based therapy in neuropathies.

A metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis (i.e. the Warburg effect) occurs in Alzheimer's disease accompanied by an increase of both activity and level of HK-I. The findings reported here demonstrate that in the early phase of apoptosis VDAC1 activity, but not its protein level, progressively decreases, in concomitance with the physical interaction of HK-I with VDAC1. In the late phase of apoptosis, glucose-6-phosphate accumulation in the cell causes the dissociation of the two proteins, the re-opening of the channel and the recovery of VDAC1 function, resulting in a reawakening of the mitochondrial function, thus inevitably leading to cell death.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer proceed via one or more common molecular mechanisms: a metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis-corresponding to the activation of the Warburg effect-occurs in both diseases. The findings reported in this paper demonstrate that, in the early phase of apoptosis, glucose metabolism is enhanced, i.e. key proteins which internalize and metabolize glucose-glucose transporter, hexokinase and phosphofructokinase-are up-regulated, in concomitance with a parallel decrease in oxygen consumption by mitochondria and increase of l-lactate accumulation. Reversal of the glycolytic phenotype occurs in the presence of dichloroacetate, inhibitor of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase enzyme, which speeds up apoptosis of cerebellar granule cells, reawakening mitochondria and then modulating glycolytic enzymes. Loss of the adaptive advantage afforded by aerobic glycolysis, which occurs in the late phase of apoptosis, exacerbates the pathological processes underlying neurodegeneration, leading inevitably the cell to death. In conclusion, the data propose that both aerobic, i.e. Warburg effect, essentially due to the protective numbness of mitochondria, and anaerobic glycolysis, rather due to the mitochondrial impairment, characterize the entire time frame of apoptosis, from the early to the late phase, which mimics the development of AD

Although amyloid beta (A?) peptide can promote tau pathology and its toxicity is concurrently tau-dependent, the underlying mechanisms of the in vivo interplay of these proteins remain unsolved. Structural and functional mitochondrial alterations play an early, precipitating role in synaptic failure of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis and an aggravated mitochondrial impairment has been described in triple APP/PS/tau transgenic mice carrying both plaques and tangles, if compared with mice overexpressing tau or amyloid precursor protein (APP) alone. Here, we show that a neurotoxic aminoterminal (NH(2))-derived tau fragment mapping between 26 and 230 amino acids of the human tau40 isoform (441 amino acids)-but not the physiological full-length protein-preferentially interacts with A? peptide(s) in human AD synapses in association with mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocator-1 (ANT-1) and cyclophilin D. The two peptides-A? 1-42 and the smaller and more potent NH(2)-26-44 peptide of the longest 20-22 kDa NH(2)-tau fragment-inhibit the ANT-1-dependent adenosine diphosphate-adenosine triphosphate (ADP/ATP) exchange in a noncompetitive and competitive manner, respectively, and together further aggravate the mitochondrial dysfunction by exacerbating the ANT-1 impairment. Taken together, these data establish a common, direct and synergistic toxicity of pathological APP and tau products on synaptic mitochondria and suggest potential, new pathway(s) and target(s) for a combined, more efficient therapeutic intervention of early synaptic dysfunction in AD.

In order to ascertain whether and how mitochondria can produce hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) as a result of L-lactate addition, we monitored H(2)O(2) generation in rat liver mitochondria and in submitochondrial fractions free of peroxisomal and cytosolic contamination. We found that H(2)O(2) is produced independently on the respiratory chain with 1:1 stoichiometry with pyruvate, due to a putative flavine-dependent L-lactate oxidase restricted to the intermembrane space. The L-lactate oxidase reaction shows a hyperbolic dependence on L-lactate concentration and is inhibited by NAD(+) in a competitive manner, being the enzyme different from the L-lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes as shown by their pH profiles.

Here we investigate the effect of ?-amyloid on mitochondrial respiratory function, i.e. mitochondrial oxygen consumption and membrane potential generation as well as the individual activities of both the mitochondrial Complexes I-IV, that compose mitochondrial electron transport chain, and the ATP synthase, by using homogenate from cerebellar granule cells, treated with low concentrations of ?-amyloid, and Alzheimer synaptic-enriched brain samples. We found that ?-amyloid caused both a selective defect in Complex I activity associated with an increase (5 fold) of intracellular reactive oxygen species and an impairment of Complex IV likely due to membrane lipid peroxidation. In addition, a 130% increase of the GSSG/GSH ratio was measured in Alzheimer brains with respect to age-matched controls. Knowing the mechanisms of action of ?-amyloid could allow to mitigate or even to interrupt the toxic cascade that leads a cell to death. The results of this study represent an important innovation because they offer the possibility to act at mitochondrial level and on specific sites to protect cells, for example by preventing the interaction of ?-amyloid with the identified targets, by stabilizing or by restoring mitochondrial function or by interfering with the energy metabolism.

Disarrangement in functions and quality control of mitochondria at synapses are early events in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathobiology. We reported that a 20-22 kDa NH2-tau fragment mapping between 26 and 230 aminoacids of the longest human tau isoform (aka NH2htau): (i) is detectable in cellular and animal AD models, as well in synaptic mitochondria and cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) from human AD subjects; (ii) is neurotoxic in primary hippocampal neurons; (iii) compromises the mitochondrial biology both directly, by inhibiting the ANT-1-dependent ADP/ATP exchange, and indirectly, by impairing their selective autophagic clearance (mitophagy). Here, we show that the extensive Parkin-dependent turnover of mitochondria occurring in NH2htau-expressing post-mitotic neurons plays a pro-death role and that UCHL-1, the cytosolic Ubiquitin-C-terminal Hydrolase L1 which directs the physiological remodeling of synapses by controlling ubiquitin homeostasis, critically contributes to mitochondrial and synaptic failure in this in vitro AD-model. Pharmacological or genetic suppression of improper mitophagy, either by inhibition of mitochondrial targeting to autophagosomes or by shRNA-mediated silencing of Parkin or UCHL-1 gene expression, restores synaptic and mitochondrial content providing partial but significant protection against the NH2htau-induced neuronal death. Moreover, in mitochondria from human AD synapses the endogenous NH2htau is stably associated with Parkin and with UCHL-1. Taken together, our studies show a causative link between the excessive mitochondrial turnover and the NH2htau-induced in vitro neuronal death suggesting that pathogenetic tau truncation may contribute to synaptic deterioration in AD by aberrant recruitment of Parkin and UCHL-1 to mitochondria making them more prone to detrimental autophagic clearance.

The existence of the pyruvate kinase (PK) in pig liver mitochondria was shown by monitoring photometricallythe PK reaction in solubilised mitochondria with either phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) or ADP used asa substrate. In distinction with the cytosolic isoenzyme, the mitochondrial PK showed a sigmoidal dependenceon either PEP or ADP concentrations. The occurrence of the mitochondrial PK was confirmed byimmunological analysis. Titration with digitonin showed that mPK is restricted to the matrix. PEP additionto mitochondria resulted in reduction of the intramitochondrial NAD(P)+ inhibited by either the nonpenetrantthiol reagent mersalyl or by arsenite, an inhibitor of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. Citrate/oxaloacetate appearance outside mitochondria also occurred as result of PEP addition to PLM. Takentogether these findings support a role for PEP itself in triggering fatty acid synthesis via its mitochondrialmetabolism.

To find out whether and how deficit of cellular energy supply from mitochondria to cytosol occurs in aging and hypertension, we used mitochondria isolated from 5 to 72 week-old heart left ventricle of either normotensive (WKY) or spontaneous hypertensive (SH) rats as a model system. Measurements were made of the rate of ATP appearance outside mitochondria, due to externally added ADP, as an increase of NADPH absorbance which occurs when ATP is produced in the presence of glucose, hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Such a rate proved to mirror the function of the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) rather than other processes linked to the both oxidative and substrate level phosphorylation. The changes in both Ki for atractyloside and Km for ADP suggest the occurrence of modification of the ANT conformation during aging in which the ANT Vmax was found to decrease in normotensive but to increase under spontaneously hypertension in 24 week-old rats with a subsequent decrease in both cases. ANT function, as investigated in the ADP physiological range (20-60 ?M), is expected to decrease in normotensive, but to increase in hypertensive rats up to 48 weeks. Later a decrease in the ATP rate of export outside mitochondria should occur in both cases. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The involvement of thioredoxin/thioredoxinreductase system has been investigated in cerebellar granulecells (CGCs), a cellular system in which neurons areinduced in apoptosis by the physiological stimulus oflowering extracellular potassium. Clarifying the sequenceof events that occur during apoptosis is a critical issue as itcan lead to the identification of those key events that, ifblocked, can slow down or reverse the death process. Theresults reported in this work show that TrxR is involved inthe early phase of CGC apoptosis with an increase inactivity that coincides with the increased expression of theTrxR1 isoform and guarantees the maintenance of adequatelevel of Trx in its reduced, active form. However, in lateapoptosis, when about 50 % of cells are dead, partialproteolysis of TrxR1 by calpain occurs and the reduction ofTrxR1 mRNA, together with the overall decrease in TrxRactivity, contribute to increase the levels of the oxidizedform of Trx. When the reduced form of Trx is externallyadded to apoptotic cultures, a significant reduction in celldeath is achieved confirming that a well-functioning thioredoxin/thioredoxin reductase system is required for survivalof CGCs.

Eukaryotic cells contain a population of mitochondria, variable in number and shape, which in turn contain multiple copies of a tiny compact genome (mtDNA) whose expression and function is strictly coordinated with the nuclear one. mtDNA copy number varies between different cell or tissues types, both in response to overall metabolic and bioenergetics demands and as a consequence or cause of specific pathological conditions. Here we present a novel and reliable methodology to assess the effective mtDNA copy number per diploid genome by investigating off-target reads obtained by whole-exome sequencing (WES) experiments. We also investigate whether and how mtDNA copy number correlates with mitochondrial mass, respiratory activity and expression levels. Analyzing six different tissues from three age- and sex-matched human individuals, we found a highly significant linear correlation between mtDNA copy number estimated by qPCR and the frequency of mtDNA off target WES reads. Furthermore, mtDNA copy number showed highly significant correlation with mitochondrial gene expression levels as measured by RNA-Seq as well as with mitochondrial mass and respiratory activity. Our methodology makes thus feasible, at a large scale, the investigation of mtDNA copy number in diverse cell-types, tissues and pathological conditions or in response to specific treatments.