G-quadruplex dynamics contribute to regulation of mitochondrial gene expression.

Single-stranded DNA or RNA sequences rich in guanine (G) can adopt non-canonical structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences that are predicted to form G4 are enriched on the heavy-strand and have been associated with formation of deletion breakpoints. Increasing evidence supports the ability of mtDNA to form G4 in cancer cells; however, the functional roles of G4 structures in regulating mitochondrial nucleic acid homeostasis in non-cancerous cells remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate by live cell imaging that the G4-ligand RHPS4 localizes primarily to mitochondria at low doses. We find that low doses of RHPS4 do not induce a nuclear DNA damage response but do cause an acute inhibition of mitochondrial transcript elongation, leading to respiratory complex depletion. We also observe that RHPS4 interferes with mtDNA levels or synthesis both in cells and isolated mitochondria. Importantly, a mtDNA variant that increases G4 stability and anti-parallel G4-forming character shows a stronger respiratory defect in response to RHPS4, supporting the conclusion that mitochondrial sensitivity to RHPS4 is G4-mediated. Taken together, our results indicate a direct role for G4 perturbation in mitochondrial genome replication, transcription processivity, and respiratory function in normal cells.

NDPK-D (NM23-H4)-mediated externalization of cardiolipin enables elimination of depolarized mitochondria by mitophagy.

Mitophagy is critical for cell homeostasis. Externalization of the inner mitochondrial membrane phospholipid, cardiolipin (CL), to the surface of the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) was identified as a mitophageal signal recognized by the microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3. However, the CL-translocating machinery remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that a hexameric intermembrane space protein, NDPK-D (or NM23-H4), binds CL and facilitates its redistribution to the OMM. We found that mitophagy induced by a protonophoric uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), caused externalization of CL to the surface of mitochondria in murine lung epithelial MLE-12 cells and human cervical adenocarcinoma HeLa cells. RNAi knockdown of endogenous NDPK-D decreased CCCP-induced CL externalization and mitochondrial degradation. A R90D NDPK-D mutant that does not bind CL was inactive in promoting mitophagy. Similarly, rotenone and 6-hydroxydopamine triggered mitophagy in SH-SY5Y cells was also suppressed by knocking down of NDPK-D. In situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) showed that mitophagy-inducing CL-transfer activity of NDPK-D is closely associated with the dynamin-like GTPase OPA1, implicating fission-fusion dynamics in mitophagy regulation.

Effects of exhaustive endurance exercise on pulmonary gas exchange and airway function in women.

Seventeen fit women ran to exhaustion (14 +/- 4 min) at a constant speed and grade, reaching 95 +/- 3% of maximal O(2) consumption. Pre- and postexercise lung function, including airway resistance [total respiratory resistance (Rrs)] across a range of oscillation frequencies, was measured, and, on a separate day, airway reactivity was assessed via methacholine challenge. Arterial O(2) saturation decreased from 97.6 +/- 0.5% at rest to 95.1 +/- 1.9% at 1 min and to 92.5 +/- 2.6% at exhaustion. Alveolar-arterial O(2) difference (A-aDO(2)) widened to 27 +/- 7 Torr after 1 min and was maintained at this level until exhaustion. Arterial PO(2) (Pa(O(2))) fell to 80 +/- 8 Torr at 1 min and then increased to 86 +/- 9 Torr at exhaustion. This increase in Pa(O(2)) over the exercise duration occurred due to a hyperventilation-induced increase in alveolar PO(2) in the presence of a constant A-aDO(2). Arterial O(2) saturation fell with time because of increasing temperature (+2.6 +/- 0.5 degrees C) and progressive metabolic acidosis (arterial pH: 7.39 +/- 0.04 at 1 min to 7.26 +/- 0.07 at exhaustion). Plasma histamine increased throughout exercise but was inversely correlated with the fall in Pa(O(2)) at end exercise. Neither pre- nor postexercise Rrs, frequency dependence of Rrs, nor diffusing capacity for CO correlated with the exercise A-aDO(2) or Pa(O(2)). Although several subjects had a positive or borderline hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, this reactivity did not correlate with exercise-induced changes in Rrs or exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia. In conclusion, regardless of the degree of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia at the onset of high-intensity exercise, prolonging exercise to exhaustion had no further deleterious effects on A-aDO(2), and the degree of gas exchange impairment was not related to individual differences in small or large airway function or reactivity.

Role of zinc in pulmonary endothelial cell response to oxidative stress.

Although zinc is a well-known inhibitor of apoptosis, it may contribute to oxidative stress-induced necrosis. We noted that N,N,N',N'- tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN; >10 microM), a zinc chelator, quenched fluorescence of the zinc-specific fluorophore Zinquin and resulted in an increase in spontaneous apoptosis in cultured sheep pulmonary artery endothelial cells (SPAECs). Addition of exogenous zinc (in the presence of pyrithione, a zinc ionophore) to the medium of SPAECs caused an increase in Zinquin fluorescence and was associated with a concentration-dependent increase in necrotic cell death. Exposure of SPAECs to TPEN (10 microM) resulted in enhanced apoptosis after lipopolysaccharide or complete inhibition of t-butyl hydroperoxide (tBH)-induced necrosis. We further investigated the role of two zinc-dependent enzymes, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and protein kinase (PK) C, in tBH toxicity. tBH toxicity was only affected by the PARP inhibitors 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide or 3-aminobenzamide over a narrow range, whereas the PKC inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide and staurosporine significantly reduced tBH toxicity. tBH caused translocation of PKC to the plasma membrane of SPAECs that was partially inhibited by TPEN. Thus pulmonary endothelial cell zinc inhibits spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide-dependent apoptosis but contributes to tBH-induced necrosis, in part, via a PKC-dependent pathway.

Fatiguing inspiratory muscle work causes reflex sympathetic activation in humans.

We tested the hypothesis that reflexes arising from working respiratory muscle can elicit increases in sympathetic vasoconstrictor outflow to limb skeletal muscle, in seven healthy human subjects at rest. We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) with intraneural electrodes in the peroneal nerve while the subject inspired (primarily with the diaphragm) against resistance, with mouth pressure (PM) equal to 60 % of maximal, a prolonged duty cycle (TI/TTot) of 0.70, breathing frequency (fb) of 15 breaths min-1 and tidal volume (VT) equivalent to twice eupnoea. This protocol was known to reduce diaphragm blood flow and cause fatigue. MSNA was unchanged during the first 1-2 min but then increased over time, to 77 +/- 51 % (s.d.) greater than control at exhaustion (mean time, 7 +/- 3 min). Mean arterial blood pressure (+12 mmHg) and heart rate (+27 beats min-1) also increased. When the VT, fb and TI/TTot of these trials were mimicked with no added resistance, neither MSNA nor arterial blood pressure increased. MSNA and arterial blood pressure also did not change in response to two types of increased central respiratory motor output that did not produce fatigue: (a) high inspiratory flow rate and fb without added resistance; or (b) high inspiratory effort against resistance with PM of 95 % maximal, TI/TTot of 0.35 and fb of 12 breaths min-1. The heart rate increased by 5-16 beats min-1 during these trials. Thus, in the absence of any effect of increased central respiratory motor output per se on limb MSNA, we attributed the time-dependent increase in MSNA during high resistance, prolonged duty cycle breathing to a reflex arising from a diaphragm that was accumulating metabolic end products in the face of high force output plus compromised blood flow.

Antioxidant and antiapoptotic function of metallothioneins in HL-60 cells challenged with copper nitrilotriacetate.

Antioxidant activity is believed to be an important intracellular function of metallothioneins (MT), yet the specific mechanisms of their antioxidant action are not known. Under conditions when cells are challenged with elevated concentrations of free copper as a result of metabolic disturbances or environmental and occupational exposures, MTs may be ideally suited for antioxidant function as effective copper chelators. In the study presented here, we tested this hypothesis using a recently established model of copper nitrilotriacetate-induced oxidative stress in HL-60 cells. Since copper-induced oxidative stress triggers apoptosis, we further investigated antiapoptotic function of MTs in HL-60 cells. Using a Sephadex G-75 chromatographic partial purification of MTs from cell homogenates with subsequent immuno-dot-blot assay, we showed that zinc pretreatment yielded a pronounced induction of MTs in HL-60 cells. We report that zinc-induced MTs were able to (i) completely bind intracellular copper, (ii) completely quench redox-cycling activity of copper, (iii) significantly inhibit copper-dependent oxidative stress in membrane phospholipids, and (iv) prevent copper-dependent apoptosis and its characteristic biochemical features (cytochrome c release from mitochondria into cytosol, caspase-3 activation, and externalization of phosphatidylserine in plasma membranes). In separate experiments, we used lung fibroblasts derived from MT1, MT2 knockout mice (MT(-)(/)(-)) and MT wild-type (MT(+/+)) mice. ZnCl(2) pretreatment resulted in a more than 10-fold induction of MTs in MT(+/+) cells, whereas the MT content in MT(-)(/)(-) cells remained low, at levels approximately 100-fold lower than in their MT wild-type counterparts. MT(-)(/)(-) cells were very sensitive to Cu-NTA and, most importantly, showed no response to ZnCl(2) pretreatment. In contrast, MT(+/+) cells were relatively more resistant to Cu-NTA, and this resistance was remarkably enhanced by ZnCl(2) pretreatment. Combined, our results demonstrate that metallothioneins function as effective antioxidants and an antiapoptotic mechanism in copper-challenged HL-60 cells.

Effects of respiratory muscle work on exercise performance.

The normal respiratory muscle effort at maximal exercise requires a significant fraction of cardiac output and causes leg blood flow to fall. We questioned whether the high levels of respiratory muscle work experienced in heavy exercise would affect performance. Seven male cyclists [maximal O(2) consumption (VO(2)) 63 +/- 5 ml. kg(-1). min(-1)] each completed 11 randomized trials on a cycle ergometer at a workload requiring 90% maximal VO(2). Respiratory muscle work was either decreased (unloading), increased (loading), or unchanged (control). Time to exhaustion was increased with unloading in 76% of the trials by an average of 1.3 +/- 0.4 min or 14 +/- 5% and decreased with loading in 83% of the trials by an average of 1.0 +/- 0.6 min or 15 +/- 3% compared with control (P < 0.05). Respiratory muscle unloading during exercise reduced VO(2), caused hyperventilation, and reduced the rate of change in perceptions of respiratory and limb discomfort throughout the duration of exercise. These findings demonstrate that the work of breathing normally incurred during sustained, heavy-intensity exercise (90% VO(2)) has a significant influence on exercise performance. We speculate that this effect of the normal respiratory muscle load on performance in trained male cyclists is due to the associated reduction in leg blood flow, which enhances both the onset of leg fatigue and the intensity with which both leg and respiratory muscle efforts are perceived.

Metallothionein, nitric oxide and zinc homeostasis in vascular endothelial cells.

Recent in vitro studies suggest that the oxidoreductive capacity of metal thiolate clusters in metallothionein (MT) contributes to intracellular zinc homeostasis. We used fluorescence-based techniques to address this hypothesis in intact endothelial cells, focusing on the contributory role of the important redox signaling molecule, nitric oxide. Microspectrofluorometry with Zinquin revealed that the exposure of cultured sheep pulmonary artery endothelial cells to S-nitrosocysteine resulted in the release of N, N,N',N'-tetrakis(2. pyridylmethyl)ethylendiamine (TPEN) chelatable zinc. Cultured sheep pulmonary artery endothelial cells were transfected with a plasmid expression vector suitable for fluorescence resonance energy transfer containing the cDNA of MT sandwiched between two mutant green fluorescent proteins. The exposure of cultured sheep pulmonary artery endothelial cells transfected with this chimera to nitric oxide donors or to agents that increased cytoplasmic Ca(2+) via endogenously generated nitric oxide decreased the efficiency of fluorescence resonance energy transfer in a manner consistent with the release of metal (Zn) from MT. A physiological role for this interaction in intact tissue was supported by the lack of myogenic reflex in resistance arteries of MT knockout mice unless endogenous nitric oxide synthesis was blocked. These data suggest an important role for metal thiolate clusters of MT in nitric oxide signaling in the vascular wall.

Aerobic fitness in a population of independently living men and women aged 55-86 years.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to examine, for a subset of a large random survey of men and women, the age-related changes in the parameters of aerobic function, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), and ventilatory threshold (T(VE)). METHODS: A "ramp-like" treadmill protocol was designed to measure VO2max and T(VE) on a total of 298 subjects (152 men and 146 women), aged 55-86 yr. RESULTS: Data for VO2max (and HRmax) and T(VE) by 5-yr age groups provide "normative" results. Age-related declines in VO2max and T(VE) were fit by a linear model; however, age explained at most 37% of the variance across ages 55-86 yr. In this restricted age range, the rate of decline in VO2max, in both men (-0.034 L x min(-1) x yr(-1)) and women (-0.019 L x min(-1) x yr(-1)), was similar to that of previous reports for linear regression with age. Men, but not women, showed a decrease in body mass across age. Thus, the decline in VO2max expressed relative to body mass was similar in men (0.31 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1) x yr(-1)) and women (0.25); however, across this older age the decline is slower than noted for younger groups. The minimum level of aerobic power compatible with an independent life at age 85 yr was approximately 18 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1) in men and 15 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1) in women. Regression analysis showed HRmax across this age span is not well predicted by age. T(VE) across age declined at about one-half the rate of the VO2max, and in older age was approximately 85% of the VO2max. CONCLUSION: The study provides "normative" cardiorespiratory function data of a random sample of independently living men and women aged 55-86 yr.

Role of respiratory motor output in within-breath modulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity in humans.

We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, peroneal microneurography) in 5 healthy humans under conditions of matched tidal volume, breathing frequency, and end-tidal CO(2), but varying respiratory motor output as follows: (1) passive positive pressure mechanical ventilation, (2) voluntary hyperventilation, (3) assisted mechanical ventilation that required the subject to generate -2.5 cm H(2)O to trigger each positive pressure breath, and (4) added inspiratory resistance. Spectral analyses showed marked respiratory periodicities in MSNA; however, the amplitude of the peak power was not changed with changing inspiratory effort. Time domain analyses showed that maximum MSNA always occurred at end expiration (25% to 30% of total activity) and minimum activity at end inspiration (2% to 3% of total activity), and the amplitude of the variation was not different among conditions despite marked changes in respiratory motor output. Furthermore, qualitative changes in intrathoracic pressure were without influence on the respiratory modulation of MSNA. In all conditions, within-breath changes in MSNA were inversely related to small changes in diastolic pressure (1 to 3 mm Hg), suggesting that respiratory rhythmicity in MSNA was secondary to loading/unloading of carotid sinus baroreceptors. Furthermore, at any given diastolic pressure, within-breath MSNA varied inversely with lung volume, demonstrating an additional influence of lung inflation feedback on sympathetic discharge. Our data provide evidence against a significant effect of respiratory motor output on the within-breath modulation of MSNA and suggest that feedback from baroreceptors and pulmonary stretch receptors are the dominant determinants of the respiratory modulation of MSNA in the intact human.

Assessment of nitric oxide formation during exercise.

We measured the end-tidal plateau in exhaled NO concentration (CETNO) by chemiluminescence and calculated the product of V E and CETNO (V NO) in nine healthy subjects at rest and during three intensities of cycling exercise (30%, 60%, and 90% V O2max), two levels of hyperventilation (V E = 42.8 +/- 9.1 L/min and 84.2 +/- 6. 6 L/min), and during breathing of hypoxic gas mixtures (five subjects, FIO2 = 14%) at rest and during exercise at 90% V O2max. Immediately after each trial we also measured exhaled [NO] at constant expiratory flow rates ([NO]CF) of 46 ml/s and 950 ml/s, utilizing added expiratory resistance to increase mouth pressure and close the velum (Silkoff and colleagues, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 1997;155:260). CETNO decreased and V NO increased above resting levels with increasing exercise intensity during hyperventilation and during hypoxic exercise (p < 0.05). [NO]CF, measured at either 46 ml/s or 950 ml/s, did not increase under any of the conditions investigated (exercise, hyperventilation, or hypoxia). Venous blood from seven of the subjects was sampled for the measurement of plasma [NO3-]. Resting plasma [NO3-] averaged 42.5 +/- 14.7 micromol/L, with no change during exercise, hyperventilation, or hypoxia. On the basis of these results we conclude that reported increases in V NO do not reflect an exercise-induced augmentation of systemic and/or airway NO production. Rather, the increases in V NO during exercise or hyperventilation are a function of high airflow rates, which reduce the luminal [NO]. This decreases the concentration gradient for NO between the alveolar space and pulmonary capillary blood, which results in a decrease in the fraction of NO taken up by the blood and an increase in the volume of NO recovered in the exhaled air (V NO).

Effects of prior exercise on exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia in young women.

Twenty-eight healthy women (ages 27.2 +/- 6.4 yr) with widely varying fitness levels [maximal O2 consumption (VO2 max), 31-70 ml . kg-1 . min-1] first completed a progressive incremental treadmill test to VO2 max (total duration, 13.3 +/- 1.4 min; 97 +/- 37 s at maximal workload), rested for 20 min, and then completed a constant-load treadmill test at maximal workload (total duration, 143 +/- 31 s). At the termination of the progressive test, 6 subjects had maintained arterial PO2 (PaO2) near resting levels, whereas 22 subjects showed a >10 Torr decrease in PaO2 [78.0 +/- 7.2 Torr, arterial O2 saturation (SaO2), 91.6 +/- 2.4%], and alveolar-arterial O2 difference (A-aDO2, 39.2 +/- 7.4 Torr). During the subsequent constant-load test, all subjects, regardless of their degree of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH) during the progressive test, showed a nearly identical effect of a narrowed A-aDO2 (-4.8 +/- 3.8 Torr) and an increase in PaO2 (+5.9 +/- 4.3 Torr) and SaO2 (+1.6 +/- 1.7%) compared with at the end point of the progressive test. Therefore, EIAH during maximal exercise was lessened, not enhanced, by prior exercise, consistent with the hypothesis that EIAH is not caused by a mechanism which persists after the initial exercise period and is aggravated by subsequent exercise, as might be expected of exercise-induced structural alterations at the alveolar-capillary interface. Rather, these findings in habitually active young women point to a functionally based mechanism for EIAH that is present only during the exercise period.

A model of oxygen transport capacity changes for independently living older men and women.

The purpose of the present investigation was to describe, for a subset of a large random survey of men and women, restricted to the ages of 55 to 85 years, the physiological decay pattern for aerobic fitness and contributing factors of cardiovascular and pulmonary function. The time course of the age-related changes in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), ventilatory threshold (TVE), maximal ventilation (VEmax), maximal heart rate (HRmax), and O2 pulse (VO2max/HRmax) were examined by fitting the data to a decaying exponential model by use of a least-squares parameter estimation technique. The time constant (tau) was used to describe the rate of decline. The women showed a much slower decline in VO2max (tau = 47.4 years) and TVE (tau = 83.3 years) than the men (tau = 20.8 and 15.4 years, respectively). There was a significant age-related decrease in body weight (0.45 kg.yr-1) in the men, whereas the women showed no change. Pulmonary function did not limit performance based on the very slow decline in VEmax and the normal FEV1.0. The decay in HRmax was better described by a linear model, resulting in an extremely slow tau. Maximal O2 pulse clearly exhibited an exponential decay, with a shorter tau (tau men = 13.5 years; tau women = 28.5 years) than any other variable.

Peripheral chemoreflex drive in moderate-intensity exercise.

The purpose of this study was to measure the contribution of the peripheral chemoreceptor (pR) to VE during the steady-state of moderate-intensity cycle ergometer exercise using continuous hyperoxic suppression of pRc drive, while stabilizing the drive from the central chemoreceptor by clamping end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2) at the peak level attained during the hyperoxic period of a poikilocapnic ride. In the isocapnic protocol, the PETCO2 was maintained at a constant level by a negative feedback, open loop system. Five subjects completed four repetitions of each of the poikilocapnic and isocapnic protocols. In the poikilocapnic protocol, VE declines following the step into hyperoxia and then began to increase, whereas the decline in VE was maintained in the isocapnic protocol. However, the mean decrease in VE was not significantly different between the poikilocapnic (16.1 +/- 5.0%) and isocapnic (14.9 +/- 4.4%) protocols. These results suggest that the declining phase of VE is fully complete before the secondary central stimulating actions of hyperoxia on VE and that the pRc contributes about 15% of the drive to breathe in moderate intensity exercise.

Nature of the interaction between central and peripheral chemoreceptor drives in human subjects.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the nature of the interaction between the central and peripheral chemoreflex loops in humans, using the different speeds of response of the central and peripheral chemoreceptors to enable a temporal separation of their chemical stimulation. Subjects were exposed to an end-tidal Pco2 of 8-10 torr (1 torr = 1 mmHg = 133.3 Pa) above resting Pco2, with end-tidal Po2 = 100 torr, for 8 min. Thirty seconds after the hypercapnic stimulus was withdrawn, a 5-min hypoxic stimulus (end-tidal Po2 = 50 torr) was introduced. The 30-s interval was believed to be sufficient time for the peripheral chemoreceptors to adapt to the new level of carbon dioxide. Over the subsequent 5 min of hypoxia, however, the central chemoreceptors were exposed to diminishing hypercapnia. The response to the hypoxic step was compared with the effect of the same hypoxic step without the preceding period of hypercapnia. In 4 of the 5 subjects studied, the ventilatory response to hypoxia was unaffected by relative hypercapnia at the central chemoreceptor, suggesting that the central and peripheral chemoreflexes were independent of each other.

Estimation of arterial PCO2 in the elderly.

Arterial PCO2 (PaCO2), determined directly in the radial artery, was compared with indirect estimates of PCO2 in six elderly men (mean age 73.8 yr). Estimates of PaCO2 included arterialized venous PCO2 (PavCO2); end-tidal PCO2; mean alveolar PCO2, calculated by using a reconstruction of the alveolar oscillation in PCO2 and accounting for the presence of dead space (time-weighted mean for PCO2 throughout the respiratory cycle); and values calculated by using the empirical formula developed by Jones et al. (N. L. Jones, D. G. Robertson, and J. W. Kane. J. Appl. Physiol. 47: 954-960, 1979), which incorporates end-tidal PCO2 and tidal volume (PaCO2 derived from end-tidal PCO2 and VT). Measurements were made at rest and during cycle ergometry at 25 and 50 W while the subjects breathed various gas mixtures (euoxic-eucapnic, hypoxic-eucapnic, hyperoxic-eucapnic, and hyperoxic-hypercapnic). The mean differences between the estimates and the actual PaCO2 at rest and in 25- and 50-W exercise were as follows: PavCO2, 0.3 +/- 0.7 (SD), -0.1 +/- 0.7, and 1.8 +/- 1.2 Torr; end-tidal PCO2, 2.9 +/- 1.7, 4.0 +/- 3.1, and 3.7 +/- 3.2 Torr; time-weighted mean of alveolar PCO2, 2.6 +/- 1.9, 3.3 +/- 3.1, and 3.6 +/- 3.8 Torr; and PaCO2 derived from end-tidal PCO2 and VT, 2.4 +/- 1.3, 1.3 +/- 3.0, and 0.6 +/- 2.9 Torr. It is concluded that mean PavCO2 agreed most closely with mean PaCO2 both at rest and in exercise. All methods of deriving PaCO2 using measurements from the respired gases overestimated arterial values at rest. Of the noninvasive techniques, mean estimates calculated using the regression equation developed by Jones et al. corresponded most closely with PaCO2 in exercise.