Mitochondrial energy-dissipating systems (alternative oxidase, uncoupling proteins, and external NADH dehydrogenase) are involved in development of frost-resistance of winter wheat seedlings.

Gene expression, protein synthesis, and activities of alternative oxidase (AOX), uncoupling proteins (UCP), adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT), and non-coupled NAD(P)H dehydrogenases (NDex, NDPex, and NDin) were studied in shoots of etiolated winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings after exposure to hardening low positive (2°C for 7 days) and freezing (-2°C for 2 days) temperatures. The cold hardening efficiently increased frost-resistance of the seedlings and decreased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during further cold shock. Functioning of mitochondrial energy-dissipating systems can represent a mechanism responsible for the decrease in ROS under these conditions. These systems are different in their response to the action of the hardening low positive and freezing temperatures. The functioning of the first system causes induction of AOX and UCP synthesis associated with an increase in electron transfer via AOX in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and also with an increase in the sensitivity of mitochondrial non-phosphorylating respiration to linoleic and palmitic acids. The increase in electron transfer via AOX upon exposure of seedlings to hardening freezing temperature is associated with retention of a high activity of NDex. It seems that NDex but not the NDPex and NDin can play an important role in maintaining the functional state of mitochondria in heterotrophic tissues of plants under the influence of freezing temperatures. The involvement of the mitochondrial energy-dissipating systems and their possible physiological role in the adaptation of winter crops to cold and frost are discussed.

Effect of amiodarone on thermotolerance and Hsp104p synthesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Amiodarone (AMD) is known to induce a transient increase in cytosolic Ca2+ level in cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the present study the effect of AMD on the thermotolerance and Hsp104p synthesis of the yeast was studied. AMD induced Hsp104p synthesis and increased survival of the yeast after a severe heat shock (50°C). The development of thermotolerance to a considerable extent depended on the presence of Hsp104p. The same effect was achieved by treatment with the classical uncoupler CCCP, which is also known to increase the cytosolic Ca2+ level. It is supposed that the change in intracellular Ca2+ concentration plays an important role in activation of the HSP104 gene expression and in increasing the thermotolerance of the yeast. The possible link between mitochondrial activity and calcium homeostasis is discussed.

Effect of cell transplantation on induction of heat shock proteins in damaged heart.

Variations in the amount of heat shock proteins of various classes in the damaged myocardium of rats were studied after xenogeneic transplantation of heart cells.

Non-phosphorylating bypass of the plant mitochondrial respiratory chain by stress protein CSP 310.

Recently, it has been reported that the cold-stress protein CSP 310, discovered in the cytoplasm of cold-resistant winter cereals, causes uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation during cold stress. To understand how the uncoupling mechanism of CSP differs from that of cyanide-insensitive alternative oxidase and plant mitochondrial uncoupling protein, we determined the effect of respiratory-chain inhibition on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Zalarinka) mitochondria. Our data show a possible involvement of stress protein CSP 310 in mitochondrial electron transport in winter wheat. CSP 310 shunts electrons around the main cytochrome pathway of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, i.e. electron flow bypasses ubiquinone and complex III via CSP 310 to complex IV.

[Induction of synthesis of Hsp104 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in heat shock is controlled by mitochondria]. / Induktsiia sinteza Hsp104 Saccharomyces cerevisiae pri teplovom shoke nakhoditsia pod kontrolem mitokhondrii.

Heat shock protein Hsp104 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae functions as a protector of cells against heat stress. When yeast are grown in media containing nonfermentable carbon sources, the constitutive level of this protein increases, which suggests an association between the expression of Hsp104 and yeast energy metabolism. In this work, it is shown that distortions in the function of mitochondria appearing as a result of mutation petite or after exposure of cells to the mitochondrial inhibitor sodium azide reduce the induction of Hsp104 synthesis during heat shock. Since the addition of sodium azide suppressed the formation of induced thermotolerance in the parent type and in mutant hsp104, the expression of gene HSP104 and other stress genes during heat shock is apparently regulated by mitochondria.

[The effect of sodium malonate on yeast thermotolerance]. / Deistvie malonata natriia na termotolerantnost' drozhzhei.

The study of the effect of malonate (an inhibitor of the succinate dehydrogenase complex of the respiratory chain of mitochondria) on the thermotolerance of the fermentative Saccharomyces cerevisiae and nonfermentative Rhodotorula rubra yeasts showed that malonate augmented the damaging effect of heat shock on the yeasts utilizing glucose (or other sugars) by means of oxidative phosphorylation. At the same time, malonate did not influence and sometimes even improved the thermotolerance of the yeasts utilizing glucose through fermentation. The suggestion is made that cell tolerance to heat shock depends on the normal functioning of mitochondria. On the other hand, their increased activity at elevated temperatures may accelerate the formation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species and, hence, is not beneficial to cells.

[The absence of direct relationship between the ability of yeasts to grow at elevated temperatures and their survival after lethal heat shock]. / Otsutstvie priamoi zavisimosti mezhdu sposobnost'iu drozhzhei rasti pri povyshenii temperatury i ikh vyzhivaemost'iu posle letal'nogo teplovogo shoka.

The study of the growth of the yeasts Rhodotorula rubra, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Debaryomyces vanriji at elevated temperatures and their survival after transient lethal heat shock showed that the ability of these yeasts to grow at supraoptimal temperatures (i.e., their thermoresistance) and their ability to tolerate lethal heat shocks (i.e., their thermotolerance) are determined by different mechanisms. The thermotolerance of the yeasts is suggested to be mainly determined by the division rate of cells before their exposure to heat shock.

[Effect of cytochrome oxidase inhibitors on the yeast thermotolerance]. / Deistvie ingibitorov tsitokhromoksidaznogo kompleksa na termoustoichivost' drozhzhei.

The investigation of the effect of the cytochrome oxidase inhibitors sodium cyanide and sodium azide on the thermotolerance of the yeasts Rhodotorula rubra, Debaryomyces vanriji, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that these inhibitors diminish the thermotolerance of R. rubra and D. vanriji, but do not affect the thermotolerance of S. cerevisiae. Taking into account the fact that, unlike the latter yeast, R. rubra and D. vanriji are nonfermentative yeasts, the difference in the effects of the inhibitors on the yeast thermotolerance can be readily explained by the different types of glucose utilization (either oxidative or fermentative) in these yeasts. The data obtained also provide evidence that there is a correlation between the functional activity of mitochondria and the thermotolerance of yeast cells.

Influence of stress protein CSP 310 and antiserum against this protein on oxygen uptake, lipid peroxidation, and temperature of winter wheat seedling shoots during cold stress.

It is determined that infiltration of winter wheat seedling shoots by anti-CSP 310 antiserum caused a significant decrease of oxygen uptake in winter wheat shoots during short-term cold stress. On the other hand, infiltration of winter wheat seedling shoots by stress protein CSP 310 caused an increase of oxygen consumption. The comparison of the influence of infiltration of winter wheat shoots by CSP 310 and anti-CSP 310 antiserum on the rate of lipid peroxidation showed that, if infiltration by CSP 310 caused a decrease of conjugated diene formation, infiltration by anti-CSP 310 antiserum did not cause any significant changes in the rate of lipid peroxidation. The study of the influence of infiltration of winter wheat shoots by CSP 310 and anti-CSP 310 antiserum on the temperature of winter wheat shoots during cold stress showed that CSP 310 caused the increase of their temperature while anti-CSP 310 caused a decrease of their temperature.

Stress-induced protein CSP 310: a third uncoupling system in plants.

Addition of the cold-stress-related protein CSP 310 to mitochondria isolated from winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Zalarinka), winter rye ( Secale cereale L. cv. Dymka), maize ( Zea mays L. cv. VIR 36) and pea ( Pisum sativum L. cv. Marat) caused an increase in non-phosphorylative respiration. This increase was inhibited by KCN, indicating that the protein is not a CN-resistant alternative oxidase. Unlike plant mitochondrial uncoupling proteins such as PUMP, the uncoupling action of CSP 310 did not depend on the presence of free fatty acids in the incubation medium. We propose that the mechanism of the uncoupling action of CSP 310 differs from that of other known plant uncoupling systems and that the CSP 310 uncoupling system is a third uncoupling system in cereals.

[The effect of sodium azide on the thermotolerance of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans]. / Izuchenie deistviia azida natriia na termoustoichivost' drozhzhei Saccharomyces cerevisiae i Candida albicans.

The addition of sodium azide (a mitochondrial inhibitor) at a concentration of 0.15 mM to glucosegrown Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Candida albicans cells before exposing them to heat shock increased cell survival. At higher concentrations of azide, its protective effect on glucose-grown cells decreased. Furthermore, azide, even at low concentrations, diminished the thermotolerance of galactose-grown yeast cells. It is suggested that azide exerts a protective effect on the thermotolerance of yeast cells when their energy requirements are met by the fermentation of glucose. However, when cells obtain energy through respiratory metabolism, the azide inhibition of mitochondria enhances damage inflicted on the cells by heat shock.

Influence of CSP 310 and CSP 310-like proteins from cereals on mitochondrial energetic activity and lipid peroxidation in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: The development of chilling and freezing injury symptoms in plants is known to frequently coincide with peroxidation of free fatty acids. Mitochondria are one of the major sources of reactive oxygen species during cold stress. Recently it has been suggested that uncoupling of oxidation and phosphorylation in mitochondria during oxidative stress can decrease ROS formation by mitochondrial respiratory chain generation. At the same time, it is known that plant uncoupling mitochondrial protein (PUMP) and other UCP-like proteins are not the only uncoupling system in plant mitochondria. All plants have cyanide-resistant oxidase (AOX) whose activation causes an uncoupling of respiration and oxidative phosphorylation. Recently it has been found that in cereals, cold stress protein CSP 310 exists, and that this causes uncoupling of oxidation and phosphorylation in mitochondria. RESULTS: We studied the effects of CSP 310-like native cytoplasmic proteins from a number of cereal species (winter rye, winter wheat, Elymus and maize) on the energetic activity of winter wheat mitochondria. This showed that only CSP 310 (cold shock protein with molecular weight 310 kD) caused a significant increase of non-phosphorylative respiration. CSP 310-like proteins of other cereals studied did not have any significant influence on mitochondrial energetic activity. It was found that among CSP 310-like proteins only CSP 310 had prooxidant activity. At the same time, Elymus CSP 310-like proteins have antioxidant activity. The study of an influence of infiltration by different plant uncoupling system activators (pyruvate, which activates AOX, and linoleic acid which is a substrate and activator for PUMP and CSP 310) showed that all of these decreased lipid peroxidation during cold stress. CONCLUSIONS: Different influence of CSP 310-like proteins on mitochondrial energetic activity and lipid peroxidation presumably depend on the various subunit combinations in their composition. All the plant cell systems that caused an uncoupling of oxidation and phosphorylation in plant mitochondria can participate in plant defence from oxidative damage during cold stress.

[Heat shock-induced changes in the respiration of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae]. / Izmenenie dykhaniia pri deistvii teplovogo shoka na drozhzhi Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The incubation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at elevated temperature (45 degrees C) stimulated the respiration of yeast cells and decreased their survival rate. The respiration-deficient mutant of this yeast was found to be more tolerant to the elevated temperature than the wild-type strain. At the same time, the cultivation of the wild-type strain in an ethanol-containing medium enhanced the respiration, catalase activity, and thermotolerance of yeast cells, as compared with their growth in a glucose-containing medium. It is suggested that the enhanced respiration of yeast cells at 45 degrees C leads to an intense accumulation of reactive oxygen species, which may be one of the reasons for the heat shock-induced cell death.

Stress protein CSP 310 causes oxidation and phosphorylation uncoupling during low-temperature stress only in cereal but not in dycotyledon mitochondria.

It was found that an addition of antiserum obtained against stress protein 310 kD increased coupling of oxidation and phosphorylation in mitochondria isolated from cold-stress winter rye shoots and had no influence on dycotiledon mitochondria (pumpkins and sunflower). The data obtained showed a difference between molecular weights of dycotyledon polypeptides with immunochemical affinity to CSP 310 and CSP 310 subunits. It was shown that low-temperaturestress caused a transition to a low-energy state ("cold uncoupling") of free from endogenous free fatty acid cereal mitochondria. At the same time, this "cold uncoupling" in mitochondria of dycotyledon species investigated was not detected. We suppose that a special mechanism of low-temperature stress reaction in mitochondria dealing with uncoupling activity of stress protein CSP 310 exists in cereals.

An influence of stress protein CSP 310 and antiserum against this protein on lipid peroxidation in cereal mitochondria.

It is determined that an addition of an anti-CSP 310 antiserum to isolated winter wheat and maize mitochondria caused more significant increasing of spontaneous lipid peroxidation than the addition of stress protein CSP 310. It is shown that, at function of different mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, the lipid peroxidation in winter wheat and maize mitochondria take place with different intensities. Under the functioning of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV, the maximum output of lipid peroxidation products, dienic conjugates is detected. The presence of antiserum against CSP 310 in incubation media induces lipid peroxidation more than the presence of CSP 310 in mitochondria isolated from stressed plants under these conditions. Based on data obtained, it is possible to conclude that in vivo endogenous CSP 310, during a cold stress, has an antioxidant activity the same as other known uncoupling proteins.