An active mitochondrial biogenesis occurs during dendritic cell differentiation.

Dendritic cells (DC) are sentinels of the immune system deriving from circulating monocyte precursors recruited to sites of inflammation. In a previous report (Del Prete et al., 2008) we showed that, after differentiation, DC exhibited increased number of condensed mitochondria and dynamic changes in their energy metabolism. A study is presented here showing that the DC differentiation process is characterized by increased expression level and activity of mitochondrial respiratory complexes, as well as by an increased mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number. Moreover, DC are equipped with more efficient antioxidant protection systems, over expressed most likely to detoxify increased ROS production, as a consequence of the much higher mitochondrial activity. Kinetic analysis of the three main mitochondrial biogenesis-associated genes revealed that the peak in PPARγ coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α) gene expression was suddenly reached few hours after the onset of the differentiation. While PGC-1α expression rapidly declines, the mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) expression gradually increased. These findings demonstrate that an active mitochondrial biogenesis occurs during DC differentiation and further suggest that an early input by the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis PGC-1α is needed to trigger the subsequent activation of the downstream transcription factors, NRF-1 and TFAM in this process.

N-arachidonylglycine causes ROS production and cytochrome c release in liver mitochondria.

N-arachidonylglycine (NA-Gly) is an amino acid derivative of arachidonic acid. This compound is structurally related to anandamide (arachidonylethanolamine), which is considered an endogenous ligand of the cannabinoid receptor. NA-Gly is present at relatively high levels in the spinal cord, small intestine, and kidneys and at lower, but remarkable, levels in testes, lungs, and liver. The presence of varying levels in different organs suggests multiple functions in addition to the reported anti-inflammatory and pain suppression actions. Here a study on the interaction of NA-Gly with isolated mitochondria is reported. The results show that micromolar concentrations of NA-Gly cause: (i) an increase in the resting state respiration with both glutamate plus malate and succinate as substrates and (ii) a decrease in either ADP- or uncoupler-activated respiration. Whereas the stimulated resting state respiration was substantially reduced by cyclosporin A (CsA), the NA-Gly-inhibited State 3 respiration was almost unaffected. Measurements by blot analysis showed that NA-Gly caused a CsA-sensitive cytochrome c release. Under these conditions no matrix swelling could be detected. Experiments are also presented showing that NA-Gly caused a respiration-dependent large ROS production, which seems in turn to be responsible for the inhibition of electron transport activity and cytochrome c release.

Role of mitochondria and reactive oxygen species in dendritic cell differentiation and functions.

Dendritic cells (DC) are potent antigen-presenting cells capable of inducing T and B responses and immune tolerance. We have characterized some aspects of energy metabolism accompanying the differentiation process of human monocytes into DC. Compared to precursor monocytes, DC exhibited a much larger number of mitochondria and consistently (i) a higher endogenous respiratory activity and (ii) a more than sixfold increase in ATP content and an even larger increase in the activity of the mitochondrial marker enzyme citrate synthase. The presence in the culture medium of rotenone, an inhibitor of the respiratory chain Complex I, prevented the increase in mitochondrial number and ATP level, without affecting cell viability. Rotenone inhibited DC differentiation, as revealed by the observation that the expression of CD1a, which is a specific surface marker of DC differentiation, was strongly reduced. Cells cultured in the presence of rotenone displayed a lower content of growth factor-induced, mitochondrially generated, hydrogen peroxide. A similar drop in ROS was observed upon addition of catalase, which caused functional effects similar to those produced by rotenone treatment. These results suggest that ROS play a crucial role in DC differentiation and that mitochondria are an important source of ROS in this process.