bims-meprid 2022-12-25 papers

Issue of 2022‒12‒25
four papers selected by
Alessandro Carrer
Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine

Immunohorizons. 2022 Dec 01. 6(12): 837-850

Acly Deficiency Enhances Myelopoiesis through Acetyl Coenzyme A and Metabolic-Epigenetic Cross-Talk.

Dalton L Greenwood, Haley E Ramsey, Phuong T T Nguyen, Andrew R Patterson, Kelsey Voss, Jackie E Bader, Ayaka Sugiura, Zachary A Bacigalupa, Samuel Schaefer, Xiang Ye, Debolanle O Dahunsi, Matthew Z Madden, Kathryn E Wellen, Michael R Savona, P Brent Ferrell, Jeffrey C Rathmell.

Hematopoiesis integrates cytokine signaling, metabolism, and epigenetic modifications to regulate blood cell generation. These processes are linked, as metabolites provide essential substrates for epigenetic marks. In this study, we demonstrate that ATP citrate lyase (Acly), which metabolizes citrate to generate cytosolic acetyl-CoA and is of clinical interest, can regulate chromatin accessibility to limit myeloid differentiation. Acly was tested for a role in murine hematopoiesis by small-molecule inhibition or genetic deletion in lineage-depleted, c-Kit-enriched hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from Mus musculus. Treatments increased the abundance of cell populations that expressed the myeloid integrin CD11b and other markers of myeloid differentiation. When single-cell RNA sequencing was performed, we found that Acly inhibitor-treated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells exhibited greater gene expression signatures for macrophages and enrichment of these populations. Similarly, the single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing showed increased chromatin accessibility at genes associated with myeloid differentiation, including CD11b, CD11c, and IRF8. Mechanistically, Acly deficiency altered chromatin accessibility and expression of multiple C/EBP family transcription factors known to regulate myeloid differentiation and cell metabolism, with increased Cebpe and decreased Cebpa and Cebpb. This effect of Acly deficiency was accompanied by altered mitochondrial metabolism with decreased mitochondrial polarization but increased mitochondrial content and production of reactive oxygen species. The bias to myeloid differentiation appeared due to insufficient generation of acetyl-CoA, as exogenous acetate to support alternate compensatory pathways to produce acetyl-CoA reversed this phenotype. Acly inhibition thus can promote myelopoiesis through deprivation of acetyl-CoA and altered histone acetylome to regulate C/EBP transcription factor family activity for myeloid differentiation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2200086

Mol Genet Metab. 2022 Nov 30. pii: S1096-7192(22)00442-5. [Epub ahead of print]138(1): 106966

The multiple facets of acetyl-CoA metabolism: Energetics, biosynthesis, regulation, acylation and inborn errors.

Youlin Wang, Hao Yang, Chloé Geerts, Alexandra Furtos, Paula Waters, Denis Cyr, Shupei Wang, Grant A Mitchell.

Acetyl-coenzyme A (Ac-CoA) is a core metabolite with essential roles throughout cell physiology. These functions can be classified into energetics, biosynthesis, regulation and acetylation of large and small molecules. Ac-CoA is essential for oxidative metabolism of glucose, fatty acids, most amino acids, ethanol, and of free acetate generated by endogenous metabolism or by gut bacteria. Ac-CoA cannot cross lipid bilayers, but acetyl groups from Ac-CoA can shuttle across membranes as part of carrier molecules like citrate or acetylcarnitine, or as free acetate or ketone bodies. Ac-CoA is the basic unit of lipid biosynthesis, providing essentially all of the carbon for the synthesis of fatty acids and of isoprenoid-derived compounds including cholesterol, coenzyme Q and dolichols. High levels of Ac-CoA in hepatocytes stimulate lipid biosynthesis, ketone body production and the diversion of pyruvate metabolism towards gluconeogenesis and away from oxidation; low levels exert opposite effects. Acetylation changes the properties of molecules. Acetylation is necessary for the synthesis of acetylcholine, acetylglutamate, acetylaspartate and N-acetyl amino sugars, and to metabolize/eliminate some xenobiotics. Acetylation is a major post-translational modification of proteins. Different types of protein acetylation occur. The most-studied form occurs at the epsilon nitrogen of lysine residues. In histones, lysine acetylation can alter gene transcription. Acetylation of other proteins has diverse, often incompletely-documented effects. Inborn errors related to Ac-CoA feature a broad spectrum of metabolic, neurological and other features. To date, a small number of studies of animals with inborn errors of CoA thioesters has included direct measurement of acyl-CoAs. These studies have shown that low levels of tissue Ac-CoA correlate with the development of clinical signs, hinting that shortage of Ac-CoA may be a recurrent theme in these conditions. Low levels of Ac-CoA could potentially disrupt any of its roles.

Keywords: Acetyl-CoA; Acetylation; Acylation; Energy metabolism; Inborn errors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2022.106966

Bioengineering (Basel). 2022 Dec 13. pii: 798. [Epub ahead of print]9(12):

Epigenetics and Gut Microbiota Crosstalk: A potential Factor in Pathogenesis of Cardiovascular Disorders.

Vineet Mehta, Priyanka Nagu, Baskaran Stephen Inbaraj, Minaxi Sharma, Arun Parashar, Kandi Sridhar.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and "sudden death" globally. Environmental and lifestyle factors play important roles in CVD susceptibility, but the link between environmental factors and genetics is not fully established. Epigenetic influence during CVDs is becoming more evident as its direct involvement has been reported. The discovery of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone modification, suggested that external factors could alter gene expression to modulate human health. These external factors also influence our gut microbiota (GM), which participates in multiple metabolic processes in our body. Evidence suggests a high association of GM with CVDs. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, the influence of GM over the epigenetic mechanisms could be one potential pathway in CVD etiology. Both epigenetics and GM are dynamic processes and vary with age and environment. Changes in the composition of GM have been found to underlie the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases via modulating epigenetic changes in the form of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and regulation of non-coding RNAs. Several metabolites produced by the GM, including short-chain fatty acids, folates, biotin, and trimethylamine-N-oxide, have the potential to regulate epigenetics, apart from playing a vital role in normal physiological processes. The role of GM and epigenetics in CVDs are promising areas of research, and important insights in the field of early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches might appear soon.

Keywords: DNA methylation; cardiovascular disorders; epigenetics; gut microbiota; histone modification; miRNA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9120798

J Mol Cell Biol. 2022 Dec 23. pii: mjac073. [Epub ahead of print]

Histone lactylation driven by mROS-mediated glycolytic shift promotes hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.

Jian Chen, Meiling Zhang, Yanjie Liu, Shihong Zhao, Yanxia Wang, Meng Wang, Wen Niu, Faguang Jin, Zhichao Li.

Increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) and glycolysis have been established in pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the effect of elevated mROS on glycolytic shift along with how increased glycolysis promotes hypoxic pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation and vascular remodeling remain elusive. Here, we reported that hypoxia-induced mROS inhibit HIF-1α hydroxylation and further trigger PASMCs glycolytic switch through the upregulated HIF-1α/PDK1&2/p-PDH-E1α axis, which facilitates lactate accumulation and histone lactylation. Through H3K18la and HIF-1α ChIP-seq analysis, we found that the enhanced histone lactylation of HIF-1α targets, such as Bmp5, Trpc5, and Kit, promotes PASMCs proliferation. Knockdown of Pdk1&2 blunts lactate production, histone lactylation marks, and PASMCs proliferation. Moreover, pharmacological intervention with lactate dehydrogenase inhibitor diminishes histone lactylation and ameliorates PASMCs proliferation and vascular remodeling in hypoxic PH rats. Taken together, this study provides proof of concept for anti-remodeling therapy through lactate manipulation.

Keywords: cell proliferation; glycolysis; histone lactylation; hypoxia; pulmonary hypertension; reactive oxygen species

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjac073