bims-mimbat 2023-05-28 papers

Issue of 2023‒05‒28
two papers selected by
José Carlos de Lima-Júnior
Washington University

J Therm Biol. 2023 May 11. pii: S0306-4565(23)00092-X. [Epub ahead of print]114 103551

Mediobasal hypothalamic neurons contribute to the control of brown adipose tissue sympathetic nerve activity and cutaneous vasoconstriction.

Clarissa M D Mota, Christopher J Madden.

The mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) contains heterogeneous neuronal populations that regulate food intake and energy expenditure. However, the role of MBH neurons in the neural control of thermoeffector activity for thermoregulation is not known. This study sought to determine the effects of modulating the activity of MBH neurons on the sympathetic outflow to brown adipose tissue (BAT), BAT thermogenesis, and cutaneous vasomotion. Pharmacological inhibition of MBH neurons by local administration of muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist, reduced skin cooling-evoked BAT thermogenesis, expired CO2, body temperature, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure, while blockade of GABAA receptors by nanoinjection of bicuculline in the MBH induced large increases in BAT sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), BAT temperature, body temperature, expired CO2, heart rate, and cutaneous vasoconstriction. Neurons in the MBH send projections to neurons in the dorsal hypothalamic area and dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH), which excite sympathetic premotor neurons in the rostral raphe pallidus area (rRPa) that control sympathetic outflow to BAT. The increases in BAT SNA, BAT temperature, and expired CO2 elicited by blockade of GABAA receptors in the MBH were reversed by blocking excitatory amino acid receptors in the DMH or in the rRPa. Together, our data show that MBH neurons provide a modest contribution to BAT thermogenesis for cold defense, while GABAergic disinhibition of these neurons produces large increases in the sympathetic outflow to BAT, and cutaneous vasoconstriction. Activation of glutamate receptors on BAT thermogenesis-promoting neurons of the DMH and rRPa is necessary for the increased sympathetic outflow to BAT evoked by disinhibition of MBH neurons. These data demonstrate neural mechanisms that contribute to the control of thermoeffector activity, and may have important implications for regulating body temperature and energy expenditure.

Keywords: Arcuate nucleus; Cold defense; Sympathetic nervous system; Thermogenesis; Thermoregulation; Ventromedial hypothalamus

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103551

Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Apr 25. pii: 992. [Epub ahead of print]12(5):

Identifying Redox-Sensitive Cysteine Residues in Mitochondria.

Eleni A Kisty, Emma C Saart, Eranthie Weerapana.

The mitochondrion is the primary energy generator of a cell and is a central player in cellular redox regulation. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) are the natural byproducts of cellular respiration that are critical for the redox signaling events that regulate a cell's metabolism. These redox signaling pathways primarily rely on the reversible oxidation of the cysteine residues on mitochondrial proteins. Several key sites of this cysteine oxidation on mitochondrial proteins have been identified and shown to modulate downstream signaling pathways. To further our understanding of mitochondrial cysteine oxidation and to identify uncharacterized redox-sensitive cysteines, we coupled mitochondrial enrichment with redox proteomics. Briefly, differential centrifugation methods were used to enrich for mitochondria. These purified mitochondria were subjected to both exogenous and endogenous ROS treatments and analyzed by two redox proteomics methods. A competitive cysteine-reactive profiling strategy, termed isoTOP-ABPP, enabled the ranking of the cysteines by their redox sensitivity, due to a loss of reactivity induced by cysteine oxidation. A modified OxICAT method enabled a quantification of the percentage of reversible cysteine oxidation. Initially, we assessed the cysteine oxidation upon treatment with a range of exogenous hydrogen peroxide concentrations, which allowed us to differentiate the mitochondrial cysteines by their susceptibility to oxidation. We then analyzed the cysteine oxidation upon inducing reactive oxygen species generation via the inhibition of the electron transport chain. Together, these methods identified the mitochondrial cysteines that were sensitive to endogenous and exogenous ROS, including several previously known redox-regulated cysteines and uncharacterized cysteines on diverse mitochondrial proteins.

Keywords: OxICAT; ROS; cysteine; isoTOP-ABPP; mass spectrometry; mitochondria; oxidation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12050992