The mitochondrial calcium uniporter underlies metabolic fuel preference in skeletal muscle.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kwong JQ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6302934 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Skeletal muscle mitochondria readily accumulate Ca2+ in response to SR store-releasing stimuli thanks to the activity of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), the highly selective channel responsible for mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. MCU positively regulates myofiber size in physiological conditions and counteracts pathological loss of muscle mass. Here we show that skeletal muscle-specific MCU deletion inhibits myofiber mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, impairs muscle force and exercise performance, and determines a slow to fast switch in MHC expression. Mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake is required for effective glucose oxidation, as demonstrated by the fact that in muscle-specific MCU-/- myofibers oxidative metabolism is impaired and glycolysis rate is increased. Although defective, mitochondrial activity is partially sustained by increased fatty acid (FA) oxidation. In MCU-/- myofibers, PDP2 overexpression drastically reduces FA dependency, demonstrating that decreased PDH activity is the main trigger of the metabolic rewiring of MCU-/- muscles. Accordingly, PDK4 overexpression in MCUfl/fl myofibers is sufficient to increase FA-dependent respiration. Finally, as a result of the muscle-specific MCU deletion, a systemic catabolic response impinging on both liver and adipose tissue metabolism occurs.
| S-EPMC6329801 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Muscle atrophy contributes to the poor prognosis of many physiopathological conditions, but pharmacological therapies are still limited. Muscle activity leads to major swings in mitochondrial [Ca2+] which control aerobic metabolism, cell death and survival pathways. We have investigated in vivo the effects of mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis in skeletal muscle function and trophism, by overexpressing or silencing the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU). The results coherently demonstrate that both in developing and in adult muscles MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake has a marked trophic effect that does not depend on autophagy or aerobic control, but impinges on two major hypertrophic pathways of skeletal muscle, PGC-1M-NM-14 and Igf1-Akt/PKB. In adult mice, MCU overexpression protects from denervation-induced atrophy. These data reveal a novel Ca2+-dependent organelle-to-nucleus signaling route, which links mitochondrial function to the control of muscle mass and may represent a possible pharmacological target in sarcopenia. Experiments were performed on biological replicates of single skeletal muscle fibres. Seven fibres were chosen for their Mutochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU) overexpression and other seven fibres because MCU was silenced. Overexpression and silencing were performed injecting skeletal muscle with AAV containing MCU gene or short interfering oligos specific for MCU. As control was profiled eigth fibres transfected with AAV and eigth wild type fibres. Analyses were performed 7 days and 14 days after the AAV injection (3 fibers after 7 days and 4 fibers after 14 days for MCU overexpression and silencing, four fibres after 7 days and four after 14 days for control).
2015-03-05 | E-GEOD-60931 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Muscle atrophy contributes to the poor prognosis of many pathophysiological conditions, but pharmacological therapies are still limited. Muscle activity leads to major swings in mitochondrial [Ca(2+)], which control aerobic metabolism, cell death, and survival pathways. We investigated in vivo the effects of mitochondrial Ca(2+) homeostasis in skeletal muscle function and trophism by overexpressing or silencing the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). The results demonstrate that in both developing and adult muscles, MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake has a marked trophic effect that does not depend on aerobic control but impinges on two major hypertrophic pathways of skeletal muscle, PGC-1α4 and IGF1-Akt/PKB. In addition, MCU overexpression protects from denervation-induced atrophy. These data reveal a novel Ca(2+)-dependent organelle-to-nucleus signaling route that links mitochondrial function to the control of muscle mass and may represent a possible pharmacological target in conditions of muscle loss.
| S-EPMC4351162 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Muscle atrophy contributes to the poor prognosis of many physiopathological conditions, but pharmacological therapies are still limited. Muscle activity leads to major swings in mitochondrial [Ca2+] which control aerobic metabolism, cell death and survival pathways. We have investigated in vivo the effects of mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis in skeletal muscle function and trophism, by overexpressing or silencing the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU). The results coherently demonstrate that both in developing and in adult muscles MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake has a marked trophic effect that does not depend on autophagy or aerobic control, but impinges on two major hypertrophic pathways of skeletal muscle, PGC-1α4 and Igf1-Akt/PKB. In adult mice, MCU overexpression protects from denervation-induced atrophy. These data reveal a novel Ca2+-dependent organelle-to-nucleus signaling route, which links mitochondrial function to the control of muscle mass and may represent a possible pharmacological target in sarcopenia.
2015-03-05 | GSE60931 | GEO
Project description:Intracellular calcium influences an array of pathways and affects cellular processes. With the rapidly progressing research investigating the molecular identity and the physiological roles of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex, we now have the tools to understand the functions of mitochondrial Ca2+ in the regulation of pathophysiological processes. Herein, we describe the role of key MCU complex components in insulin resistance in mouse and human adipose tissue. Adipose tissue gene expression was analyzed from several models of obese and diabetic rodents and in 72 patients with obesity as well as in vitro insulin-resistant adipocytes. Genetic manipulation of MCU activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes allowed the investigation of the role of mitochondrial calcium uptake. In insulin-resistant adipocytes, mitochondrial calcium uptake increased and several MCU components were upregulated. Similar results were observed in mouse and human visceral adipose tissue (VAT) during the progression of obesity and diabetes. Intriguingly, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was spared from overt MCU fluctuations. Furthermore, MCU expression returned to physiological levels in VAT of patients after weight loss by bariatric surgery. Genetic manipulation of mitochondrial calcium uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes demonstrated that changes in mitochondrial calcium concentration ([Ca2+]mt) can affect mitochondrial metabolism, including oxidative enzyme activity, mitochondrial respiration, membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species formation. Finally, our data suggest a strong relationship between [Ca2+]mt and the release of IL-6 and TNFα in adipocytes. Altered mitochondrial calcium flux in fat cells may play a role in obesity and diabetes and may be associated with the differential metabolic profiles of VAT and SAT.
| S-EPMC6109647 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Age-related sarcopenia is characterized by a progressive loss of muscle mass with decline in specific force, having dramatic consequences on mobility and quality of life in seniors. The etiology of sarcopenia is multifactorial and underlying mechanisms are currently not fully elucidated. Physical exercise is known to have beneficial effects on muscle trophism and force production. Alterations of mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis regulated by mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) have been recently shown to affect muscle trophism in vivo in mice. To understand the relevance of MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in aging and to investigate the effect of physical exercise on MCU expression and mitochondria dynamics, we analyzed skeletal muscle biopsies from 70-year-old subjects 9 weeks trained with either neuromuscular electrical stimulation (ES) or leg press. Here, we demonstrate that improved muscle function and structure induced by both trainings are linked to increased protein levels of MCU Ultrastructural analyses by electron microscopy showed remodeling of mitochondrial apparatus in ES-trained muscles that is consistent with an adaptation to physical exercise, a response likely mediated by an increased expression of mitochondrial fusion protein OPA1. Altogether these results indicate that the ES-dependent physiological effects on skeletal muscle size and force are associated with changes in mitochondrial-related proteins involved in Ca2+ homeostasis and mitochondrial shape. These original findings in aging human skeletal muscle confirm the data obtained in mice and propose MCU and mitochondria-related proteins as potential pharmacological targets to counteract age-related muscle loss.
| S-EPMC5210373 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) gene codifies for the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) channel responsible for mitochondrial Ca(2 +) uptake. Cytosolic Ca(2 +) transients are involved in sarcomere contraction through cycles of release and storage in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In addition cytosolic Ca(2 +) regulates various signaling cascades that eventually lead to gene expression reprogramming. Mitochondria are strategically placed in close contact with the ER/SR, thus cytosolic Ca(2 +) transients elicit large increases in the [Ca(2 +)] of the mitochondrial matrix ([Ca(2 +)]mt). Mitochondrial Ca(2 +) uptake regulates energy production and cell survival. In addition, we recently showed that MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca(2 +) uptake controls skeletal muscle trophism. In the same report, we dissected the effects of MCU-dependent mitochondrial Ca(2 +) uptake on gene expression through microarray gene expression analysis upon modulation of MCU expression by in vivo AAV infection. Analyses were performed on single skeletal muscle fibers at two time points (7 and 14 days post-AAV injection). Raw and normalized data are available on the GEO database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) (GSE60931).
| S-EPMC4583640 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Circadian clock confers temporal control in metabolism, with its disruption leading to the development of insulin resistance. Metabolic substrate utilization in skeletal muscle is coordinated with diurnal nutrient cycles. However, whether the molecular clock is involved in this coordination is largely unknown. Using a myocyte-selective genetic ablation mouse model of the essential clock activator Bmal1, here we identify muscle-intrinsic clock as a sensor of feeding cues to orchestrate skeletal muscle oxidation required for global nutrient flux. Bmal1 in skeletal muscle responds robustly to feeding in vivo and insulin induces its expression. Muscle Bmal1 deficiency impaired the transcriptional control of glucose metabolic pathway, resulting in markedly attenuated glucose utilization and fasting hyperglycemia. Notably, the loss of Bmal1 response to feeding abolished fasting-to-feeding metabolic fuel switch from fatty acids to glucose in skeletal muscle, leading to the activation of energy-sensing pathways for fatty acid oxidation. These altered metabolic substrate oxidations in Bmal1-deficient muscle ultimately depleted circulating lipid levels that prevented hepatic steatosis. Collectively, our findings highlight the key role of the metabolic-sensing function of skeletal muscle clock in partitioning nutrient flux between muscle and liver to maintain whole-body lipid and glucose homeostasis.
| S-EPMC7597556 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Control of myocardial energetics by Ca2+ signal propagation to the mitochondrial matrix includes local Ca2+ delivery from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) ryanodine receptors (RyR2) to the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) Ca2+ uniporter (mtCU). mtCU activity in cardiac mitochondria is relatively low, whereas the IMM surface is large, due to extensive cristae folding. Hence, stochastically distributed mtCU may not suffice to support local Ca2+ transfer. We hypothesized that mtCU concentrated at mitochondria-SR associations would promote the effective Ca2+ transfer. mtCU distribution was determined by tracking MCU and EMRE, the proteins essential for channel formation. Both proteins were enriched in the IMM-outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) contact point submitochondrial fraction and, as super-resolution microscopy revealed, located more to the mitochondrial periphery (inner boundary membrane) than inside the cristae, indicating high accessibility to cytosol-derived Ca2+ inputs. Furthermore, MCU immunofluorescence distribution was biased toward the mitochondria-SR interface (RyR2), and this bias was promoted by Ca2+ signaling activity in intact cardiomyocytes. The SR fraction of heart homogenate contains mitochondria with extensive SR associations, and these mitochondria are highly enriched in EMRE. Size exclusion chromatography suggested for EMRE- and MCU-containing complexes a wide size range and also revealed MCU-containing complexes devoid of EMRE (thus disabled) in the mitochondrial but not the SR fraction. Functional measurements suggested more effective mtCU-mediated Ca2+ uptake activity by the mitochondria of the SR than of the mitochondrial fraction. Thus, mtCU "hot spots" can be formed at the cardiac muscle mitochondria-SR associations via localization and assembly bias, serving local Ca2+ signaling and the excitation-energetics coupling.
| S-EPMC5087749 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mitochondria from many eukaryotic clades take up large amounts of calcium (Ca(2+)) via an inner membrane transporter called the uniporter. Transport by the uniporter is membrane potential dependent and sensitive to ruthenium red or its derivative Ru360 (ref. 1). Electrophysiological studies have shown that the uniporter is an ion channel with remarkably high conductance and selectivity. Ca(2+) entry into mitochondria is also known to activate the tricarboxylic acid cycle and seems to be crucial for matching the production of ATP in mitochondria with its cytosolic demand. Mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) is the pore-forming and Ca(2+)-conducting subunit of the uniporter holocomplex, but its primary sequence does not resemble any calcium channel studied to date. Here we report the structure of the pore domain of MCU from Caenorhabditis elegans, determined using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron microscopy (EM). MCU is a homo-oligomer in which the second transmembrane helix forms a hydrophilic pore across the membrane. The channel assembly represents a new solution of ion channel architecture, and is stabilized by a coiled-coil motif protruding into the mitochondrial matrix. The critical DXXE motif forms the pore entrance, which features two carboxylate rings; based on the ring dimensions and functional mutagenesis, these rings appear to form the selectivity filter. To our knowledge, this is one of the largest membrane protein structures characterized by NMR, and provides a structural blueprint for understanding the function of this channel.
| S-EPMC4874835 | biostudies-literature