Dataset Information

Regional distribution of cytochrome c oxidase activity and copper in sclerotic hippocampi of epilepsy patients

ABSTRACT: Abstract

Introduction

Disruption of copper homeostasis and dysfunction of mitochondria have been documented in sclerotic hippocampi (HS) of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE). However, a potential link between these pathological changes has not been tackled so far. Herein, we analyzed regional distribution of neuron somata density, copper concentration, and the activity of cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), a component of mitochondrial electron transport chain and copper?containing metalloprotein, in HS.

Methods

Histochemical staining and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were carried out to construct comparable maps of these parameters in coronal sections of hippocampi of 3 mTLE?HS patients and 3 control subjects.

Results

Copper levels were decreased in all regions of HS with pyramidal neuron somata. CCO activity was significantly reduced in stratum pyramidale (PY) 1 and cornu Ammonis field 4, the two regions with significant reduction in neuron somata density. CCO activity was also lower in layers that contain apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons and mossy fibers. It appears that copper deficiency in PY2 and PY3 comes before CCO activity reduction and neuronal loss. A strong positive correlation was found between neuron density, Cu concentration, and CCO activity.

Conclusions

Presented results imply that pathological alterations in Cu and energy metabolism could be involved in the development of HS. A limitation of this study was the relatively small number of patients. However, presented results underline copper deficiency as a component of pathological mechanisms of epilepsy and warrant further investigation of cuproproteins and members of copper transport machinery. Regional distribution of neuron somata density, copper concentration, and the activity of cytochrome c oxidase in coronal sections of sclerotic hippocampi of epilepsy patients and controls.

SUBMITTER: Opacic M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7882178 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:UNLABELLED:Copper is an essential micronutrient used as a metal cofactor by a variety of enzymes, including cytochrome c oxidase (Cox). In all organisms from bacteria to humans, cellular availability and insertion of copper into target proteins are tightly controlled due to its toxicity. The major subunit of Cox contains a copper atom that is required for its catalytic activity. Previously, we identified CcoA (a member of major facilitator superfamily transporters) as a component required for cbb3-type Cox production in the Gram-negative, facultative phototroph Rhodobacter capsulatus. Here, first we demonstrate that CcoA is a cytoplasmic copper importer. Second, we show that bypass suppressors of a ccoA deletion mutant suppress cbb3-Cox deficiency by increasing cellular copper content and sensitivity. Third, we establish that these suppressors are single-base-pair insertion/deletions located in copA, encoding the major P1B-type ATP-dependent copper exporter (CopA) responsible for copper detoxification. A copA deletion alone has no effect on cbb3-Cox biogenesis in an otherwise wild-type background, even though it rescues the cbb3-Cox defect in the absence of CcoA and renders cells sensitive to copper. We conclude that a hitherto unknown functional interplay between the copper importer CcoA and the copper exporter CopA controls intracellular copper homeostasis required for cbb3-Cox production in bacteria like R. capsulatus. IMPORTANCE:Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient required for many processes in the cell. It is found as a cofactor for heme-copper containing cytochrome c oxidase enzymes at the terminus of the respiratory chains of aerobic organisms by catalyzing reduction of dioxygen (O2) to water. Defects in the biogenesis and copper insertion into cytochrome c oxidases lead to mitochondrial diseases in humans. This work shows that a previously identified Cu transporter (CcoA) is a Cu importer and illustrates the link between two Cu transporters, the importer CcoA and the exporter CopA, required for Cu homeostasis and Cu trafficking to cytochrome c oxidase in the cell.