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Mitochondrial regulator PGC-1a in neuronal metabolism and brain aging

ABSTRACT: The brain is a high energy tissue, and the cell types of which it is comprised are distinct in function and in metabolic requirements. The transcriptional co-activator PGC-1a is a master regulator of mitochondrial function and is highly expressed in the brain; however, its cell-type-specific role in regulating metabolism has not been well established. Here, we show that PGC-1a is responsive to aging and that expression of the neuron-specific PGC-1a isoform allows for specialization in metabolic adaptation. Transcriptional profiles of the cortex from male mice show an impact of age on immune, inflammatory, and neuronal pathways and a highly integrated metabolic response associated with decreased expression of PGC-1a. Proteomic analysis confirms age-related changes in metabolism and further shows changes in ribosomal and RNA splicing pathways. We show that neurons express a specialized PGC-1a isoform that becomes active during differentiation from stem cells and is further induced during the maturation of isolated neurons. Neuronal but not astrocyte PGC-1a responds robustly to inhibition of the growth-sensitive kinase GSK3b, where the brain-specific promoter-driven dominant isoform is repressed. The GSK3b inhibitor lithium broadly reprograms metabolism and growth signaling, including significantly lowering expression of mitochondrial and ribosomal pathway genes and suppressing growth signaling, which are linked to changes in mitochondrial function and neuronal outgrowth. In vivo, lithium treatment significantly changes the expression of genes involved in cortical growth, endocrine, and circadian pathways. These data place the GSK3b/PGC-1a axis centrally in a growth and metabolism network directly relevant to brain aging.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE246478 | GEO | 2025/02/07

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor c coactivator 1 (PGC-1) proteins are key regulators of cellular bioenergetics and are accordingly expressed in tissues with a high energetic demand. For example, PGC-1a and PGC-1b control organ function of brown adipose tissue, heart, brain, liver and skeletal muscle. Surprisingly, despite their prominent role in the control of mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism, expression and function of the PGC-1 coactivators in the retina, an organ with one of the highest energy demands per tissue weight, are completely unknown. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms that coordinate energy production with repair processes in the damaged retina remain enigmatic. In the present study, we thus investigated the expression and function of the PGC-1 coactivators in the healthy and the damaged retina. We show that PGC-1a and PGC-1b are found at high levels in different structures of the mouse retina, most prominently in the photoreceptors. Furthermore, PGC-1a knockout mice suffer from a striking deterioration in retinal morphology and function upon detrimental light exposure. Gene expression studies revealed dysregulation of all major pathways involved in retinal damage and apoptosis, repair and renewal in the PGC-1a knockouts. The light-induced increase in apoptosis in vivo in the absence of PGC-1a was substantiated in vitro, where overexpression of PGC-1a evoked strong anti-apoptotic effects. Finally, we found that retinal levels of PGC-1 expression are reduced in different mouse models for retinitis pigmentosa. We demonstrate that PGC-1a is a central coordinator of energy production and, importantly, all of the major processes involved in retinal damage and subsequent repair. Together with the observed dysregulation of PGC-1a and PGC-1b in retinitis pigmentosa mouse models, these findings thus imply that PGC-1a might be an attractive target for therapeutic approaches aimed at retinal degeneration diseases.

Project description:PGC-1a is a transcriptional coactivator known to regulate a broad gene program of nutrient and mitochondrial metabolism. Many splice variants of this protein have been identified, but their functions were unknown. This experiment was designed to delineate the downstream targets of two different PGC-1alpha isoforms (PGC-1a1 and PGC-1a4) in hepatocytes, and to determine whether inflammatory signaling (via TNFR activation) modulated these targets Liver is exposed to constantly changing metabolic and inflammatory environments. It must quickly sense and adapt to metabolic need while balancing resources required to protect itself from harmful inflammatory molecules. PGC-1α is a transcriptional coactivator that mediates cellular adaptation to diverse stimuli including inflammation. PGC-1α has a protective role against inflammation in several organs, including brain, heart, kidney, muscle, and liver. However, it is not known how hepatic PGC-1α integrates extracellular signals to mitigate inflammatory outcomes. PGC-1α exists as multiple, alternatively spliced variants whose expression is differentially regulated by different gene promoters. In human liver, we found that inflammatory conditions preferentially activated the alternative versus proximal PPARGC1A promoter. Gene expression analysis performed in primary mouse hepatocytes identified many shared and isoform-specific roles for PGC-1α variants during acute inflammation. PGC-1α1 primarily impacted gene programs of nutrient and mitochondrial metabolism, while TNFα treatment revealed that PGC-1α4 uniquely influenced several pathways related to innate immunity and cell death. Gain- and loss-of-function models showed that PGC-1α4 specifically attenuated apoptosis in response to TNFα or LPS, in contrast to PGC-1α1, which reduced expression of a wide inflammatory gene network. We conclude that PGC-1α variants have distinct, yet complimentary roles in hepatic responses to inflammation, with PGC-1α4 being an important mitigator of apoptosis.

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Mitochondrial regulator PGC-1a in neuronal metabolism and brain aging

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