Project description:To study whether increase in mitochondrial oxidative stress (SOD2 removal) and decrease in mitochondrial DNA repair (Ogg1 dMTS) results into increase in mitochondrial DNA mutation load. Oxidative stress has been suggested to induce mutations in mtDNA. To verify this, we extracted and sequenced (Illumina) mitochondrial DNA from heart Sod2 knockout animals that were also deficient for mitochondrial base-excision repair. The repair deficiency was induced by removing the genomic region encoding for the predicted mitochondrial targeting sequence from endogenous OGG1 (L2 to W23) called Ogg1 dMTS mice, thus excluding the protein from mitochondria. OGG1 is a DNA glycosylase that recognizes and repairs 8-oxo-dG damage from DNA. Oxidative stress can induce 8-oxo-dG lesions, thus we removed the mitochondrial matrix localized superoxide dismutase (SOD2) from these mice to increase the level of oxidative stress. 8-oxo-dG lesion can be mutagenic because some DNA repair polymerases are known to erroneously incorporate adenosine opposite to 8-oxo-dG during replication leading to GC>TA transversion mutations.
Project description:To identify and analyze mtDNA mutation-responsive genes, a comparison of gastrocnemius muscle tissues from WT (control) and D257A mice was conducted. We examined changes in gene expression in the muscle associated with mtDNA mutations. 1) Types of experiments: a) Effect of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations b) Effect of aging c) WT (13 month-old Polg+/+ mice) vs. D257A (13 month-old PolgD257A/D257A) mice 2) Experimental factors: a) Type of gene: PolgD257A/D257A b) Time (age) 3) Number of hybridizations in the study: ~10 4) A common reference RNA was not used. 5) Quality control measures were not used. No replicates were done. Dye swap was not used.
Project description:Exercise is a fundamental component of human health that is associated with greater life expectancy and reduced risk of chronic diseases. While the beneficial effects of endurance exercise on human health are well established, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these observations remain unclear. Endurance exercise reduces the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, alleviates multisystem pathology, and increases the lifespan of the mtDNA mutator mouse model of aging, in which the proof-reading capacity of mitochondrial polymerase gamma (POLG1) is deficient. Clearly, exercise recruited a POLG1-independent mtDNA repair pathway to induce these adaptations, a novel finding as POLG1 is canonically considered to be the sole mtDNA repair enzyme. Here we investigate the identity of this pathway, and show that endurance exercise prevents mitochondrial oxidative damage, attenuates telomere erosion, and mitigates cellular senescence and apoptosis in mtDNA mutator mice. Unexpectedly, we observe translocation of tumour suppressor protein p53 to mitochondria in response to endurance exercise that facilitates mtDNA mutation repair. Indeed, endurance exercise failed to prevent mtDNA mutations, induce mitochondrial biogenesis, preserve mitochondrial morphology, reverse sarcopenia, and mitigate premature mortality in mtDNA mutator mice with muscle-specific deletion of p53. Our data establish an exciting new role for p53 in exercise-mediated maintenance of the mtDNA genome, and presents mitochondrially-targeted p53 as a novel therapeutic modality for aging-associated diseases of mitochondrial etiology. Microarray analysis of gene expression from skeletal muscle (quadriceps femoris) from Mus musculus. N=23 samples per treatment were analysed for whole transcriptiome gene expression profile using NimbleGen Arrays. The treatment groups included wild-type C57Bl/6J mice as the control group, then two treatment groups which both contained homozygous knock-in mtDNA mutator mice (PolG; PolgAD257A/D257A). Once group of these heterozygous knock out mice received regular endurance exercise sessions while the other group remained sedentraty for 6 months. The control group specimens were wild-type litter mates to the transgenic knockout mice.
Project description:Studying whether removal of base-excision repair from mitochondria will result into increase in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation load. The endogenous genes of OGG1 and MUTYH DNA glycosylases were modified to lack the genomic region encoding for the predicted mitochondrial targeting sequence. The mouse lines used: A mouse line that lacks the region encoding for the mitochondrial targeting sequence (L2 to W23) of OGG1 (Ogg1 dMTS mice). A mouse line that lacks the region encoding the mitochondrial targeting sequence (K2 to P33) of MUTYH (Mutyh dMTS mice). To accumulate mutations to the mitochondrial DNA these mice were bred double homozygous Mutyh dMTS x Ogg1 dMTS mice as a maternal lineage for five consecutive generations and mitochondrial DNA from liver was extracted from the offspring and sequenced with Illumina. OGG1 and MUTYH are involved in repair of 8-oxo-dG from DNA. 8-oxo-dG can be a mutagenic lesion because some DNA repair polymerases are known to erroneously incorporate adenosine opposite to 8-oxo-dG during replication leading to GC>TA transversion mutations.
Project description:The mitochondrial genome encodes essential machinery for respiration and metabolic homeostasis but is paradoxically among the most common targets of somatic mutation in the cancer genome, with truncating mutations in respiratory complex I genes being most over-represented1. While mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been associated with both improved and worsened prognoses in several tumour lineages, whether these mutations are drivers or exert any functional effect on tumour biology remains controversial. Here we discovered that complex I-encoding mtDNA mutations are sufficient to remodel the tumour immune landscape and therapeutic resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. Using mtDNA base editing technology we engineered recurrent truncating mutations in the mtDNA-encoded complex I gene, Mt-Nd5, into murine models of melanoma. Mechanistically, these mutations promoted utilisation of pyruvate as a terminal electron acceptor and increased glycolytic flux driven by an over-reduced NAD pool and NADH shuttling between GAPDH and MDH1, mediating a Warburg-like metabolic shift. In turn, without modifying tumour growth, this altered cancer cell-intrinsic metabolism reshaped the tumour microenvironment promoting an anti-tumour immune response characterised by loss of resident neutrophils. This subsequently sensitised tumours bearing high mtDNA mutant heteroplasmy to immune checkpoint blockade, with phenocopy of key metabolic changes being sufficient to mediate this effect. Strikingly, patient lesions bearing >50% mtDNA mutation heteroplasmy also demonstrated a >2.5-fold improved response rate to checkpoint inhibitor blockade. Taken together these data nominate mtDNA mutations as functional regulators of cancer metabolism and tumour biology, with potential for therapeutic exploitation and treatment stratification.
Project description:Exercise is a fundamental component of human health that is associated with greater life expectancy and reduced risk of chronic diseases. While the beneficial effects of endurance exercise on human health are well established, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these observations remain unclear. Endurance exercise reduces the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, alleviates multisystem pathology, and increases the lifespan of the mtDNA mutator mouse model of aging, in which the proof-reading capacity of mitochondrial polymerase gamma (POLG1) is deficient. Clearly, exercise recruited a POLG1-independent mtDNA repair pathway to induce these adaptations, a novel finding as POLG1 is canonically considered to be the sole mtDNA repair enzyme. Here we investigate the identity of this pathway, and show that endurance exercise prevents mitochondrial oxidative damage, attenuates telomere erosion, and mitigates cellular senescence and apoptosis in mtDNA mutator mice. Unexpectedly, we observe translocation of tumour suppressor protein p53 to mitochondria in response to endurance exercise that facilitates mtDNA mutation repair. Indeed, endurance exercise failed to prevent mtDNA mutations, induce mitochondrial biogenesis, preserve mitochondrial morphology, reverse sarcopenia, and mitigate premature mortality in mtDNA mutator mice with muscle-specific deletion of p53. Our data establish an exciting new role for p53 in exercise-mediated maintenance of the mtDNA genome, and presents mitochondrially-targeted p53 as a novel therapeutic modality for aging-associated diseases of mitochondrial etiology.
Project description:To study whether increase in mitochondrial oxidative stress (SOD2 removal) and decrease in mitochondrial DNA repair (Ogg1 dMTS) results into increase in mutations in mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA). Oxidative stress has been suggested to induce mutations in mtDNA and as DNA is used as a template in transcription, mutations or 8-oxo-dG on DNA can induce GC>TA transversion accumulation in mtRNA. To verify this, we extracted and sequenced (Illumina) total RNA from heart Sod2 knockout mice alone and mice that were also deficient for mitochondrial base-excision repair. The repair deficiency was induced by removing the genomic region encoding for the predicted mitochondrial targeting sequence from endogenous OGG1 (L2 to W23) called Ogg1 dMTS mice, thus excluding the protein from mitochondria. OGG1 is a DNA glycosylase that recognizes and repairs 8-oxo-dG damage from DNA. Oxidative stress can induce 8-oxo-dG lesions, thus we removed the mitochondrial matrix localized superoxide dismutase (SOD2) from these mice to increase the level of oxidative stress. 8-oxo-dG lesion can be mutagenic because some DNA repair polymerases are known to erroneously incorporate adenosine opposite to 8-oxo-dG during replication leading to GC>TA transversion mutations.
Project description:Mutant ataxin-1 (Atxn1), which causes spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), binds to and impairs the function of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a critical nuclear protein that regulates DNA architectural changes essential for DNA damage repair and transcription. In this study, we established that transgenic or virus vector-mediated supplementation of HMGB1 ameliorates motor dysfunction and elongates lifespan in mutant Atxn1 knock-in (Atxn1-KI) mice. We identified mitochondrial DNA damage repair by HMGB1 as a novel molecular basis for this effect, in addition to the mechanisms already associated with HMGB1 function, such as nuclear DNA damage repair and nuclear transcription. The dysfunction and the improvement of mitochondrial DNA damage repair functions are tightly associated with the exacerbation and rescue, respectively, of symptoms, supporting the involvement of mitochondrial DNA quality control by HMGB1 in SCA1 pathology. Moreover, we show that the rescue of Purkinje cell dendrites and dendritic spines by HMGB1 could be downstream effects. Although extracellular HMGB1 triggers inflammation mediated by toll-like receptor and receptor for advanced glycation end products, upregulation of intracellular HMGB1 does not induce such side effects. Thus, viral delivery of HMGB1 is a candidate approach by which to modify the disease progression of SCA1 even after its onset.