studying-mitochondrial-structure-and-function-in-drosophila-ovaries

Studying Mitochondrial Structure and Function in <em>Drosophila</em> Ovaries

Analysis of the mitochondrial structure-function relationship is required for a thorough understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of mitochondrial ...

University of Alabama at Birmingham

A multicentrical clinical study was designed with the purpose of measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) in normal and malnourished children, with and without infection. Blood samples were collected without anticoagulant from 109 venezuelan children, between the ages of 6 months and 6 years. The statistical analysis was carried out using the t Student and ANOVA. The values of CRP were higher (80.80 +/- 38.39 mg/L) in severe malnourished infected than non-infected malnourished children (8.17 +/- 3.06 mg/L, p < 0.001). There were statistical differences between severe malnourished infected and eutrophic infected children (p < 0.001). There was also a difference between the non infected, severely malnourished children and the rest of them, although they kept their values within a normal range. These findings indicate that the malnourished child is able to produce CRP in response to infection but in a different way that the eutrophic child. In children without infection, the CRP levels were kept within the normal range.

[Inflammation mediators (C reactive protein) in children with proteic-energetic malnutrition and in eutrophic children].

The regulation and function of the crucial cell cycle regulator cyclin E (CycE) remains elusive. Unlike other cyclins, CycE can be uniquely controlled by mitochondrial energetics, the exact mechanism being unclear. Using mammalian cells (in vitro) and Drosophila (in vivo) model systems in parallel, we show that CycE can be directly regulated by mitochondria through its recruitment to the organelle. Active mitochondrial bioenergetics maintains a distinct mitochondrial pool of CycE (mtCycE) lacking a key phosphorylation required for its degradation. Loss of the mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1, SwissProt O00429 in humans) augments mitochondrial respiration and elevates the mtCycE pool allowing CycE deregulation, cell cycle alterations and enrichment of stem cell markers. Such CycE deregulation after Drp1 loss attenuates cell proliferation in low-cell-density environments. However, in high-cell-density environments, elevated MEK-ERK signaling in the absence of Drp1 releases mtCycE to support escape of contact inhibition and maintain aberrant cell proliferation. Such Drp1-driven regulation of CycE recruitment to mitochondria might be a mechanism to modulate CycE degradation during normal developmental processes as well as in tumorigenic events.

Aida Moran

Department of Genetics,
School of Medicine,
Department of Genetics, School of Medicine

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Studying Mitochondrial Structure and Function in Drosophila Ovaries

Aida Moran

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Genetics,School of Medicine,Department of Genetics, School of Medicine

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Studying Mitochondrial Structure and Function in Drosophila Ovaries

Department of Genetics,
School of Medicine,
Department of Genetics, School of Medicine