Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare but fatal central nervous system (CNS) disease caused by the "brain-eating amoeba" Naegleria fowleri. A major obstacle is the requirement for drugs with the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, which are used in extremely high doses, cause severe side effects, and are usually ineffective. We discovered that the 4-aminomethylphenoxy-benzoxaborole AN3057 exhibits nanomolar potency against N. fowleri, and experimental treatment of infected mice significantly prolonged survival and demonstrated a 28% relapse-free cure rate.

• Klíčová slova
• Naegleria fowleri, amoeba, antiparasitic, oxaborole, primary amoebic meningoencephalitis,
• MeSH
• amébiáza * farmakoterapie   MeSH
• hematoencefalická bariéra MeSH
• meningoencefalitida * MeSH
• myši MeSH
• Naegleria fowleri * MeSH
• protozoární infekce centrálního nervového systému * farmakoterapie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) generates ATP, but OXPHOS also supports biosynthesis during proliferation. In contrast, the role of OXPHOS during quiescence, beyond ATP production, is not well understood. Using mouse models of inducible OXPHOS deficiency in all cell types or specifically in the vascular endothelium that negligibly relies on OXPHOS-derived ATP, we show that selectively during quiescence OXPHOS provides oxidative stress resistance by supporting macroautophagy/autophagy. Mechanistically, OXPHOS constitutively generates low levels of endogenous ROS that induce autophagy via attenuation of ATG4B activity, which provides protection from ROS insult. Physiologically, the OXPHOS-autophagy system (i) protects healthy tissue from toxicity of ROS-based anticancer therapy, and (ii) provides ROS resistance in the endothelium, ameliorating systemic LPS-induced inflammation as well as inflammatory bowel disease. Hence, cells acquired mitochondria during evolution to profit from oxidative metabolism, but also built in an autophagy-based ROS-induced protective mechanism to guard against oxidative stress associated with OXPHOS function during quiescence.Abbreviations: AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; AOX: alternative oxidase; Baf A: bafilomycin A1; CI, respiratory complexes I; DCF-DA: 2',7'-dichlordihydrofluorescein diacetate; DHE: dihydroethidium; DSS: dextran sodium sulfate; ΔΨmi: mitochondrial inner membrane potential; EdU: 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine; ETC: electron transport chain; FA: formaldehyde; HUVEC; human umbilical cord endothelial cells; IBD: inflammatory bowel disease; LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; MEFs: mouse embryonic fibroblasts; MTORC1: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase complex 1; mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA; NAC: N-acetyl cysteine; OXPHOS: oxidative phosphorylation; PCs: proliferating cells; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; PEITC: phenethyl isothiocyanate; QCs: quiescent cells; ROS: reactive oxygen species; PLA2: phospholipase A2, WB: western blot.

• Klíčová slova
• ATG4B, biosynthesis, cell death, electron transport chain, endothelial cells, mitochondria, oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species,
• MeSH
• adenosintrifosfát metabolismus   MeSH
• autofagie * MeSH
• cystein metabolismus   MeSH
• dextrany metabolismus   MeSH
• dýchání MeSH
• endoteliální buňky metabolismus   MeSH
• fibroblasty metabolismus   MeSH
• formaldehyd metabolismus   MeSH
• fosfatidylethanolaminy metabolismus   MeSH
• idiopatické střevní záněty * metabolismus   MeSH
• isothiokyanatany MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lipopolysacharidy metabolismus   MeSH
• mechanistické cílové místo rapamycinového komplexu 1 metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondrie metabolismus   MeSH
• myši MeSH
• proteinkinasy aktivované AMP metabolismus   MeSH
• proteiny asociované s mikrotubuly metabolismus   MeSH
• reaktivní formy kyslíku metabolismus   MeSH
• sirolimus MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• adenosintrifosfát MeSH
• cystein MeSH
• dextrany MeSH
• formaldehyd MeSH
• fosfatidylethanolaminy MeSH
• isothiokyanatany MeSH
• lipopolysacharidy MeSH
• mechanistické cílové místo rapamycinového komplexu 1 MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA MeSH
• phenethyl isothiocyanate MeSH Prohlížeč
• proteinkinasy aktivované AMP MeSH
• proteiny asociované s mikrotubuly MeSH
• reaktivní formy kyslíku MeSH
• sirolimus MeSH

Many of the currently available anti-parasitic and anti-fungal frontline drugs have severe limitations, including adverse side effects, complex administration, and increasing occurrence of resistance. The discovery and development of new therapeutic agents is a costly and lengthy process. Therefore, repurposing drugs with already established clinical application offers an attractive, fast-track approach for novel treatment options. In this study, we show that the anti-cancer drug candidate MitoTam, a mitochondria-targeted analog of tamoxifen, efficiently eliminates a wide range of evolutionarily distinct pathogens in vitro, including pathogenic fungi, Plasmodium falciparum, and several species of trypanosomatid parasites, causative agents of debilitating neglected tropical diseases. MitoTam treatment was also effective in vivo and significantly reduced parasitemia of two medically important parasites, Leishmania mexicana and Trypanosoma brucei, in their respective animal infection models. Functional analysis in the bloodstream form of T. brucei showed that MitoTam rapidly altered mitochondrial functions, particularly affecting cellular respiration, lowering ATP levels, and dissipating mitochondrial membrane potential. Our data suggest that the mode of action of MitoTam involves disruption of the inner mitochondrial membrane, leading to rapid organelle depolarization and cell death. Altogether, MitoTam is an excellent candidate drug against several important pathogens, for which there are no efficient therapies and for which drug development is not a priority.

• Klíčová slova
• Candida, Cryptococcus, Leishmania, Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, drug, mitochondria,
• MeSH
• antitumorózní látky * metabolismus   farmakologie   MeSH
• membránový potenciál mitochondrií MeSH
• Plasmodium falciparum MeSH
• přehodnocení terapeutických indikací léčivého přípravku MeSH
• Trypanosoma brucei brucei * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antitumorózní látky * MeSH

Tamoxifen resistance remains a clinical obstacle in the treatment of hormone sensitive breast cancer. It has been reported that tamoxifen is able to target respiratory complex I within mitochondria. Therefore, we established two tamoxifen-resistant cell lines, MCF7 Tam5R and T47D Tam5R resistant to 5 μM tamoxifen and investigated whether tamoxifen-resistant cells exhibit mitochondrial changes which could help them survive the treatment. The function of mitochondria in this experimental model was evaluated in detail by studying i) the composition and activity of mitochondrial respiratory complexes; ii) respiration and glycolytic status; iii) mitochondrial distribution, dynamics and reactive oxygen species production. We show that Tam5R cells exhibit a significant decrease in mitochondrial respiration, low abundance of assembled mitochondrial respiratory supercomplexes, a more fragmented mitochondrial network connected with DRP1 Ser637 phosphorylation, higher glycolysis and sensitivity to 2-deoxyglucose. Tam5R cells also produce significantly higher levels of mitochondrial superoxide but at the same time increase their antioxidant defense (CAT, SOD2) through upregulation of SIRT3 and show phosphorylation of AMPK at Ser 485/491. Importantly, MCF7 ρ0 cells lacking functional mitochondria exhibit a markedly higher resistance to tamoxifen, supporting the role of mitochondria in tamoxifen resistance. We propose that reduced mitochondrial function and higher level of reactive oxygen species within mitochondria in concert with metabolic adaptations contribute to the phenotype of tamoxifen resistance.

• Klíčová slova
• Breast cancer, Mitochondria, Mitochondrial fragmentation, Reactive oxygen species, Tamoxifen resistance,
• MeSH
• antitumorózní látky hormonální farmakologie   MeSH
• apoptóza MeSH
• buněčný cyklus MeSH
• chemorezistence * MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• glykolýza * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mitochondrie metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• myši nahé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• nádorové buňky kultivované MeSH
• nádory prsu farmakoterapie   metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• pohyb buněk MeSH
• proliferace buněk MeSH
• reaktivní formy kyslíku metabolismus   MeSH
• respirační komplex I metabolismus   MeSH
• superoxidy metabolismus   MeSH
• tamoxifen farmakologie   MeSH
• xenogenní modely - testy antitumorózní aktivity MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antitumorózní látky hormonální MeSH
• reaktivní formy kyslíku MeSH
• respirační komplex I MeSH
• superoxidy MeSH
• tamoxifen MeSH