@article{WiedmerJungCastroetal.2020, author = {Wiedmer, Petra and Jung, Tobias and Castro, Jose Pedro and Pomatto, Laura C. D. and Sun, Patrick Y. and Davies, Kelvin J. A. and Grune, Tilman}, title = {Sarcopenia}, series = {Ageing research reviews : ARR}, volume = {65}, journal = {Ageing research reviews : ARR}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Clare}, issn = {1568-1637}, doi = {10.1016/j.arr.2020.101200}, pages = {17}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Sarcopenia represents a muscle-wasting syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality, and strength occurring during normal aging. Sarcopenia patients are mainly suffering from the loss in muscle strength and are faced with mobility disorders reducing their quality of life and are, therefore, at higher risk for morbidity (falls, bone fracture, metabolic diseases) and mortality.
Several molecular mechanisms have been described as causes for sarcopenia that refer to very different levels of muscle physiology. These mechanisms cover e. g. function of hormones (e. g. IGF-1 and Insulin), muscle fiber composition and neuromuscular drive, myo-satellite cell potential to differentiate and proliferate, inflammatory pathways as well as intracellular mechanisms in the processes of proteostasis and mitochondrial function.
In this review, we describe sarcopenia as a muscle-wasting syndrome distinct from other atrophic diseases and summarize the current view on molecular causes of sarcopenia development as well as open questions provoking further research efforts for establishing efficient lifestyle and therapeutic interventions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Korovila2022, author = {Korovila, Ioanna}, title = {Role of proteolytic systems in lipotoxicity-induced hepatocellular damage}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-55238}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-552385}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {117}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Scope: Several studies show that excessive lipid intake can cause hepatic steatosis. To investigate lipotoxicity on cellular level, palmitate (PA) is often used to highly increase lipid droplets (LDs). One way to remove LDs is autophagy, while it is controversially discussed if autophagy is also affected by PA. It is aimed to investigate whether PA-induced LD accumulation can impair autophagy and punicalagin, a natural autophagy inducer from pomegranate, can improve it. Methods and results: To verify the role of autophagy in LD degradation, HepG2 cells are treated with PA and analyzed for LD and perilipin 2 content in presence of autophagy inducer Torin 1 and inhibitor 3-Methyladenine. PA alone seems to initially induce autophagy-related proteins but impairs autophagic-flux in a time-dependent manner, considering 6 and 24 h PA. To examine whether punicalagin can prevent autophagy impairment, cells are cotreated for 24 h with PA and punicalagin. Results show that punicalagin preserves expression of autophagy-related proteins and autophagic flux, while simultaneously decreasing LDs and perilipin 2. Conclusion: Data provide new insights into the role of PA-induced excessive LD content on autophagy and suggest autophagy-inducing properties of punicalagin, indicating that punicalagin can be a health-beneficial compound for future research on lipotoxicity in liver.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Laeger2021, author = {Laeger, Thomas}, title = {Protein-dependent regulation of feeding, metabolism, and development of type 2 diabetes}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {224}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Food intake is driven by the need for energy but also by the demand for essential nutrients such as protein. Whereas it was well known how diets high in protein mediate satiety, it remained unclear how diets low in protein induce appetite. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to the research area of the detection of restricted dietary protein and adaptive responses. This thesis provides clear evidence that the liver-derived hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is an endocrine signal of a dietary protein restriction, with the cellular amino acid sensor general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) kinase acting as an upstream regulator of FGF21 during protein restriction. In the brain, FGF21 is mediating the protein-restricted metabolic responses, e.g. increased energy expenditure, food intake, insulin sensitivity, and improved glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, endogenous FGF21 induced by dietary protein or methionine restriction is preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes in the New Zealand Obese mouse. Overall, FGF21 plays an important role in the detection of protein restriction and macronutrient imbalance in rodents and humans, and mediates both the behavioral and metabolic responses to dietary protein restriction. This makes FGF21 a critical physiological signal of dietary protein restriction, highlighting the important but often overlooked impact of dietary protein on metabolism and eating behavior, independent of dietary energy content.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Tenenboim2014, author = {Tenenboim, Yehezkel}, title = {Characterization of a Chlamydomonas protein involved in cell division and autophagy}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-70650}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The contractile vacuole (CV) is an osmoregulatory organelle found exclusively in algae and protists. In addition to expelling excessive water out of the cell, it also expels ions and other metabolites and thereby contributes to the cell's metabolic homeostasis. The interest in the CV reaches beyond its immediate cellular roles. The CV's function is tightly related to basic cellular processes such as membrane dynamics and vesicle budding and fusion; several physiological processes in animals, such as synaptic neurotransmission and blood filtration in the kidney, are related to the CV's function; and several pathogens, such as the causative agents of sleeping sickness, possess CVs, which may serve as pharmacological targets. The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has two CVs. They are the smallest known CVs in nature, and they remain relatively untouched in the CV-related literature. Many genes that have been shown to be related to the CV in other organisms have close homologues in C. reinhardtii. We attempted to silence some of these genes and observe the effect on the CV. One of our genes, VMP1, caused striking, severe phenotypes when silenced. Cells exhibited defective cytokinesis and aberrant morphologies. The CV, incidentally, remained unscathed. In addition, mutant cells showed some evidence of disrupted autophagy. Several important regulators of the cell cycle as well as autophagy were found to be underexpressed in the mutant. Lipidomic analysis revealed many meaningful changes between wild-type and mutant cells, reinforcing the compromised-autophagy observation. VMP1 is a singular protein, with homologues in numerous eukaryotic organisms (aside from fungi), but usually with no relatives in each particular genome. Since its first characterization in 2002 it has been associated with several cellular processes and functions, namely autophagy, programmed cell-death, secretion, cell adhesion, and organelle biogenesis. It has been implicated in several human diseases: pancreatitis, diabetes, and several types of cancer. Our results reiterate some of the observations in VMP1's six reported homologues, but, importantly, show for the first time an involvement of this protein in cell division. The mechanisms underlying this involvement in Chlamydomonas, as well as other key aspects, such as VMP1's subcellular localization and interaction partners, still await elucidation.}, language = {en} }