Džinić, Tamara (2017)
Interplay of ionizing radiation, oxygen, ROS and age-associated diseases.
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Dissertation, Erstveröffentlichung
Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract)
The aim of this doctoral thesis was to investigate and to understand the implication of oxidative stress, created by the interplay of ionizing (X-ray) radiation, oxygen and neurotoxic amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide, in age-associated diseases, with the focus on Alzheimer´s disease (AD), the most common dementia. Although AD has been known for more than hundred years, its mechanisms are still intriguing and there is no cure at the moment. High doses of ionizing radiation (IR) lead to learning and memory impairment which is characteristic for AD as well. The cumulative doses of IR used in medical imaging procedures such as computed tomography (CT) and dental X-rays present a potential danger, particularly to children whose brains are not completely developed. Although single doses of radiation used for diagnostic purposes or therapeutic treatment are relatively low, small changes on the molecular and cellular level may accumulate upon repeated exposure and result in delayed long-term defects. Thus, the most important objective of this thesis was to reveal if there is an interplay of radiation and age-associated diseases through the effects of oxygen, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Aβ peptide implicated in AD. Aβ peptide monomers and small oligomers (one of the players in AD) are proposed to be involved in damage and death of neurons. Since IR causes oxidative stress and inflammation, occurring in AD as well, there is a concern that radiation exposure may be linked with neurodegeneration. 2 Gy X-rays presents a commonly used fractionated dose in radiotherapy of a variety of tumors and was used in this thesis as a single radiation dose alone or combined with the previous treatment with externally applied Aβ1-42 peptide (the most toxic form) at two environmental oxygen concentrations. The data provided in the thesis emphasize the importance of using the appropriate model system and conditions in the cell culture such as oxygen concentration that has to be considered in studies of cellular responses to oxidative stress, IR and neurotoxic peptides. Changes in cellular responses of non-differentiated human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells and/or cells pre-treated with retinoic acid (RA) for induction of differentiation, in order to obtain cells that resemble neurons, were investigated in parallel under standard condition of oxygen (~21%) used in cell culture incubators, but never found in tissues of human body, and 5% O2 which resembles physiological oxygen concentration in human brain. For this purpose, home-made low O2 incubators were setup using plastic containers able to retain a gas mixture containing 5% or 1% O2, 5% CO2 and 90% or 94% N2. Initially, two different low oxygen concentrations (1% and 5%) were tested in SH-SY5Y cells for cell proliferation and ATP concentration as a measure of the bioenergetic status. 5% O2 was demonstrated to be more suitable for cultivation of SH-SY5Y cell since the proliferation activity and ATP concentration were higher than in cells at 1% O2. The starting hypothesis was that cells exposed to non-physiological oxygen concentration and/or in the presence of Aβ peptide react differently, more sensitive or less sensitive, due to the oxygen effect (i.e. increased sensitivity due to the increased formation of harmful ROS and modulation of signaling pathways or decreased sensitivity due to the previous adaptation to these processes). A very important result was that the oxygen concentration in the cell culture and differentiation status of SH-SY5Y cells are modulators of cellular responses to X-ray radiation and Aβ peptide as shown employing cell and molecular biology as well as biochemistry methods and techniques. Retinoic acid used for induction of differentiation leads to morphological changes of SH-SY5Y cells (i.e. flattening of the cell body and formation of long outgrowths that resemble axons of neurons) and increase in the sensitivity to radiation and/or to Aβ peptide depending on oxygen concentration. Moreover, oxygen plays a role in differentiation and proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells since the amount of neurofilament-M, a marker of differentiation, was dependent of oxygen concentration and was higher in cells cultivated at 5% O2 which also showed increased cell number in the proliferation assay as compared to 21% O2. Intracellular oxygen concentration [O2] differs from the oxygen concentration applied to the cell culture. Using an oxygen sensitive probe, intracellular [O2] for SH-SY5Y cells cultivated at 21% O2 was about 10% and for cells cultivated at 5% O2 was 0.9% determined for the first time. However, 5% O2 was not hypoxic for SH-SY5Y cells since no expression of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α) was detected. Changes in the mitochondrial proteome isolated from SH-SY5Y cells were investigated using a combination of blue-native/2D SDS-PAGE for protein separation, subsequent staining with the fluorescent dye SYPRO Ruby and quantitation of protein spot intensities from gel images. The protein amount of selected subunits of Oxidative Phosphorylation (OxPhos) complexes and other non-OxPhos mitochondrial proteins (identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry and Western blot) did not change upon irradiation with the exception of the heat shock protein 70, which amount was increased depending on oxygen concentration and differentiation status. Monomers and small oligomers of Aβ peptide interacted with SH-SY5Y cells as detected by flow cytometry. Compartments with low pH value (i.e. lysosomes and possibly late endosomes) were the main target and the peptide interacted only to a minor extent with mitochondria and endoplasmatic reticulum, respectively, as visualized by confocal scanning microscopy. Although site and kinetics of interaction of Aβ peptide with SH-SY5Y cells cultivated at both 21% and 5% O2 were similar, decreased lysosomal integrity after Aβ peptide treatment of SH-SY5Y cells was observed solely at 21% O2. Aβ peptide alone induced only a slight increase in ROS (up to 1.2 fold), a slight increase in mitochondrial membrane potential, and no changes in ATP concentration and in glutathione (GSH) level (used as an indicator of cell´s antioxidant capacity) regardless of oxygen concentration in the cell culture. Radiation alone led to a significant increase in ROS (~1.5 fold) and a slight increase in ATP concentration (~1.2 fold) but solely in cells at 5% O2. A slight increase in mitochondrial membrane potential was observed at both 21% and 5% O2. Radiation caused a slight increase in GSH level at 21% O2 and decrease at 5% O2 (up to 1.2 fold). Increase in protein carbonylation (~2.5 fold) induced by oxidative stress measured in the Oxyblot assay was specific for irradiated cells at 21% O2. A very important target of oxidative stress is DNA, particularly mtDNA that is less studied than nuclear DNA. MtDNA was assayed using primers specific for mtDNA in PCR methods for changes in its amount and for the presence of 4977 bp deletion. Aß peptide or radiation alone caused a change in mtDNA amount depending on O2 concentration: up to 1.3 fold decrease at 21% O2 and up to 1.5 fold increase at 5% O2. The occurrence of the mtDNA deletion was specific for irradiated cells at both 21% and 5% O2 but was more pronounced at 21% O2. For the first time, the combined effect of Aβ peptide and IR on cellular parameters and survival was studied. Radiation combined with Aβ peptide resulted in a statistically significant increase in ROS level at both 21% (~1.2 fold) and 5% O2 (~1.4 fold); increase in ATP concentration (1.5 fold) at 5% O2 solely; increase in GSH level at 21% O2 and decrease at 5% O2 (up to 1.2 fold) and no change in the mitochondrial membrane potential. The results of the cell death assay (measurement of apoptotic and necrotic cells by flow cytometry) revealed that Aβ1-42 peptide or 2 Gy X-rays alone resulted in a significant increase in cell death of SH-SY5Y cells at 5% O2 and only in a minor increase at 21% O2. Noteworthy, Aβ peptide restored the cell death of irradiated cells to the control level or below, particularly at 5% O2. The combination of Aβ peptide and irradiation did not lead to a significant increase in protein carbonylation, mtDNA deletion and change in mtDNA amount. Therefore, the initial level of oxidative stress determines the point at which cellular defense mechanisms occur and it is possible that even neuroprotective mechanisms are triggered in such cases. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the incubation time together with concentration and state of the peptide (disaggregated versus aggregated to fibrils) is a crucial factor in Aβ peptide toxicity. High concentration (100 µM) of aggregated peptide (induced by storage at 37 °C overnight) caused an early response (after 1 day) of SH-SY5Y cells which underwent cell death. However, the effect of disaggregated Aß peptide (100 µM) after 3 days of incubation was more pronounced than of aggregated peptide. Aβ peptide treatment decreased the percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells (2.5 fold) in irradiated cells after 1 day. However, after 3 days, a ~2.8 fold increase in cell death as compared to non-irradiated control cells was observed. The observed traffic of Aβ peptide towards cellular organelles and the corresponding changes in cell physiology that were dependent on the level of oxidative stress are of relevance for AD pathology. The results obtained require the use of more physiological 5% O2 rather than of the non-physiological 21% O2 for cultivation of SH-SY5Y cells and studies of their response to stress, which is crucial for outcome and reliability of experiments. Cells cultivated at 5% O2 have displayed higher total cellular ATP concentration (~1.3 fold), lower ROS level (1.5 fold), lower protein carbonlyation (2.5 fold), lower mtDNA deletion (2 fold) as compared to cells at 21% O2.
Typ des Eintrags: | Dissertation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Erschienen: | 2017 | ||||
Autor(en): | Džinić, Tamara | ||||
Art des Eintrags: | Erstveröffentlichung | ||||
Titel: | Interplay of ionizing radiation, oxygen, ROS and age-associated diseases | ||||
Sprache: | Englisch | ||||
Referenten: | Dencher, Prof. Dr. Norbert A. ; Meckel, PD Dr. Tobias | ||||
Publikationsjahr: | 2017 | ||||
Ort: | Darmstadt | ||||
Datum der mündlichen Prüfung: | 15 Mai 2017 | ||||
URL / URN: | http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/6275 | ||||
Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract): | The aim of this doctoral thesis was to investigate and to understand the implication of oxidative stress, created by the interplay of ionizing (X-ray) radiation, oxygen and neurotoxic amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide, in age-associated diseases, with the focus on Alzheimer´s disease (AD), the most common dementia. Although AD has been known for more than hundred years, its mechanisms are still intriguing and there is no cure at the moment. High doses of ionizing radiation (IR) lead to learning and memory impairment which is characteristic for AD as well. The cumulative doses of IR used in medical imaging procedures such as computed tomography (CT) and dental X-rays present a potential danger, particularly to children whose brains are not completely developed. Although single doses of radiation used for diagnostic purposes or therapeutic treatment are relatively low, small changes on the molecular and cellular level may accumulate upon repeated exposure and result in delayed long-term defects. Thus, the most important objective of this thesis was to reveal if there is an interplay of radiation and age-associated diseases through the effects of oxygen, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Aβ peptide implicated in AD. Aβ peptide monomers and small oligomers (one of the players in AD) are proposed to be involved in damage and death of neurons. Since IR causes oxidative stress and inflammation, occurring in AD as well, there is a concern that radiation exposure may be linked with neurodegeneration. 2 Gy X-rays presents a commonly used fractionated dose in radiotherapy of a variety of tumors and was used in this thesis as a single radiation dose alone or combined with the previous treatment with externally applied Aβ1-42 peptide (the most toxic form) at two environmental oxygen concentrations. The data provided in the thesis emphasize the importance of using the appropriate model system and conditions in the cell culture such as oxygen concentration that has to be considered in studies of cellular responses to oxidative stress, IR and neurotoxic peptides. Changes in cellular responses of non-differentiated human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells and/or cells pre-treated with retinoic acid (RA) for induction of differentiation, in order to obtain cells that resemble neurons, were investigated in parallel under standard condition of oxygen (~21%) used in cell culture incubators, but never found in tissues of human body, and 5% O2 which resembles physiological oxygen concentration in human brain. For this purpose, home-made low O2 incubators were setup using plastic containers able to retain a gas mixture containing 5% or 1% O2, 5% CO2 and 90% or 94% N2. Initially, two different low oxygen concentrations (1% and 5%) were tested in SH-SY5Y cells for cell proliferation and ATP concentration as a measure of the bioenergetic status. 5% O2 was demonstrated to be more suitable for cultivation of SH-SY5Y cell since the proliferation activity and ATP concentration were higher than in cells at 1% O2. The starting hypothesis was that cells exposed to non-physiological oxygen concentration and/or in the presence of Aβ peptide react differently, more sensitive or less sensitive, due to the oxygen effect (i.e. increased sensitivity due to the increased formation of harmful ROS and modulation of signaling pathways or decreased sensitivity due to the previous adaptation to these processes). A very important result was that the oxygen concentration in the cell culture and differentiation status of SH-SY5Y cells are modulators of cellular responses to X-ray radiation and Aβ peptide as shown employing cell and molecular biology as well as biochemistry methods and techniques. Retinoic acid used for induction of differentiation leads to morphological changes of SH-SY5Y cells (i.e. flattening of the cell body and formation of long outgrowths that resemble axons of neurons) and increase in the sensitivity to radiation and/or to Aβ peptide depending on oxygen concentration. Moreover, oxygen plays a role in differentiation and proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells since the amount of neurofilament-M, a marker of differentiation, was dependent of oxygen concentration and was higher in cells cultivated at 5% O2 which also showed increased cell number in the proliferation assay as compared to 21% O2. Intracellular oxygen concentration [O2] differs from the oxygen concentration applied to the cell culture. Using an oxygen sensitive probe, intracellular [O2] for SH-SY5Y cells cultivated at 21% O2 was about 10% and for cells cultivated at 5% O2 was 0.9% determined for the first time. However, 5% O2 was not hypoxic for SH-SY5Y cells since no expression of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α) was detected. Changes in the mitochondrial proteome isolated from SH-SY5Y cells were investigated using a combination of blue-native/2D SDS-PAGE for protein separation, subsequent staining with the fluorescent dye SYPRO Ruby and quantitation of protein spot intensities from gel images. The protein amount of selected subunits of Oxidative Phosphorylation (OxPhos) complexes and other non-OxPhos mitochondrial proteins (identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry and Western blot) did not change upon irradiation with the exception of the heat shock protein 70, which amount was increased depending on oxygen concentration and differentiation status. Monomers and small oligomers of Aβ peptide interacted with SH-SY5Y cells as detected by flow cytometry. Compartments with low pH value (i.e. lysosomes and possibly late endosomes) were the main target and the peptide interacted only to a minor extent with mitochondria and endoplasmatic reticulum, respectively, as visualized by confocal scanning microscopy. Although site and kinetics of interaction of Aβ peptide with SH-SY5Y cells cultivated at both 21% and 5% O2 were similar, decreased lysosomal integrity after Aβ peptide treatment of SH-SY5Y cells was observed solely at 21% O2. Aβ peptide alone induced only a slight increase in ROS (up to 1.2 fold), a slight increase in mitochondrial membrane potential, and no changes in ATP concentration and in glutathione (GSH) level (used as an indicator of cell´s antioxidant capacity) regardless of oxygen concentration in the cell culture. Radiation alone led to a significant increase in ROS (~1.5 fold) and a slight increase in ATP concentration (~1.2 fold) but solely in cells at 5% O2. A slight increase in mitochondrial membrane potential was observed at both 21% and 5% O2. Radiation caused a slight increase in GSH level at 21% O2 and decrease at 5% O2 (up to 1.2 fold). Increase in protein carbonylation (~2.5 fold) induced by oxidative stress measured in the Oxyblot assay was specific for irradiated cells at 21% O2. A very important target of oxidative stress is DNA, particularly mtDNA that is less studied than nuclear DNA. MtDNA was assayed using primers specific for mtDNA in PCR methods for changes in its amount and for the presence of 4977 bp deletion. Aß peptide or radiation alone caused a change in mtDNA amount depending on O2 concentration: up to 1.3 fold decrease at 21% O2 and up to 1.5 fold increase at 5% O2. The occurrence of the mtDNA deletion was specific for irradiated cells at both 21% and 5% O2 but was more pronounced at 21% O2. For the first time, the combined effect of Aβ peptide and IR on cellular parameters and survival was studied. Radiation combined with Aβ peptide resulted in a statistically significant increase in ROS level at both 21% (~1.2 fold) and 5% O2 (~1.4 fold); increase in ATP concentration (1.5 fold) at 5% O2 solely; increase in GSH level at 21% O2 and decrease at 5% O2 (up to 1.2 fold) and no change in the mitochondrial membrane potential. The results of the cell death assay (measurement of apoptotic and necrotic cells by flow cytometry) revealed that Aβ1-42 peptide or 2 Gy X-rays alone resulted in a significant increase in cell death of SH-SY5Y cells at 5% O2 and only in a minor increase at 21% O2. Noteworthy, Aβ peptide restored the cell death of irradiated cells to the control level or below, particularly at 5% O2. The combination of Aβ peptide and irradiation did not lead to a significant increase in protein carbonylation, mtDNA deletion and change in mtDNA amount. Therefore, the initial level of oxidative stress determines the point at which cellular defense mechanisms occur and it is possible that even neuroprotective mechanisms are triggered in such cases. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the incubation time together with concentration and state of the peptide (disaggregated versus aggregated to fibrils) is a crucial factor in Aβ peptide toxicity. High concentration (100 µM) of aggregated peptide (induced by storage at 37 °C overnight) caused an early response (after 1 day) of SH-SY5Y cells which underwent cell death. However, the effect of disaggregated Aß peptide (100 µM) after 3 days of incubation was more pronounced than of aggregated peptide. Aβ peptide treatment decreased the percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells (2.5 fold) in irradiated cells after 1 day. However, after 3 days, a ~2.8 fold increase in cell death as compared to non-irradiated control cells was observed. The observed traffic of Aβ peptide towards cellular organelles and the corresponding changes in cell physiology that were dependent on the level of oxidative stress are of relevance for AD pathology. The results obtained require the use of more physiological 5% O2 rather than of the non-physiological 21% O2 for cultivation of SH-SY5Y cells and studies of their response to stress, which is crucial for outcome and reliability of experiments. Cells cultivated at 5% O2 have displayed higher total cellular ATP concentration (~1.3 fold), lower ROS level (1.5 fold), lower protein carbonlyation (2.5 fold), lower mtDNA deletion (2 fold) as compared to cells at 21% O2. |
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Alternatives oder übersetztes Abstract: |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-62751 | ||||
Sachgruppe der Dewey Dezimalklassifikatin (DDC): | 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik > 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie | ||||
Fachbereich(e)/-gebiet(e): | 07 Fachbereich Chemie > Clemens-Schöpf-Institut > Fachgebiet Biochemie 07 Fachbereich Chemie |
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Hinterlegungsdatum: | 04 Jun 2017 19:55 | ||||
Letzte Änderung: | 04 Jun 2017 19:55 | ||||
PPN: | |||||
Referenten: | Dencher, Prof. Dr. Norbert A. ; Meckel, PD Dr. Tobias | ||||
Datum der mündlichen Prüfung / Verteidigung / mdl. Prüfung: | 15 Mai 2017 | ||||
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