bims-meprid 2022-04-10 papers

Issue of 2022‒04‒10
five papers selected by
Alessandro Carrer
Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine

Cell Metab. 2022 Apr 05. pii: S1550-4131(22)00095-X. [Epub ahead of print]34(4): 503-505

Sugar addiction: An Achilles' heel of auto-immune diseases?

In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Hochrein et al. identify a metabolic checkpoint controlling the transcriptional programming of effector CD4+ T cells. The authors show that GLUT3-mediated glucose import and ACLY-dependent acetyl-CoA generation control histone acetylation and, hence, the epigenetic imprinting of effector gene expression in differentiated effector CD4+ T cells. These findings suggest a novel therapeutic target for inflammation-associated diseases.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2022.03.007

Open Biol. 2022 Apr;12(4): 210350

The epigenetic-metabolic interplay in gliomagenesis.

Bismi Phasaludeen, Bright Starling Emerald, Suraiya Anjum Ansari.

Although tumourigenesis occurs due to genetic mutations, the role of epigenetic dysregulations in cancer is also well established. Epigenetic dysregulations in cancer may occur as a result of mutations in genes encoding histone/DNA-modifying enzymes and chromatin remodellers or mutations in histone protein itself. It is also true that misregulated gene expression without genetic mutations in these factors could also support tumour initiation and progression. Interestingly, metabolic rewiring has emerged as a hallmark of cancer due to gene mutations in specific metabolic enzymes or dietary/environmental factors. Recent studies report an intricate cross-talk between epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming in cancer. This review discusses the role of epigenetic and metabolic dysregulations and their cross-talk in tumourigenesis with a special focus on gliomagenesis. We also discuss the role of recently developed human embryonic stem cells/induced pluripotent stem cells-derived organoid models of gliomas and how these models are proving instrumental in uncovering human-specific cellular and molecular complexities of gliomagenesis.

Keywords: epigenetics; gliomagenesis; metabolism; organoids; tumourigenesis

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.210350

Cardiovasc Res. 2022 Apr 07. pii: cvac058. [Epub ahead of print]

Metaboloepigenetics in cancer, immunity and cardiovascular disease.

Samuel T Keating, Assam El-Osta.

The influence of cellular metabolism on epigenetic pathways are well documented but misunderstood. Scientists have long known of the metabolic impact on epigenetic determinants. More often than not, that title role for DNA methylation was portrayed by the metabolite SAM or S-adenosylmethionine. Technically speaking there are many other metabolites that drive epigenetic processes that instruct seemingly distant - yet highly connect pathways - and none more so than our understanding of the cancer epigenome. Recent studies have shown that available energy link the extracellular environment to influence cellular responses. This focused review examines the recent interest in epigenomics and casts cancer, metabolism and immunity in unfamiliar roles - cooperating. There are not only language lessons from cancer research, we have come round to appreciate that reaching into areas previously thought of as too distinct are also object lessons in understanding health and disease. The Warburg effect is one such signature of how glycolysis influences metabolic shift during oncogenesis. That shift in metabolism - now recognised as central to proliferation in cancer biology - influence core enzymes that not only control gene expression but are also central to replication, condensation and the repair of nucleic acid. These nuclear processes rely on metabolism and with glucose at center stage the role of respiration and oxidative metabolism are now synonymous with the mitochondria as the powerhouses of metaboloepigenetics. The emerging evidence for metaboloepigenetics in trained innate immunity has revealed recognisable signalling pathways with antecedent extracellular stimulation. With due consideration to immunometabolism we discuss the striking signalling similarities influencing these core pathways. The immunometabolic-epigenetic axis in cardiovascular disease has deeply etched connections with inflammation and we examine the chromatin template as a carrier of epigenetic indices that determine the expression of genes influencing atherosclerosis and vascular complications of diabetes.

Keywords: Metabolism; cardiovascular disease; diabetes; epigenetics; glycolysis; metaboloepigenetics; trained immunity

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac058

Cancer Discov. 2022 Apr 01. 12(4): 883

Microbial Metabolism Activates Immune-Suppressive Tumor Macrophages.

Microbial metabolites promote pancreatic tumor growth through effects on macrophage polarization.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-RW2022-028

Kidney360. 2021 Sep 30. 2(9): 1501-1509

Renal Sensing of Bacterial Metabolites in the Gut-kidney Axis.

Orestes Foresto-Neto, Bruno Ghirotto, Niels Olsen Saraiva Câmara.

Seminal works have now revealed the gut microbiota is connected with several diseases, including renal disorders. The balance between optimal and dysregulated host-microbiota interactions has completely changed our understanding of immunity and inflammation. Kidney injury is associated with accumulation of uremic toxins in the intestine, augmented intestinal permeability, and systemic inflammation. Intestinal bacteria can signal through innate receptors and induce immune cell activation in the lamina propria and release of inflammatory mediators into the bloodstream. But the gut microbiota can also modulate immune functions through soluble products as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The three most common SCFAs are propionate, butyrate, and acetate, which can signal through specific G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as GPR43, GPR41, and GPR109a, expressed on the surface of epithelial, myeloid, endothelial, and immune cells, among others. The triggered signaling can change cell metabolism, immune cell activation, and cell death. In this study, we reviewed the gut-kidney axis, how kidney cells can sense SCFAs, and its implication in kidney diseases.

Keywords: AKI; CKD; GCPR; basic science; gastrointestinal microbiome; inflammation; renal physiology; short chain fatty acids

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34067/KID.0000292021