bims-polyam 2023-09-24 papers

Issue of 2023–09–24
three papers selected by
Sebastian J. Hofer, University of Graz

Trends Cell Biol. 2023 Sep 16. pii: S0962-8924(23)00166-6. [Epub ahead of print]

Spermidine - an old molecule with a new age-defying immune function.

Kenji Chamoto, Baihao Zhang, Masaki Tajima, Tasuku Honjo, Sidonia Fagarasan.

Polyamines - putrescine, spermidine, and spermine - are widely distributed aliphatic compounds known to regulate important biological processes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Therefore, spermidine insufficiency is associated with various physio-pathological processes, such as aging and cancers. Recent advances in immuno-metabolism and immunotherapy shed new light on the role of spermidine in immune cell regulation and anticancer responses. Here, we review novel works demonstrating that spermidine is produced by collective metabolic pathways of gut bacteria, bacteria-host co-metabolism, and by the host cells, including activated immune cells. We highlight the effectiveness of spermidine in enhancing antitumor responses in aged animals otherwise nonresponsive to immune checkpoint therapy and propose that spermidine supplementation could be used to enhance the efficacy of anti-PD-1 treatment.

Keywords: antitumor immunity; collective metabolic pathways; fatty acid oxidation; immuno-metabolites; mitochondria; spermidine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcb.2023.08.002

Prostaglandins Other Lipid Mediat. 2023 Sep 17. pii: S1098-8823(23)00081-3. [Epub ahead of print] 106784

Co-administration of curcumin and polyamines in high-fat diet induced obese rats: assessment of changes in serum polyamine levels and some tissue parameters.

Gözde Dumlu Bilgin, Nihal Büyükuslu, Ozan Emre Eyüpoğlu, Alev Cumbul.

Obesity is a non-communicable chronic disease that continues to increase around the world. Recently, it has been shown that curcumin positively affects lipid, energy metabolism, and body weight change. Moreover, polyamines are aliphatic polycations, which can be found in all mammalian cells and foods and have been shown to prevent obesity through many different mechanisms. However, whether the co-administration of curcumin and polyamines has synergistic effects has yet to be clarified. Our study aimed to examine the effects of curcumin and polyamines on obesity and to assess the changes in serum polyamine levels and tissue parameters. 28 Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks to develop obesity, and then they were randomly divided into 4 groups as the control group (CONT), curcumin group (CUR), polyamine group (POL), curcumin and polyamine group (CUR+POL) and supplements were administered for 6 weeks. As a result, the lowest feed consumption in rats was recorded in the CUR+POL group, and the group with the lowest weight after supplements was the POL group, then the CUR+POL, CONT, and CUR groups, respectively. N-acetyl putrescine and GABA levels increased significantly after obesity development. The total histopathological score in fat, liver, and kidney tissues increased significantly in the CONT group. In the CUR+POL group, damage to the tissues was in the direction of recovery compared to the other groups, and the expression of NF-κB was significantly low. These results suggest that combined curcumin and polyamines may have protective effects.

Keywords: curcumin; high-fat diet; obesity; polyamines

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prostaglandins.2023.106784

Chemosphere. 2023 Sep 15. pii: S0045-6535(23)02464-5. [Epub ahead of print]342 140194

Potentilla sericea stress-responsive spermine synthase PsSPMS enhances cadmium tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Bing Gao, Xiangyue Liu, Zhenghong Feng, Jianhui Wu, Jinghong Wang.

Potentilla sericea is resistant and tolerates rough management. It is an excellent garden groundcover for ecological restoration and soil consolidation for slope protection. Polyamines have functions such as promoting tissue growth and physiological resistance, while spermine synthase catalyzes the production of spermine. The PsSPMS gene from Potentilla sericea was cloned and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana to study the response of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana to cadmium stress. The results showed that the contents of spermidine, spermine as well as glutathione were higher in PsSPMS overexpressing Arabidopsis thaliana than the control, while the contents of putrescine were less than the control. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, water use efficiency, electron transfer rate, PSII-related parameters, proline content, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase activities were higher in PsSPMS overexpressing Arabidopsis thaliana than the control, while malondialdehyde, superoxide anion, and hydrogen peroxide contents were lower than the control. Correlation analysis showed significant differences between the indicators (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). Expression of AtSPMS, AtSPD3, AtGSH2 and AtGR in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana was higher than that of the control. Therefore, this study provides a genetic reference for the cultivation of cadmium-tolerant plants through genetic engineering and lays the foundation for further research on cadmium-tolerant Potentilla sericea.

Keywords: Cadmium stress; Functional analysis; Gene cloning; Potentilla sericea; PsSPMS

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140194