Aim or purpose: This study aimed to develop a multifunctional supramolecular hydrogel targeting aquaporin 9 (AQP9) to treat periodontitis by attenuating inflammation and inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. Materials and methods: A peptide–drug amphiphile was synthesized by conjugating 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), ibuprofen (IPF), and a self-assembling peptide motif (Gly-Phe-Phe-Tyr-Asp, GFFYD), yielding the compound 2IPF-DHB-GFFYD. This conjugate self-assembled into a matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)-responsive supramolecular hydrogel. The hydrogel's physicochemical properties and drug release behavior were thoroughly characterized. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to evaluate its anti-inflammatory and bone-protective effects in a periodontitis model. Results: A peptide–drug amphiphile was synthesized by conjugating 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), ibuprofen (IPF), and a self-assembling peptide motif (Gly-Phe-Phe-Tyr-Asp, GFFYD), yielding the compound 2IPF-DHB-GFFYD. This conjugate self-assembled into a matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)-responsive supramolecular hydrogel. The hydrogel's physicochemical properties and drug release behavior were thoroughly characterized. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to evaluate its anti-inflammatory and bone-protective effects in a periodontitis model. Conclusions: This AQP9-targeting hydrogel offers a promising immunoregulatory strategy for the treatment of periodontitis. Its dual functionality—anti-inflammatory and anti-resorptive—provides new insight into biomaterial-based therapies and mitochondrial regulation in inflammatory bone diseases.

Abnormal nuclear morphology is suggested to be a hallmark of aging and one such abnormality is nuclear blebbing. However, little is known about whether and how nuclear blebbing participates in animal aging, and what regulates it. In this study, we show that the frequency of nuclear blebbing in the hypodermis increases during aging in wild-type C. elegans. These nuclear blebs are enveloped by the nuclear lamina, the inner and the outer nuclear membrane, and 42% of them contain chromatin. Although nuclear blebbing could lead to DNA loss if chromatin-containing blebs detach and fuse with lysosomes, we find by time-lapse imaging that nuclear blebs rarely detach, and the estimated lifetime of a nuclear bleb is 772 h or 32 days. The amount of DNA lost through nuclear blebbing is estimated to be about 0.1% of the total DNA loss by adult Day 11. Furthermore, the frequency of nuclear blebbing does not correlate with the rate of aging in C. elegans. Old age does not necessarily induce nuclear blebbing, neither does starvation, heat stress, or oxidative stress. Intriguingly, we find that proliferation of germ cells promotes nuclear blebbing.

GRP75, defined as a major component of both mitochondrial quality control system and mitochondria-associated membrane, plays a key role in mitochondrial homeostasis. In this study, we assessed the roles of GRP75, other than as a component, in insulin action in both in vitro and in vivo models with insulin resistance. We found that GRP75 was downregulated in HFD-fed mice, and induction of Grp75 in mice could prevent HFD induced obesity and insulin resistance. Mechanistically, GRP75 influenced insulin sensitivity by regulating mitochondrial function through its modulation of mitochondrial-supercomplex turnover rather than MAM communication: GRP75 was negatively associated with respiratory-chain complex activity and was essential for mitochondrial-supercomplex assembly and stabilization. Moreover, mitochondrial dysfunction in Grp75-knockdown cells might further increase mitochondrial fragmentation, thus trigger cytosolic mitochondrial DNA release and activate the cGAS/STING-dependent pro-inflammatory response. Therefore, GRP75 can serve as a potential therapeutic target of insulin resistant-related diabetes or other metabolic diseases.

KRAS -driven metabolic reprogramming is a known peculiarity features of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells. However, the metabolic roles of other oncogenic genes, such as YY1 , in PDAC development are still unclear. In this study, we observed significantly elevated expression of YY1 in human PDAC tissues, which positively correlated with a poor disease progression. Furthermore, in vitro studies confirmed that YY1 deletion inhibited PDAC cell proliferation and tumorigenicity . Moreover, YY1 deletion led to impaired mitochondrial RNA expression, which further inhibited mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complex assembly and altered cellular nucleotide homeostasis. Mechanistically, the impairment of mitochondrial OXPHOS function reduced the generation of aspartate, an output of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), and resulted in the inhibition of cell proliferation owing to unavailability of aspartate-associated nucleotides. Conversely, exogenous supplementation with aspartate fully restored PDAC cell proliferation. Our findings suggest that YY1 promotes PDAC cell proliferation by enhancing mitochondrial respiration and the TCA, which favors aspartate-associated nucleotide synthesis. Thus, targeting nucleotide biosynthesis is a promising strategy for PDAC treatment.

Respiratory chain complexes are organized into large supercomplexes among which supercomplex In + IIIn + IVn is the only one that can directly transfer electrons from NADH to oxygen. Recently, it was reported that the formation of supercomplex In + IIIn + IVn in mice largely depends on their genetic background. However, in this study, we showed that the composition of supercomplex In + IIIn + IVn is well conserved in various mouse and human cell lines. Strikingly, we found that a minimal supercomplex In + IIIn, termed "lowest supercomplex" (LSC) in this study because of its migration at the lowest position close to complex V dimers in blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was associated with complex IV to form a supercomplex In + IIIn + IVn in some, but not all of the human and mouse cells. In addition, we observed that the 3697G>A mutation in mitochondrial-encoded NADH dehydrogenase 1 (ND1) in one patient with Leigh's disease specifically affected the assembly of supercomplex In + IIIn + IVn containing LSC, leading to decreased cellular respiration and ATP generation. In conclusion, we showed the existence of LSC In + IIIn + IVn and impairment of this supercomplex causes disease.

During aging the ability of organisms to maintain the protein homeostasis declines and damaged and misfolded proteins accumulate in cells. But whether the deterioration of protein homeostasis is the cause or consequence of aging is not clearly understood. Mitochondrial dysfunctions usually lead to increased longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans, the cause of which is believed to be the activation of protein homeostasis protective mechanisms including mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) and GCN-2 kinase mediated nutrient-sensing pathway. However, we investigated four genes which encode well-defined mitochondrial proteins and found that: (i) UPRmt activation was associated with not only increased longevity by knockdown of mfn-1, cco-1, or nuo-6, but also decreased longevity by mev-1 RNAi; (ii) The blockage of UPRmt pathway did not repress mfn-1, cco-1, or nuo-6 RNAi induced lifespan extension; (iii) The activation of UPRmt did not increase longevity; (iv) Knockdown of mfn-1, cco-1, or nuo-6 increased longevity independently of GCN-2. The combined results indicate that two important kinds of the protein homeostasis protective mechanisms, namely UPRmt and GCN-2 pathways, are not responsible for mitochondrial deficiency induced lifespan extension. The enhanced protection of protein homeostasis may be insufficient to slow aging, and there may be other mechanisms that contribute to the increased longevity in response to mitochondrial dysfunctions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) deficiency. The complete mitochondrial genomes of 41 families with OXPHOS deficiency were screened for mutations. Mitochondrial functional analysis was then performed in primary and cybrid cells containing candidate mutations identified during the screening. A novel mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase 5 (ND5) m.12955A > G mutation was identified in a patient with exercise intolerance and developmental delay. A biochemical analysis revealed deficiencies in the activity of complex I (NADH:quinone oxidoreductase) and IV (cytochrome c oxidase) of this patient. Defects in complexes I and IV were confirmed in transmitochondrial cybrid cells containing the m.12955A > G mutation, suggesting that this mutation impairs complex I assembly, resulting in reduced stability of complex IV. Further functional investigations revealed that mitochondria with the m.12955A > G mutation exhibited lower OXPHOS coupling respiration and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation. In addition, the cytotoxic effects, determined as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lactate levels in the present study, increased in the cells carrying a higher m.12955A > G mutant load. In conclusion, we identified m.12955A > G as a mitochondrial disease-related mutation. Therefore, screening of m.12955A > G is advised for the diagnosis of patients with mitochondrial disease.