Regulation of Torpor in the Gray Mouse Lemur:Transcriptional and Translational Controls and Role of AMPK Signaling
10.1016/j.gpb.2015.03.003
- Author:
Zhang JING
1
;
Tessier N SHANNON
;
Biggar K KYLE
;
Wu CHENG-WEI
;
Pifferi FABIEN
;
Perret MARTINE
;
Storey B KENNETH
Author Information
1. Institute of Biochemistry&Department of Biology
- Keywords:
Posttranslational modification;
Histone H3;
Ribosomal initiation factors
- From:
Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics
2015;(2):103-110
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
The gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) is one of few primate species that is able to enter daily torpor or prolonged hibernation in response to environmental stresses. With an emerg-ing significance to human health research, lemurs present an optimal model for exploring molecular adaptations that regulate primate hypometabolism. A fundamental challenge is how to effectively regulate energy expensive cellular processes (e.g., transcription and translation) during transitions to/from torpor without disrupting cellular homeostasis. One such regulatory mechanism is reversi-ble posttranslational modification of selected protein targets that offers fine cellular control without the energetic burden. This study investigates the role of phosphorylation and/or acetylation in reg-ulating key factors involved in energy homeostasis (AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK, sig-naling pathway), mRNA translation (eukaryotic initiation factor 2a or eIF2a, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E or eIF4E, and initiation factor 4E binding protein or 4EBP), and gene transcription (his-tone H3) in six tissues of torpid and aroused gray mouse lemurs. Our results indicated selective tissue-specific changes of these regulatory proteins. The relative level of Thr172-phosphorylated AMPKa was significantly elevated in the heart but reduced in brown adipose tissue during daily torpor, as compared to the aroused lemurs, implicating the regulation of AMPK activity during daily torpor in these tissues. Interestingly, the levels of the phosphorylated eIFs were largely unal-tered between aroused and torpid animals. Phosphorylation and acetylation of histone H3 were examined as a marker for transcriptional regulation. Compared to the aroused lemurs, level of Ser10-phosphorylated histone H3 decreased significantly in white adipose tissue during torpor, sug-gesting global suppression of gene transcription. However, a significant increase in acetyl-histone H3 in the heart of torpid lemurs indicated a possible stimulation of transcriptional activity of this tissue. Overall, our study demonstrates that AMPK signaling and posttranslational regulation of selected proteins may play crucial roles in the control of transcription/translation during daily torpor in mouse lemurs.
