Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Landes Bioscience
Résumé : International audience
In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
Autophagy

hal-00735751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00735751
PUBMED : 22966490

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Résumé : International audience
2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC) is a carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) that arises in tobacco smoke. UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are important enzymes that detoxicate many procarcinogens, including HAAs. UGTs compete with P450 enzymes, which bioactivate HAAs by N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine group; the resultant N-hydroxy-HAA metabolites form covalent adducts with DNA. We have characterized the UGT-catalyzed metabolic products of AαC and the genotoxic metabolite 2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3- b]indole (HONH-AαC) formed with human liver microsomes, recombinant human UGT isoforms, and human hepatocytes. The structures of the metabolites were elucidated by 1H NMR and mass spectrometry. AαC and HONH-AαC underwent glucuronidation by UGTs to form, respectively, N 2-(β- D-glucosidurony1)-2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC-N 2-Gl) and N 2-(β-D-glucosidurony1)-2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b] indole (AαC-HON 2-Gl). HONH-AαC also underwent glucuronidation to form a novel O-linked glucuronide conjugate, O-(β-D-glucosidurony1)-2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC-HN 2-O-Gl). AαC-HN 2-O-Gl is a biologically reactive metabolite and binds to calf thymus DNA (pH 5.0 or 7.0) to form the N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-AαC adduct at 20-50-fold higher levels than the adduct levels formed with HONH-AαC. Major UGT isoforms were examined for their capacity to metabolize AαC and HONH-AαC. UGT1A4 was the most catalytically efficient enzyme (V max/K m) at forming AαC-N 2-Gl (0.67 μl*min -1*mg of protein -1), and UGT1A9 was most catalytically efficient at forming AαC-HN-O-Gl (77.1 μl*min -1*mg of protein -1), whereas UGT1A1 was most efficient at forming AαC-HON 2-Gl (5.0 μl*min -1*mg of protein -1). Human hepatocytes produced AαC-N 2-Gl and AαC-HN 2-O-Gl in abundant quantities, but AαC-HON 2-Gl was a minor product. Thus, UGTs, usually important enzymes in the detoxication of many procarcinogens, serve as a mechanism of bioactivation of HONH-AαC. © 2012 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
ISSN: 0021-9258

hal-00696860
https://hal-anses.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00696860
DOI : 10.1074/jbc.M111.320093
PUBMED : 22393056

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Résumé : International audience
2-Amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC) is a carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) that arises in tobacco smoke. UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are important enzymes that detoxicate many procarcinogens, including HAAs. UGTs compete with P450 enzymes, which bioactivate HAAs by N-hydroxylation of the exocyclic amine group; the resultant N-hydroxy-HAA metabolites form covalent adducts with DNA. We have characterized the UGT-catalyzed metabolic products of AαC and the genotoxic metabolite 2-hydroxy-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (HONH-AαC) formed with human liver microsomes, recombinant human UGT isoforms, and human hepatocytes. The structures of the metabolites were elucidated by 1H-NMR and mass spectrometry. AαC and HONH-AαC underwent glucuronidation, by UGTs, to form, respectively, N2-(β-D-glucosidurony1)-2-amino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC-N2-Gl) and N2-(β-D-glucosidurony1)-2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC-HON2-Gl). HONH-AαC also underwent glucuronidation to form a novel O-glucuronide conjugate, O-(β-D-glucosidurony1)-2-hydroxyamino-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (AαC-HN2-O-Gl). AαC-HN2-O-Gl is a biologically reactive metabolite that bound to calf thymus DNA (pH 5.0 or pH 7.0) to form the N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-AαC (dG-C8-AαC) adduct at 20 to 50-fold higher levels than the adduct levels formed with HONH-AαC. Major UGT isoforms were examined for their capacity to metabolize AαC and HONH-AαC. UGT1A4 was the most catalytically efficient enzyme (Vmax/Km) at forming AαC-N2-Gl (0.67 μL mg protein-1 min-1), UGT1A9 was most catalytically efficient at forming AαC-HN-O-Gl (77.1 μL mg protein-1 min-1), whereas, UGT1A1 was most efficient at forming AαC-HON2-Gl (5.0 μL mg protein-1 min-1). Human hepatocytes produced AαC-N2-Gl and AαC-HN2-O-Gl in abundant quantities, but AαC-HON2-Gl was a minor product. Thus, UGTs, usually important enzymes in the detoxication of many procarcinogens, serve as a mechanism of bioactivation of HONH-AαC.
Journal of Biological Chemistry

hal-00688369
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00688369
DOI : 10.1074/jbc.M111.320093
PUBMED : 22393056