Sarcolemmal lipid analysis from mechanically skinned rat muscle fibres.

Membrane lipid composition, which includes phospholipid (PL) headgroup, and fatty acid (FA) saturation, has been shown to affect cellular function. The sarcolemma (SL) membrane is integral to skeletal muscle function and health. Previous studies assessing SL lipid composition are limited as they have 1) restricted analysis to a PL level and neglected FA composition and 2) relied on aggressive membrane isolation procedures resulting in t-tubule and sarcoplasmic reticulum contamination and unknown levels of nuclear and mitochondrial contamination. Thus, to overcome these limitations, this study assessed a method of individually skinned skeletal muscle fibres as an alternative to analyze complete sarcolemmal membrane lipid composition. The major findings of this study were 1) complete SL lipid composition can be obtained 2) the SL had higher sphingomyelin content than previous studies and 3) the SL membrane had minimal nuclear and mitochondrial contamination and was void of contamination from sarcoplasmic reticulum and t-tubules.

Alternative splicing of DNA polymerase beta in vertebrates

Alternative splicing (AS) is the predominant mechanism responsible for increasing eukaryotic transcriptome and proteome complexity. In this phenomenon, numerous mRNA transcripts are produced from a single pre-mRNA sequence. AS is reported to occur in 95% of human multi-exon genes; one specific gene that undergoes AS is DNA polymerase beta (POLB). POLB is the main DNA repair gene which performs short patch base excision repair (BER). In primate untransformed primary fibroblast cell lines, it was determined that the splice variant (SV) frequency of POLB correlates positively with species lifespan. To date, AS patterns of POLB have only been examined in mammals primarily through the use of cell lines. However, little attention has been devoted to investigating if such a relationship exists in non-mammals and whether cell lines reflect what is observed in vertebrate tissues. This idea was explored through cloning and characterization of 1,214 POLB transcripts from four non-mammalian species (Gallus gallus domesticus, Larus glaucescens, Xenopus laevis, and Pogona vitticeps) and two mammalian species (Sylvilagus floridanus and Homo sapiens) in two tissue types, liver and brain. POLB SV frequency occurred at low frequencies, < 3.2%, in non-mammalian tissues relative to mammalian (>20%). The highest POLB SV frequency was found in H. sapiens liver and brain tissues, occurring at 65.4% and 91.7%, respectively. Tissue specific AS of POLB was observed in L. glaucescens, P. vitticeps, and H. sapiens, but not G. gallus domesticus, X. laevis and S. floridanus.The AS patterns of a second gene, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), were compared to those of POLB in liver and brain tissues of G. gallus domesticus, X. laevis and H. sapiens. This comparison was performed to investigate if any changes (either increase or decrease) observed in the AS of POLB were gene specific or if they were tissue specific, in which case similar changes in AS would be seen in POLB and TRPV1. Analysis did not reveal an increase or decrease in both the AS of POLB and TRPV1 in either the liver or brain tissues of G. gallus domesticus and H. sapiens. This result suggested that the AS patterns of POLB were not influenced by tissue specific rates of AS. Interestingly, an increase in the AS of both genes was only observed in X. laevis brain tissue. This result suggests that AS in general may be increased in the X. laevis brain as compared to liver tissue. No positive correlation between POLB SV frequency and species lifespan was found in non-mammalian tissues. The AS patterns of POLB in human primary untransformed fibroblast cell lines were representative of those seen in human liver tissue but not in brain tissue. Altogether, the AS patterns of POLB from vertebrate tissues and primate cell lines revealed a positive correlation between POLB SV frequency and lifespan in mammals, but not in non-mammals. It appears that this positive correlation does not exist in vertebrate species as a whole.

Cellular Mechanisms of Resveratrol's Interaction with Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Metabolism

Resveratrol, a polyphenol found naturally in red wines, has attracted great interest in both the scientific community and the general public for its reported ability to protect against many of the diseases facing Western society today. While the purported health effects of resveratrol are well characterized, details of the cellular mechanisms that give rise to these observations are unclear. Here, the mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme Mn superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) was identified as a proximal target of resveratrol in vitro and in vivo. MnSOD protein and activity levels increase significantly in cultured cells treated with resveratrol, and in the brain tissue of mice given resveratrol in a high fat diet. Preventing the increase in MnSOD levels eliminates two of resveratrol’s more interesting effects in the context of human health: inhibition of proliferative cell growth and cytoprotection. Thus, the induction of MnSOD is a critical step in the molecular mechanism of resveratrol. Mitochondrial morphology is a malleable property that is capable of impeding cell cycle progression and conferring resistance against stress induced cell death. Using confocal microscopy and a novel ‘cell free’ fusion assay it was determined that concurrent with changes in MnSOD protein levels, resveratrol treatment leads to a more fused mitochondrial reticulum. This observation may be important to resveratrol’s ability to slow proliferative cell growth and confer cytoprotection. Resveratrol's biological activities, including the ability to increase MnSOD levels, are strikingly similar to what is observed with estrogen treatment. Resveratrol fails to increase MnSOD levels, slow proliferative cell growth and confer cytoprotection in the presence of an estrogen receptor antagonist. Resveratrol's effects can be replicated with the specific estrogen receptor beta agonist diarylpropionitrile, and are absent in myoblasts lacking estrogen receptor beta. Four compounds that are structurally similar to resveratrol and seven phytoestrogens predicted to bind to estrogen receptor beta were screened for their effects on MnSOD, proliferative growth rates and stress resistance in cultured mammalian cells. Several of these compounds were able to mimic the effects of resveratrol on MnSOD levels, proliferative cell growth and stress resistance in vitro. Thus, I hypothesize that resveratrol interacts with estrogen receptor beta to induce the upregulation of MnSOD, which in turn affects cell cycle progression and stress resistance. These results have important implications for the understanding of RES’s biological activities and potential applications to human health.

The Social Enterprise as an Alternative Work Option for Persons with Developmental Disabilities: A Case Study of Staff Perspectives at Common Ground Co-operative

Traditional employment options for persons with developmental disabilities are lacking. Employment options available for persons with developmental disabilities are reflective of the medical and social model perspectives of disability; with segregated and supported employment reinforcing the idea that persons with developmental disabilities are incapable and competitive employment missing the necessary accommodations for persons to be successful. This study examined social enterprises as an alternative employment option that can balance both medical and social model perspectives by accommodating for weaknesses or limitations and recognizing the strengths and capabilities of persons with developmental disabilities in the workplace. Moreover, this study is part of a broader case study which is examining the nature and impacts of a social enterprise, known as Common Ground Co-operative (CGC), which supports five social purpose businesses that are owned and operated by persons with developmental disabilities. This study is part of the Social Business and Marginalized Social Groups Community-University Research Alliance. To date, a case study has been written describing the nature and impacts of CGC and its related businesses from the perspectives of the Partners, board members, funders and staff (Owen, Readhead, Bishop, Hope & Campbell, in press & Readhead, 2012). The current study used a descriptive case study approach to provide a detailed account of the perceptions and opinions of CGC staff members who support each of the Partners in the five related businesses. Staff members were chosen for the focus of this study because of the integral role that they play in the successful outcomes of the persons they support. This study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase five staff members were interviewed. During this stage of interviews, several themes were presented which needed to be examined in further detail, specifically staff stress and burnout and duty of care for business Partners versus the promotion of their autonomy. A second phase of interviews was then conducted with one individual participant and a focus group of seven. During both interview phases, Staff participants described an employment model that creates a non-judgemental environment for the business Partners that promotes their strengths, accommodates for their limitations, provides educational opportunities and places the responsibility for the businesses on the persons with developmental disabilities cultivating equality and promoting independence. Staff described the nature of their role including risk factors for stress, the protective factors that buffer stress, and the challenges associated with balancing many role demands. Issues related to the replication of this social enterprise model are described.

Investigation into the relationships between molecular chaperones, mitochondrial antioxidant enzymes, and endothermic vertebrate longevity

The maximum lifespan (MLSP) of endothermic vertebrates can range from as little as a year to over two centuries, yet the underlying phenotype of aging is very similar amongst this group of organisms. One organelle that may be important in the phenotype of aging is the mitochondrion. When damaged, this organelle is thought to contribute to many of the neurodegenerative diseases of aging. For this thesis, mitochondria from brain tissues of 7 mammalian and 2 avian species were isolated to assess whether the antioxidant glutathione system and major molecular chaperone, HSP60, is correlated to species MLSP. Furthermore, HSP60, and the major endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, GRP78, were measured under basal conditions, and following the introduction of an oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide) in cultured mammalian myoblasts from 10 different species. My results indicate that the enzymes involved in the glutathione defense system are not correlated to species MLSP in brain mitochondria; however HSP60 levels are indeed higher in the longer-lived species. HSP60 levels are also higher at the basal level in cultured mammalian myoblasts and after 1 hour of hydrogen peroxide exposure. GRP78 induction is not correlated to species MLSP at the basal level or following hydrogen peroxide exposure. Therefore, these results suggest that HSP60 is a correlate of longevity in endothermic vertebrate species, but neither the glutathione antioxidant defense system, nor GRP78, correlates to species longevity.

Changes in mitochondrial PLIN3 and PLIN5 protein content in rat skeletal muscle following acute contraction and endurance training

Surrounding lipid droplets in skeletal muscle are the perilipin (PLIN2-5) family of proteins, regulating lipid droplet metabolism. During exercise lipid droplets provide fatty acids to the mitochondria for oxidation while increasing their proximity to each other. Whether PLIN3 and PLIN5 associate with mitochondria following contraction has not been examined. To determine whether contraction altered mitochondrial PLIN3 and PLIN5 content, sedentary and endurance trained rats underwent acute contraction. The main outcomes are; 1) mitochondrial PLIN3 content is unaltered while mitochondrial PLIN5 content is increased following an acute contraction 2) mitochondrial PLIN3 content is higher in endurance trained rats when compared to sedentary and mitochondrial PLIN5 content is similar in both conditions 3) only PLIN5 mitochondrial content is increased similarly in both groups following acute contraction. This work highlights the dynamics of these two PLIN proteins, which may have roles not only on the lipid droplet but also on the mitochondria.