Zhou Lei, Mozaffaritabar Soroosh, Koltai Erika, Giannopoulou Smaragda, Kolonics Attila, Gu Yaodong, Pinho Ricardo A, Miklossy Ildiko, Boldogh Istvan, Radák Zsolt
Research Institute of Molecular Exercise Science, Hungarian University of Sports Science, H-1123 Budapest, Hungary.
Research Institute of Molecular Exercise Science, Hungarian University of Sports Science, H-1123 Budapest, Hungary; Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2025 Aug;1871(6):167851. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2025.167851. Epub 2025 Apr 12.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is a critical contributor to age-related functional declines in skeletal muscle and brain. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) is essential for mitochondrial biogenesis and function during aging. While skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of PGC-1α is known to mimic exercise-induced benefits in young animals, its chronic systemic effects on aging tissues remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the lifelong impact of skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression on mitochondrial health, oxidative stress, inflammation, and cognitive function in aged mice. We established three experimental groups: young wild-type mice (3-4 months old), aged wild-type mice (25-27 months old), and aged mice with skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression (24-27 months old). In skeletal muscle, aging led to significant reductions in mitochondrial biogenesis markers, including PGC-1α, FNDC5, and mtDNA content. PGC-1α overexpression reversed this decline, elevating the expression of PGC-1α, SIRT1, LONP1, SDHA, CS, TFAM, eNOS, and mtDNA levels, suggesting preserved mitochondrial biogenesis. However, FNDC5 and SIRT3 were paradoxically suppressed, indicating potential compensatory feedback mechanisms. PGC-1α overexpression also enhanced anabolic signaling, as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of mTOR and S6, and reduced FOXO1 expression, favoring a muscle growth-promoting environment. Moreover, aging impaired mitochondrial dynamics by downregulating MFN1, MFN2, OPA1, FIS1, and PINK1. While PGC-1α overexpression did not restore fusion-related proteins, it further reduced fission-related protein and enhanced mitophagy proteins, as evidenced by increased PINK1 phosphorylation. In contrast, in the hippocampus, muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression exacerbated age-associated mitochondrial biogenesis decline. Expression levels of key mitochondrial markers, including PGC-1α, SIRT1, CS, FNDC5, Cytochrome C, and TFAM, were further reduced compared to aged wild-type controls. mTOR phosphorylation was also significantly suppressed, whereas cognition-related proteins (BDNF, VEGF, eNOS) and performance in behavioral tests remained unchanged. Importantly, skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression triggered pronounced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in both skeletal muscle and the hippocampus. In skeletal muscle, elevated levels of protein carbonyls, IκB-α, NF-κB, TNF-α, SOD2, and NRF2 were observed, accompanied by a reduction in the DNA repair enzyme OGG1. Notably, similar patterns were detected in the hippocampus, including increased expression of protein carbonyls, iNOS, NF-κB, TNF-α, SOD2, GPX1, and NRF2, alongside decreased OGG1 levels. These findings suggest that the overexpression of PGC-1α in skeletal muscle may have contributed to systemic oxidative stress and inflammation. In conclusion, skeletal muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpression preserves mitochondrial biogenesis and enhances anabolic signaling in aging muscle but concurrently induces oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, which may adversely affect mitochondrial health in the brain. These results emphasize the complex role of the skeletal muscle PGC-1α during aging.
线粒体功能障碍是导致骨骼肌和大脑与年龄相关的功能衰退的关键因素。过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ共激活因子1α(PGC-1α)在衰老过程中线粒体生物发生和功能方面至关重要。虽然已知在年轻动物中骨骼肌特异性过表达PGC-1α可模拟运动诱导的益处,但其对衰老组织的长期系统性影响仍不清楚。本研究旨在确定骨骼肌特异性PGC-1α过表达对老年小鼠线粒体健康、氧化应激、炎症和认知功能的终生影响。我们建立了三个实验组:年轻野生型小鼠(3 - 4个月大)、老年野生型小鼠(25 - 27个月大)和骨骼肌特异性PGC-1α过表达的老年小鼠(24 - 27个月大)。在骨骼肌中,衰老导致线粒体生物发生标志物显著减少,包括PGC-1α、FNDC5和线粒体DNA含量。PGC-1α过表达逆转了这种下降,提高了PGC-1α、SIRT1、LONP1、SDHA、CS、TFAM、eNOS的表达以及线粒体DNA水平,表明线粒体生物发生得以维持。然而,FNDC5和SIRT3却被反常地抑制,这表明存在潜在的代偿性反馈机制。PGC-1α过表达还增强了合成代谢信号,mTOR和S6磷酸化增加以及FOXO1表达降低证明了这一点,有利于促进肌肉生长的环境。此外,衰老通过下调MFN1、MFN2、OPA1、FIS1和PINK1损害线粒体动力学。虽然PGC-1α过表达没有恢复与融合相关的蛋白质,但它进一步降低了与裂变相关的蛋白质并增强了线粒体自噬蛋白,PINK1磷酸化增加证明了这一点。相比之下,在海马体中,肌肉特异性PGC-1α过表达加剧了与年龄相关的线粒体生物发生衰退。与老年野生型对照相比,关键线粒体标志物的表达水平,包括PGC-1α、SIRT1、CS、FNDC5、细胞色素C和TFAM,进一步降低。mTOR磷酸化也被显著抑制,而与认知相关的蛋白质(BDNF、VEGF、eNOS)和行为测试中的表现保持不变。重要的是,骨骼肌特异性PGC-1α过表达在骨骼肌和海马体中引发了明显的氧化应激和炎症反应。在骨骼肌中,观察到蛋白质羰基、IκB-α、NF-κB、TNF-α、SOD2和NRF2水平升高,同时DNA修复酶OGG1减少。值得注意的是,在海马体中也检测到类似的模式,包括蛋白质羰基、iNOS、NF-κB、TNF-α、SOD2、GPX1和NRF2表达增加,以及OGG1水平降低。这些发现表明骨骼肌中PGC-1α的过表达可能导致了全身性氧化应激和炎症。总之,骨骼肌特异性PGC-1α过表达维持了衰老肌肉中的线粒体生物发生并增强了合成代谢信号,但同时诱导了氧化应激和炎症反应,这可能对大脑中的线粒体健康产生不利影响。这些结果强调了骨骼肌PGC-1α在衰老过程中的复杂作用。
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