Highlights d Mitochondrial p32 is an important factor for mitochondrial metabolism in DCs d p32 selectively supports DC maturation via PDH activity d p32 and PDH activity are necessary for DC maturation in vivo

We purified an embryonic stage-specific inhibitor produced by rat hepatoma Reuber H-35 cells against cleaving mouse 2-cell embryos and defined its biological properties. Zygotes obtained from CD-1 mice (a strain that shows a 2-cell block in vitro) or C57BL/6 and B6C3F1 mice (strains that do not) were cultured in media with and without 50 microM EDTA, respectively. The development of the zygotes from all strains was arrested at the 2-cell stage when zygotes were cocultured with Reuber H-35 cells. However, the embryos from C57BL/6 and B6C3F1 were less sensitive than those from CD-1 against the inhibitory effects of development. This inhibitory effect was also evident in medium conditioned with the Reuber H-35 cells. The factor from the conditioned medium was separated into its < 10 000 M(r) fraction by ultrafiltration and was further purified in fraction B-25 as a single peak by reverse-phase column chromatography. An incubation as short as 3-h during the late 2-cell stage (G2 phase) with fraction B-25 suppressed cleavage in 61.5% of the CD-1 embryos (30.3% in control culture). Although the inhibitory effect was reversible, embryos that cleaved again either degenerated or were retarded at various stages in their subsequent development. Additionally, a long-term incubation of developing zygotes with the inhibitory factor caused a significant reduction in [3H]thymidine (TdR) incorporation into the DNA of CD-1 2-cell embryos as well as developmental arrest at the interphase of the 2-cell stage. These results indicated that this factor will serve as a valuable tool with which to clarify the proliferating mechanism of the preimplantation embryo.

Mitochondrial–nuclear communication, known as retrograde signaling, is important for regulating nuclear gene expression in response to mitochondrial dysfunction. Previously, we have found that p32/C1qbp-deficient mice, which have a mitochondrial translation defect, show endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and integrated stress response (ISR) gene expression in the heart and brain. However, the mechanism by which mitochondrial translation inhibition elicits these responses is not clear. Among the transcription factors that respond to mitochondrial stress, activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) is a key transcription factor in the ISR. Herein, chloramphenicol (CAP), which inhibits mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded protein expression, induced eukaryotic initiation factor 2 α subunit (eIF2α) phosphorylation and ATF4 induction, leading to ISR gene expression. However, the expression of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mtUPR) genes, which has been shown in Caenorhabditis elegans, was not induced. Short hairpin RNA-based knockdown of ATF4 markedly inhibited the CAP-induced ISR gene expression. We also observed by ChIP analysis that induced ATF4 bound to the promoter region of several ISR genes, suggesting that mitochondrial translation inhibition induces ISR gene expression through ATF4 activation. In the present study, we showed that mitochondrial translation inhibition induced the ISR through ATF4 activation rather than the mtUPR.

The effects of coculture and conditioned medium of rat hepatoma Reuber H-35 cells on the subsequent in vitro development and hatching of mouse 2-cell embryos were examined. The hatching of embryos obtained from CD-1 mice was accelerated by coculture with Reuber H-35 cells in the presence of 3 mg/ml BSA. The promoting effect on complete hatching from zona pellucida was evident even in cell-conditioned medium containing 60 micrograms/ml BSA. In the presence of 60 micrograms/ml BSA, more than 20% of embryos completely hatched, whereas none hatched in the control culture. The promoting activity was also found in both the M(r) < 10,000 and the M(r) > 10,000 subfractions of the conditioned medium separated by ultrafiltration. The cell number per blastocyst was increased to 1.1- to 1.3 times the control by culturing embryos from the 2-cell stage with the conditioned medium or its subfractions. The effective target of promoting factors for complete hatching was after the morula stage, and blastocysts hatched completely even when incubated in conditioned medium for 6 h. Inhibitors of DNA polymerase alpha, protein synthesis, and protein kinase partially reduced (40-90% inhibition) the promoting effect of the conditioned medium. On the other hand, protease inhibitors showed no effect. In a caseinolytic assay, protease activity was undetectable in the conditioned medium. Incubating the 125I-labeled proteins derived from the M(r) > 10,000 fraction with blastocysts revealed that at least 9 proteins with apparent molecular masses of 76, 60, 49, 38, 34, 31, 24, 22, and 18 kDa specifically bound to or accumulated in the embryos. Moreover, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that Reuber H-35 cells expressed mRNAs for epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factors alpha and beta 1, and stem cell factor. These results indicated that embryonic development and the process of zona hatching was accelerated by factors synthesized by Reuber H-35 cells. This and other studies demonstrated that Reuber H-35 cells exert positive (later than 2-cell stage) and negative (at 2-cell stage) effects upon the development of mouse embryos at different embryonic stages. These factors will serve as valuable tools to clarify the proliferating and differentiating mechanisms of the preimplantation embryo.

Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in seriously ill patients and mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with poor outcomes in septic patients. Although interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a good prognostic marker for sepsis, the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and IL-6 remains poorly understood. We identified p32/C1QBP/HABP1 as a regulator of IL-6 production in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS induced IL-6 overproduction in p32 deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) through NF-κB independent but activating transcription factor (ATF) 4 dependent pathways. Short hairpin RNA-based knockdown of ATF4 in p32 deficient MEFs markedly inhibited LPS-induced IL-6 production. Furthermore, MEFs treated with chloramphenicol, an inhibitor of mitochondrial translation, produced excessive IL-6 via ATF4 pathways. Using a LPS-induced endotoxin shock model, mice with p32 ablation in myeloid cells showed increased lethality and overproduction of IL-6. Thus, this study provides a molecular link how mitochondrial dysfunction leads to IL-6 overproduction and poor prognosis of sepsis.