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- Title
Calcitriol increases frataxin levels and restores mitochondrial function in cell models of Friedreich Ataxia.
- Authors
Britti, Elena; Delaspre, Fabien; Sanz-Alcázar, A.; Medina-Carbonero, Marta; Llovera, Marta; Purroy, Rosa; Mincheva-Tasheva, Stefka; Tamarit, Jordi; Ros, Joaquim
- Abstract
Friedreich ataxia (FA) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the deficiency of frataxin, a mitochondrial protein. In primary cultures of dorsal root ganglia neurons, we showed that frataxin depletion resulted in decreased levels of the mitochondrial calcium exchanger NCLX, neurite degeneration and apoptotic cell death. Here, we describe that frataxindeficient dorsal root ganglia neurons display low levels of ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), a mitochondrial Fe/S cluster-containing protein that interacts with frataxin and, interestingly, is essential for the synthesis of calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. We provide data that calcitriol supplementation, used at nanomolar concentrations, is able to reverse the molecular and cellular markers altered in DRG neurons. Calcitriol is able to recover both FDX1 and NCLX levels and restores mitochondrial membrane potential indicating an overall mitochondrial function improvement. Accordingly, reduction in apoptotic markers and neurite degeneration was observed and, as a result, cell survival was also recovered. All these beneficial effects would be explained by the finding that calcitriol is able to increase the mature frataxin levels in both, frataxin-deficient DRG neurons and cardiomyocytes; remarkably, this increase also occurs in lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from FA patients. In conclusion, these results provide molecular bases to consider calcitriol for an easy and affordable therapeutic approach for FA patients.
- Subjects
CELL physiology; FRATAXIN; CALCITRIOL; LYMPHOBLASTOID cell lines; DORSAL root ganglia; MITOCHONDRIAL membranes; VITAMINS; PROTEIN microarrays
- Publication
Biochemical Journal, 2021, Vol 478, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
0264-6021
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1042/BCJ20200331