Abstract
Microwave-induced learning and memory deficits in animal models have been gaining attention in recent years, largely because of increasing public concerns on growing environmental influences. The data from our group and others have showed that the injury of mitochondria, the major source of cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in primary neurons, could be detected in the neuron cells of microwave-exposed rats. In this study, we provided some insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind mitochondrial injury in PC12 cell-derived neuron-like cells. PC12 cell-derived neuron-like cells were exposed to 30 mW/cm2 microwave for 5 min, and damages of mitochondrial ultrastructure could be observed by using transmission electron microscopy. Impairments of mitochondrial function, indicated by decrease of ATP content, reduction of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activities, decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, could be detected. We also found that hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1α), a key regulator responsible for hypoxic response of the mammalian cells, was upregulated in microwave-exposed neuron-like cells. Furthermore, HIF-1α overexpression protected mitochondria from injury by increasing the ATP contents and MMP, while HIF-1α silence promoted microwave-induced mitochondrial damage. Finally, we demonstrated that both ERK and PI3K signaling activation are required in microwave-induced HIF-1α activation and protective response. In conclusion, we elucidated a regulatory connection between impairments of mitochondrial function and HIF-1α activation in microwave-exposed neuron-like cells. By modulating mitochondrial function and protecting neuron-like cells against microwave-induced mitochondrial injury, HIF-1α represents a promising therapeutic target for microwave radiation injury.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balduini W, Carloni S, Buonocore G (2012) Autophagy in hypoxia-ischemia induced brain injury. The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine: the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies. Int Soc Perinatal Obstet 25(Suppl 1):30–34. doi:10.3109/14767058.2012.663176
Greene-Schloesser D, Robbins ME, Peiffer AM, Shaw EG, Wheeler KT, Chan MD (2012) Radiation-induced brain injury: a review. Front Oncol 2:73. doi:10.3389/fonc.2012.00073
Acsadi G, Lee I, Li X, Khaidakov M, Pecinova A, Parker GC, Huttemann M (2009) Mitochondrial dysfunction in a neural cell model of spinal muscular atrophy. J Neurosci Res 87(12):2748–2756. doi:10.1002/jnr.22106
Srivastava S, Kashiwaya Y, Chen X, Geiger JD, Pawlosky R, Veech RL (2012) Microwave irradiation decreases ATP, increases free [Mg(2)(+)], and alters in vivo intracellular reactions in rat brain. J Neurochem 123(5):668–675. doi:10.1111/jnc.12026
Zhao L, Peng RY, Wang SM, Wang LF, Gao YB, Dong J, Li X, Su ZT (2012) Relationship between cognition function and hippocampus structure after long-term microwave exposure. Biomed Environ Sci: BES 25(2):182–188. doi:10.3967/0895-3988.2012.02.009
Sueoka E, Sueoka-Aragane N, Sato A, Ide M, Nakamura H, Sotomaru Y, Taya C, Yonekawa H, Kitagawa T, Kubota Y, Kimura S, Nakachi K, Tanimoto K (2013) Development of lymphoproliferative diseases by hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha is associated with prolonged lymphocyte survival. PLoS One 8(4):e57833. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057833
Gruber M, Simon MC (2006) Hypoxia-inducible factors, hypoxia, and tumor angiogenesis. Curr Opin Hematol 13(3):169–174. doi:10.1097/01.moh.0000219663.88409.35
Fan X, Heijnen CJ, van der Kooij MA, Groenendaal F, van Bel F (2009) The role and regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha expression in brain development and neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Brain Res Rev 62(1):99–108. doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2009.09.006
Tomita S, Kihira Y, Imanishi M, Fukuhara Y, Imamura Y, Ishizawa K, Ikeda Y, Tsuchiya K, Tamaki T (2011) Pathophysiological response to hypoxia—from the molecular mechanisms of malady to drug discovery: inflammatory responses of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) in T cells observed in development of vascular remodeling. J Pharmacol Sci 115(4):433–439
Singh N, Sharma G, Mishra V (2012) Hypoxia inducible factor-1: its potential role in cerebral ischemia. Cell Mol Neurobiol 32(4):491–507. doi:10.1007/s10571-012-9803-9
Rey S, Luo W, Shimoda LA, Semenza GL (2011) Metabolic reprogramming by HIF-1 promotes the survival of bone marrow-derived angiogenic cells in ischemic tissue. Blood 117(18):4988–4998. doi:10.1182/blood-2010-11-321190
Li Y, Xia ZL, Chen LB (2011) HIF-1-alpha and survivin involved in the anti-apoptotic effect of 2ME2 after global ischemia in rats. Neurol Res 33(6):583–592. doi:10.1179/1743132810Y.0000000013
Chandel NS (2010) Mitochondrial regulation of oxygen sensing. Adv Exp Med Biol 661:339–354. doi:10.1007/978-1-60761-500-2_22
Ball KA, Nelson AW, Foster DG, Poyton RO (2012) Nitric oxide produced by cytochrome c oxidase helps stabilize HIF-1alpha in hypoxic mammalian cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 420(4):727–732. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.03.050
Sutendra G, Dromparis P, Kinnaird A, Stenson TH, Haromy A, Parker JM, McMurtry MS, Michelakis ED (2013) Mitochondrial activation by inhibition of PDKII suppresses HIF1a signaling and angiogenesis in cancer. Oncogene 32(13):1638–1650. doi:10.1038/onc.2012.198
Semenza GL (2007) Oxygen-dependent regulation of mitochondrial respiration by hypoxia-inducible factor 1. Biochem J 405(1):1–9. doi:10.1042/BJ20070389
Semenza GL (2011) Hypoxia-inducible factor 1: regulator of mitochondrial metabolism and mediator of ischemic preconditioning. Biochim Biophys Acta 1813(7):1263–1268. doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2010.08.006
Belaiba RS, Bonello S, Zahringer C, Schmidt S, Hess J, Kietzmann T, Gorlach A (2007) Hypoxia up-regulates hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha transcription by involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and nuclear factor kappaB in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Mol Biol Cell 18(12):4691–4697. doi:10.1091/mbc.E07-04-0391
Zhang QL, Cui BR, Li HY, Li P, Hong L, Liu LP, Ding DZ, Cui X (2013) MAPK and PI3K pathways regulate hypoxia-induced atrial natriuretic peptide secretion by controlling HIF-1 alpha expression in beating rabbit atria. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 438(3):507–512. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.07.106
Li L, Xiong Y, Qu Y, Mao M, Mu W, Wang H, Mu D (2008) The requirement of extracellular signal-related protein kinase pathway in the activation of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha in the developing rat brain after hypoxia-ischemia. Acta Neuropathol 115(3):297–303. doi:10.1007/s00401-008-0339-5
Ye Z, Guo Q, Xia P, Wang N, Wang E, Yuan Y (2012) Sevoflurane postconditioning involves an up-regulation of HIF-1alpha and HO-1 expression via PI3K/Akt pathway in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia. Brain Res 1463:63–74. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2012.04.050
Jeong YJ, Cho HJ, Magae J, Lee IK, Park KG, Chang YC (2013) Ascofuranone suppresses EGF-induced HIF-1alpha protein synthesis by inhibition of the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2013.09.027
Jiajun Xu ZP, Li R, Dou T, Weigang X, Guojun G, Liu Y, Kang Z, Tao H, Zhang JH, Ostrowski RP, Jian L, Sun X (2009) Normoxic induction of cerebral HIF-1α by acetazolamide in rats: role of acidosis. Neurosci Lett 451:274–278
Nedden BT S z, Gabriele B-B (2008) HIF-1 alpha is an essential effector for purine nucleoside-mediated neuroprotection against hypoxia in PC12 cells and primary cerebellar granule neurons. J Neurochem 105(5):1901–1904
Juan C, Chavez JCL (2002) Activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in the rat cerebral cortex after transient global ischemia: potential role of insulin-like growth factor-1. J Neurosci 22(20):8922–8931
Chu WLM, Li F, Hu R, Chen Z, Lin J, Feng H (2013) Immediate splenectomy down-regulates the MAPK-NF-κB signaling pathway in rat brain after severe traumatic brain injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 74(6):1446–1453
Richard DE, Berra E, Gothie E, Roux D, Pouyssegur J (1999) p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinases phosphorylate hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and enhance the transcriptional activity of HIF-1. J Biol Chem 274(46):32631–32637
Brunelle JK, Bell EL, Quesada NM, Vercauteren K, Tiranti V, Zeviani M, Scarpulla RC, Chandel NS (2005) Oxygen sensing requires mitochondrial ROS but not oxidative phosphorylation. Cell Metab 1(6):409–414. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2005.05.002
Wang H, Peng R, Zhou H, Wang S, Gao Y, Wang L, Yong Z, Zuo H, Zhao L, Dong J, Xu X, Su Z (2013) Impairment of long-term potentiation induction is essential for the disruption of spatial memory after microwave exposure. Int J Radiat Biol. doi:10.3109/09553002.2013.817701
Orendacova J, Orendac M, Racekova E, Marsala J (2007) Neurobiological effects of microwave exposure: a review focused on morphological findings in experimental animals. Arch Ital Biol 145(1):1–12
Nittby H, Grafstrom G, Tian DP, Malmgren L, Brun A, Persson BR, Salford LG, Eberhardt J (2008) Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation. Bioelectromagnetics 29(3):219–232. doi:10.1002/bem.20386
Correia SC, Carvalho C, Cardoso S, Santos RX, Santos MS, Oliveira CR, Perry G, Zhu X, Smith MA, Moreira PI (2010) Mitochondrial preconditioning: a potential neuroprotective strategy. Front Aging Neurosci 2. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2010.00138
Dirnagl U, Becker K, Meisel A (2009) Preconditioning and tolerance against cerebral ischaemia: from experimental strategies to clinical use. Lancet Neurol 8(4):398–412. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70054-7
Dirnagl U, Meisel A (2008) Endogenous neuroprotection: mitochondria as gateways to cerebral preconditioning? Neuropharmacology 55(3):334–344. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.02.017
Ravati A, Ahlemeyer B, Becker A, Klumpp S, Krieglstein J (2001) Preconditioning-induced neuroprotection is mediated by reactive oxygen species and activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB. J Neurochem 78(4):909–919
Bell EL, Klimova TA, Eisenbart J, Moraes CT, Murphy MP, Budinger GR, Chandel NS (2007) The Qo site of the mitochondrial complex III is required for the transduction of hypoxic signaling via reactive oxygen species production. J Cell Biol 177(6):1029–1036. doi:10.1083/jcb.200609074
Zepeda AB, Pessoa A Jr, Castillo RL, Figueroa CA, Pulgar VM, Farias JG (2013) Cellular and molecular mechanisms in the hypoxic tissue: role of HIF-1 and ROS. Cell Biochem Funct 31(6):451–459. doi:10.1002/cbf.2985
Hamanaka RB, Chandel NS (2009) Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species regulate hypoxic signaling. Curr Opin Cell Biol 21(6):894–899. doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2009.08.005
Khromova NV, Kopnin PB, Stepanova EV, Agapova LS, Kopnin BP (2009) p53 hot-spot mutants increase tumor vascularization via ROS-mediated activation of the HIF1/VEGF-A pathway. Cancer Lett 276(2):143–151. doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2008.10.049
Pawlus MR, Wang L, Hu CJ (2013) STAT3 and HIF1alpha cooperatively activate HIF1 target genes in MDA-MB-231 and RCC4 cells. Oncogene. doi:10.1038/onc.2013.115
Liu M, Li D, Aneja R, Joshi HC, Xie S, Zhang C, Zhou J (2007) PO(2)-dependent differential regulation of multidrug resistance 1 gene expression by the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathway. J Biol Chem 282(24):17581–17586. doi:10.1074/jbc.M702206200
Minet E, Arnould T, Michel G, Roland I, Mottet D, Raes M, Remacle J, Michiels C (2000) ERK activation upon hypoxia: involvement in HIF-1 activation. FEBS Lett 468(1):53–58
Jiang BH, Jiang G, Zheng JZ, Lu Z, Hunter T, Vogt PK (2001) Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling controls levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1. Cell Growth Differ Mol Biol J Am Assoc Cancer Res 12(7):363–369
Zhou L, Miller CA (2006) Mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, oxygen sensors and hypoxic induction of neurogenesis. Neurodegener Dis 3(1–2):50–55. doi:10.1159/000092093
Agani F, Jiang BH (2013) Oxygen-independent regulation of HIF-1: novel involvement of PI3K/ AKT/mTOR pathway in cancer. Curr Cancer Drug Targets 13(3):245–251
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81372926) and Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (No. 7122127).
Competing Interests
The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Li Zhao and Yue-Feng Yang contribute equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, L., Yang, YF., Gao, YB. et al. Upregulation of HIF-1α Via Activation of ERK and PI3K Pathway Mediated Protective Response to Microwave-Induced Mitochondrial Injury in Neuron-Like Cells. Mol Neurobiol 50, 1024–1034 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-014-8667-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-014-8667-z