Molecular and cellular endocrinology
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Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. · Oct 2018
Endogenous H2S resists mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in the adrenal glands via ATP5A1 S-sulfhydration in male mice.
In a previous study, we showed that endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays a key role in the maintenance of intact adrenal cortex function via the protection of mitochondrial function during endoxemia. We further investigated whether mitochondria-mediated apoptosis is involved in H2S protection of adrenal function. LPS treatment resulted in mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in the adrenal glands of male mice, and these effects were prevented by the H2S donor GYY4137. ⋯ Overexpression of the cysteine 244 mutant ATP5A1 in Y1 cells resulted in a loss of LPS-induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and GYY4137 restoration of LPS-induced hyporesponsiveness to ACTH. Collectively, the present study revealed that decreased H2S generation leads to mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in the adrenal cortex and a blunt response to ACTH. S-sulfhydration of ATP5A1 at cysteine 244 is an important molecular mechanism by which H2S maintains mitochondrial function and steroidogenesis in the adrenal glands.