Vitamin B12 | EPFL Graph Search

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the circulatory system in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Plants do not need cobalamin and carry out the reactions with enzymes that are not dependent on it. Vitamin B12 is the most chemically complex of all vitamins, and for humans, the only vitamin that must be sourced from animal-derived foods or from supplements. Only some archaea and bacteria can synthesize vitamin B12. Most people in developed countries get enough B12 from the consumption of meat or foods with animal sources. Foods containing vitamin B12 incl

Vitamin B12 deficiency and impaired expression of amnionless during aging

Laurence Goulet, Sonia Karaz, Alice Pannerec

Background Physical frailty and loss of mobility in elderly individuals lead to reduced independence, quality of life, and increased mortality. Vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to several age-related chronic diseases, including in the musculo-skeletal system, where vitamin B12 deficiency is generally believed to be linked to poor nutritional intake. In the present study, we asked whether aging and frailty associate with altered vitamin B12 homeostasis in humans and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms using preclinical models. Methods We analysed a subset of the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study and stratified 238 participants based on age and Fried frailty criteria. Levels of methyl-malonic acid (MMA), a marker for vitamin B12 deficiency, and amnionless, the vitamin B12 co-receptor that anchors the vitamin B12 transport complex to the membrane of epithelial cells, were measured in plasma. In addition, vitamin B12 levels and the molecular mechanisms of vitamin B12 uptake and excretion were analysed in ileum, kidney, liver, and blood using a rat model of natural aging where nutritional intake is fully controlled. Results We demonstrate that aging and frailty are associated with a higher prevalence of functional vitamin B12 deficiency that can be detected by increased levels of MMA in blood (rho = 0.25; P = 0.00013). The decline in circulating vitamin B12 levels is recapitulated in a rat model of natural aging where food composition and intake are stable. At the molecular level, these perturbations involve altered expression of amnionless in the ileum and kidney. Interestingly, we demonstrate that amnionless can be detected in serum where its levels increase during aging in both rodents and human (P = 3.3e-07 and 9.2e-07, respectively). Blood amnionless levels negatively correlate with vitamin B12 in rats (r(2) = 0.305; P = 0.0042) and positively correlate with the vitamin B12 deficiency marker MMA in humans (rho = 0.22; P = 0.00068). Conclusions Our results demonstrate that aging and frailty cause intrinsic vitamin B12 deficiencies, which can occur independently of nutritional intake. Mechanistically, vitamin B12 deficiency involves the physio-pathological decline of both the intestinal uptake and the renal reabsorption system for vitamin B12. Finally, amnionless is a novel biomarker which can detect perturbed vitamin B12 bioavailability during aging and physical frailty.

2018

Development of novel tools for imaging of metabolic fluxes in vivo

Tamara Maric

Bioluminescent imaging is a powerful technique that enables imaging in living organisms with high sensitivity, low background signal, low cost and without the need for radioactivity. The emitted photons are produced in the oxidation reaction of luciferin catalyzed by luciferase. In the caged luciferin approach, the bioluminescent readout is used for measuring the activity of a specific biochemical process. Luciferin is caged in order to prevent catalysis by luciferase, and only when the cage is removed by a specific biochemical event of interest, luciferin is released and becomes a substrate of luciferase. Hence, emitted photons are proportional to the amount of free luciferin, thus allowing to monitor the dynamics of the investigated process. Recent progress in the development of bioorthogonal reactions enabled to answer several fundamental biological questions, improve clinical diagnosis, and to better evaluate therapy efficacy. For example, one of the most robust biorthogonal reactions is the Staudinger ligation, which occurs between a properly tuned azide and a phosphine. In this work, we have used the caged luciferin approach combined with the Staudinger ligation to monitor metabolite uptake in living animals. We have successfully applied this method for the monitoring uptake of two metabolites â glucose and nicotinamide riboside (NR). Glucose is a major source of energy for most living organisms and its aberrant uptake is linked to many pathological conditions. On the other hand, NR is a form of vitamin B3 and represents one of the salvageable NAD+ precursors. Low NAD+ level inside of cells is strongly linked to numerous metabolic and age-related disorders. Despite of their importance, in both cases our understanding of disease-associated glucose or NR flux is limited due to a lack of robust tools. To date, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging remains the gold standard for measuring glucose uptake and no optical tools exist for non-invasive longitudinal imaging of neither of the two metabolites in in vivo settings. Here we report the development of a novel bioluminescent glucose uptake probe (BiGluc) and bioluminescent NR uptake probe (BiNR) for real-time, non-invasive longitudinal imaging of glucose and NR absorption both in vitro and in vivo. The new imaging reagents enable a wide range of applications in the field of metabolism and drug development.

EPFL2020