Sleep disturbances are associated with type 2 diabetes; therefore, the amelioration of sleep may improve metabolic disorders. To investigate this possibility, we here examined the effects of ...suvorexant, an antiinsomnia drug targeting the orexin system, on sleep and glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic mice. Diabetic db/db mice had a longer wakefulness time during the resting period, as compared with nondiabetic db/m+ control mice. The single or 7-day administration of suvorexant at lights-on (ie, the beginning of the resting phase) increased nonrapid eye movement sleep time during the resting phase and, as a consequence, reduced awake time. The daily resting-phase administration of suvorexant for 2–4 weeks improved impaired glucose tolerance in db/db mice without affecting body weight gain, food intake, systemic insulin sensitivity, or serum insulin, and glucagon levels. No changes were detected in the markers of lipid metabolism and inflammation, such as the hepatic triglyceride content and Tnf-α mRNA levels in liver and adipose tissues. The improving effect of suvorexant on glucose tolerance was associated with a reduction in the expression levels of hepatic gluconeogenic factors, including phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α in the liver in the resting phase. In contrast, the daily awake-phase administration of suvorexant had no beneficial effect on glucose metabolism. These results suggest that the suvorexant-induced increase of sleep time at the resting phase improved hepatic glucose metabolism in db/db mice. Our results provide insight into the development of novel pharmacological interventions for type 2 diabetes that target the orexin-operated sleep/wake regulatory system.
The total synthesis of two decahydroquinoline poison frog alkaloids ent-
-
and
-
were achieved in 16 steps (38% overall yield) and 19 steps (31% overall yield), respectively, starting from known ...compound
. Both alkaloids were synthesized from the common key intermediate
in a divergent fashion, and the absolute stereochemistry of natural
-
was determined to be 2
, 4a
, 5
, 6
, and 8a
. Interestingly, the absolute configuration of the parent decahydroquinoline nuclei of
-
was the mirror image of that of
-
, although both alkaloids were isolated from the same poison frog species,
(
)
, from Panama.
(HJG) has originally been used to ameliorate a variety of symptoms associated with low ambient temperatures. However, its pharmacological action in metabolic organs remains unclear. We hypothesized ...that HJG may modulate metabolic function and have a potential therapeutic application to metabolic diseases. To test this hypothesis, we investigated metabolic action of HJG in mice. Male
mice chronically administered with HJG showed a reduction in adipocyte size with increased transcription of beige adipocyte-related genes in subcutaneous white adipose tissue. HJG-mixed high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice showed alleviation of HFD-induced weight gain, adipocyte hypertrophy, liver steatosis with a significant reduction in circulating leptin and Fibroblast growth factor 21 despite no changes in food intake or oxygen consumption. Feeding an HJG-mixed HFD following 4-weeks of HFD feeding, while a limited effect on body weight, improved insulin sensitivity with a reversal of decreased circulating adiponectin. In addition, HJG improved insulin sensitivity in the leptin-deficient mice without significant effects on body weight. Treatment with
-butanol soluble extracts of HJG potentiated transcription of Uncoupling protein 1 mediated by β3-adrenergic agonism in 3T3L1 adipocytes. These findings provide evidence that HJG modulates adipocyte function and may exert preventive or therapeutic effects against obesity and insulin resistance.
Highlights • Insulin and glargine had similar effects on neural functions in vitro and in vivo. • Detemir was less effective than insulin in neural cells in the presence of albumin. • Insulin and ...glargine improved brain functions more potently than detemir in mice. • Albumin may compromise the beneficial effects of acylated insulin analog in brain.
Cilostazol, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 3B, is widely used as an anti-platelet drug in diabetic patients. Recently, cilostazol has been shown to promote preadipocyte differentiation to mature ...adipocyte and affect glucose homeostasis; therefore, we examined the impact of cilostazol on impaired glucose metabolism in adipose tissues of diabetic db/db mice. Administration of cilostazol at 100–300mg/kg/day significantly improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in a dose-dependent manner in db/db mice, whereas these effects were not observed in non-diabetic control mice. Cilostazol reduced the adipocyte size and suppressed mRNA expressions of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, CD11c, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in the epididymal fat tissue of db/db mice. As for the cellular mechanism, cilostazol attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNFα expression by decreasing the mRNA and protein levels of Toll-like receptor 4 in Raw264.3 macrophages. Cilostazol also effectively ameliorated the TNFα-induced decrease of insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation and 3H2-deoxyglucose uptake by suppressing c-Jun N terminal kinase-mediated serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Importantly, the improvement of impaired insulin signaling was blunted by pretreatment with KT5720, a protein kinase A inhibitor, but not with GW9662, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. These results indicate that cilostazol suppressed TNFα production from macrophages and attenuated TNFα-induced chronic inflammation in adipose tissue, leading to the improvement of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in obese diabetic mice. Thus, the present study reveals an additional benefit in the use of cilostazol in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes.
N‐acetylaspartate (NAA) is synthesized by aspartate N‐acetyltransferase (gene: Nat8l) from acetyl‐coenzyme A and aspartate. In the brain, NAA is considered an important energy metabolite for lipid ...synthesis. However, the role of NAA in peripheral tissues remained elusive. Therefore, we characterized the metabolic phenotype of knockout (ko) and adipose tissue‐specific (ako) Nat8l‐ko mice as well as NAA‐supplemented mice on various diets. We identified an important role of NAA availability in the brain during adolescence, as 75% of Nat8l‐ko mice died on fat‐free diet (FFD) after weaning but could be rescued by NAA supplementation. In adult life, NAA deficiency promotes a beneficial metabolic phenotype, as Nat8l‐ko and Nat8l‐ako mice showed reduced body weight, increased energy expenditure, and improved glucose tolerance on chow, high‐fat, and FFDs. Furthermore, Nat8l‐deficient adipocytes exhibited increased mitochondrial respiration, ATP synthesis, and an induction of browning. Conversely, NAA‐treated wild‐type mice showed reduced adipocyte respiration and lipolysis and increased de novo lipogenesis, culminating in reduced energy expenditure, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity. Mechanistically, our data point to a possible role of NAA as modulator of pancreatic insulin secretion and suggest NAA as a critical energy metabolite for adipocyte and whole‐body energy homeostasis.—Hofer, D. C., Zirkovits, G., Pelzmann, H. J., Huber, K., Pessentheiner, A. R., Xia, W., Uno, K., Miyazaki, T., Kon, K., Tsuneki, H., Pendl, T., Al Zoughbi, W., Madreiter‐Sokolowski, C. T., Trausinger, G., Abdellatif, M., Schoiswohl, G., Schreiber, R., Eisenberg, T., Magnes, C., Sedej, S., Eckhardt, M., Sasahara, M., Sasaoka, T., Nitta, A., Hoefler, G., Graier, W. F., Kratky, D., Auwerx, J., Bogner‐Strauss, J. G. N‐acetylaspartate availability is essential for juvenile survival on fat‐free diet and determines metabolic health. FASEB J. 33, 13808‐13824 (2019). www.fasebj.org
Nicotine is known to affect the metabolism of glucose; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, we here investigated whether nicotine promoted the central regulation of glucose ...metabolism, which is closely linked to the circadian system. The oral intake of nicotine in drinking water, which mainly occurred during the nighttime active period, enhanced daily hypothalamic prepro-orexin gene expression and reduced hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetic db/db mice without affecting body weight, body fat content, and serum levels of insulin. Nicotine administered at the active period appears to be responsible for the effect on blood glucose, because nighttime but not daytime injections of nicotine lowered blood glucose levels in db/db mice. The chronic oral treatment with nicotine suppressed the mRNA levels of glucose-6-phosphatase, the rate-limiting enzyme of gluconeogenesis, in the liver of db/db and wild-type control mice. In the pyruvate tolerance test to evaluate hepatic gluconeogenic activity, the oral nicotine treatment moderately suppressed glucose elevations in normal mice and mice lacking dopamine receptors, whereas this effect was abolished in orexin-deficient mice and hepatic parasympathectomized mice. Under high-fat diet conditions, the oral intake of nicotine lowered blood glucose levels at the daytime resting period in wild-type, but not orexin-deficient, mice. These results indicated that the chronic daily administration of nicotine suppressed hepatic gluconeogenesis via the hypothalamic orexin-parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, the results of the present study may provide an insight into novel chronotherapy for type 2 diabetes that targets the central cholinergic and orexinergic systems.
Phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) functions as a lipid kinase to produce PI(3,4,5)P(3) from PI(4,5)P(2) in vivo. PI(3,4,5)P(3) is crucial as a lipid second messenger in various metabolic ...effects of insulin. Lipid phosphatases, src homology 2 domain containing inositol 5'-phosphatase 2 (SHIP2) and skeletal muscle and kidney-enriched inositol phosphatase (SKIP) hydrolyze PI(3,4,5)P(3) to PI(3,4)P(2) and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) hydrolyzes PI(3,4,5)P(3) to PI(4,5)P(2). SHIP2 negatively regulates insulin signaling relatively specifically via its 5'-phosphatase activity. Targeted disruption of the SHIP2 gene in mice resulted in increased insulin sensitivity and conferred protection from obesity induced by a high-fat diet. Polymorphisms in the human SHIP2 gene are associated, at least in part, with the insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes. Importantly, inhibition of endogenous SHIP2 through the liver-specific expression of a dominant-negative SHIP2 improves glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in diabetic db/db mice. Overexpression of PTEN and SKIP also inhibited insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt and the uptake of glucose in cultured cells. Although a homozygous disruption of the PTEN gene in mice results in embryonic lethality, either skeletal muscle or adipose tissue-specific disruption of PTEN ameliorated glucose metabolism without formation of tumors in animal models of diabetes. The role of SKIP in glucose metabolism remains to be further clarified in vivo. Taken together, inhibition of endogenous SHIP2 in the whole body appears to be effective at improving the insulin resistance associated with type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. Inhibition of PTEN in the tissues specifically targeted, including skeletal muscle and fat, may result in an amelioration of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes, although caution against the formation of tumors is needed.
Although elevation of the blood glucose level is a causal adverse effect of treatment with interferon (IFN), the precise underlying molecular mechanism is largely unknown. We examined the effects of ...type I and type II IFN (IFN-β and IFN-γ) on insulin-induced metabolic signaling leading to glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. IFN-β suppressed insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 without affecting its expression, whereas IFN-γ reduced both the protein level and tyrosine phosphorylation. Although both IFNs stimulated phosphorylation of STAT1 (at Tyr(701)) and STAT3 (at Tyr(705)) after treatment for 30 min, subsequent properties of induction of the SOCS isoform were different. IFN-β preferentially induced SOCS1 rather than SOCS3, whereas IFN-γ strongly induced SOCS3 expression alone. In addition, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of either SOCS1 or SOCS3 inhibited insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1, whereas the reduction of IRS-1 protein was observed only in SOCS3-expressed cells. Notably, IFN-β-induced SOCS1 expression and suppression of insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 were attenuated by siRNA-mediated knockdown of STAT1. In contrast, adenovirus-mediated expression of a dominant-negative STAT3 (F-STAT3) attenuated IFN-γ-induced SOCS3 expression, reduction of IRS-1 protein, and suppression of insulin-induced glucose uptake but did not have any effect on the IFN-β-mediated SOCS1 expression and inhibition of insulin-induced glucose uptake. Interestingly, pretreatment of IFN-γ with IL-6 synergistically suppressed insulin signaling, even when IL-6 alone had no significant effect. These results indicate that type I and type II IFN induce insulin resistance by inducing distinct SOCS isoforms, and IL-6 synergistically augments IFN-γ-induced insulin resistance by potentiating STAT3-mediated SOCS3 induction in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.
Maternal insulin resistance is essential for efficient provision of glucose to the fetus. Although elevation of placental hormones is known to relate to the development of insulin resistance, the ...precise underlying mechanism of maternal insulin resistance is unknown. Therefore, we examined the molecular mechanisms of progesterone causing insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Progesterone at 10(-4) M, but not 10(-5) M, reduced the amount of IRS-1. As a result, insulin-induced phosphorylation of IRS-1, the association of IRS-1 with p85alpha, and subsequent phosphorylation of Akt1 and -2 was decreased moderately by 10(-4) M progesterone. Subsequently, insulin-induced translocation of GLUT4 to the plasma membrane evaluated by immunostaining on the plasma membrane sheet by confocal laser microscope was also decreased by 10(-4) M progesterone. In contrast, 2-(3)Hdeoxyglucose (2DG) uptake was markedly inhibited by both 10(-5) and 10(-4) M progesterone in a dose-dependent manner. Surprisingly, 2DG uptake elicited by adenovirus-mediated expression of constitutive-active mutant of PI 3-kinase (myr-p110) and Akt (myr-Akt) was suppressed by progesterone. Interestingly, insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Cbl and activation of TC10 were inhibited by progesterone at 10(-5) M. These results indicate that progesterone is implicated in insulin resistance during pregnancy by inhibiting the PI 3-kinase pathway at the step of 1) IRS-1 expression and 2) distal to Akt and 3) by suppressing the PI 3-kinase-independent pathway of TC10 activation by affecting Cbl phosphorylation.
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