Lipogenic gene expression in liver is repressed in mice upon leucine deprivation. The hormone fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which is critical to the adaptive metabolic response to starvation, ...is also induced under amino acid deprivation. Upon leucine deprivation, we found that FGF21 is needed to repress expression of lipogenic genes in liver and white adipose tissue, and stimulate phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase in white adipose tissue. The increased expression of Ucp1 in brown adipose tissue under these circumstances is also impaired in FGF21-deficient mice. Our results demonstrate the important role of FGF21 in the regulation of lipid metabolism during amino acid starvation.
FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21), first described as a main fasting-responsive molecule in the liver, has been shown to act as a true metabolic regulator in additional tissues, including muscle ...and adipose tissues. In the present study, we found that the expression and secretion of FGF21 was very rapidly increased following lactate exposure in adipocytes. Using different pharmacological and knockout mice models, we demonstrated that lactate regulates Fgf21 expression through a NADH/NAD-independent pathway, but requires active p38-MAPK (mitogen activated protein kinase) signalling. We also demonstrated that this effect is not restricted to lactate as additional metabolites including pyruvate and ketone bodies also activated the FGF21 stress response. FGF21 release by adipose cells in response to an excess of intermediate metabolites may represent a physiological mechanism by which the sensing of environmental metabolic conditions results in the release of FGF21 to improve metabolic adaptations.
Parkin is an ubiquitin‐E3 ligase that is involved in cellular mitophagy and was recently shown to contribute to controlling adipose tissue thermogenic plasticity. We found that Parkin expression is ...induced in brown (BAT) and white (WAT) adipose tissues of aged mice. We determined the potential role of Parkin in the aging-associated decline in the thermogenic capacity of adipose tissues by analyzing subcutaneous WAT, interscapular BAT, and systemic metabolic and physiological parameters in young (5 month-old) and aged (16 month-old) mice with targeted invalidation of the Parkin (
Park2
) gene, and their wild-type littermates. Our data indicate that suppression of Parkin prevented adipose accretion, increased energy expenditure and improved the systemic metabolic derangements, such as insulin resistance, seen in aged mice. This was associated with maintenance of browning and reduction of the age-associated induction of inflammation in subcutaneous WAT. BAT in aged mice was much less affected by Parkin gene invalidation. Such protection was associated with a dramatic prevention of the age-associated induction of fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) levels in aged Parkin-invalidated mice. This was associated with a parallel reduction in FGF21 gene expression in adipose tissues and liver in aged Parkin-invalidated mice. Additionally, Parkin invalidation prevented the protein down-regulation of β-Klotho (a key co-receptor mediating FGF21 responsiveness in tissues) in aged adipose tissues. We conclude that Parkin down-regulation leads to improved systemic metabolism in aged mice, in association with maintenance of adipose tissue browning and FGF21 system functionality.
Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand-14 (CXCL14) levels are downregulated in experimental rodent models of obesity. Moreover, CXCL14 reportedly favors insulin sensitization in obese mice. Here we examined, ...for the first time, the role of CXCL14 in human obesity. We found that circulating levels of CXCL14 were decreased in patients with obesity and, especially, those with concomitant type-2 diabetes. CXCL14 levels were negatively associated with BMI and with indices of impaired glucose/insulin homeostasis. CXCL14 expression was decreased in subcutaneous adipose tissue from patients with obesity and type-2 diabetes. In adipose tissue, CXCL14 expression was negatively correlated with the expression of genes encoding pro-inflammatory molecules, and positively correlated with GLUT4 and adiponectin expression. In conclusion, obesity, and especially, concomitant type-2 diabetes are associated with abnormally decreased levels of CXCL14 in blood and impaired CXCL14 expression in adipose tissue. CXCL14 downregulation may be a novel biomarker of altered metabolism in obesity. CXCL14 also deserves further research as a therapeutic candidate.
Irisin, Turning Up the Heat Villarroya, Francesc
Cell metabolism,
03/2012, Letnik:
15, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Exercise exerts beneficial effects on systemic metabolism. A recent Nature paper (Boström et al., 2012) identifies irisin as an exercise-induced hormone secreted by skeletal muscle in mice and ...humans. Irisin promotes brown adipocyte recruitment in white fat and improves systemic metabolism by increasing energy expenditure.
GDF-15 is a biomarker for mitochondrial diseases. We investigated the application of GDF-15 as biomarker of disease severity and response to deoxynucleoside treatment in patients with thymidine ...kinase 2 (TK2) deficiency and compared it to FGF-21. GDF-15 and FGF-21 were measured in serum from 24 patients with TK2 deficiency treated 1-49 months with oral deoxynucleosides. Patients were grouped according to age at treatment and biomarkers were analyzed at baseline and various time points after treatment initiation. GDF-15 was elevated on average 30-fold in children and 6-fold in adults before the start of treatment. There was a significant correlation between basal GDF-15 and severity based on pretreatment distance walked (6MWT) and weight (BMI). During treatment, GDF-15 significantly declined, and the decrease was accompanied by relevant clinical improvements. The decline was greater in the paediatric group, which included the most severe patients and showed the greatest clinical benefit, than in the adult patients. The decline of FGF-21 was less prominent and consistent. GDF-15 is a potential biomarker of severity and of therapeutic response for patients with TK2 deficiency. In addition, we show evidence of clinical benefit of deoxynucleoside treatment, especially when treatment is initiated at an early age.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated increases in the hepatic levels of the very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptor (VLDLR) promote hepatic steatosis by increasing the delivery of ...triglyceride-rich lipoproteins to the liver. Here, we examined whether the NAD(
)-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) regulates hepatic lipid accumulation by modulating VLDLR levels and the subsequent uptake of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.
Rats fed with fructose in drinking water, Sirt1
mice, mice treated with the ER stressor tunicamycin with or without a SIRT1 activator, and human Huh-7 hepatoma cells transfected with siRNA or exposed to tunicamycin or different inhibitors were used.
Hepatic SIRT1 protein levels were reduced, while those of VLDLR were upregulated in the rat model of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) induced by fructose-drinking water. Moreover, Sirt1
mice displayed increased hepatic VLDLR levels that were not associated with ER stress, but were accompanied by an increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α)-target genes. The pharmacological inhibition or gene knockdown of SIRT1 upregulated VLDLR protein levels in the human Huh-7 hepatoma cell line, with this increase abolished by the pharmacological inhibition of HIF-1α. Finally, SIRT1 activation prevented the increase in hepatic VLDLR protein levels in mice treated with the ER stressor tunicamycin.
Overall, these findings suggest that SIRT1 attenuates fatty liver development by modulating hepatic VLDLR levels.
The retina is a highly active metabolic organ that displays a particular vulnerability to genetic and environmental factors causing stress and homeostatic imbalance. Mitochondria constitute a ...bioenergetic hub that coordinates stress response and cellular homeostasis, therefore structural and functional regulation of the mitochondrial dynamic network is essential for the mammalian retina. CERKL (ceramide kinase like) is a retinal degeneration gene whose mutations cause Retinitis Pigmentosa in humans, a visual disorder characterized by photoreceptors neurodegeneration and progressive vision loss. CERKL produces multiple isoforms with a dynamic subcellular localization. Here we show that a pool of CERKL isoforms localizes at mitochondria in mouse retinal ganglion cells. The depletion of CERKL levels in CerklKD/KO(knockdown/knockout) mouse retinas cause increase of autophagy, mitochondrial fragmentation, alteration of mitochondrial distribution, and dysfunction of mitochondrial-dependent bioenergetics and metabolism. Our results support CERKL as a regulator of autophagy and mitochondrial biology in the mammalian retina.
Display omitted
•A pool of CERKL isoforms localize at mitochondria in mouse primary retinal cells.•Cerkl downregulation induces increased autophagy and alterations in mitochondrial network organization in the retina.•Mitochondrial function is impaired in CerklKD/KO retinas impacting mitochondrial-dependent bioenergetics.
Recreational marathon runners face strong physiological challenges. Assessment of potential biomarkers for the biological responses of runners will help to discriminate individual race responsiveness ...and their physiological consequences. This study sought to analyze the changes in the plasma levels of GDF15 and FGF21, novel endocrine factors related to metabolic stress, in runners following the strenuous exercise of a marathon race.
Blood samples were obtained from eighteen male runners (mean ±SD, age: 41.7 ±5.0 years, BMI: 23.6 ± 1.8) 48 h before, immediately after, and 48 h after a marathon race, and from age-matched sedentary individuals. The level of GDF15, FGF21, and 38 additional biochemical and hematological parameters were determined.
The basal levels of GDF15 and FGF21 did not differ between runners before the race and sedentary individuals. Significant increases in the mean levels of GDF15 (4.2-fold) and FGF21 (20-fold) were found in runners immediately after the race. The magnitudes of these increases differed markedly among individuals and did not correlate with each other. The GDF15 and FGF21 levels had returned to the basal level 48 h post-race. The post-race value of GDF15 (but not FGF21) correlated positively with increased total white cell count (
= 0.50,
= 0.01) and neutrophilia (
= 0.10,
= 0.01).
GDF15 and FGF21 are transiently increased in runners following a marathon race. The induction of GDF15 levels is associated with alterations in circulating immune cells levels.