Cyclooxygenase-2 deficiency attenuates adipose tissue differentiation and inflammation in mice

Obesity is associated with a variety of disorders and is a significant health problem in developed countries. One factor controlling the level of adiposity is the differentiation of cells into adipocytes. Adipocyte differentiation requires expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), which is activated by ligands to regulate expression of genes involved in adipocyte differentiation. Although 15-deoxy-Δ(12,14)-prostaglandin (PG) J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)) has long been known to be a potent activator of PPARγ, the importance of its synthesis in adipose tissue in vivo is not clear. The current study utilized mice deficient in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) to examine the role of COX-2-derived PGs as in vivo modulators of adiposity. As compared with strain- and age-matched wild-type controls, the genetic deficiency of COX-2 resulted in a significant reduction in total body weight and percent body fat. Although there were no significant differences in food consumption between groups, COX-2-deficient mice showed increased metabolic activity. Epididymal adipose tissue from wild-type mice produced a significantly greater level of 15d-PGJ(2), as compared with adipose tissue isolated from mice deficient in COX-2. Furthermore, production of the precursor required for 15d-PGJ(2) formation, PGD(2), was also significantly reduced in COX-2-deficient adipose tissue. The expression of markers for differentiated adipocytes was significantly reduced in adipose tissue from COX-2-deficient mice, whereas preadipocyte marker expression was increased. Macrophage-dependent inflammation was also significantly reduced in adipose tissue of COX-2-deficient mice. These findings suggest that reduced adiposity in COX-2-deficient mice results from attenuated PPARγ ligand production and adipocyte differentiation.     

Differential expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha,TNF-alpha converting enzyme and ADAMTS family members in murine fat territories

Our objective was to investigate expression of A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) and ADAM proteins with a thrombospondin (TS) motif (ADAMTS) family members in adipose tissue of lean and obese mice. Five-week-old male mice were kept on standard chow (SFD) or on high fat diet (HFD) for 15 weeks, and subcutaneous (SC) and gonadal (GON) adipose tissue, as well as mature adipocytes and stromal-vascular (S-V) cells were harvested. mRNA levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), ADAM-17 (TACE or TNF-alpha converting enzyme), ADAMTS-1 and ADAMTS-8 were quantified in isolated adipose tissues and cell fractions, and during differentiation of murine preadipocytes. The HFD resulted in a significantly enhanced weight of isolated SC and GON fat pads, and in enhanced blood levels of glucose, cholesterol and PAI-1. ADAM-17, TNF-alpha, PAI-1, ADAMTS-1 and ADAMTS-8 mRNA were detected in both SC and GON adipose tissue of lean mice (SFD). In SC adipose tissue of obese mice (HFD), the expression of ADAM-17 and PAI-1 was enhanced and that of ADAMTS-1 reduced, whereas in GON adipose tissue expression of TNF-alpha was enhanced and that of ADAMTS-8 reduced. In lean and obese mice, expression of ADAM-17, ADAMTS-1 and ADAMTS-8 was higher in the S-V cell fraction than in mature adipocytes. During differentiation of murine 3T3-F442A preadipocytes, expression of ADAM-17 and ADAMTS-1 remained virtually unaltered, whereas that of ADAMTS-8 decreased as adipocytes matured. Several ADAM and ADAMTS family members are expressed in adipose tissue and during differentiation of preadipocytes. Modulation of their expression upon development of obesity is adipose tissue-dependent.     

Deficiency of Interleukin-15 Confers Resistance to Obesity by Diminishing Inflammation and Enhancing the Thermogenic Function of Adipose Tissues

ObjectiveIL-15 is an inflammatory cytokine secreted by many cell types. IL-15 is also produced during physical exercise by skeletal muscle and has been reported to reduce weight gain in mice. Contrarily, our findings on IL-15 knockout (KO) mice indicate that IL-15 promotes obesity. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms underlying the pro-obesity role of IL-15 in adipose tissues.MethodsControl and IL-15 KO mice were maintained on high fat diet (HFD) or normal control diet. After 16 weeks, body weight, adipose tissue and skeletal mass, serum lipid levels and gene/protein expression in the adipose tissues were evaluated. The effect of IL-15 on thermogenesis and oxygen consumption was also studied in primary cultures of adipocytes differentiated from mouse preadipocyte and human stem cells.ResultsOur results show that IL-15 deficiency prevents diet-induced weight gain and accumulation of lipids in visceral and subcutaneous white and brown adipose tissues. Gene expression analysis also revealed elevated expression of genes associated with adaptive thermogenesis in the brown and subcutaneous adipose tissues of IL-15 KO mice. Accordingly, oxygen consumption was increased in the brown adipocytes from IL-15 KO mice. In addition, IL-15 KO mice showed decreased expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in their adipose tissues.ConclusionsAbsence of IL-15 results in decreased accumulation of fat in the white adipose tissues and increased lipid utilization via adaptive thermogenesis. IL-15 also promotes inflammation in adipose tissues that could sustain chronic inflammation leading to obesity-associated metabolic syndrome.     

Group IVA phospholipase A2 is associated with the storage of lipids in adipose tissue and liver

Prostaglandin (PG) E(2) is considered to participate in the storage of fat in adipocytes and hepatocytes, but roles of group IVA phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), a key PLA(2) isozyme in the arachidonic acid cascade, remain unclear. The present study examined the possible involvement of the enzyme using group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice (C57BL/6 background, 22 weeks of age) fed a normal diet (5.3% fat). The ratio of epididymal fat pad weight to body weight was significantly reduced in group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice compared to wild-type mice. Histological analysis revealed that in group IVA PLA(2)-deficient mice, the adipocytes were smaller, and hepatocytes bearing cytoplasmic vacuolation were scarce. Hepatic triglyceride content and the serum levels of PGE(2) in the deficient mice were also lower. However, there was no difference in the serum levels of insulin, glucose, non-esterified free fatty acid, or total cholesterol between the deficient and wild-type mice. Our findings suggest that group IVA PLA(2) is involved in the storage of lipids in the adipose tissue and liver and in determining circulating PGE(2) levels.     

Necdin controls proliferation of white adipocyte progenitor cells

White adipose tissues are composed mainly of white fat cells (adipocytes), which play a key role in energy storage and metabolism. White adipocytes are terminally differentiated postmitotic cells and arise from their progenitor cells (preadipocytes) or mesenchymal stem cells residing in white adipose tissues. Thus, white adipocyte number is most likely controlled by the rate of preadipocyte proliferation, which may contribute to the etiology of obesity. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate preadipocyte proliferation during adipose tissue development. Necdin, which is expressed predominantly in postmitotic neurons, is a pleiotropic protein that possesses anti-mitotic and pro-survival activities. Here we show that necdin functions as an intrinsic regulator of white preadipocyte proliferation in developing adipose tissues. Necdin is expressed in early preadipocytes or mesenchymal stem cells residing in the stromal compartment of white adipose tissues in juvenile mice. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of endogenous necdin expression in vivo in adipose tissues markedly increases fat mass in juvenile mice fed a high-fat diet until adulthood. Furthermore, necdin-null mutant mice exhibit a greater expansion of adipose tissues due to adipocyte hyperplasia than wild-type mice when fed the high-fat diet during the juvenile and adult periods. Adipose stromal-vascular cells prepared from necdin-null mice differentiate in vitro into a significantly larger number of adipocytes in response to adipogenic inducers than those from wild-type mice. These results suggest that necdin prevents excessive preadipocyte proliferation induced by adipogenic stimulation to control white adipocyte number during adipose tissue development.     

双硫仑治疗小鼠肥胖的安全性和有效性评价

摘要 目的：观察双硫仑治疗小鼠肥胖的安全性和有效性。方法：取6周龄C57BL/6J雄性小鼠10只,高脂饲料诱导肥胖后,随机分为双硫仑组（双硫仑玉米油溶液,300 mg/(kg?d）和对照组（等量玉米油）,每组5只小鼠。每日灌胃给药1次,连续2周,期间仍给与高脂饲料。监测小鼠食物消耗量和体重。给药结束后取小鼠血清、附睾白色脂肪垫、肩胛间区棕色脂肪和肝脏。白色、棕色脂肪和肝脏进行HE染色,观察细胞形态。电镜下观察棕色脂肪细胞内的脂滴和线粒体。Realtime-qPCR法检测棕色脂肪组织中Ucp1、Fabp4、Prdml6和Cidea的mRNA相对表达量,Western blot法检测Ucp1的蛋白表达量。检测血清中转氨酶ALT和AST含量。取8周龄C57BL/6J雄性小鼠10只,随机分为双硫仑组（双硫仑300 mg/(kg?d）和对照组（等量玉米油）,每日灌胃1次,连续2周。给药结束后进行棕色脂肪和肝脏HE染色并检测血清中ALT和AST含量。取8周龄C57BL/6J雄性小鼠10只,随机分为双硫仑组（双硫仑300 mg/(kg?d）和对照组（等量玉米油）,每日灌胃1次,连续4周,进行肝脏HE染色并检测血清中ALT和AST含量。取孕13.5天的C57BL/6J胚胎小鼠,进行成纤维细胞原代培养,分为双硫仑组（双硫仑5 mg/L）和对照组（等量DMSO）并诱导分化为棕色脂肪细胞。分化8天后进行油红O染色,观察脂滴形成情况,检测Ucp1、Fabp4、Prdml6和Cidea的mRNA相对表达量和Ucp1的蛋白表达量。结果：肥胖小鼠给药过程中,双硫仑组和对照组的进食量及体重变化并无明显差别（P＞0.05）。给药结束后,两组白色脂肪细胞大小无明显差别。双硫仑组小鼠棕色脂肪细胞直径和细胞内脂滴明显增大（P＜0.05）,脂滴数量、线粒体形态及数量无明显差别（P＞0.05）。双硫仑组小鼠棕色脂肪中Cidea和Prdm16的mRNA表达减少（P＜0.05）。正常体重小鼠双硫仑给药2周后棕色脂肪细胞脂滴也增大。细胞实验结果显示,双硫仑组脂滴形成明显减少,Ucp1、Cidea、Prdm16的mRNA表达明显减少（P<0.05）;Ucp1的蛋白表达明显减少（P<0.05）。肥胖与正常小鼠双硫仑给药2周后均出现明显的肝细胞水肿,血清中ALT和AST升高（P<0.05）,正常小鼠给药4周后仍有明显肝细胞水肿,ALT和AST升高（P<0.05）。结论：短期使用双硫仑对饮食诱导的肥胖小鼠无明显减肥作用;双硫仑在体内、外均可抑制小鼠棕色脂肪细胞的分化。短期使用双硫仑可引起肝损害。双硫仑用于减肥治疗的安全性及有效性尚不够理想。     

间充质干细胞对免疫细胞的抑制作用及其机制

间充质干细胞是一群来源于发育早期中胚层的具有自我更新和多向分化潜能的干细胞,具有分化为脂肪细胞、肝细胞、成骨细胞、软骨细胞、神经细胞等多种细胞的能力.近年来的相关研究表明,间充质干细胞具有低免疫原性,它可以通过抑制淋巴细胞的增殖、抑制抗原呈递细胞分化成熟及功能发挥、抑制细胞毒性T淋巴细胞的形成、增加调节性T细胞比例等多种途径发挥免疫调节作用,从而成为移植领域、各种退行性和衰竭性疑难病症的替代治疗的研究热点.本文就间充质干细胞对免疫细胞的抑制作用及其机制的研究进展进行综述.     

Anti-obesity properties of a Sasa quelpaertensis extract in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

This study explores the anti-obesity properties of a Sasa quelpaertensis leaf extract (SQE) in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL/6 mice and mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes. SQE administration with HFD for 70 d significantly decreased the body weight gain, adipose tissue weight, and serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in comparison with the HFD group. SQE administration also reduced the serum levels of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase, and the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver, suggesting a protective effect against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. SQE administration restored the HFD-induced decreases with phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in epididymal adipose tissue. SQE also induced AMPK phosphorylation in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes. These results suggest that SQE exerted an anti-obesity effect on HFD-induced obese mice by activating AMPK in adipose tissue and reducing lipid droplet accumulation in the liver.     

Deletion of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α in Adipocytes Enhances Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Secretion and Reduces Adipose Tissue Inflammation

It is known that obese adipose tissues are hypoxic and express hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α. Although some studies have shown that the expression of HIF-1α in adipocytes induces glucose intolerance, the mechanisms are still not clear. In this study, we examined its effects on the development of type 2 diabetes by using adipocyte-specific HIF-1α knockout (ahKO) mice. ahKO mice showed improved glucose tolerance compared with wild type (WT) mice. Macrophage infiltration and mRNA levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) were decreased in the epididymal adipose tissues of high fat diet induced obese ahKO mice. The results indicated that the obesity-induced adipose tissue inflammation was suppressed in ahKO mice. In addition, in the ahKO mice, serum insulin levels were increased under the free-feeding but not the fasting condition, indicating that postprandial insulin secretion was enhanced. Serum glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels were also increased in the ahKO mice. Interestingly, adiponectin, whose serum levels were increased in the obese ahKO mice compared with the obese WT mice, stimulated GLP-1 secretion from cultured intestinal L cells. Therefore, insulin secretion may have been enhanced through the adiponectin-GLP-1 pathway in the ahKO mice. Our results suggest that the deletion of HIF-1α in adipocytes improves glucose tolerance by enhancing insulin secretion through the GLP-1 pathway and by reducing macrophage infiltration and inflammation in adipose tissue.     

Adipocyte Fetuin-A Contributes to Macrophage Migration into Adipose Tissue and Polarization of Macrophages

Macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue during obesity and their phenotypic conversion from anti-inflammatory M2 to proinflammatory M1 subtype significantly contributes to develop a link between inflammation and insulin resistance; signaling molecule(s) for these events, however, remains poorly understood. We demonstrate here that excess lipid in the adipose tissue environment may trigger one such signal. Adipose tissue from obese diabetic db/db mice, high fat diet-fed mice, and obese diabetic patients showed significantly elevated fetuin-A (FetA) levels in respect to their controls; partially hepatectomized high fat diet mice did not show noticeable alteration, indicating adipose tissue to be the source of this alteration. In adipocytes, fatty acid induces FetA gene and protein expressions, resulting in its copious release. We found that FetA could act as a chemoattractant for macrophages. To simulate lipid-induced inflammatory conditions when proinflammatory adipose tissue and macrophages create a niche of an altered microenvironment, we set up a transculture system of macrophages and adipocytes; the addition of fatty acid to adipocytes released FetA into the medium, which polarized M2 macrophages to M1. This was further confirmed by direct FetA addition to macrophages. Taken together, lipid-induced FetA from adipocytes is an efficient chemokine for macrophage migration and polarization. These findings open a new dimension for understanding obesity-induced inflammation.     

Adipocytes and preadipocytes promote the proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro

Obesity, a risk factor for colon cancer, is associated with elevated serum levels of leptin, a protein produced by adipocytes. The aim of the present study was to clarify the effects of adipose tissue on colon cancer proliferation by using cultured cell lines. To achieve this, colon cancer cells (CACO-2, T84, and HT29) were cocultured with adipose tissue, isolated mature adipocytes, and isolated preadipocytes in a three-dimensional collagen gel culture system. The adipocytes and preadipocytes used were isolated from C57BL/6J and leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. Proliferation of the cancer cells was evaluated by nuclear bromodeoxyuridine uptake. The adipose tissue, mature adipocytes, and preadipocytes isolated from C57BL/6J mice significantly increased the proliferation of the colon cancer cells. This trophic effect of mature adipocytes on the cancer cell lines was observed only for cells from lean littermates and not for those from ob/ob mice. In contrast, the trophic effect of preadipocytes was not abolished in ob/ob mice, and this finding was supported by the result that leptin had a trophic effect on cancer cells. In conclusion, adipocytes were able to enhance the proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro, partly via leptin, suggesting that adipose tissues, including mature adipocytes and preadipocytes, may promote the growth of colorectal cancer.     

Resistin concentrations in murine adipose tissue and serum measured by a new enzyme immunoassay

Objective: In an attempt to clarify the conflicting data on resistin mRNA expression and protein analysis by western blotting in adipose tissue and serum, we developed a sensitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for direct measurement of mouse resistin. Research Methods and Procedures: We developed polyclonal antibodies directed to the N (21 to 40) and C (79 to 91) termini of mouse resistin. Then, affinity‐purified anti‐C‐terminal resistin immunoglobin G (IgG) was biotinylated. ELISA was based on the sandwiching of antigen between antibody IgG coated on polystyrene plates and biotinylated antibody IgG. The bound biotinylated antibody was quantified with streptavidin‐linked horseradish peroxidase. Results: New ELISA can measure a concentration as low as 0.5 ng/mL of recombinant mouse resistin and is sensitive and specific enough to measure resistin protein in various adipose tissues and in sera. In normal mice, decreases in resistin concentrations in both white adipose tissue and serum were age dependent during 6 to 24 weeks of development. Resistin concentrations were significantly higher in omental adipose tissue in comparison with perirenal and abdominal adipose tissues and were 2‐ to 5‐fold higher in females than males during the growth period. ob/ob mice had significantly lower resistin concentrations than the control mice in both sera and the white adipose tissues, particularly in the omental fat. The treatment by testosterone, but not progesterone or β‐estradiol, in cultured adipocytes reduces resistin protein levels in a dose‐dependent manner. Discussion: New sensitive ELISA for mouse resistin clarified that the resistin concentrations in normal mice were markedly elevated in the omental adipose depots as compared with the perirenal and abdominal adipocyte depots and significantly elevated compared with adipose tissues in genetically obese mice.     

ABCD2 is abundant in adipose tissue and opposes the accumulation of dietary erucic acid (C22:1) in fat

The ATP binding cassette transporter, ABCD2 (D2), is a peroxisomal protein whose mRNA has been detected in the adrenal, brain, liver, and fat. Although the role of this transporter in neural tissues has been studied, its function in adipose tissue remains unexplored. The level of immunoreactive D2 in epididymal fat is >50-fold of that found in brain or adrenal. D2 is highly enriched in adipocytes and is upregulated during adipogenesis but is not essential for adipocyte differentiation or lipid accumulation in day 13.5 mouse embryonic fibroblasts isolated from D2-deficient (D2^−/−) mice. Although no differences were appreciated in differentiation percentage, total lipid accumulation was greater in D2^−/− adipocytes compared with the wild type. These results were consistent with in vivo observations in which no significant differences in adiposity or adipocyte diameter between wild-type and D2^−/− mice were observed. D2^−/− adipose tissue showed an increase in the abundance of 20:1 and 22:1 fatty acids. When mice were challenged with a diet enriched in erucic acid (22:1), this lipid accumulated in the adipose tissue in a gene-dosage-dependent manner. In conclusion, D2 is a sterol regulatory element binding protein target gene that is highly abundant in fat and opposes the accumulation of dietary lipids generally absent from the triglyceride storage pool within adipose tissue.     

Adipocyte-specific inactivation of Acyl-CoA synthetase fatty acid transport protein 4 (Fatp4) in mice causes adipose hypertrophy and alterations in metabolism of complex lipids under high fat diet

Fatp4 exhibits acyl-CoA synthetase activity and is thereby able to catalyze the activation of fatty acids for further metabolism. However, its actual function in most tissues remains unresolved, and its role in cellular fatty acid uptake is still controversial. To characterize Fatp4 functions in adipocytes in vivo, we generated a mouse line with adipocyte-specific inactivation of the Fatp4 gene (Fatp4(A-/-)). Under standard conditions mutant mice showed no phenotypical aberrance. Uptake of radiolabeled palmitic and lignoceric acid into adipose tissue of Fatp4(A-/-) mice was unchanged. When exposed to a diet enriched in long chain fatty acids, Fatp4(A-/-) mice gained more body weight compared with control mice, although they were not consuming more food. Pronounced obesity was accompanied by a thicker layer of subcutaneous fat and greater adipocyte circumference, although expression of genes involved in de novo lipogenesis was not changed. However, the increase in total fat mass was contrasted by a significant decrease in various phospholipids, sphingomyelin, and cholesteryl esters in adipocytes. Livers of Fatp4-deficient animals under a high fat diet exhibited a higher degree of fatty degeneration. Nonetheless, no evidence for changes in insulin sensitivity and adipose inflammation was found. In summary, the results of this study confirm that Fatp4 is not crucial for fatty acid uptake into adipocytes. Instead, under the condition of a diet enriched in long chain fatty acids, adipocyte-specific Fatp4 deficiency results in adipose hypertrophy and profound alterations in the metabolism of complex lipids.     

The expression of inhibin beta B is high in human adipocytes, reduced by weight loss, and correlates to factors implicated in metabolic disease

Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that produces and secretes adipokines. The aim of this study was to identify genes predominantly expressed in human subcutaneous adipocytes. For this purpose, an algorithm was developed and DNA microarray expression profiles from 33 human tissues and cell types were used to select genes. Inhibin beta B (INHBB; coding for the activin betaB subunit) was identified and high expression in adipocytes was confirmed by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. INHBB expression in adipose tissue was down regulated by diet-induced weight loss (p<0.001). Furthermore, INHBB expression was positively correlated to total (p<0.001) and subcutaneous (p<0.01) adipose tissue areas and serum levels of fasting insulin (p<0.01) and cholesterol (p<0.05). In conclusion, INHBB expression was high in human adipocytes, reduced by weight loss and adipose tissue INHBB mRNA levels correlated to metabolic risk factors. This suggests that activin B produced in adipocytes may play a role in the metabolic syndrome.