Major role of adipocyte prostaglandin E2 in lipolysis-induced macrophage recruitment

Obesity induces accumulation of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), which contribute to both local and systemic inflammation and modulate insulin sensitivity. Adipocyte lipolysis during fasting and weight loss also leads to ATM accumulation, but without proinflammatory activation suggesting distinct mechanisms of ATM recruitment. We examined the possibility that specific lipid mediators with anti-inflammatory properties are released from adipocytes undergoing lipolysis to induce macrophage migration. In the present study, we showed that conditioned medium (CM) from adipocytes treated with forskolin to stimulate lipolysis can induce migration of RAW 264.7 macrophages. In addition to FFAs, lipolytic stimulation increased release of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) and prostaglandin D₂ (PGD₂), reflecting cytosolic phospholipase A₂ α activation and enhanced cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 expression. Reconstituted medium with the anti-inflammatory PGE₂ potently induced macrophage migration while different FFAs and PGD₂ had modest effects. The ability of CM to induce macrophage migration was abolished by treating adipocytes with the COX2 inhibitor sc236 or by treating macrophages with the prostaglandin E receptor 4 antagonist AH23848. In fasted mice, macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue coincided with increases of PGE₂ levels and COX1 expression. Collectively, our data show that adipocyte-originated PGE₂ with inflammation suppressive properties plays a significant role in mediating ATM accumulation during lipolysis.     

Implications of proteasome inhibition: an enhanced macrophage phenotype

The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of the cellular proteasome on endotoxin-mediated activation of the macrophage. To study this role, THP-1 cells were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with selective cells being pretreated with the proteasome inhibitor, lactacystin or MG-132. LPS stimulation led to the phosphorylation and degradation of IRAK, followed by activation of JNK/SAPK, ERK 1/2, and p38. Subsequently, LPS induced the degradation of IkappaB, and the nuclear activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1. Activation of these pathways was associated with the production of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-alpha. Proteasome inhibition with either lactacystin or MG-132 attenuated LPS-induced IRAK degradation, and enhanced activation of JNK/SAPK, ERK 1/2, and p38. Proteasome inhibition, also, led to increased LPS-induced AP-1 activation, and attenuated LPS-induced IkappaB degradation resulting in abolished NF-kappaB activation. Proteasome inhibition led to significant modulation of LPS-induced cytokine production; increased IL-10, no change in IL-6, and decreased IL-8, and TNF-alpha. Thus, this study demonstrates that cellular proteasome is critical to regulation of LPS-induced signaling within the macrophage, and inhibition of the proteasome results in a conversion to an anti-inflammatory phenotype.     

The role of macrophage leptin receptor in aortic root lesion formation

Plasma leptin is often elevated in obese individuals, and previous studies have suggested leptin as a factor that links obesity and atherosclerosis. Because macrophages play a key role in atherogenesis and are responsive to leptin, we hypothesized that leptin increases aortic root lesion formation, in part, through macrophage leptin receptor (LepR). Three different bone marrow transplantation studies were conducted in which bone marrow, with or without LepR, was transplanted into lethally irradiated 1) LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR(-/-)) mice with moderate hyperleptinemia due to Western diet (WD) feeding, 2) LDLR(-/-) mice with WD feeding plus pharmacologically induced hyperleptinemia (daily injection of 125 microg leptin), or 3) obese, hyperleptinemic, LepR-deficient LDLR(-/-) (LepR(db/db);LDLR(-/-)) mice. Minor differences in plasma parameters such as cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin were observed in some groups; however, a consistent trend for the role of LepR on these parameters was not detected. In each of the studies, macrophage LepR expression did not have an effect on aortic root atherosclerotic lesion formation. These results suggest that nonhematopoietic cells may have a more significant role than macrophages in leptin-mediated effects on aortic root lesion formation.     

Alveolar macrophage activation and an emphysema-like phenotype in adiponectin-deficient mice

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived collectin that acts on a wide range of tissues including liver, brain, heart, and vascular endothelium. To date, little is known about the actions of adiponectin in the lung. Herein, we demonstrate that adiponectin is present in lung lining fluid and that adiponectin deficiency leads to increases in proinflammatory mediators and an emphysema-like phenotype in the mouse lung. Alveolar macrophages from adiponectin-deficient mice spontaneously display increased production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-12) activity. Consistent with these observations, we found that pretreatment of alveolar macrophages with adiponectin leads to TNF-alpha and MMP-12 suppression. Together, our findings show that adiponectin leads to macrophage suppression in the lung and suggest that adiponectin-deficient states may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory lung conditions such as emphysema.     

Longevity, lipotoxicity and leptin: the adipocyte defense against feasting and famine

In this review, we propose that actions of the lipid-lowering, apoptosis-inhibiting effects of certain "longevity genes" oppose the life-shortening consequences of lipotoxicity and lipoapoptosis. We note that lipotoxicity occurs whenever leptin action is deficient, or whenever satiety is overridden, as in forced or voluntary overfeeding ("supersizing"). The role of hyperleptinemia, we suggest, is to extend survival during famine by permitting the storage of surplus calories in adipocytes without concomitant injury to nonadipose tissues from ectopic lipid deposits. It achieves this lipid partitioning by (1) restraining the level of overnutrition so as not to exceed the available adipocyte storage space and (2) enhancing oxidation of any ectopic lipid overflow: The mechanisms of lipoapoptosis are discussed, and the possibility that metabolic syndrome is the human equivalent of rodent lipotoxicity is suggested.     

Direct and indirect effects of leptin on adipocyte metabolism

Leptin is hypothesized to function as a negative feedback signal in the regulation of energy balance. It is produced primarily by adipose tissue and circulating concentrations correlate with the size of body fat stores. Administration of exogenous leptin to normal weight, leptin responsive animals inhibits food intake and reduces the size of body fat stores whereas mice that are deficient in either leptin or functional leptin receptors are hyperphagic and obese, consistent with a role for leptin in the control of body weight. This review discusses the effect of leptin on adipocyte metabolism. Because adipocytes express leptin receptors there is the potential for leptin to influence adipocyte metabolism directly. Adipocytes also are insulin responsive and receive sympathetic innervation, therefore leptin can also modify adipocyte metabolism indirectly. Studies published to date suggest that direct activation of adipocyte leptin receptors has little effect on cell metabolism in vivo, but that leptin modifies adipocyte sensitivity to insulin to inhibit lipid accumulation. In vivo administration of leptin leads to a suppression of lipogenesis, an increase in triglyceride hydrolysis and an increase in fatty acid and glucose oxidation. Activation of central leptin receptors also contributes to the development of a catabolic state in adipocytes, but this may vary between different fat depots. Leptin reduces the size of white fat depots by inhibiting cell proliferation both through induction of inhibitory circulating factors and by contributing to sympathetic tone which suppresses adipocyte proliferation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Modulation of Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease.     

Sofalcone,an anti-ulcer chalcone derivative,suppresses inflammatory crosstalk between macrophages and adipocytes and adipocyte differentiation: Implication of heme-oxygenase-1 induction

Sofalcone, 2′-carboxymethoxy-4,4′-bis(3-methyl-2-butenyloxy)chalcone, has been used as an anti-ulcer agent, although its precise molecular mechanism has not been completely understood. In the current study, we tested the effects of sofalcone on the inflammatory crosstalk between macrophages and adipocytes and on the differentiation of pre-adipocytes. We found that sofalcone has a strong suppressive effect on the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 in the culture medium of a coculture system containing RAW264.7 macrophages and 3T3-F442A adipocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The suppressive effect of sofalcone on NO production was attenuated by treatment with tin-protoporphyrin (SnPP), a heme-oxygenase (HO)-1 inhibitor. Western blotting analysis showed that sofalcone increased HO-1 expression in both 3T3-F442A mature adipocytes and undifferentiated fibroblasts. Sofalcone also inhibited the differentiation of 3T3-F442A pre-adipocytes into adipocytes, which was restored by SnPP treatment. These results suggest that sofalcone has preferable properties for obesity or metabolic syndrome.     

HuR involvement in mitotic clonal expansion during acquisition of the adipocyte phenotype

In the nucleus HuR binds to mRNAs containing adenylate-uridylate rich elements in the 3′-untranslated region. HuR may influence expression of its ligand mRNA through regulation of polyadenylation, translocation of the message to the cytosol, stabilization of the mRNA and/or altering its translational efficiency. Suppression of HuR using siRNA resulted in an attenuation of the 3T3-L1 differentiation program, consistent with HuR control of the expression of mRNA ligand(s) critical to the differentiation process. In the present study, we begin to identify mRNA ligands of HuR whose regulated expression is necessary for adipogenesis.     

Implications of crosstalk between leptin and insulin signaling during the development of diet-induced obesity

Insulin and leptin play complementary roles in regulating the consumption, uptake, oxidation and storage of nutrients. Chronic consumption of diets that contain a high proportion of calories from saturated fat induces a progressive deterioration in function of both hormones. Certain rat lines and strains of mice are particularly sensitive to the obesogenic and diabetogenic effects of high fat diets, and have been used extensively to study the developmental progression of insulin and leptin resistance in relation to the increasing adiposity that is characteristic of their response to these diets. Some aspects of the diminished efficacy of each hormone are secondary to increased adiposity but a consensus is emerging to support the view that direct effects of dietary components or their metabolites, independent of the resulting obesity, play important roles in development of insulin and leptin resistance. In this minireview, we will examine the implications of crosstalk between leptin and insulin signaling during the development of diet-induced obesity, emphasizing potential interactions between pathways that occur among target sites, and exploring how these interactions may influence the progression of obesity and diabetes.     

Changes in adipocyte hormones leptin, resistin, and adiponectin in thyroid dysfunction

Thyroid hormones as well as the recently discovered secretory products of adipose tissue adiponectin and resistin take part in energy metabolism. To study the changes in the adipocyte hormones with changes in the thyroid functional status, we measured adiponectin, resistin, and leptin in 69 subjects with Graves' disease before and 32 patients at follow up after treatment for hyperthyroidism at hypothyroid state. Concentrations of serum adiponectin and resistin were higher in hyperthyroid state than in hypothyroid state (adiponectin: 5.73 +/- 1.1 vs. 3.0 +/- 0.5 ng/ml, P = 0.03) (resistin: 6.378 +/- 0.6 vs. 5.81 +/- 0.57 ng/ml, P < 0.0001). Resistin levels correlate positively with free t4(r = 0.37, P < 0.01), free t3 levels(r = 0.33, P < 0.01) and negatively with TSH(r = -0.22, P < 0.05). Adiponectin levels correlate with free t4(r = 0.33, P < 0.01) and free t3 (r = 0.44, P < 0.01). Though the adiponectin levels did not correlate with leptin or resistin levels, strong positive correlation of both resistin and adiponectin with thyroid hormones is noted. Serum levels of leptin did not change with change in the thyroid functional status (leptin: 53.38 +/- 2.47 vs. 55.10 +/- 2.58 NS). Leptin levels did not correlate with resistin and adiponectin. We conclude that thyroid function has effect on adipocyte hormones adiponectin and resistin but not leptin.     

Adipose tissue as an endocrine organ: role of leptin and adiponectin in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases

Obesity, the most common nutritional disorder in industrial countries, is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, the molecular basis linking obesity with cardiovascular disturbances have not yet been fully clarified. Recent advances in the biology of adipose tissue indicate that it is not simply an energy storage organ, but also a secretory organ, producing a variety of bioactive substances, including leptin and adiponectin, that may influence the function as well as the structural integrity of the cardiovascular system. Leptin, besides being a satiety signal for the central nervous system and to be related to insulin and glucose metabolism, may also play an important role in regulating vascular tone because of the widespread distribution of functional receptors in the vascular cells. On the other hand, the more recently discovered protein, adiponectin, seems to play a protective role in experimental models of vascular injury, in probable relation to its ability to suppress the attachment of monocytes to endothelial cells, which is an early event in the atherosclerotic process. There is already considerable evidence linking altered production of some adipocyte hormones with the cardiovascular complications of obesity. Therefore, the knowledge of alterations in the endocrine function of adipose tissue may help to further understand the high cardiovascular risk associated with obesity.     

Tumor-exosomes and leukocyte activation: an ambivalent crosstalk

Background

ADP-ribosylation is a posttranslational modification catalyzed in cells by ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTD or PARP enzymes). The ARTD family consists of 17 members. Some ARTDs modify their substrates by adding ADP-ribose in an iterative process, thereby synthesizing ADP-ribose polymers, the best-studied example being ARTD1/PARP1. Other ARTDs appear to mono-ADP-ribosylate their substrates and are unable to form polymers. The founding member of this latter subclass is ARTD10/PARP10, which we identified as an interaction partner of the nuclear oncoprotein MYC. Biochemically ARTD10 uses substrate-assisted catalysis to modify its substrates. Our previous studies indicated that ARTD10 may shuttle between the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. We have now addressed this in more detail.

Results

We have characterized the subcellular localization of ARTD10 using live-cell imaging techniques. ARTD10 shuttles between the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments. When nuclear, ARTD10 can interact with MYC as measured by bimolecular fluorescence complementation. The shuttling is controlled by a Crm1-dependent nuclear export sequence and a central ARTD10 region that promotes nuclear localization. The latter lacks a classical nuclear localization sequence and does not promote full nuclear localization. Rather this non-conventional nuclear localization sequence results in an equal distribution of ARTD10 between the cytoplasmic and the nuclear compartments. ARTD10 forms discrete and dynamic bodies primarily in the cytoplasm but also in the nucleus. These contain poly-ubiquitin and co-localize in part with structures containing the poly-ubiquitin receptor p62/SQSTM1. The co-localization depends on the ubiquitin-associated domain of p62, which mediates interaction with poly-ubiquitin.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that ARTD10 is a highly dynamic protein. It shuttles between the nuclear and cytosolic compartments dependent on a classical nuclear export sequence and a domain that mediates nuclear uptake. Moreover ARTD10 forms discrete bodies that exchange subunits rapidly. These bodies associate at least in part with the poly-ubiquitin receptor p62. Because this protein is involved in the uptake of cargo into autophagosomes, our results suggest a link between the formation of ARTD10 bodies and autophagy.

Lay abstract

Post-translational modifications refer to changes in the chemical appearance of proteins and occur, as the name implies, after proteins have been synthesized. These modifications frequently affect the behavior of proteins, including alterations in their activity or their subcellular localization. One of these modifications is the addition of ADP-ribose to a substrate from the cofactor NAD⁺. The enzymes responsible for this reaction are ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTDs or previously named PARPs). Presently we know very little about the role of mono-ADP-ribosylation of proteins that occurs in cells. We identified ARTD10, a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase, as an interaction partner of the oncoprotein MYC. In this study we have analyzed how ARTD10 moves within a cell. By using different live-cell imaging technologies that allow us to follow the position of ARTD10 molecules over time, we found that ARTD10 shuttles constantly in and out of the nucleus. In the cytosol ARTD10 forms distinct structures or bodies that themselves are moving within the cell and that exchange ARTD10 subunits rapidly. We have identified the regions within ARTD10 that are required for these movements. Moreover we defined these bodies as structures that interact with p62. This protein is known to play a role in bringing other proteins to a structure referred to as the autophagosome, which is involved in eliminating debris in cells. Thus our work suggests that ARTD10 might be involved in and is regulated by ADP-riboslyation autophagosomal processes.     

Ethanol-induced macrophage apoptosis: the role of TGF-beta

Both clinical and laboratory reports indicate that ethanol addicts are prone to recurrent infections. We hypothesize that ethanol promotes macrophage apoptosis, thus compromising the efficiency of the mononuclear phagocyte system in dealing with infection. We studied the effect of ethanol on macrophage apoptosis. Human monocytes isolated from healthy subjects after an alcohol drinking binge showed enhanced apoptosis (before, 1.2 +/- 0.3% vs after, 28.4 +/- 3.7% apoptotic cells/field). Peritoneal macrophages harvested from ethanol-treated rats also showed increased (p < 0.0001) apoptosis. DNA isolated from peritoneal macrophages of ethanol-treated rats displayed integer multiples of 200 base pairs (ladder pattern). Furthermore, macrophages harvested from ethanol-treated rats had an enhanced expression as well as accumulation of TGF-beta. In in vitro studies, ethanol promoted apoptosis of human monocytes as well as rat peritoneal macrophages. In addition, ethanol enhanced apoptosis of murine macrophages (J774) in a time-dependent manner. The ethanol-induced apoptosis was amplified by LPS and partly attenuated (p < 0.001) by anti-TGF-beta Ab. TGF-beta also promoted macrophage apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ethanol enhanced TGF-beta protein production by macrophages. These results indicate that ethanol promotes macrophage apoptosis. This effect of ethanol seems to be partly mediated through the generation of TGF-beta by macrophages.     

Regulation of ATGL expression mediated by leptin in vitro in porcine adipocyte lipolysis

Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), as an adipose-enriched protein, is able to hydrolyze triglycerides and plays an important part in triglyceride lipolysis of fat tissue. Leptin, an adipocyte cytokine, can increase the fat decomposition process. Many phenomena indicate that ATGL has a close relationship with leptin’s promoting the hydrolysis of triglycerides. However, the regulatory mechanism of ATGL in leptin’s promoting fat hydrolysis has not been directly and systematically studied yet. This study demonstrated that ATGL was expressed in vitro by leptin regulation. The amount of ATGL mRNA increased and the amount of ATGL protein decreased based on a dose-dependent manner when leptin concentrations ranged from 5 to 50 ng/ml were used to treat fully differentiated porcine adipocytes for 3 h. In addition, this study revealed that JAK-STAT and MAPK signaling pathways, as well as PPARγ all played important roles in the ATGL expression mediated by leptin.