| Abstract: | Major urinary protein-1 (MUP-1) is a low molecular weight secreted protein
produced predominantly from the liver. Structurally it belongs to the
lipocalin family, which carries small hydrophobic ligands such as pheromones.
However, the physiological functions of MUP-1 remain poorly understood. Here
we provide evidence demonstrating that MUP-1 is an important player in
regulating energy expenditure and metabolism in mice. Both microarray and
real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that the MUP-1 mRNA abundance in the liver
of db/db obese mice was reduced by ～30-fold compared
with their lean littermates, whereas this change was partially reversed by
treatment with the insulin-sensitizing drug rosiglitazone. In both dietary and
genetic obese mice, the circulating concentrations of MUP-1 were markedly
decreased compared with the lean controls. Chronic elevation of circulating
MUP-1 in db/db mice, using an osmotic pump-based protein
delivery system, increased energy expenditure and locomotor activity, raised
core body temperature, and decreased glucose intolerance as well as insulin
resistance. At the molecular level, MUP-1-mediated improvement in metabolic
profiles was accompanied by increased expression of genes involved in
mitochondrial biogenesis, elevated mitochondrial oxidative capacity, decreased
triglyceride accumulation, and enhanced insulin-evoked Akt signaling in
skeletal muscle but not in liver. Altogether, these findings raise the
possibility that MUP-1 deficiency might contribute to the metabolic
dysregulation in obese/diabetic mice, and suggest that the beneficial
metabolic effects of MUP-1 are attributed in part to its ability in increasing
mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle.The liver is the primary organ for carbohydrate and lipid metabolism,
including gluconeogenesis, glycogenesis, cholesterol biosynthesis, and
lipogenesis (1,
2). These metabolic events in
the liver are tightly controlled by several pancreatic hormones including
insulin and glucagon. In addition, the liver itself is one of the largest
endocrine organs in the body, secreting numerous humoral factors involved in
the regulation of systemic glucose and lipid homeostasis. The importance of
the liver-derived humoral factors in maintaining glucose metabolism is
highlighted by the observation that glucose uptake by skeletal muscle is
severely impaired by surgical or pharmacological blockade of hepatic
parasympathetic nerves (3). In
the past several years, a number of liver-derived humoral metabolic factors,
including bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP-9)
(4), fibroblast growth factor
21 (FGF21)
(5–7),
retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4)
(8,
9), adropin
(10), and angiopoietin-like
proteins (Angptl) 3, 4, and 6
(11–13),
have been identified, and their roles in glucose and lipid metabolism have
been characterized in great detail. Noticeably, BMP-9, FGF21, and Angptl6
exhibit potent insulin-sensitizing and glucose-lowering effects in animal
models, and they have been proposed as potential candidates for the treatment
of insulin resistance and type II diabetes
(4,
6,
7,
13).To search for novel liver-derived secretory factors involved in the
regulation of glucose homeostasis, we used microarray analysis as a global
screening for systematic identification of genes differentially expressed in
the liver of C57BLKS db/db mice (a genetically inherited
diabetic mouse model that is characterized by severe insulin resistance and
hyperglycemia) and their lean littermates. We found that the mRNA level of
mouse major urinary protein-1
(MUP-1)2 was markedly
down-regulated in db/db mice, and the change was largely
normalized upon treatment with the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone. MUP-1 is
a small molecular weight secreted protein abundantly expressed in the liver
(14). Its expression in the
liver is enhanced by administration of the hepatotoxic agent
dimethylnitrosamine (15) but
is reduced by interleukin 6-induced acute phase response in mice
(16). Like other members of
the MUP family, MUP-1 has been proposed to act as a pheromone-binding protein
in urine (17), thereby
accelerating puberty and promoting aggressive behavior in male mice. However,
the precise functions of MUPs have yet to be determined.MUP-1 belongs to the lipocalin superfamily, the members of which share a
common tertiary structure with a cup-shaped hydrophobic ligand binding pocket
surrounded by an eight-stranded β-barrel
(18,
19). This structure confers
upon lipocalins the ability to bind and transport a wide variety of small
lipophilic substances, including fatty acids, cholesterols, prostaglandins,
and pheromones. Noticeably, several members of the lipocalin family, including
RBP4, lipocalin-2, and adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP), have
recently been shown to be important mediators of obesity-related insulin
resistance and glucose intolerance
(8,
20–22).
Unlike MUP-1, the expression of RBP4, lipocalin-2, and A-FABP are elevated in
obesity and diabetes (9,
20,
23).In this study, we investigated the metabolic role of MUP-1 in mice. Our
results demonstrated that MUP-1 was abundantly present in the circulation. In
genetic and dietary obese mouse models, the serum and urine concentrations of
MUP-1 were remarkably decreased. Replenishment of recombinant MUP-1 led to
improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, as well as increased
energy expenditure and locomotor activity in db/db diabetic
mice. Our data suggest that MUP-1 not only serves as a circulating biomarker,
negatively correlated with obesity-related metabolic disorders, but also plays
an active role in regulating energy homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in
mice. |
