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- Pettersson-Klein, A. T., et al.
(author)
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Small molecule PGC-1 alpha 1 protein stabilizers induce adipocyte Ucp1 expression and uncoupled mitochondrial respiration
- 2018
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In: Molecular metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-8778. ; 9, s. 28-42
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha 1 (PGC-1 alpha 1) regulates genes involved in energy metabolism. Increasing adipose tissue energy expenditure through PGC-1 alpha 1 activation is potentially beneficial for systemic metabolism. Pharmacological PGC-1 alpha 1 activators could be valuable tools in the fight against obesity and metabolic disease. Finding such compounds has been challenging partly because PGC-1 alpha 1 is a transcriptional coactivator with no known ligand-binding properties. While, PGC-1 alpha 1 activation is regulated by several mechanisms, protein stabilization is a crucial limiting step due to its short half-life under unstimulated conditions.Methods: We designed a cell-based high-throughput screening system to identify PGC-1 alpha 1 protein stabilizers. Positive hits were tested for their ability to induce endogenous PGC-1 alpha 1 protein accumulation and activate target gene expression in brown adipocytes. Select compounds were analyzed for their effects on global gene expression and cellular respiration in adipocytes.Results: Among 7,040 compounds screened, we highlight four small molecules with high activity as measured by: PGC-1 alpha 1 protein accumulation, target gene expression, and uncoupled mitochondrial respiration in brown adipocytes.Conclusions: We identify compounds that induce PGC-1 alpha 1 protein accumulation and show that this increases uncoupled respiration in brown adipocytes. This screening platform establishes the foundation for a new class of therapeutics with potential use in obesity and associated disorders.
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- Schlittler, M, et al.
(author)
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Endurance exercise increases skeletal muscle kynurenine aminotransferases and plasma kynurenic acid in humans
- 2016
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In: American journal of physiology. Cell physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 1522-1563 .- 0363-6143. ; 310:10, s. C836-C840
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Physical exercise has emerged as an alternative treatment for patients with depressive disorder. Recent animal studies show that exercise protects from depression by increased skeletal muscle kynurenine aminotransferase (KAT) expression which shifts the kynurenine metabolism away from the neurotoxic kynurenine (KYN) to the production of kynurenic acid (KYNA). In the present study, we investigated the effect of exercise on kynurenine metabolism in humans. KAT gene and protein expression was increased in the muscles of endurance-trained subjects compared with untrained subjects. Endurance exercise caused an increase in plasma KYNA within the first hour after exercise. In contrast, a bout of high-intensity eccentric exercise did not lead to increased plasma KYNA concentration. Our results show that regular endurance exercise causes adaptations in kynurenine metabolism which can have implications for exercise recommendations for patients with depressive disorder.
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- Agudelo, LZ, et al.
(author)
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Skeletal muscle PGC-1α1 reroutes kynurenine metabolism to increase energy efficiency and fatigue-resistance
- 2019
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In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1, s. 2767-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The coactivator PGC-1α1 is activated by exercise training in skeletal muscle and promotes fatigue-resistance. In exercised muscle, PGC-1α1 enhances the expression of kynurenine aminotransferases (Kats), which convert kynurenine into kynurenic acid. This reduces kynurenine-associated neurotoxicity and generates glutamate as a byproduct. Here, we show that PGC-1α1 elevates aspartate and glutamate levels and increases the expression of glycolysis and malate-aspartate shuttle (MAS) genes. These interconnected processes improve energy utilization and transfer fuel-derived electrons to mitochondrial respiration. This PGC-1α1-dependent mechanism allows trained muscle to use kynurenine metabolism to increase the bioenergetic efficiency of glucose oxidation. Kat inhibition with carbidopa impairs aspartate biosynthesis, mitochondrial respiration, and reduces exercise performance and muscle force in mice. Our findings show that PGC-1α1 activates the MAS in skeletal muscle, supported by kynurenine catabolism, as part of the adaptations to endurance exercise. This crosstalk between kynurenine metabolism and the MAS may have important physiological and clinical implications.
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- Ferreira, Duarte M. S., et al.
(author)
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LIM and cysteine-rich domains 1 (LMCD1) regulates skeletal muscle hypertrophy, calcium handling, and force
- 2019
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In: Skeletal Muscle. - : BioMed Central. - 2044-5040. ; 9:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Skeletal muscle mass and strength are crucial determinants of health. Muscle mass loss is associated with weakness, fatigue, and insulin resistance. In fact, it is predicted that controlling muscle atrophy can reduce morbidity and mortality associated with diseases such as cancer cachexia and sarcopenia.Methods: We analyzed gene expression data from muscle of mice or human patients with diverse muscle pathologies and identified LMCD1 as a gene strongly associated with skeletal muscle function. We transiently expressed or silenced LMCD1 in mouse gastrocnemius muscle or in mouse primary muscle cells and determined muscle/cell size, targeted gene expression, kinase activity with kinase arrays, protein immunoblotting, and protein synthesis levels. To evaluate force, calcium handling, and fatigue, we transduced the flexor digitorum brevis muscle with a LMCD1-expressing adenovirus and measured specific force and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release in individual fibers. Finally, to explore the relationship between LMCD1 and calcineurin, we ectopically expressed Lmcd1 in the gastrocnemius muscle and treated those mice with cyclosporine A (calcineurin inhibitor). In addition, we used a luciferase reporter construct containing the myoregulin gene promoter to confirm the role of a LMCD1-calcineurin-myoregulin axis in skeletal muscle mass control and calcium handling.Results: Here, we identify LIM and cysteine-rich domains 1 (LMCD1) as a positive regulator of muscle mass, that increases muscle protein synthesis and fiber size. LMCD1 expression in vivo was sufficient to increase specific force with lower requirement for calcium handling and to reduce muscle fatigue. Conversely, silencing LMCD1 expression impairs calcium handling and force, and induces muscle fatigue without overt atrophy. The actions of LMCD1 were dependent on calcineurin, as its inhibition using cyclosporine A reverted the observed hypertrophic phenotype. Finally, we determined that LMCD1 represses the expression of myoregulin, a known negative regulator of muscle performance. Interestingly, we observed that skeletal muscle LMCD1 expression is reduced in patients with skeletal muscle disease.Conclusions: Our gain- and loss-of-function studies show that LMCD1 controls protein synthesis, muscle fiber size, specific force, Ca2+ handling, and fatigue resistance. This work uncovers a novel role for LMCD1 in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and function with potential therapeutic implications.
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- Massart, J, et al.
(author)
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Endurance exercise training-responsive miR-19b-3p improves skeletal muscle glucose metabolism
- 2021
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In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1, s. 5948-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue and remodels in response to exercise training. Using short RNA sequencing, we determine the miRNA profile of skeletal muscle from healthy male volunteers before and after a 14-day aerobic exercise training regime. Among the exercise training-responsive miRNAs identified, miR-19b-3p was selected for further validation. Overexpression of miR-19b-3p in human skeletal muscle cells increases insulin signaling, glucose uptake, and maximal oxygen consumption, recapitulating the adaptive response to aerobic exercise training. Overexpression of miR-19b-3p in mouse flexor digitorum brevis muscle enhances contraction-induced glucose uptake, indicating that miR-19b-3p exerts control on exercise training-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle. Potential targets of miR-19b-3p that are reduced after aerobic exercise training include KIF13A, MAPK6, RNF11, and VPS37A. Amongst these, RNF11 silencing potentiates glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle cells. Collectively, we identify miR-19b-3p as an aerobic exercise training-induced miRNA that regulates skeletal muscle glucose metabolism.
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- Moutinho, M, et al.
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Neuronal cholesterol metabolism increases dendritic outgrowth and synaptic markers via a concerted action of GGTase-I and Trk
- 2016
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In: Scientific reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6, s. 30928-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) is responsible for brain cholesterol elimination and therefore plays a crucial role in the control of brain cholesterol homeostasis. Altered CYP46A1 expression has been associated with several neurodegenerative diseases and changes in cognition. Since CYP46A1 activates small guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins (sGTPases), we hypothesized that CYP46A1 might be affecting neuronal development and function by activating tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk) receptors and promoting geranylgeranyl transferase-I (GGTase-I) prenylation activity. Our results show that CYP46A1 triggers an increase in neuronal dendritic outgrowth and dendritic protrusion density and elicits an increase of synaptic proteins in the crude synaptosomal fraction. Strikingly, all of these effects are abolished by pharmacological inhibition of GGTase-I activity. Furthermore, CYP46A1 increases Trk phosphorylation, its interaction with GGTase-I and the activity of GGTase-I, which is crucial for the enhanced dendritic outgrowth. Cholesterol supplementation studies indicate that cholesterol reduction by CYP46A1 is the necessary trigger for these effects. These results were confirmed in vivo, with a significant increase of p-Trk, pre- and postsynaptic proteins, Rac1 and decreased cholesterol levels, in crude synaptosomal fractions prepared from CYP46A1 transgenic mouse cortex. This work describes the molecular mechanisms by which neuronal cholesterol metabolism effectively modulates neuronal outgrowth and synaptic markers.
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