bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate modulates tissue protein metabolism in burn-injured rats.
Authors: Le Boucher J , Obled C , Farges M C , Cynober L
Published: December 2017

Enterally administered ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) displays whole body anabolic and anticatabolic properties in trauma situations, especially after burn injury. The aim of this study was to get information about the anabolic effect of OKG at tissue level. Thirty-six male Wistar rats (95 +/- 7 g) were allocated to four groups. Eighteen rats were burned by water (20% body surface area). After a 24-h fast (day 0-day 1), rats were enterally refed for 48 h (day 1-day 3) by use of Osmolite as a low-calorie, low-nitrogen regimen supplemented with either 5 g OKG.kg-1.day-1 (B-OKG) or an equivalent amount of nitrogen in the form of glycine (B-Gly). Nonburned pair-fed controls treated with glycine (C-Gly) and healthy rats fed ad libitum were also studied. On day 3, protein synthesis rates (large dose method), free glutamine concentrations, and total protein content were assessed in tissues. Myofibrillar degradation was assessed by measuring urinary 3-methylhistidine excretion daily from day 0 to day 3. With regard to tissue protein synthesis rates, we demonstrate for the first time that OKG displays anabolic properties in the jejunum [fractional synthesis rate (FSR) in %/day, ad libitum = 101.9 +/- 4.0; C-Gly = 84.7 +/- 3.1, P < 0.01 vs. ad libitum; B-Gly = 84.5 +/- 1.6, P < 0.01 vs. ad libitum; B-OKG = 97.5 +/- 3.2, P < 0.05 vs. C-Gly and B-Gly] as well as in the liver (FSR in %/day, ad libitum = 75.9 +/- 3.7; C-Gly = 53.2 +/- 3.8, P < 0.01 vs. ad libitum; B-Gly = 70.2 +/- 2.0, P < 0.01 vs. C-Gly; B-OKG = 98.7 +/- 4.6, P < 0.01 vs. ad libitum, C-Gly and B-Gly), the latter having previously been observed in vitro. Furthermore, we confirm that OKG inhibits myofibrillar degradation, counteracts the trauma-induced fall of muscle glutamine pool, and induces an increase in glutamine concentration in the jejunum.
Cell cycle regulation of membrane glucocorticoid receptor in CCRF-CEM human ALL cells: correlation to apoptosis.
Authors: Sackey F N , Watson C S , Gametchu B
Published: December 2017

The human leukemic cell line (CCRF-CEM) and a subline enriched for the plasma membrane-resident glucocorticoid receptor (mGR) were studied for the influence of the cell cycle on the expression and function of mGR. Three synchronization procedures (double thymidine, colcemid, and combined thymidine-colcemid blocks) were used. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry simultaneously assessed antibody-tagged mGR and DNA. In addition, mGR was quantitated and characterized by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. Apoptosis was assayed by DNA fragmentation (TUNEL assay) and by cell survival (trypan blue exclusion). All synchronization procedures demonstrated that progression from DNA replication (S) to the second growth phase and mitosis (G2/M) leads to cells having the highest levels of mGR expression and being highly glucocorticoid sensitive in the apoptosis assays: 32 and 80% sensitivity of wild type and mGR-enriched cells, respectively, compared with 12 and 30% sensitivity in asynchronous cells. Therefore, mGR expression appears to be cell cycle regulated, with its highest expression at late S-G2/M, when the cells are most sensitive to the lymphocytolytic effects of glucocorticoids.
Myosin light-chain phosphorylation controls insulin secretion at a proximal step in the secretory cascade
Authors: Iida Yuji , Senda Takao , Matsukawa Yoshihisa , Onoda Koji , Miyazaki Jun-Ichi , Sakaguchi Hiromi , Nimura Yuji , Hidaka Hiroyoshi , Niki Ichiro
Published: December 2017

The aim of this study was to investigate how insulin secretion is controlled by phosphorylation of the myosin light chain (MLC). Ca2+-evoked insulin release from pancreatic islets permeabilized with streptolysin O was inhibited by different monoclonal antibodies against myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) to an extent parallel to their inhibition of purified MLCK. Anti-MLCK antibody also inhibited insulin release caused by the stable GTP analog guanosine 5′- O-(3-thiodiphosphate), even at a substimulatory concentration (0.1 μM) of Ca2+. Free Ca2+increased MLC peptide phosphorylation by β-cell extracts in vitro. In contrast to the phosphorylation by purified MLCK or by calmodulin (CaM) kinase II, the activity partially remained with the β-cell under nonstimulatory Ca2+(0.1 μM) conditions. The MLCK inhibitor ML-9 inhibited the activity in the β-cell with both substimulatory and stimulatory Ca2+, whereas KN-62, an inhibitor of CaM kinase II, only exerted an influence in the latter case. ML-9 decreased intracellular granule movement in MIN6 cells under basal and acetylcholine-stimulated conditions. We propose that MLC phosphorylation may modulate translocation of secretory granules, resulting in enhanced insulin secretion.
Rat amylin-(8—37) enhances insulin action and alters lipid metabolism in normal and insulin-resistant rats
Authors: Hettiarachchi M. , Chalkley S. , Furler S. M. , Choong Y.-S. , Heller M. , Cooper G. J. S. , Kraegen E. W.
Published: December 2017

To clarify roles of amylin, we investigated metabolic responses to rat amylin-(8—37), a specific amylin antagonist, in normal and insulin-resistant, human growth hormone (hGH)-infused rats. Fasting conscious rats were infused with saline or hGH, each with and without amylin-(8—37) (0.125 μmol/h), over 5.75 h. At 3.75 h, a hyperinsulinemic (100 mU/l) clamp with bolus 2-deoxy-d-[3H]glucose and [14C]glucose was started. hGH infusion led to prompt (2- to 3-fold) basal hyperamylinemia ( P < 0.02) and hyperinsulinemia. Amylin-(8—37) reduced plasma insulin ( P < 0.001) and enhanced several measures of whole body and muscle insulin sensitivity ( P < 0.05) in both saline- and hGH-infused rats. Amylin-(8—37) corrected hGH-induced liver insulin resistance, increased basal plasma triglycerides and lowered plasma nonesterified fatty acids in both groups, and reduced muscle triglyceride and total long-chain acyl-CoA content in saline-treated rats ( P < 0.05). In isolated soleus muscle, amylin-(8—37) blocked amylin-induced inhibition of glycogen synthesis but had no effect in the absence of amylin. Thus 1) hyperamylinemia accompanies insulin resistance induced by hGH infusion; 2) amylin-(8—37) increases whole body and muscle insulin sensitivity and consistently reduces basal insulin levels in normal and hGH-induced insulin-resistant rats; and 3) amylin-(8—37) elicits a significant alteration of in vivo lipid metabolism. These findings support a role of amylin in modulating insulin action and suggest that this could be mediated by effects on lipid metabolism.
Albumin and fibrinogen syntheses increase while muscle protein synthesis decreases in head-injured patients
Authors: Mansoor Odile , Cayol Marc , Gachon Pierre , Boirie Yves , Schoeffler Pierre , Obled Christiane , Beaufrère Bernard
Published: December 2017

The effect of trauma on protein metabolism was investigated in the whole body, muscle, and liver in severely head-injured patients presenting an acute inflammatory response by comparison to fed control subjects receiving a similar diet. Nonoxidative leucine disposal (an index of whole body protein synthesis) and muscle, albumin, and fibrinogen synthesis were determined by means of a primed, continuous infusion ofl-[1-13C]leucine. Nonoxidative leucine disposal increased by 28% in the patients ( P < 0.02). Fractional muscle protein synthesis rate decreased by 50% ( P < 0.01) after injury. Fractional and absolute fribrinogen synthesis rates were multiplied by two and nine, respectively, after injury ( P< 0.001). Albumin levels were lower in patients (25.2 ± 1.2 g/l, means ± SE) than in controls (33.7 ± 1.2 g/l, P < 0.001). However, fractional albumin synthesis rates were increased by 60% in patients (11.4 ± 1.0%/day) compared with controls (7.3 ± 0.4%/day, P < 0.01). Therefore, 1) head trauma induces opposite and large changes of protein synthesis in muscle and acute-phase hepatic proteins, probably mediated by cytokines, glucocorticoids, and other stress hormones, and 2) in these patients, hypoalbuminemia is not due to a depressed albumin synthesis.
In humans at least 75% of insulin secretion arises from punctuated insulin secretory bursts
Authors: Pørksen Niels , Nyholm Birgit , Veldhuis Johannes D. , Butler Peter C. , Schmitz Ole
Published: December 2017

Detection of insulin secretory bursts in peripheral blood is hampered by hepatic insulin extraction, dilution in the systemic insulin pool, and time-delayed damping of secretory burst amplitude. Previous studies in dogs in vivo and other experiments in vitro have shown that ∼70% of all insulin is released within distinct insulin secretory bursts. To establish a method for detection and quantification of pulsatile insulin release in humans on the basis of peripheral insulin concentration measurements, we used a high-sensitivity, -specificity, and -precision insulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and optimized an established deconvolution methodology to quantify the frequency, mass, and amplitude of insulin secretory bursts as well as to estimate the relative contribution of pulsatile insulin release to overall insulin secretion. By use of minutely sampled serum insulin concentrations measured by a highly sensitive insulin ELISA, and insulin kinetics of 2.8 min (first half-life), 5.0 min (second half-life), and a fractional slow component of 0.28, the deconvolved insulin secretion rates in 20 healthy subjects during glucose infusion (4.5 mg ⋅ kg−1⋅ min−1) could be resolved into a series (4.7 ± 0.1 min/pulse) of approximately symmetric insulin secretory bursts with a mean mass of 87 ± 12 pmol ⋅ l−1⋅ pulse−1and a mean amplitude (maximal release rate) of 35 ± 4.7 pmol ⋅ l−1⋅ min−1. The relative contribution of pulsatile to overall insulin secretion was 75 ± 1.6% (range 59–85%). We conclude that in vivo insulin secretion in humans during nominal glucose stimulation consists of a series of punctuated insulin secretory bursts accounting for ≥75% of total insulin secretion.
Role of cAMP and calcium influx in endothelin-1-induced ANP release in rat cardiomyocytes
Authors: Rebsamen M. C. , Church D. J. , Morabito D. , Vallotton M. B. , Lang U.
Published: December 2017

The mechanism of endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) release was studied in neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. These cells expressed a single high-affinity class of ETAreceptor (dissociation constant = 54 ± 18 pM, n = 3), but no ETBreceptors. Incubation of cardiomyocytes with ET-1 led to concentration-dependent ANP release and prostacyclin production. ET-1-induced ANP release was affected by neither protein kinase C (PKC) inhibition or downregulation nor by cyclooxygenase inhibition, indicating that ET-1-stimulated ANP secretion is not a PKC-mediated, prostaglandin-dependent process. Furthermore, ET-1 significantly stimulated adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) production and increased cytosolic calcium concentration in these preparations. Both ET-1-induced calcium influx and ANP release were decreased by the cAMP antagonist Rp-cAMPS, the Rp diastereoisomer of cAMP. Moreover, ET-1-induced ANP secretion was strongly inhibited in the presence of nifedipine as well as in the absence of extracellular calcium. Thus our results suggest that ET-1 stimulates ANP release in ventricular cardiomyocytes via an ETAreceptor-mediated pathway involving cAMP formation and activation of a nifedipine-sensitive calcium channel.
Sarcolemmal glucose transport and GLUT-4 translocation during exercise are diminished by endurance training
Authors: Richter Erik A. , Jensen Palle , Kiens Bente , Kristiansen Søren
Published: December 2017

Glucose utilization during exercise of a given submaximal power output is decreased after endurance training. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanisms behind this phenomenon by utilizing the sarcolemmal giant vesicle technique. Eight healthy young untrained men endurance trained one thigh for 3 wk. They then exercised both thighs simultaneously at the same work load (77% of peak O2 uptake of the untrained thigh) for 40 min. Training increased muscle GLUT-4 protein by 70% ( P < 0.05). Glucose uptake during exercise was 38% lower ( P < 0.05) in the trained (T) thigh than in the untrained (UT) thigh because of both a lower ( P < 0.05) glucose extraction and blood flow in T. During exercise, sarcolemmal GLUT-4 protein content and glucose transport capacity increased significantly less in T than in UT muscle, and muscle glucose concentration was lower in T compared with UT ( P < 0.05) at the end of exercise. It is concluded that, despite a large increase in muscle GLUT-4 with endurance training, exercise of a given submaximal power output increases muscle glucose uptake less in T than in UT muscle. It is suggested that the mechanism behind this phenomenon is blunted exercise-induced translocation of GLUT-4 to the sarcolemma, resulting in a blunted increase in sarcolemmal glucose transport in T muscle.
Differential effects of thyroid hormone on renin secretion, content, and mRNA in juxtaglomerular cells
Authors: Ichihara Atsuhiro , Kobori Hiroyuki , Miyashita Yutaka , Hayashi Matsuhiko , Saruta Takao
Published: December 2017

The effects of thyroid hormone on renin secretion, renin content, and renin mRNA levels in juxtaglomerular (JG) cells harvested from rat kidneys were determined by radioimmunoassays and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Despite a lack of immediate effect, incubation with triiodothyronine dose dependently increased renin secretion during the first 6 h and elevated renin content and renin mRNA levels during the subsequent period. Simultaneous incubation with triiodothyronine and the calcium ionophore A-23187 abolished the increase in renin secretion and attenuated the increase in renin content but did not affect the increase in renin mRNA levels. During simultaneous incubation with triiodothyronine and the adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ-22536 or membrane-soluble guanosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), the increases in renin secretion, content, and mRNA were similar to those observed in the presence of triiodothyronine alone, except for a cGMP-induced attenuation of the increase in renin secretion. These findings suggest that thyroid hormone stimulates renin secretion by JG cells through the calcium-dependent mechanism, whereas the stimulation of renin gene expression by thyroid hormone does not involve intracellular calcium or cyclic nucleotides.
Acute effects of thyroid hormones on the production of adrenal cAMP and corticosterone in male rats
Authors: Lo Ming-Jae , Kau Mei-Mei , Chen Yen-Hao , Tsai Shiow-Chwen , Chiao Yu-Chung , Chen Jiann-Jong , Liaw Charlie , Lu Chien-Chen , Lee Bu-Pian , Chen Si-Chih , Fang Victor S. , Ho Low-Tone , Wang Paulus S.
Published: December 2017

The acute effects of thyroid hormones on glucocorticoid secretion were studied. Venous blood samples were collected from male rats after they received intravenous 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) or thyroxine (T4). Zona fasciculata-reticularis (ZFR) cells were treated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), T3, T4, ACTH plus T3, or ACTH plus T4 at 37°C for 2 h. Corticosterone concentrations in plasma and cell media, and also adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) production in ZFR cells in the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, were determined. The effects of thyroid hormones on the activities of steroidogenic enzymes of ZFR cells were measured by the amounts of intermediate steroidal products separated by thin-layer chromatography. Administration of T3 and T4 suppressed the basal and the ACTH-stimulated levels of plasma corticosterone. In ZFR cells, both thyroid hormones inhibited ACTH-stimulated corticosterone secretion, but the basal corticosterone was inhibited only with T3>10−10 M or T4>10−8 M. Likewise, T3 or T4 at 10−7 M inhibited the basal- and ACTH-stimulated levels of intracellular cAMP. Physiological doses of T3 and T4 decreased the activities of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 21-hydroxylase, and 11β-hydroxylase. These results suggest that thyroid hormones counteract ACTH in adrenal steroidogenesis through their inhibition of cAMP production in ZFR cells.
Gluconeogenesis measured with [U-13C]glucose and mass isotopomer analysis of apoB-100 amino acids in pigs
Authors: Wykes Linda J. , Jahoor Farook , Reeds Peter J.
Published: December 2017

Infant pigs (8.5 kg) were fasted for 16 h and infused for 6 h with [U-13C]glucose. The fractional abundances of all13C mass isotopomers of plasma glucose, lactate, and pyruvate and of plasma, hepatic, and very low density lipoprotein apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100) alanine, glutamate, and aspartate were measured. The ratios of [13C3]aspartate, [13C3]glutamate, and [13C3]alanine in apoB-100 were used to estimate the positional equilibrium of [13C3]oxaloacetate, the fractional contribution of pyruvate carboxylase to the hepatic oxaloacetate flux, and the activity of hepatic pyruvate dehydrogenase. The values were compared with those based on glucose labeling and previously published equations. The two methods [Katz and Lee method (J. Katz, P. A. Wals., and W.-N. P. Lee. J. Biol. Chem. 264: 12994–13001, 1989) and apoB method] gave similar estimates of the positional equilibrium of [13C3]oxaloacetate (0.59, Katz and Lee method; 0.61, apoB method) but slightly different estimates of the contribution of pyruvate carboxylase to the oxaloacetate flux (0.36, Katz and Lee; 0.31 apoB). Gluconeogenesis apparently contributed between 71 (Katz and Lee method) and 80% (apoB method) of the glucose entry rate (25 μmol ⋅ kg−1⋅ min−1), and pyruvate dehydrogenase contributed 20% of the hepatic acetyl-CoA. We conclude that the labeling of aspartate in apoB-100 provides a good estimate of the isotopomer distribution in hepatic oxaloacetate but may underestimate the absolute isotopic enrichment by 50%.
A novel13C NMR method to assess intracellular glucose concentration in muscle, in vivo
Authors: Cline Gary W. , Jucker Beat M. , Trajanoski Zlatko , Rennings Alexander J. M. , Shulman Gerald I.
Published: December 2017

Intracellular glucose concentration in skeletal muscle of awake rats was determined under conditions of hyperglycemic (10.2 ± 0.6 mM) hyperinsulinemia (∼1,200 pM) and hyperglycemic (20.8 ± 1.5 mM) hypoinsulinemia (<12 pM) by use of13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy during a prime-constant infusion of [1-13C]glucose and [1-13C]mannitol with either insulin (10 mU ⋅ kg−1⋅ min−1) or somatostatin (1.0 μg ⋅ kg−1⋅ min−1). Intracellular glucose was calculated as the difference between the concentrations of total tissue glucose (calculated from the in vivo13C NMR spectrum with mannitol as an internal concentration standard) and extracellular glucose, corrected by the ratio of intra- and extracellular water space. Extracellular concentration was corrected for an interstitial fluid-to-plasma glucose concentration gradient of 0.83 ± 0.07, determined by open-flow microperfusion. The mean ratio of intra- to extracellular glucose space, determined from the relative NMR signal intensities and concentrations of mannitol and total creatine, was 9.2 ± 1.1 (hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemia, n = 10), and 9.0 ± 1.7 (hyperglycemic hypoinsulinemia, n= 7). Mean muscle intracellular glucose concentration was <0.07 mM under hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic conditions ( n = 10) and 0.32 ± 0.06 mM under hyperglycemic-hypoinsulinemic conditions ( n = 7). This method is noninvasive and should prove useful for resolving the question of whether glucose transport or phosphorylation is responsible for the reduced rate of muscle glycogen synthesis observed in diabetic subjects.
Human syncytiotrophoblast NPY receptors are located on BBM and activate PLC-to-PKC axis
Authors: Robidoux Jacques , Simoneau Lucie , St-Pierre Serge , Ech-Chadli Hafid , Lafond Julie
Published: December 2017

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is abundant in plasma and amniotic fluid of women throughout pregnancy, during which its involvement in placental hormonogenesis has been proposed. In accordance with its putative role, the aim of this study was to characterize the human placental syncytiotrophoblast receptivity to NPY. Thus we performed this study on brush-border membranes (BBM) and basal plasma membranes (BPM). Specific125I-labeled NPY (125I-NPY) binding to BBM was rapid (20 min), saturable, with a maximum binding capacity of 604 ± 100 fmol/mg protein, and of high affinity, with a dissociation constant of 11 ± 3 nM. No saturable binding could be shown in BPM. The rank order of affinity of NPY and related peptides to compete for125I-NPY binding sites was peptide YY (PYY) > NPY = [Leu31,Pro34]NPY >13–36NPY >> pancreatic polypeptide (PP). It is noteworthy that PYY displaced only 45% of the binding sites. In BBM, both NPY and PYY were potent phospholipase C (PLC) stimulators, leading to a four- to fivefold increase of control phosphodiesterase activity. The latter effect could be prevented by preincubation of membranes with 5 μM U-73122, a known inhibitor of G protein-linked receptor activation of PLC-β. Furthermore, 5 μM BIBP-3226, a Y1-receptor antagonist, shifted both dose-response curves to the right in a similar fashion for both peptides. In accordance with the PLC stimulation, both peptides also induced stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC) activity, which could be partially but additively prevented by U-73122 and LY-294002, a selective inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K). Taken together, these data suggest that placental and blood-derived NPY binds to a mixed population of receptors composed of Y1and Y3subtypes on the maternal side of the syncytiotrophoblast, where it can mediate its physiological purposes via PLC-β and PI3K activation, both of which lead to PKC activation. However, because BIBP-3226 antagonized both effects, the physiological relevance of the apparent Y3fraction is still unsolved.
Properties and purification of a glucose-inducible human fatty acid synthase mRNA-binding protein
Authors: Li Qianmei , Chua Michael S. , Semenkovich Clay F.
Published: December 2017

Glucose stabilizes the mRNA for human fatty acid synthase (FAS), an enzyme relevant to diverse human disorders, including hyperlipidemia, obesity, and malignancy. To determine the underlying mechanisms, RNA gel mobility shift assays were used to demonstrate that human Hep G2 cells contain a cytoplasmic factor that binds specifically to the 3′-terminus of the human FAS mRNA. d-Glucose increased RNA-binding activity by 2.02-fold ( P = 0.0033), with activity peaking 3 h after glucose feeding. Boiling or treatment of extracts with proteinase K abolished binding. Ultraviolet cross-linking of the FAS mRNA-binding factor followed by SDS-PAGE resolved a proteinase K-sensitive band with an apparent molecular mass of 178 ± 7 kDa. The protein was purified to homogeneity using nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels as an affinity matrix. Acid phosphatase treatment of the protein prevented binding to the FAS mRNA, but binding activity was unaffected by modification of sulfhydryl groups and was not Mg2+or Ca2+dependent. Deletion and RNase T1 mapping localized the binding site of the protein to 37 nucleotides characterized by the repetitive motif ACCCC and found within the first 65 bases of the 3′-UTR. Hybridization of the FAS transcript with an oligonucleotide antisense to this sequence abolished binding. These findings indicate that a 178-kDa glucose-inducible phosphoprotein binds to an (ACCCC)n-containing sequence in the 3′-UTR of the FAS mRNA within the same time frame that glucose stabilizes the FAS message. This protein may participate in the posttranscriptional control of FAS gene expression.
Melanin-concentrating hormone: a functional melanocortin antagonist in the hypothalamus
Authors: Ludwig David S. , Mountjoy Kathleen G. , Tatro Jeffrey B. , Gillette Jennifer A. , Frederich Robert C. , Flier Jeffrey S. , Maratos-Flier Eleftheria
Published: December 2017

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) demonstrate opposite actions on skin coloration in teleost fish. Both peptides are present in the mammalian brain, although their specific physiological roles remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined the interactions between MCH and α-MSH after intracerebroventricular administration in rats. MCH increased food intake in a dose-dependent manner and lowered plasma glucocorticoid levels through a mechanism involving ACTH. In contrast, α-MSH decreased food intake and increased glucocorticoid levels. MCH, at a twofold molar excess, antagonized both actions of α-MSH. α-MSH, at a threefold molar excess, blocked the orexigenic properties of MCH. MCH did not block α-MSH binding or the ability of α-MSH to induce cAMP in cells expressing either the MC3 or MC4 receptor, the principal brain α-MSH receptor subtypes. These data suggest that MCH and α-MSH exert opposing and antagonistic influences on feeding behavior and the stress response and may function in a coordinate manner to regulate metabolism through a novel mechanism mediated in part by an MCH receptor.
ERK2 mediates oxytocin-stimulated PGE2synthesis
Authors: Strakova Zuzana , Copland John A. , Lolait Stephen J. , Soloff Melvyn S.
Published: December 2017

Oxytocin (OT) induces PG synthesis by both uterine endometrial and amnion cells. We showed previously that CHO cells stably transfected with the rat oxytocin receptor (CHO-OTR cells) also synthesize PGE2in response to OT. In the present work we have demonstrated that OTRs are coupled to both Giand Gq/11, using immunoprecipitation of solubilized OTR complexes and ADP ribosylation. OT treatment caused the rapid phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 2 (ERK2 or p42MAPK), which was partially inhibited by pertussis toxin (PTX), consistent with OTR-Gicoupling. The PTX-insensitive portion of ERK2 phosphorylation was linked to Gq, as inhibitors of both phospholipase C (U-73122) and protein kinase C (GF-109203X) blocked OT-induced ERK2 phosphorylation. OT-stimulated c-fos expression was also mediated by ERK2 phosphorylation. The ERK- c-fospathway has been shown to be associated with cell proliferation, but OT had no effect on [3H]thymidine uptake by CHO-OTR cells. However, inhibition of OT-induced ERK2 phosphorylation with an ERK kinase inhibitor (PD-98059) markedly reduced OT-stimulated PGE2synthesis, pointing to the importance of ERK2 activation in OT action.
Effects of age, gender, and senescence on β-adrenergic responses of isolated F344 rat brown adipocytes in vitro
Authors: Gabaldón Annette M. , McDonald Roger B. , Horwitz Barbara A.
Published: December 2017

We previously reported greater age-related attenuation of cold-induced thermoregulation and brown adipose tissue thermogenic capacity in male vs. female F344 rats. With onset of the rapid weight loss that occurs near the end of the lifespan, this age-related attenuation becomes severe. We refer to this “end-of-life” physiological state of older rats as senescence. Here, we measured oxygen consumption of isolated brown adipocytes and found no age (6 vs. 12 vs. 26 mo) or gender effects on maximal norepinephrine (NE)- or CL-316,243 (β3-adrenergic agonist)-induced responses. In contrast, brown adipocytes from 22- to 26-mo-old senescent rats (males and females) consumed 51–60% less oxygen during maximal stimulation with NE and CL-316,243 than did cells from 26-mo-old presenescent rats. This attenuation was associated with lower (65–72%) uncoupling protein 1 concentrations but no alterations in NE-induced cAMP levels or lipolysis. Our data indicate that senescence, but not chronological age, significantly impacts NE-/β3-mediated thermogenesis of isolated brown adipocytes and that this effect involves altered mitochondrial rather than altered membrane or cytosol events.
Mechanism of hypoxia-stimulated glucose transport in rat skeletal muscle: potential role of glycogen
Authors: Reynolds Thomas H. , Brozinick Joseph T. , Rogers M. A. , Cushman Samuel W.
Published: December 2017

We have previously reported that exercise training is associated with enhanced insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity and inhibited hypoxia-stimulated glucose transport activity in rat epitrochlearis muscle. Here we examine the potential role of muscle glycogen in the inhibited glucose transport response to hypoxia. Three days of swim training (2 × 3 h/day) produce a 100% increase in glycogen and a 70% increase in GLUT-4 in epitrochlearis muscle. Glucose transport after 1 h of hypoxia in muscles from fed exercise-trained (ET) rats is not significantly elevated above basal and is 40% lower than that in muscles from fed sedentary (SED) rats. Glycogen levels after 1 h of hypoxia are reduced by 27 and 64% in muscles from fed ET and fed SED rats, respectively. After 2 h of hypoxia, glucose transport is significantly increased above basal in muscles from fed ET rats, but this response is still 55% lower than that in muscles from fed SED rats. After 2 h of hypoxia, glycogen is reduced by 50 and 83% in muscles from fed ET and fed SED rats, respectively. After a modified overnight fast (≈4.5 g of chow), the glucose transport and glycogen responses to 1 h of hypoxia are not significantly different between muscles from ET and SED rats. These findings demonstrate a strong inverse relationship between glycogen and hypoxia-stimulated glucose transport activity and that high levels of glycogen contribute to the inhibited glucose transport response to hypoxia. Furthermore, failure of the overexpression of GLUT-4 after exercise training to enhance the glucose transport response to contraction/hypoxia suggests selective targeting of the additional GLUT-4 to the insulin-responsive pool.
Phenylbutyrate-induced glutamine depletion in humans: effect on leucine metabolism
Authors: Darmaun Dominique , Welch Susan , Rini Annie , Sager Brenda K. , Altomare Astride , Haymond Morey W.
Published: December 2017

The present study was designed to determine whether sodium phenylbutyrate (ΦB) acutely induces a decrease in plasma glutamine in healthy humans, and, if so, will decrease estimates of whole body protein synthesis. In a first group of three healthy subjects, graded doses (0, 0.18, and 0.36 g ⋅ kg−1⋅ day−1) of ΦB were administered for 24 h before study: postabsorptive plasma glutamine concentration declined in a dose-dependent manner, achieving an ≈25% decline for a dose of 0.36 g ΦB ⋅ kg−1⋅ day−1. A second group of six healthy adults received 5-h infusions ofl-[1-14C]leucine andl-[1-13C]glutamine in the postabsorptive state on two separate days: 1) under baseline conditions and 2) after 24 h of oral treatment with ΦB (0.36 g ⋅ kg−1⋅ day−1) in a randomized order. The 24-h phenylbutyrate treatment was associated with 1) an ≈26% decline in plasma glutamine concentration from 514 ± 24 to 380 ± 15 μM (means ± SE; P < 0.01 with paired t-test) with no change in glutamine appearance rate or de novo synthesis; 2) no change in leucine appearance rate (Ra), an index of protein breakdown (123 ± 7 vs. 117 ± 5 μmol ⋅ kg−1⋅ h−1; not significant); 3) an ≈22% rise in leucine oxidation (Ox) from 23 ± 2 to 28 ± 2 μmol ⋅ kg−1⋅ h−1( P < 0.01), resulting in an ≈11% decline in nonoxidative leucine disposal (NOLD = Ra− Ox), an index of protein synthesis, from 100 ± 6 to 89 ± 5 μmol ⋅ kg−1⋅ h−1( P < 0.05). The data suggest that, in healthy adults, 1) large doses of oral phenylbutyrate can be used as a “glutamine trap” to create a model of glutamine depletion; 2) a moderate decline in plasma glutamine does not enhance rates of endogenous glutamine production; and 3) a short-term depletion of plasma glutamine decreases estimates of whole body protein synthesis.
Human kidney and liver gluconeogenesis: evidence for organ substrate selectivity
Authors: Stumvoll Michael , Meyer Christian , Perriello Gabriele , Kreider Maryl , Welle Stephen , Gerich John
Published: December 2017

To assess the contribution of the human kidney to gluconeogenesis (GN) and its role in conversion of glutamine and alanine to glucose, we used a combination of isotopic and organ balance techniques in nine normal postabsorptive volunteers and measured both overall and renal incorporation of these precursors into glucose before and after infusion of epinephrine. In the postabsorptive basal state, renal incorporation of glutamine (27 ± 2 μmol/min) and alanine (2.1 ± 0.5 μmol/min) into glucose accounted for 72.8 ± 3.3 and 3.9 ± 0.5% of their overall incorporation into glucose (37 ± 2 and 51 ± 6 μmol/min, respectively) and 19.0 ± 3.5 and 1.4 ± 0.2%, respectively, of overall renal glucose release. Infusion of epinephrine, which increased systemic and renal glucose release more than twofold ( P< 0.001), increased overall glutamine and alanine incorporation into glucose (both P < 0.001) and increased renal GN from glutamine ( P< 0.001) but not from alanine ( P = 0.15). Renal glutamine GN now accounted for 90.3 ± 4.0% of overall glutamine GN ( P = 0.01 vs. basal), whereas renal alanine GN still accounted for only 4.8 ± 1.7% of overall alanine GN ( P = 0.36 vs. basal). With the assumption that kidney and liver are the only gluconeogenic organs in humans, these results indicate that glutamine GN occurs primarily in kidney, whereas alanine GN occurs almost exclusively in liver. Isotopic studies of glutamine and alanine incorporation into plasma glucose may provide a selective, noninvasive method to assess hepatic and renal GN.
PACAP stimulates insulin secretion but inhibits insulin sensitivity in mice
Authors: Filipsson Karin , Pacini Giovanni , Scheurink Anton J. W. , Ahrén Bo
Published: December 2017

Although pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) stimulates insulin secretion, its net influence on glucose homeostasis in vivo has not been established. We therefore examined the action of PACAP-27 and PACAP-38 on insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity, and glucose disposal as derived from the minimal model of glucose disappearance during an intravenous glucose tolerance test in anesthetized mice. PACAP-27 and PACAP-38 markedly and equipotently potentiated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, with a half-maximal effect at 33 pmol/kg. After PACAP-27 or PACAP-38 (1.3 nmol/kg), the acute (1–5 min) insulin response was 3.8 ± 0.4 nmol/l (PACAP-27) and 3.3 ± 0.3 nmol/l (PACAP-38), respectively, vs. 1.4 ± 0.1 nmol/l after glucose alone ( P < 0.001), and the total area under the curve for insulin (AUCinsulin) was potentiated by 60% ( P < 0.001). In contrast, PACAP-27 and PACAP-38 reduced the insulin sensitivity index (SI) [0.23 ± 0.04 10−4min−1/(pmol/l) for PACAP-27 and 0.29 ± 0.06 10−4min−1/(pmol/l) for PACAP-38 vs. 0.46 ± 0.02 10−4min−1/(pmol/l) for controls ( P < 0.01)]. Furthermore, PACAP-27 or PACAP-38 did not affect glucose elimination determined as glucose half-time or the glucose elimination rate after glucose injection or the area under the curve for glucose. Moreover, glucose effectiveness and the global disposition index (AUCinsulintimes SI) were not affected by PACAP-27 or PACAP-38. Finally, when given together with glucose, PACAP-27 did not alter plasma glucagon or norepinephrine levels but significantly increased plasma epinephrine levels. We conclude that PACAP, besides its marked stimulation of insulin secretion, also inhibits insulin sensitivity in mice, the latter possibly explained by increased epinephrine. This complex action explains why the peptide does not enhance glucose disposal.
Mechanisms contributing to angiotensin II regulation of body weight
Authors: Cassis Lisa A. , Marshall Dana E. , Fettinger Michael J. , Rosenbluth Brady , Lodder Robert A.
Published: December 2017

Previous studies in our laboratory have implicated adipose tissue as a potential site for local angiotensin II (ANG II) synthesis. However, functions of ANG II in adipose tissue and the impact of ANG II on body weight regulation are not well defined. To study the effect of ANG II on body weight, a chronic ANG II infusion model was used. In study 1, a low dose of ANG II (175 ng ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) was infused into rats for 14 days. Plasma ANG II levels were not elevated after 14 days of infusion. ANG II-infused rats did not gain weight over the 14-day protocol and exhibited a lower body weight than controls on day 8. Food intake was not altered, but water intake was increased in ANG II-infused rats. Blood pressure gradually increased to significantly elevated levels by day 14. Thermal infrared imaging demonstrated an increase in abdominal surface temperature. Measurement of organ mass demonstrated site-specific reductions in white adipose tissue mass after ANG II infusion. In study 2, the dose-response relationship for ANG II infusion (200, 350, and 500 ng ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) was determined. Body weight (decrease), blood pressure (increase), white adipose mass (decrease), plasma ANG II levels (increase), and plasma leptin levels (decrease) were altered in a dose-related manner after ANG II infusion. In study 3, the effect of ANG II infusion (350 ng ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) was examined in rats treated with the vasodilator hydralazine. Hydralazine treatment normalized blood pressure in ANG II-infused rats. The effect of ANG II to decrease body weight was augmented in hydralazine-treated rats. These results demonstrate that low levels of ANG II infusion regulate body weight through mechanisms related to increased peripheral metabolism and independent of elevations in blood pressure.
Lymphocyte transfer in streptozotocin-induced diabetes: adhesion of donor cells to islet endothelium
Authors: Enghofer Michael , Bojunga Jörg , Ludwig Ralf , Oldenburg Anke , Bernd August , Usadel Klaus Henning , Kusterer Klaus
Published: December 2017

The interaction between intravenously transferred lymphocytes derived from spleens of multiple low-dose streptozotocin-diabetic mice with islet, exocrine pancreatic, and gastric mucosal endothelium of nondiabetic recipient mice was investigated by in vivo microscopy. Donor lymphocytes were stained with acridine red in vitro. The adoptive transfer of these cells from diabetic donor animals resulted in significantly increased lymphocyte rolling (4.46 ± 1.32%, P < 0.05) and adhesion (3.86 ± 1.04%, P < 0.05) in islets of nondiabetic recipients that had been pretreated with a single subdiabetogenic dose of streptozotocin. No increased endothelial interaction was noted in nonpretreated recipients or in experiments with nondiabetic donors. Rolling (1.19 ± 0.61 to 2.71 ± 0.62%) and adhesion (0.61 ± 0.33 to 2.80 ± 0.97%) of donor lymphocytes were low in exocrine pancreatic and gastric mucosal control tissue. It is concluded that, in this animal model, lymphocytes from diabetic donors interact preferentially with recipient islet endothelium. However, additional stimulation of recipient islet endothelium by exogenous factors is necessary to enable transferred cells to adhere to pancreatic islets.
Fat balance in obese subjects: role of glycogen stores
Authors: Schrauwen Patrick , Lichtenbelt Wouter D. Van Marken , Saris Wim H. M. , Westerterp Klaas R.
Published: December 2017

In a previous study, we showed that lean subjects are capable of rapidly adjusting fat oxidation to fat intake on a high-fat (HF) diet when glycogen stores are lowered by exhaustive exercise. However, it has been proposed that obese subjects have impaired fat oxidation. We therefore studied the effect of low glycogen stores on fat oxidation after a switch from a reduced-fat (RF) diet to an HF diet in obese subjects. Ten healthy, obese male and female subjects (26 ± 2 yr, body mass index 31.8 ± 1.4, maximal power output 228 ± 14 W) consumed an RF diet (30, 55, and 15% of energy from fat, carbohydrate, and protein, respectively) at home for 3 days on four occasions ( days 1–3). On two occasions, subjects came to the laboratory on day 3 at 1500 to perform an exhaustive glycogen-lowering exercise test (Ex), after which they went into a respiration chamber for a 36-h stay. On the other two occasions, subjects directly entered the respiration chamber at 1800 for a 36-h stay. In the respiration chamber, they were fed, in energy balance, either an HF diet (60, 25, and 15% of energy from fat, carbohydrate, and protein, respectively) or an RF diet. All diets were consumed as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two or more snacks per day. Twenty-four-hour respiratory quotient was 0.91 ± 0.01, 0.89 ± 0.01, 0.84 ± 0.01, and 0.81 ± 0.01 with RF diet, RF + Ex, HF, and HF + Ex treatments, respectively. With the HF treatment, fat oxidation was below fat intake, indicating the slow change of oxidation to intake on an HF diet. After the HF + Ex treatment, however, fat oxidation matched fat intake. In conclusion, obese subjects are capable of rapidly adjusting fat oxidation to fat intake when glycogen stores are lowered by exhaustive exercise.
Effects of exercise on neuroendocrine secretions and glucose regulation at different times of day
Authors: Scheen André J. , Buxton Orfeu M. , Jison Maria , Van Reeth Olivier , Leproult Rachel , L’Hermite-Balériaux Mireille , Van Cauter Eve
Published: December 2017

To study the effects of time of day on neuroendocrine and metabolic responses to exercise, body temperature, plasma glucose, insulin secretion rates (ISR), and plasma cortisol, growth hormone (GH) and thyrotropin (TSH) were measured in young men, both at bed rest and during a 3-h exercise period (40–60% maximal O2uptake). Exercise was performed at three times of day characterized by marked differences in cortisol levels, i.e., early morning ( n = 5), afternoon ( n = 8), and around midnight ( n = 9). The subjects were kept awake and fasted, but they received a constant glucose infusion to avoid hypoglycemia. Exercise-induced elevations of temperature were higher in the early morning than at other times of day. The exercise-induced glucose decrease was ∼50% greater around midnight, when cortisol was minimal and not stimulated by exercise, than in the afternoon or early morning ( P < 0.05). This effect of time of day appeared unrelated to decreases in ISR or increases in temperature and GH. Robust TSH increases occurred in all exercise periods and were maximal at night. The results demonstrate the existence of circadian variations in neuroendocrine and metabolic responses to exercise.
α-MSH potentiates the responsiveness of mammotropes by increasing Ca2+entry
Authors: Nuñez Lucia , Frawley L. Stephen
Published: December 2017

It is well known that the suckling stimulus renders mammotropes considerably more responsive to prolactin (PRL)-releasing stimuli, and the neurointermediate lobe peptide α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) has been proposed to play a pivotal role in this priming. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether α-MSH could act directly on pituitary cells to potentiate PRL release in response to two physiologically relevant PRL secretagogues, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and ATP, and, if so, to identify the mechanism by which this priming phenomenon is manifested. To this end, we cultured anterior pituitary cells from lactating rats overnight and then subjected them to a reverse hemolytic plaque assay for PRL to evaluate their responses to various test agents. We found that α-MSH, which had no effect on PRL export when tested alone, augmented by more than threefold the secretory responses to TRH and ATP. Next, we utilized digital-imaging fluorescence microscopy of fura 2 to evaluate the role of intracellular Ca2+in this process. We found that PRL export induced by pharmacological activation of L-type voltage-operated calcium channels was also potentiated by α-MSH, as was Ca2+entry induced by TRH. Our results indicate that α-MSH acts as a mammotrope-priming agent on a subset of mammotropes by increasing Ca2+entry induced by PRL secretagogues.
Lean (Fa/Fa) but not obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats release cholecystokinin at PVN after a gavaged meal
Authors: De Fanti Brant A. , Backus Robert C. , Hamilton Jock S. , Gietzen Dorothy W. , Horwitz Barbara A.
Published: December 2017

Neuropeptides play an important role in the integration of dietary signals. Cholecystokinin (CCK) has been implicated in regulating ingestive behavior, particularly satiety. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether the hyperphagia characteristic of obese ( fa/ fa) rats involves impaired neural CCK secretion. Dynamic release of CCK at the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of age-matched lean ( Fa/ Fa) and obese Zucker rats was determined using push-pull perfusion. The gavage of a 10.3-kcal (6 ml) liquid diet during lights off was followed by increased CCK release in lean rats (from 13.6 ± 1.1 to 22.1 ± 1.4 fmol in the 1st postprandial period and 18.4 ± 2.5 fmol in the 2nd postprandial period). An identical meal load resulted in no postprandial increase in CCK release in obese rats, despite the fact that high-K+ artificial cerebrospinal fluid evoked CCK outflow in all animals. Intubation of 6 ml of nonnutritive 1% carboxymethylcellulose had no effect. These results are consistent with the suggestion that hypothalamic CCK plays a physiological role in satiety, and they demonstrate that obese Zucker rats have blunted hypothalamic CCK release in response to dietary cues.
Increased protein synthesis after acute IGF-I or insulin infusion is localized to muscle in mice
Authors: Bark Tor H. , McNurlan Margaret A. , Lang Charles H. , Garlick Peter J.
Published: December 2017

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of acute administration of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) or insulin on in vivo protein synthesis in muscle and other organs in fasted mice and to compare this response with that produced by feeding. Recombinant IGF-I (3.3 nmol prime, 3.33 nmol/h) or insulin (0.056 nmol/h) was infused intravenously for 60 min along with glucose to prevent hypoglycemia. Fractional rates of tissue protein synthesis (FSR) were determined by injection of [2H5]phenylalanine (25 mg/100 g body wt, 40% enriched). Both IGF-I and insulin caused a 25% increase in FSR of heart ( P < 0.001) and soleus muscle ( P < 0.05) and a 65% increase in gastrocnemius and plantaris muscle (both P < 0.001), thus restoring rates to those seen in fed animals. A fivefold lower dose of IGF-I also stimulated protein synthesis in gastrocnemius muscle and heart (both P < 0.05) but not in soleus muscle. No significant effects of IGF-I on FSR were detected in liver, kidney, spleen, proximal small intestine, colon, lung, or brain. The results indicate that the ability of an overnight fast to decrease protein synthesis and the acute effects of insulin and IGF-I to stimulate protein synthesis are restricted to skeletal and cardiac muscles.
A biomathematical model of time-delayed feedback in the human male hypothalamic-pituitary-Leydig cell axis
Authors: Keenan Daniel M. , Veldhuis Johannes D.
Published: December 2017

We develop, implement, and test a feedback and feedforward biomathematical construct of the male hypothalamic [gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)]-pituitary [luteinizing hormone (LH)]-gonadal [testosterone (Te)] axis. This stochastic differential equation formulation consists of a nonstationary stochastic point process responsible for generating episodic release of GnRH, which is modulated negatively by short-loop (GnRH) and long-loop (Te) feedback. Pulsatile GnRH release in turn drives bursts of LH secretion via an agonistic dose-response curve that is partially damped by Te negative feedback. Circulating LH stimulates (feedforward) Te synthesis and release by a second dose response. Te acts via negative dose-responsive feedback on GnRH and LH output, thus fulfilling conditions of a closed-loop control system. Four computer simulations document expected feedback performance, as published earlier for the human male GnRH-LH-Te axis. Six other simulations test distinct within-model coupling mechanisms to link a circadian modulatory input to a pulsatile control node so as to explicate the known 24-h variations in Te and, to a lesser extent, LH. We conclude that relevant dynamic function, internodal dose-dependent regulatory connections, and within-system time-delayed coupling together provide a biomathematical basis for a nonlinear feedback-feedforward control model with combined pulsatile and circadian features that closely emulate the measurable output activities of the male hypothalamic-pituitary-Leydig cell axis.