Peptide YY ablation in mice leads to the development of hyperinsulinaemia and obesity

Aims/hypothesis. Obese people exhibit reduced circulating peptide YY (PYY) levels, but it is unclear whether this is a consequence or cause of obesity. We therefore investigated the effect of Pyy ablation on energy homeostasis. Methods. Body composition, i.p. glucose tolerance, food intake and hypothalamic neuropeptide expression were determined in Pyy knock-out and wild-type mice on a normal or high-fat diet. Results. Pyy knock-out significantly increased bodyweight and increased fat mass by 50% in aged females on a normal diet. Male chow-fed Pyy −/− mice were resistant to obesity but became significantly fatter and glucose-intolerant compared with wild-types when fed a high-fat diet. Pyy knock-out animals exhibited significantly elevated fasting or glucose-stimulated serum insulin concentrations vs wild-types, with no increase in basal or fasting-induced food intake. Pyy knock-out decreased or had no effect on neuropeptide Y expression in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, and significantly increased proopiomelanocortin expression in this region. Male but not female knock-outs exhibited significantly increased growth hormone-releasing hormone expression in the ventromedial hypothalamus and significantly elevated serum IGF-I and testosterone levels. This sex difference in activation of the hypothalamo–pituitary somatotrophic axis by Pyy ablation may contribute to the resistance of chow-fed male knock-outs to late-onset obesity. Conclusions/interpretation. PYY signalling is important in the regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis, possibly via regulation of insulin release. Therefore reduced PYY levels may predispose to the development of obesity, particularly with ageing or under conditions of high-fat feeding

CXCR4 identifies transitional bone marrow premonocytes that replenish the mature monocyte pool for peripheral responses

It is well established that Ly6C(hi) monocytes develop from common monocyte progenitors (cMoPs) and reside in the bone marrow (BM) until they are mobilized into the circulation. In our study, we found that BM Ly6C(hi) monocytes are not a homogenous population, as current data would suggest. Using computational analysis approaches to interpret multidimensional datasets, we demonstrate that BM Ly6C(hi) monocytes consist of two distinct subpopulations (CXCR4(hi) and CXCR4(lo) subpopulations) in both mice and humans. Transcriptome studies and in vivo assays revealed functional differences between the two subpopulations. Notably, the CXCR4(hi) subset proliferates and is immobilized in the BM for the replenishment of functionally mature CXCR4(lo) monocytes. We propose that the CXCR4(hi) subset represents a transitional premonocyte population, and that this sequential step of maturation from cMoPs serves to maintain a stable pool of BM monocytes. Additionally, reduced CXCR4 expression on monocytes, upon their exit into the circulation, does not reflect its diminished role in monocyte biology. Specifically, CXCR4 regulates monocyte peripheral cellular activities by governing their circadian oscillations and pulmonary margination, which contributes toward lung injury and sepsis mortality. Together, our study demonstrates the multifaceted role of CXCR4 in defining BM monocyte heterogeneity and in regulating their function in peripheral tissues

The regulation and function of the Drosophila melanogaster Cytochrome P450 gene, Cyp12d1

© 2011 Dr. Hui Kuang Adrian BoeyCytochrome P450s are an important family of monooxygenase enzymes implicated in numerous xenobiotic detoxification events as well as in essential endogenous functions. The vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster has 85 P450 genes; however, the large majority of them remain uncharacterised in terms of their function and regulation. Cyp12d1 is arguably the most xenobiotic inducible P450 gene in the D. melanogaster genome. It has been suggested that Cyp12d1 is an excellent candidate gene to study Drosophila xenobiotic induction pathways as it responds to a wide range of chemical inducers, indicating that it contains most if not all of the cis-regulatory elements needed for xenobiotic induction in Drosophila. Hence, the transcriptional regulation of Cyp12d1 was investigated to identify novel P450 induction pathways in D. melanogaster. Cyp12d1 basal transcriptional regulators were found in Cyp12d1 upstream and downstream regulatory regions, while enhancers for Phenobarbital and caffeine induction were located upstream. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments identified GATA family transcription factors as important Cyp12d1 midgut expression regulatory proteins. However, their role in xenobiotic induction remains unclear. Biochemical sequencing of electomobility-shift assay protein bands, and genetic RNAi screens of genes encoding other candidate transcription factors, failed to identify any other potential xenobiotic regulatory proteins. Cyp12d1 function was also investigated in this study. Cyp12d1 overexpression has been shown to confer resistance to the insecticides DDT and dicyclanil, but other functions have not been identified prior to this study. Adult Cyp12d1 functions were investigated through Cyp12d1 RNAi and overexpression studies. Cyp12d1 was found to be involved in adult longevity and oxidative stress resistance, suggesting other potential functions in addition to known detoxification functions. Cyp12d1 has been tandemly duplicated in D. melanogaster, and this duplication exists as a polymorphism in field populations. The geographical distribution of the Cyp12d1 duplication was examined in flies collected along the eastern coastline of Australia. The frequency of the duplicated Cyp12d1 gene was found to vary spatially, with flies in lower latitudes being more likely to possess the Cyp12d1 duplication and flies in higher latitudes being less likely. Cyp12d1 tissue-specific embryonic expression and mRNA transcript length was different in Cyp12d1-duplicated lines when compared to non-Cyp12d1 duplicated lines. These results indicate the Cyp12d1 duplication confers changes in Cyp12d1 expression patterns and suggest that Cyp12d1 may be involved in local adaptation to the microenvironment

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Alleviate Hepatic Fibrosis Phenotypes In Vitro

10.3390/ijms222111777INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES222

Gold-substituted silver-intensified peroxidase (GSSP) immunolabeling for FIB-SEM imaging

Modern electron microscopy offers a wide variety of tools to investigate the ultrastructural organization of cells and tissues and to accurately pinpoint intracellular localizations of macromolecules of interest. New volumetric electron microscopy techniques and new instrumentation provide unique opportunities for high-throughput analysis of comparatively large volumes of tissue and their complete reconstitution in three-dimensional (3D) electron microscopy. However, due to a variety of technical issues such as the limited penetration of label into the tissue, low antigen preservation, substantial electron density of secondary detection reagents, and many others, the adaptation of immuno-detection techniques for use with such 3D imaging methods as focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) has been challenging. Here, we describe a sample preparation method for 3D FIB-SEM, which results in an optimal preservation and staining of ultrastructural details at a resolution necessary for tracing immunolabeled neuronal structures and detailed reconstruction of synapses. This technique is applicable to neuronal and non-neuronal cells, tissues, and a wide variety of antigens.status: publishe

The Ubiquitin Ligase CBLC Maintains the Network Organization of the Golgi Apparatus.

The Golgi apparatus plays a pivotal role in the sorting and post-translational modifications of secreted and membrane proteins. In mammalian cells, the Golgi is organized in stacks of cisternae linked together to form a network with a ribbon shape. Regulation of Golgi ribbon formation is poorly understood. Here we find in an image-based RNAi screen that depletion of the ubiquitin-ligase CBLC induces Golgi fragmentation. Depletions of the close homologues CBL and CBLB do not induce any visible defects. In CBLC-depleted cells, Golgi stacks appear relatively unperturbed at both the light and electron microscopy levels, suggesting that CBLC controls mostly network organization. CBLC partially localizes on Golgi membranes and this localization is enhanced after activation of the SRC kinase. Inhibition of SRC reverts CBLC depletion effects, suggesting interplay between the two. CBLC's regulation of Golgi network requires its ubiquitin ligase activity. However, SRC levels are not significantly affected by CBLC, and CBLC knockdown does not phenocopy SRC activation, suggesting that CBLC's action at the Golgi is not direct downregulation of SRC. Altogether, our results demonstrate a role of CBLC in regulating Golgi ribbon by antagonizing the SRC tyrosine kinase

ZO-1 and ZO-2 Are Required for Extra-Embryonic Endoderm Integrity, Primitive Ectoderm Survival and Normal Cavitation in Embryoid Bodies Derived from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

<div><p>The Zonula Occludens proteins ZO-1 and ZO-2 are cell-cell junction-associated adaptor proteins that are essential for the structural and regulatory functions of tight junctions in epithelial cells and their absence leads to early embryonic lethality in mouse models. Here, we use the embryoid body, an <i>in vitro</i> peri-implantation mouse embryogenesis model, to elucidate and dissect the roles ZO-1 and ZO-2 play in epithelial morphogenesis and <i>de novo</i> tight junction assembly. Through the generation of individual or combined ZO-1 and ZO-2 null embryoid bodies, we show that their dual deletion prevents tight junction formation, resulting in the disorganization and compromised barrier function of embryoid body epithelial layers. The disorganization is associated with poor microvilli development, fragmented basement membrane deposition and impaired cavity formation, all of which are key epithelial tissue morphogenetic processes. Expression of Podocalyxin, which positively regulates the formation of microvilli and the apical membrane, is repressed in embryoid bodies lacking both ZO-1 and ZO-2 and this correlates with an aberrant submembranous localization of Ezrin. The null embryoid bodies thus give an insight into how the two ZO proteins influence early mouse embryogenesis and possible mechanisms underlying the embryonic lethal phenotype.</p></div

A targeted RNAi screen for Golgi organization identifies CBLC as a Golgi regulator.

<p>(A) Plot of granule count of MannII-GFP signal per cell (Z-score) for 120 genes screened. NT: Nontargeting siRNA (B, C) Golgi fragmentation in wild-type HeLa with individual siRNAs. (B) Giantin (green) and Hoechst (blue) staining HeLa cells, CBLC depletion with pool of siRNA. (C) Golgi Fragmentation Index with pool and single siRNAs, measured in triplicates on at least 800 cells per condition. Error bars show SD statistical significance (p) measured by unpaired Student’s t-test. (*) represents p<0.05, (**) represents p<0.01 and (***) represents p<0.001 relative to non-target siRNA transfected cells. Scale bar = 10 μm. (D) Golgi fragmentation Index after targeting Cbl family members, siRNA pools (E) Western blot analysis of CBL, CBLB and CBLC depleted cells.</p