New insights into the inter-organ crosstalk mediated by ChREBP

Carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) is a glucose responsive transcription factor recognized by its critical role in the transcriptional control of glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis. Substantial advances in the field have revealed novel ChREBP functions. Indeed, due to its actions in different tissues, ChREBP modulates the inter-organ communication through secretion of peptides and lipid factors, ensuring metabolic homeostasis. Dysregulation of these orchestrated interactions is associated with development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Here, we recapitulate the current knowledge about ChREBP-mediated inter-organ crosstalk through secreted factors and its physiological implications. As the liver is considered a crucial endocrine organ, we will focus in this review on the role of ChREBP-regulated hepatokines. Lastly, we will discuss the involvement of ChREBP in the progression of metabolic pathologies, as well as how the impairment of ChREBP-dependent signaling factors contributes to the onset of such diseases

O-GlcNacylation Links TxNIP to Inflammasome Activation in Pancreatic β Cells

Thioredoxin interacting protein (TxNIP), which strongly responds to glucose, has emerged as a central mediator of glucotoxicity in pancreatic β cells. TxNIP is a scaffold protein interacting with target proteins to inhibit or stimulate their activity. Recent studies reported that high glucose stimulates the interaction of TxNIP with the inflammasome protein NLRP3 (NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3) to increase interleukin-1 β (IL1β) secretion by pancreatic β cells. To better understand the regulation of TxNIP by glucose in pancreatic β cells, we investigated the implication of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAcylation) in regulating TxNIP at the posttranslational level. O-GlcNAcylation of proteins is controlled by two enzymes: the O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), which transfers a monosaccharide to serine/threonine residues on target proteins, and the O-GlcNAcase (OGA), which removes it. Our study shows that TxNIP is subjected to O-GlcNAcylation in response to high glucose concentrations in β cell lines. Modification of the O-GlcNAcylation pathway through manipulation of OGT or OGA expression or activity significantly modulates TxNIP O-GlcNAcylation in INS1 832/13 cells. Interestingly, expression and O-GlcNAcylation of TxNIP appeared to be increased in islets of diabetic rodents. At the mechanistic level, the induction of the O-GlcNAcylation pathway in human and rat islets promotes inflammasome activation as evidenced by enhanced cleaved IL1β. Overexpression of OGT in HEK293 or INS1 832/13 cells stimulates TxNIP and NLRP3 interaction, while reducing TxNIP O-GlcNAcylation through OGA overexpression destabilizes this interaction. Altogether, our study reveals that O-GlcNAcylation represents an important regulatory mechanism for TxNIP activity in β cells

Le facteur de transcription ChREBP

International audienc

Hepatic Gene Regulation by Glucose and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Role for ChREBP

International audienc

La régulation de l'expression des gènes par le glucose

Le glucose ne doit plus être considéré comme un simple carburant énergétique des cellules mais aussi comme une molécule de signalisation importante dans la régulation des gènes glycolytiques et lipogéniques impliqués dans la mise en réserve d'énergie sous forme de triglycérides. Les effets transcriptionnels du glucose sur les gènes des enzymes impliqués dans la glycolyse et la lipogenèse hépatiques impliquent un facteur de transcription spécifique, ChREBP, dont les caractéristiques et le mécanisme d'activation sont décrits en détail. Enfin, un exemple de l'implication possible de ChREBP dans la physiopathologie de l'obésité et du diabète de type 2 est présenté

O-GlcNAcylation links ChREBP and FXR to glucose-sensing

Mini review articleInternational audienceAccumulating evidence suggests that O-GlcNAc transferase, an enzyme responsible for O-GlcNAc post-translational modification acts as a nutrient sensor that links glucose and the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway to the regulation of transcriptional factors involved in energy homeostasis. In liver, glucose signaling is mediated by carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP), which stimulates glycolytic and lipogenic gene expres-sion through its binding on a specific ChoRE DNA sequence. Modulation of ChREBP by O-GlcNAcylation increases its DNA binding affinity and its activity. ChREBP transcriptional activity also depends on the presence of several other co-factors and transcriptional fac-tors. Among them, the nuclear Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR), a key transcription factor of bile acid metabolism involved in the gut–liver axis homeostasis was recently shown to directly interact with ChREBP, acting as a repressor on the ChoRE of glycolytic genes. Interestingly, similarly to ChREBP, FXR is O-GlcNAcylated in response to glucose. This review discusses the importance of ChREBP and FXR modifications through O-GlcNAcylation in liver and how glucose can modify their mutual affinity and transcriptional activity

Insulin resistance per se drives early and reversible dysbiosis-mediated gut barrier impairment and bactericidal dysfunction

International audienceA common feature of metabolic diseases is their association with chronic low-grade inflammation. While enhanced gut permeability and systemic bacterial endotoxin translocation have been suggested as key players of this metaflammation, the mechanistic bases underlying these features upon the diabesity cascade remain partly understood. Here, we show in mice that, independently of obesity, the induction of acute and global insulin resistance and associated hyperglycemia, upon treatment with an insulin receptor (IR) antagonist (S961), elicit gut hyperpermeability without triggering systemic inflammatory response. Of note, S961-treated diabetic mice display major defects of gut barrier epithelial functions, such as increased epithelial paracellular permeability and impaired cell-cell junction integrity. We also observed in these mice the early onset of a severe gut dysbiosis, as characterized by the bloom of pro-inflammatory Proteobacteria, and the later collapse of Paneth cells antimicrobial defense. Interestingly, S961 treatment discontinuation is sufficient to promptly restore both the gut microbial balance and the intestinal barrier integrity. Moreover, fecal transplant approaches further confirm that S961-mediated dybiosis contributes at least partly to the disruption of the gut selective epithelial permeability upon diabetic states. Together, our results highlight that insulin signaling is an indispensable gatekeeper of intestinal barrier integrity, acting as a safeguard against microbial imbalance and acute infections by enteropathogens