The adiponectin agonist, AdipoRon, inhibits steroidogenesis and cell proliferation in human luteinized granulosa cells

International audienceDuring obesity, excess body weight is not only associated with an increased risk of type 2-diabetes, but also several other pathological processes, such as infertility. Adipose tissue is the largest endocrine organ of the body that produces adipokines, including adiponectin. Adiponectin has been reported to control fertility through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, and folliculogenesis in the ovaries. In this study, we focused on a recent adiponectin-like synthetic agonist called AdipoRon, and its action in human luteinized granulosa cells. We demonstrated that AdipoRon activated the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR) signalling pathways in human luteinized granulosa cells. A 25 mu M AdipoRon stimulation reduced granulosa cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest in G(1), associated with PTEN and p53 pathway activation. In addition, AdipoRon perturbed cell metabolism by decreasing mitochondrial activity and ATP production. In human luteinized granulosa cells, AdipoRon increased phosphodiesterase activity, leading to a drop in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production, ammatase expression and oestrogens secretion. In conclusion, AdipoRon impacted folliculogenesis by altering human luteinized granulosa cell function, via steroid production and cell proliferation. This agonist may have applications for improving ovarian function in metabolic disorders or granulosa cancers

Transfusion independence and HMGA2 activation after gene therapy of human β-thalassaemia

International audienceThe β-haemoglobinopathies are the most prevalent inherited disorders worldwide. Gene therapy of β-thalassaemia is particularly challenging given the requirement for massive haemoglobin production in a lineage-specific manner and the lack of selective advantage for corrected haematopoietic stem cells. Compound β$^E$/β$^0$-thalassaemia is the most common form of severe thalassaemia in southeast Asian countries and their diasporas1, 2. The β$^E$-globin allele bears a point mutation that causes alternative splicing. The abnormally spliced form is non-coding, whereas the correctly spliced messenger RNA expresses a mutated β$^E$-globin with partial instability. When this is compounded with a non-functional β$^0$ allele, a profound decrease in β-globin synthesis results, and approximately half of β$^E$/β$^0$-thalassaemia patients are transfusion-dependent. The only available curative therapy is allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, although most patients do not have a human-leukocyte-antigen-matched, geno-identical donor, and those who do still risk rejection or graft-versus-host disease. Here we show that, 33 months after lentiviral β-globin gene transfer, an adult patient with severe β$^E$/β$^0$-thalassaemia dependent on monthly transfusions since early childhood has become transfusion independent for the past 21 months. Blood haemoglobin is maintained between 9 and 10 g dl$^{−1}$, of which one-third contains vector-encoded β-globin. Most of the therapeutic benefit results from a dominant, myeloid-biased cell clone, in which the integrated vector causes transcriptional activation of $HMGA2$ in erythroid cells with further increased expression of a truncated $HMGA2$ mRNA insensitive to degradation by let-7 microRNAs. The clonal dominance that accompanies therapeutic efficacy may be coincidental and stochastic or result from a hitherto benign cell expansion caused by dysregulation of the $HMGA2$ gene in stem/progenitor cell