Lysosomal acid lipase regulates VLDL synthesis and insulin sensitivity in mice

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) hydrolyses cholesteryl esters and triacylglycerols (TG) within lysosomes to mobilise NEFA and cholesterol. Since LAL-deficient (Lal (-/-) ) mice suffer from progressive loss of adipose tissue and severe accumulation of lipids in hepatic lysosomes, we hypothesised that LAL deficiency triggers alternative energy pathway(s). METHODS: We studied metabolic adaptations in Lal (-/-) mice. RESULTS: Despite loss of adipose tissue, Lal (-/-) mice show enhanced glucose clearance during insulin and glucose tolerance tests and have increased uptake of [(3)H]2-deoxy-D-glucose into skeletal muscle compared with wild-type mice. In agreement, fasted Lal (-/-) mice exhibit reduced glucose and glycogen levels in skeletal muscle. We observed 84% decreased plasma leptin levels and significantly reduced hepatic ATP, glucose, glycogen and glutamine concentrations in fed Lal (-/-) mice. Markedly reduced hepatic acyl-CoA concentrations decrease the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) target genes. However, treatment of Lal (-/-) mice with the PPARα agonist fenofibrate further decreased plasma TG (and hepatic glucose and glycogen) concentrations in Lal (-/-) mice. Depletion of hepatic nuclear factor 4α and forkhead box protein a2 in fasted Lal (-/-) mice might be responsible for reduced expression of microsomal TG transfer protein, defective VLDL synthesis and drastically reduced plasma TG levels. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our findings indicate that neither activation nor inactivation of PPARα per se but rather the availability of hepatic acyl-CoA concentrations regulates VLDL synthesis and subsequent metabolic adaptations in Lal (-/-) mice. We conclude that decreased plasma VLDL production enhances glucose uptake into skeletal muscle to compensate for the lack of energy supply

Addressing Glutathione Redox Status in Clinical Samples by Two-Step Alkylation with N-ethylmaleimide Isotopologues

Determination of the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione is of profound clinical interest in assessing the oxidative status of tissues and body fluids. However, this ratio is not yet a routine clinical parameter due to the analytically challenging interconversion of reduced (free) glutathione to oxidized (bound) glutathione. We aimed to facilitate this ratio determination in order to aid its incorporation as a routine clinical parameter. To this end, we developed a simple derivatization route that yields different isotopologues of N-ethylmaleimide alkylated glutathione from reduced and oxidized glutathione (after its chemical reduction) for mass spectrometric analysis. A third isotopologue can be used as isotopic standard for simultaneous absolute quantification. As all isotopologues have similar chromatographic properties, matrix effects arising from different sample origins can only impact method sensitivity but not quantification accuracy. Robustness, simplified data analysis, cost effectiveness by one common standard, and highly improved mass spectrometric sensitivity by conversion of oxidized glutathione to an alkylated glutathione isotopologue are the main advantages of our approach. We present a method fully optimized for blood, plasma, serum, cell, and tissue samples. In addition, we propose production of N-ethylmaleimide customized blood collection tubes to even further facilitate the analysis in a clinical setting

Resolution Ladder for High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

High-resolution mass spectrometry has become a key technology in life sciences. Since it is often unfeasible to find pairs of analytes with an appropriate mass difference to actually quantify the resolution experimentally, resolution is usually calculated from the shape of a single mass peak. In this study we show that the commonly employed strategy yields a poor measure of true resolution since it does not account for interactions that take place between ions of very similar mass and might be further distorted by signal processing effects. We present a straightforward and easily adaptable method to create a ladder of mass pairs to experimentally quantify actual mass resolution over a wide <i>m</i>/<i>z</i> range, compare the experimental resolution to the single peak based calculated resolution, and demonstrate the applicability of mass resolution ladders to study interactions of similar ions in various types of widely used mass spectrometers

Quantification of Cellular Folate Species by LC-MS after Stabilization by Derivatization

Folate cofactors play a key role in one-carbon metabolism. Analysis of individual folate species is hampered by the low chemical stability and high interconvertibility of folates, which can lead to severe experimental bias. Here, we present a complete workflow that employs simultaneous extraction and stabilization of folates by derivatization. We perform reductive methylation employing stable isotope labeled reagents to retain information on the position and redox state of one-carbon units as well as the redox state of the pteridine ring. The derivatives are analyzed by a targeted LC(HILIC)-MS/MS method without the need for deconjugation, thereby also preserving the glutamation state of folates. The presented method does not only improve analyte coverage and sensitivity as compared to other published methods, it also greatly simplifies sample handling and storage. Finally, we report differences in the response of bacterial and mammalian systems to pharmacological inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase.ISSN:1520-6882ISSN:0003-270

Quantification of Cellular Folate Species by LC-MS after Stabilization by Derivatization

Folate cofactors play a key role in one-carbon metabolism. Analysis of individual folate species is hampered by the low chemical stability and high interconvertibility of folates, which can lead to severe experimental bias. Here, we present a complete workflow that employs simultaneous extraction and stabilization of folates by derivatization. We perform reductive methylation employing stable isotope labeled reagents to retain information on the position and redox state of one-carbon units as well as the redox state of the pteridine ring. The derivatives are analyzed by a targeted LC­(HILIC)-MS/MS method without the need for deconjugation, thereby also preserving the glutamation state of folates. The presented method does not only improve analyte coverage and sensitivity as compared to other published methods, it also greatly simplifies sample handling and storage. Finally, we report differences in the response of bacterial and mammalian systems to pharmacological inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase

Hepatocyte Proteome Alterations Induced by Individual and Combinations of Common Free Fatty Acids

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a pathology with a hard-to-detect onset and is estimated to be present in a quarter of the adult human population. To improve our understanding of the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, we treated a human hepatoma cell line model, HepG2, with increasing concentrations of common fatty acids, namely myristic, palmitic and oleic acid. To reproduce more physiologically representative conditions, we also included combinations of these fatty acids and monitored the cellular response with an in-depth proteomics approach and imaging techniques. The two saturated fatty acids initially presented a similar phenotype of a dose-dependent decrease in growth rates and impaired lipid droplet formation. Detailed analysis revealed that the drop in the growth rates was due to delayed cell-cycle progression following myristic acid treatment, whereas palmitic acid led to cellular apoptosis. In contrast, oleic acid, as well as saturated fatty acid mixtures with oleic acid, led to a dose-dependent increase in lipid droplet volume without adverse impacts on cell growth. Comparing the effects of harmful single-fatty-acid treatments and the well-tolerated fatty acid mixes on the cellular proteome, we were able to differentiate between fatty-acid-specific cellular responses and likely common lipotoxic denominators

Cleaning out the Litterbox of Proteomic Scientists’ Favorite Pet: Optimized Data Analysis Avoiding Trypsin Artifacts

Chemically modified trypsin is a standard reagent in proteomics experiments but is usually not considered in database searches. Modification of trypsin is supposed to protect the protease against autolysis and the resulting loss of activity. Here, we show that modified trypsin is still subject to self-digestion, and, as a result, modified trypsin-derived peptides are present in standard digests. We depict that these peptides commonly lead to false-positive assignments even if native trypsin is considered in the database. Moreover, we present an easily implementable method to include modified trypsin in the database search with a minimal increase in search time and search space while efficiently avoiding these false-positive hits

Proteomic Changes of Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells

Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the major cellular drivers of liver fibrosis. Upon liver inflammation caused by a broad range of insults including non-alcoholic fatty liver, HSC transform from a quiescent into a proliferating, fibrotic phenotype. Although much is known about the pathophysiology of this process, exact cellular processes which occur in HSC and enable this transformation remain yet to be elucidated. In order to investigate this HSC transformation, we employed a simple, yet reliable model of HSC activation via an increase in growth medium serum concentration (serum activation). For that purpose, immortalized human LX-2 HSC were exposed to either 1% or 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Resulting quiescent (1% FBS) and activated (10% FBS) LX-2 cells were then subjected to in-depth mass spectrometry-based proteomics analysis as well as comprehensive phenotyping. Protein network analysis of activated LX-2 cells revealed an increase in the production of ribosomal proteins and proteins related to cell cycle control and migration, resulting in higher proliferation and faster migration phenotypes. Interestingly, we also observed a decrease in the expression of cholesterol and fatty acid biosynthesis proteins in accordance with a concomitant loss of cytosolic lipid droplets during activation. Overall, this work provides an update on HSC activation characteristics using contemporary proteomic and bioinformatic analyses and presents an accessible model for HSC activation. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD029121

Mass Spectrometry-Based Redox and Protein Profiling of Failing Human Hearts

Oxidative stress contributes to detrimental functional decline of the myocardium, leading to the impairment of the antioxidative defense, dysregulation of redox signaling, and protein damage. In order to precisely dissect the changes of the myocardial redox state correlated with oxidative stress and heart failure, we subjected left-ventricular tissue specimens collected from control or failing human hearts to comprehensive mass spectrometry-based redox and quantitative proteomics, as well as glutathione status analyses. As a result, we report that failing hearts have lower glutathione to glutathione disulfide ratios and increased oxidation of a number of different proteins, including constituents of the contractile machinery as well as glycolytic enzymes. Furthermore, quantitative proteomics of failing hearts revealed a higher abundance of proteins responsible for extracellular matrix remodeling and reduced abundance of several ion transporters, corroborating contractile impairment. Similar effects were recapitulated by an in vitro cell culture model under a controlled oxygen atmosphere. Together, this study provides to our knowledge the most comprehensive report integrating analyses of protein abundance and global and peptide-level redox state in end-stage failing human hearts as well as oxygen-dependent redox and global proteome profiles of cultured human cardiomyocytes