Lysine-specific demethylase 1 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis via repressing glucocorticoid activation

Brown adipocytes display phenotypic plasticity, as they can switch between the active states of fatty acid oxidation and energy dissipation versus a more dormant state. Cold exposure or β-adrenergic stimulation favors the active thermogenic state, whereas sympathetic denervation or glucocorticoid administration promotes more lipid accumulation. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these switches is incomplete. Here we found that LSD1 (lysine-specific demethylase 1), a histone demethylase, regulates brown adipocyte metabolism in two ways. On the one hand, LSD1 associates with PRDM16 to repress expression of white fat-selective genes. On the other hand, LSD1 represses HSD11B1 (hydroxysteroid 11-β-dehydrogenase isozyme 1), a key glucocorticoid-activating enzyme, independently from PRDM16. Adipose-specific ablation of LSD1 impaired mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation capacity of the brown adipose tissue, reduced whole-body energy expenditure, and increased fat deposition, which can be significantly alleviated by simultaneously deleting HSD11B1. These findings establish a novel regulatory pathway connecting histone modification and hormone activation with mitochondrial oxidative capacity and whole-body energy homeostasis

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Translational profiling of adipocytes within adipose depots and intermuscular adipose tissues

The imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure elicited a worldwide problem, which is obesity. Obesity is associated with wide array of medical disorders not only limited to cardiovascular diseases, but also extended to include immune disorders, as well as some types of cancer. Hence, there is an indispensible need for identifying new therapies for tackling this serious health burden. The pathophysiological aspects of obesity include the storage of excess energy as fat droplets in adipocytes within adipose depots. Another less studied aspect of obesity is the increased fat storage ectopically in other organs such as skeletal muscle, liver, pancreas, bone marrow and heart. In this study, we performed an adipocyte-specific RNAseq using a translating ribosomal affinity purification (TRAP) by crossing the transgenic TRAP mice with Adiponectin-Cre mice where Adiponectin is a mature fat cell protein. Using this approach, we have selectively isolated polysomes from Adiponectin-positive cells from brown, subcutaneous, visceral adipose depots and quadriceps muscle in mice. Using differential gene expression analysis (DEseq), we identified S100B as a BAT enriched protein whose role in fat metabolism has not been elucidated before. Here, we describe the role of S100B in inducing thermogenesis through activating lipolysis pathways. In vivo studies using overexpression adenovirus systems showed that S100B improved obesity-induced glucose intolerance and enhanced respiration capacity of mice. Moreover, loss of function experiments demonstrated a physiological role of S100B in stimulating lipolysis and ultimately in activating thermogenesis. We also applied the TRAP model for characterizing the transcriptomic make up of inter/intra-muscular adipose tissue (iMAT). IMAT represents one of the ectopic adipose tissues linked with insulin resistance. Identifying the transcriptomic pattern of iMAT represented a major challenge owing to their location. We demonstrate the close relationship between iMAT and subcutaneous fat cells both in their genetic signature and their ability to respond to cold. Collectively, the TRAP approach is a powerful tool for characterizing transcripts of mature adipocytes that can be utilized for discovering new regulators of adipose tissues. In addition, it can be used for deciphering other ectopically embedded adipocytes within organs such as the heart, pancreas and bone marrow

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis via repressing glucocorticoid activation

Brown adipocytes display phenotypic plasticity, as they can switch between the active states of fatty acid oxidation and energy dissipation versus a more dormant state. Cold exposure or β-adrenergic stimulation favors the active thermogenic state, whereas sympathetic denervation or glucocorticoid administration promotes more lipid accumulation. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying these switches is incomplete. Here we found that LSD1 (lysine-specific demethylase 1), a histone demethylase, regulates brown adipocyte metabolism in two ways. On the one hand, LSD1 associates with PRDM16 to repress expression of white fat-selective genes. On the other hand, LSD1 represses HSD11B1 (hydroxysteroid 11-β-dehydrogenase isozyme 1), a key glucocorticoid-activating enzyme, independently from PRDM16. Adipose-specific ablation of LSD1 impaired mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation capacity of the brown adipose tissue, reduced whole-body energy expenditure, and increased fat deposition, which can be significantly alleviated by simultaneously deleting HSD11B1. These findings establish a novel regulatory pathway connecting histone modification and hormone activation with mitochondrial oxidative capacity and whole-body energy homeostasis.</p

Clinical Efficacy Associated with Enhanced Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract, Against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in a Murine Model of Leishmania major

Leishmaniasis is one of the most significant vector-borne syndromes of individuals. This parasitic infection can be affected by many species of Leishmania, most of which are zoonotic. Natural products have made and are continuing to make important contributions to the search for new antileishmanial agents. The use of plants in the production assembly of silver nanoparticles has drawn attention because of its rapid, eco-friendly, non-pathogenic, economical protocol and provides a single step technique for the biosynthetic process. Hence, we aimed to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using Moringa oleifera leaf extract and investigated the antileishmanial activity of these nanoparticles in a murine model of Leishmania major infection. A total of 50 mice were used and divided into five groups&mdash;healthy control, infected, infected mice treated with pentostam, infected mice treated with Ag-NPs and infected mice pretreated with Ag-NPs. In the present study, the leaf extract of the plant species Moringa oleifera was found to be a good source for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, their formation being confirmed by color change and stability in solution. In the present murine model of Leishmania major infection, we found that oral treatment with silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Moringa oleifera extract resulted in a significant reduction in the average size of leishmaniasis cutaneous lesions compared with untreated mice. Furthermore, the clinical efficacy of Moringa oleifera extract was associated with enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities. In conclusion, treatment with silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Moringa oleifera extract has higher and faster clinical efficacy than standard pentavalent antimonial treatment, probably by boosting the endogenous antioxidant activity

Attenuated PGC-1a isoforms following endurance exercise with blood flow restriction

Introduction: Exercise performed with blood flow restriction simultaneously enhances the acute responses to both myogenic and mitochondrial pathways with roles in training adaptation. We investigated isoform-specific gene expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 and selected target genes and proteins regulating skeletal muscle training adaptation. Methods: Nine healthy, untrained males participated in a randomized, counterbalanced, crossover design in which each subject completed a bout of low-intensity endurance exercise performed with blood flow restriction (15 min cycling at 40% of V·O2peak, BFR-EE), endurance exercise (30 min cycling at 70% of V·O2peak, EE), or resistance exercise (4 × 10 repetitions of leg press at 70% of one-repetition maximum) separated by at least 1 wk of recovery. A single resting muscle biopsy (vastus lateralis) was obtained 2 wk before the first exercise trial (rest) and 3 h after each bout. Results: Total PGC-1[alpha] mRNA abundance, along with all four isoforms, increased above rest with EE only (P < 0.05) being higher than BFR-EE (P < 0.05). PGC-1[alpha]1, 2, and 4 were higher after EE compared with resistance exercise (P < 0.05). EE also increased vascular endothelial growth factor, Hif-1[alpha], and MuRF-1 mRNA abundance above rest (P < 0.05), whereas COXIV mRNA expression increased with EE compared with BFR-EE (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The attenuated expression of all four PGC-1[alpha] isoforms when EE is performed with blood flow restriction suggests this type of exercise provides an insufficient stimulus to activate the signaling pathways governing mitochondrial and angiogenesis responses observed with moderate- to high-intensity EE

Lamin A/C depletion enhances DNA damage-induced stalled replication fork arrest.

The human LMNA gene encodes the essential nuclear envelope proteins lamin A and C (lamin A/C). Mutations in LMNA result in altered nuclear morphology, but how this impacts the mechanisms that maintain genomic stability is unclear. Here, we report that lamin A/C-deficient cells have a normal response to ionizing radiation but are sensitive to agents that cause interstrand cross-links (ICLs) or replication stress. In response to treatment with ICL agents (cisplatin, camptothecin, and mitomycin), lamin A/C-deficient cells displayed normal γ-H2AX focus formation but a higher frequency of cells with delayed γ-H2AX removal, decreased recruitment of the FANCD2 repair factor, and a higher frequency of chromosome aberrations. Similarly, following hydroxyurea-induced replication stress, lamin A/C-deficient cells had an increased frequency of cells with delayed disappearance of γ-H2AX foci and defective repair factor recruitment (Mre11, CtIP, Rad51, RPA, and FANCD2). Replicative stress also resulted in a higher frequency of chromosomal aberrations as well as defective replication restart. Taken together, the data can be interpreted to suggest that lamin A/C has a role in the restart of stalled replication forks, a prerequisite for initiation of DNA damage repair by the homologous recombination pathway, which is intact in lamin A/C-deficient cells. We propose that lamin A/C is required for maintaining genomic stability following replication fork stalling, induced by either ICL damage or replicative stress, in order to facilitate fork regression prior to DNA damage repair

Focal adhesion kinase depletion reduces human hepatocellular carcinoma growth by repressing enhancer of zeste homolog 2

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer in humans. The focal adhesion tyrosine kinase (FAK) is often over-expressed in human HCC and FAK inhibition may reduce HCC cell invasiveness. However, the anti-oncogenic effect of FAK knockdown in HCC cells remains to be clarified. We found that FAK depletion in HCC cells reduced in vitro and in vivo tumorigenicity, by inducing G2/M arrest and apoptosis, decreasing anchorage-independent growth, and modulating the expression of several cancer-related genes. Among these genes, we showed that FAK silencing decreased transcription and nuclear localization of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and its tri-methylation activity on lysine 27 of histone H3 (H3K27me3). Accordingly, FAK, EZH2 and H3K27me3 were concomitantly upregulated in human HCCs compared to non-tumor livers. In vitro experiments demonstrated that FAK affected EZH2 expression and function by modulating, at least in part, p53 and E2F2/3 transcriptional activity. Moreover, FAK silencing downregulated both EZH2 binding and histone H3K27me3 levels at the promoter of its target gene NOTCH2. Finally, we found that pharmacological inhibition of FAK activity resembled these effects although milder. In summary, we demonstrate that FAK depletion reduces HCC cell growth by affecting cancer-promoting genes including the pro-oncogene EZH2. Furthermore, we unveil a novel unprecedented FAK/EZH2 crosstalk in HCC cells, thus identifying a targetable network paving the way for new anticancer therapies