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A sustained increase in intracellular Ca concentration (referred to hereafter as excitotoxicity), brought on by chronic metabolic stress, may contribute to pancreatic β-cell failure. To determine the additive effects of excitotoxicity and overnutrition on β-cell function and gene expression, we analyzed the impact of a high-fat diet (HFD) on knockout mice. Excitotoxicity caused β-cells to be more susceptible to HFD-induced impairment of glucose homeostasis, and these effects were mitigated by verapamil, a Ca channel blocker. Excitotoxicity, overnutrition, and the combination of both stresses caused similar but distinct alterations in the β-cell transcriptome, including additive increases in genes associated with mitochondrial energy metabolism, fatty acid β-oxidation, and mitochondrial biogenesis and their key regulator Overnutrition worsened excitotoxicity-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, increasing metabolic inflexibility and mitochondrial damage. In addition, excitotoxicity and overnutrition, individually and together, impaired both β-cell function and identity by reducing expression of genes important for insulin secretion, cell polarity, cell junction, cilia, cytoskeleton, vesicular trafficking, and regulation of β-cell epigenetic and transcriptional program. Sex had an impact on all β-cell responses, with male animals exhibiting greater metabolic stress-induced impairments than females. Together, these findings indicate that a sustained increase in intracellular Ca, by altering mitochondrial function and impairing β-cell identity, augments overnutrition-induced β-cell failure.
© 2020 by the American Diabetes Association.

Juxtaglomerular (JG) cells, major sources of renin, differentiate from metanephric mesenchymal cells that give rise to JG cells or a subset of smooth muscle cells of the renal afferent arteriole. During periods of dehydration and salt deprivation, renal mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) differentiate from JG cells. JG cells undergo expansion and smooth muscle cells redifferentiate to express renin along the afferent arteriole. Gene expression profiling comparing resident renal MSCs with JG cells indicates that the transcription factor Sox6 is highly expressed in JG cells in the adult kidney. In vitro, loss of Sox6 expression reduces differentiation of renal MSCs to renin-producing cells. In vivo, Sox6 expression is upregulated after a low-Na diet and furosemide. Importantly, knockout of Sox6 in Ren1d+ cells halts the increase in renin-expressing cells normally seen during a low-Na diet and furosemide as well as the typical increase in renin. Furthermore, Sox6 ablation in renin-expressing cells halts the recruitment of smooth muscle cells along the afferent arteriole, which normally express renin under these conditions. These results support a previously undefined role for Sox6 in renin expression.

We recently identified a pathway underlying immune activation in hypertension. Proteins oxidatively modified by reactive isoLG (isolevuglandin) accumulate in dendritic cells (DCs). PGE (Prostaglandin E2) has been implicated in the inflammation associated with hypertension. We hypothesized that PGE via its EP (E prostanoid) 3 receptor contributes to DC activation in hypertension. EP3 mice and wild-type littermates were exposed to sequential hypertensive stimuli involving an initial 2-week exposure to the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride in drinking water, followed by a 2-week washout period, and a subsequent 4% high-salt diet for 3 weeks. In wild-type mice, this protocol increased systolic pressure from 123±2 to 148±8 mm Hg (<0.05). This was associated with marked renal inflammation and a striking accumulation of isoLG adducts in splenic DCs. However, the increases in blood pressure, renal T-cell infiltration, and DC isoLG formation were completely prevented in EP3 mice. Similar protective effects were also observed in wild-type mice that received intracerebroventricular injection of a lentiviral vector encoding shRNA targeting the EP3 receptor. Further, in vitro experiments indicated that PGE also acts directly on DCs via its EP1 receptors to stimulate intracellular isoLG formation. Together, these findings provide new insight into how EP receptors in both the central nervous system and peripherally on DCs promote inflammation in salt-induced hypertension.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has become a major health problem worldwide. Skeletal muscle (SKM) is the key tissue for whole-body glucose disposal and utilization. New drugs aimed at improving insulin sensitivity of SKM would greatly expand available therapeutic options. β-arrestin-1 and -2 (Barr1 and Barr2, respectively) are two intracellular proteins best known for their ability to mediate the desensitization and internalization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Recent studies suggest that Barr1 and Barr2 regulate several important metabolic functions including insulin release and hepatic glucose production. Since SKM expresses many GPCRs, including the metabolically important β2-adrenergic receptor, the goal of this study was to examine the potential roles of Barr1 and Barr2 in regulating SKM and whole-body glucose metabolism. Using SKM-specific knockout (KO) mouse lines, we showed that the loss of SKM Barr2, but not of SKM Barr1, resulted in mild improvements in glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice. SKM-specific Barr1- and Barr2-KO mice did not show any significant differences in exercise performance. However, lack of SKM Barr2 led to increased glycogen breakdown following a treadmill exercise challenge. Interestingly, mice that lacked both Barr1 and Barr2 in SKM showed no significant metabolic phenotypes. Thus, somewhat surprisingly, our data indicate that SKM β-arrestins play only rather subtle roles (SKM Barr2) in regulating whole-body glucose homeostasis and SKM insulin sensitivity.

Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Identifying dietary and other modifiable disease determinants has important implications for risk attenuation in susceptible individuals. Our primary aim was to estimate the association between dietary and supplemental intakes of calcium and magnesium and the risk of incident gastric cancer. We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of the National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study. We used Cox proportional hazard modeling to estimate the association between calcium and magnesium intakes with risk of incident gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) overall and by anatomic location, noncardia GA (NCGA) and cardia GA (CGA). A total of 536,403 respondents (59% males, 41% females) were included for analysis, among whom 1,518 incident GAs (797 NCGA and 721 CGA) occurred. Increasing calcium intake was associated with lower risk of GA overall (p-trend = 0.05), driven primarily by the association with NCGA, where the above median calcium intakes were associated with a 23% reduction in risk compared to the lowest quartile (p-trend = 0.05). This magnitude of NCGA risk reduction was greater among nonwhite ethnic group and Hispanics (hazard ratio [HR] 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24-1.07, p-trend = 0.04), current/former smokers (HR 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41-0.81), obese individuals (HR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.31-0.96) and those with high NCGA risk scores (HR 0.50, 95% CI: 0.31-0.80). Among men only, increasing magnesium intake was associated with 22-27% reduced risk of NCGA (p-trend = 0.05), while for the cohort, dietary magnesium intake in the highest vs. lowest quartile was associated with a 34% reduced risk of NCGA (HR 0.66, 95% CI: 0.48-0.90). These findings have important implications for risk factor modification. Future investigations are needed not only to confirm our results, but to define mechanisms underlying these associations.
© 2019 UICC.

BACKGROUND/AIMS - The prostaglandin E (PGE) EP3 receptor has a multifaceted role in metabolism. Drugs targeting EP3 have been proposed as therapeutics for diabetes; however, studies utilizing global EP3 knockout mice suggest that EP3 blockade increases obesity and insulin resistance. The present studies attempt to determine the effect of acute EP3 antagonist treatment on the diabetic phenotype.
METHODS - DG-041 was confirmed to be a high affinity antagonist at the mouse EP3 receptor by competition radioligand binding and by blockade of EP3-mediated responses. DG-041 pharmacokinetic studies were performed to determine the most efficacious route of administration. Male C57BL/6 × BALB/c (CB6F1) mice were fed diets containing 10%, 45%, or 60% calories from fat to induce obesity. Changes to the metabolic phenotype in these mice were evaluated after one week treatment with DG-041.
RESULTS - Subcutaneous injections of DG-041 at 20 mg/kg blocked the sulprostone-evoked rise in mean arterial pressure confirming the efficacy of this administration regime. Seven day treatment with DG-041 had minimal effect on body composition or glycemic control. DG-041 administration caused a reduction in skeletal muscle triglyceride content while showing a trend toward increased hepatic triglycerides.
CONCLUSION - Short term EP3 administration of DG-041 produced effective blockade of the EP3 receptor and decreased skeletal muscle triglyceride content but had no significant effects on the diabetic phenotype.
Published by Elsevier Inc.

Adverse alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota have been implicated in the development of obesity and a variety of chronic diseases. Re-engineering the gut microbiota to produce beneficial metabolites is a potential strategy for treating these chronic diseases. N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamines (NAPEs) are a family of bioactive lipids with known anti-obesity properties. Previous studies showed that administration of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) engineered with Arabidopsis thaliana NAPE synthase to produce NAPEs imparted resistance to obesity induced by a high-fat diet that persisted after ending their administration. In prior studies, mice were pre-treated with ampicillin prior to administering engineered EcN for 8 weeks in drinking water. If use of antibiotics and long-term administration are required for beneficial effects, implementation of this strategy in humans might be problematic. Studies were therefore undertaken to determine if less onerous protocols could still impart persistent resistance and sustained NAPE biosynthesis. Administration of engineered EcN for only 2 weeks without pre-treatment with antibiotics sufficed to establish persistent resistance. Sustained NAPE biosynthesis by EcN was required as antibiotic treatment after administration of the engineered EcN markedly attenuated its effects. Finally, heterologous expression of human phospholipase A/acyltransferase-2 (PLAAT2) in EcN provided similar resistance to obesity as heterologous expression of A. thaliana NAPE synthase, confirming that NAPEs are the bioactive mediator of this resistance.

Excess dietary salt contributes to inflammation and hypertension via poorly understood mechanisms. Antigen presenting cells including dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in regulating intestinal immune homeostasis in part by surveying the gut epithelial surface for pathogens. Previously, we found that highly reactive γ-ketoaldehydes or isolevuglandins (IsoLGs) accumulate in DCs and act as neoantigens, promoting an autoimmune-like state and hypertension. We hypothesized that excess dietary salt alters the gut microbiome leading to hypertension and this is associated with increased immunogenic IsoLG-adduct formation in myeloid antigen presenting cells. To test this hypothesis, we performed fecal microbiome analysis and measured blood pressure of healthy human volunteers with salt intake above or below the American Heart Association recommendations. We also performed 16S rRNA analysis on cecal samples of mice fed normal or high salt diets. In humans and mice, high salt intake was associated with changes in the gut microbiome reflecting an increase in Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and genus Prevotella bacteria. These alterations were associated with higher blood pressure in humans and predisposed mice to vascular inflammation and hypertension in response to a sub-pressor dose of angiotensin II. Mice fed a high salt diet exhibited increased intestinal inflammation including the mesenteric arterial arcade and aorta, with a marked increase in the B7 ligand CD86 and formation of IsoLG-protein adducts in CD11c+ myeloid cells. Adoptive transfer of fecal material from conventionally housed high salt-fed mice to germ-free mice predisposed them to increased intestinal inflammation and hypertension. These findings provide novel insight into the mechanisms underlying inflammation and hypertension associated with excess dietary salt and may lead to interventions targeting the microbiome to prevent and treat this important disease.