scholarly journals MicroRNA-277 targetsinsulin-like peptides 7and8to control lipid metabolism and reproduction inAedes aegyptimosquitoes

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (38) ◽  
pp. E8017-E8024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Ling ◽  
Vladimir A. Kokoza ◽  
Changyu Zhang ◽  
Emre Aksoy ◽  
Alexander S. Raikhel

Hematophagous female mosquitoes transmit numerous devastating human diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, and others. Because of their obligatory requirement of a vertebrate blood meal for reproduction, these mosquitoes need a lot of energy; therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms linking metabolism and reproduction is of particular importance. Lipids are the major energy store providing the fuel required for host seeking and reproduction. They are essential components of the fat body, a metabolic tissue that is the insect analog of vertebrate liver and adipose tissue. In this study, we found that microRNA-277 (miR-277) plays an important role in regulating mosquito lipid metabolism. The genetic disruption of miR-277 using the CRISPR-Cas9 system led to failures in both lipid storage and ovary development. miR-277 mimic injection partially rescued these phenotypic manifestations. Examination of subcellular localization of FOXO protein via CRISPR-assisted, single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide-mediated homology-directed repair revealed that insulin signaling is up-regulated in response to miR-277 depletion. In silico target prediction identified that insulin-like peptides 7 and 8 (ilp7andilp8) are putative targets of miR-277; RNA immunoprecipitation and a luciferase reporter assay confirmed thatilp7andilp8are direct targets of this miRNA. CRISPR-Cas9 depletion ofilp7andilp8led to metabolic and reproductive defects. These depletions identified differential actions of ILP7 and ILP8 in lipid homeostasis and ovarian development. Thus, miR-277 plays a critical role in mosquito lipid metabolism and reproduction by targetingilp7andilp8, and serves as a monitor to control ILP7 and ILP8 mRNA levels.

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Haemin Kim ◽  
Brian Oh ◽  
Kyung-Hyun Park-Min

Bone is a dynamic tissue and is constantly being remodeled by bone cells. Metabolic reprogramming plays a critical role in the activation of these bone cells and skeletal metabolism, which fulfills the energy demand for bone remodeling. Among various metabolic pathways, the importance of lipid metabolism in bone cells has long been appreciated. More recent studies also establish the link between bone loss and lipid-altering conditions—such as atherosclerotic vascular disease, hyperlipidemia, and obesity—and uncover the detrimental effect of fat accumulation on skeletal homeostasis and increased risk of fracture. Targeting lipid metabolism with statin, a lipid-lowering drug, has been shown to improve bone density and quality in metabolic bone diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms of lipid-mediated regulation in osteoclasts are not completely understood. Thus, a better understanding of lipid metabolism in osteoclasts can be used to harness bone cell activity to treat pathological bone disorders. This review summarizes the recent developments of the contribution of lipid metabolism to the function and phenotype of osteoclasts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 1440-1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keira J. Lucas ◽  
Sourav Roy ◽  
Jisu Ha ◽  
Amanda L. Gervaise ◽  
Vladimir A. Kokoza ◽  
...  

Female mosquitoes require a blood meal for reproduction, and this blood meal provides the underlying mechanism for the spread of many important vector-borne diseases in humans. A deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms linked to mosquito blood meal processes and reproductive events is of particular importance for devising innovative vector control strategies. We found that the conserved microRNA miR-8 is an essential regulator of mosquito reproductive events. Two strategies to inhibit miR-8 function in vivo were used for functional characterization: systemic antagomir depletion and spatiotemporal inhibition using the miRNA sponge transgenic method in combination with the yeast transcriptional activator gal4 protein/upstream activating sequence system. Depletion of miR-8 in the female mosquito results in defects related to egg development and deposition. We used a multialgorithm approach for miRNA target prediction in mosquito 3′ UTRs and experimentally verified secreted wingless-interacting molecule (swim) as an authentic target of miR-8. Our findings demonstrate that miR-8 controls the activity of the long-range Wingless (Wg) signaling by regulating Swim expression in the female fat body. We discovered that the miR-8/Wg axis is critical for the proper secretion of lipophorin and vitellogenin by the fat body and subsequent accumulation of these yolk protein precursors by developing oocytes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidhu V Thaker ◽  
Eleanor G Seaby ◽  
Casie Genetti ◽  
Jacob Sutherland ◽  
Grazia Ianello ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Aryl hydrocarbon nuclear translocator 2 (ARNT2) is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-PAS (Per/Arnt/Sim) transcription factor shown to be critical to the development of paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), key region for energy homeostasis and feeding response. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that ARNT2 is an obligate heterodimer for SIM1, known cause of monogenic obesity. Null mutations in Arnt2 in animals are not viable, but hypomorphic mutation results in hyperphagic obesity and its associated consequences (1). Due to the critical role of ARNT2 in the development of PVN, we hypothesize that hypomorphic mutations may result in early onset obesity in humans. Methods: The Genetics of Early Childhood Obesity (GECO) study recruits children with severe obesity (BMI > 120% of 95th percentile) of early onset (< 6 years). Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed in a subset of proband-parent trios. The functional validation of the mutation(s) in ARNT2 is ongoing with co-transfection of tagged Arnt2 and Sim1 in HEK293 cells, with the induction of a luciferase reporter gene under the control of 6 repeats of bHLH-PAS core binding element by the Arnt2-Sim1 complex. Results: Two adolescents from unrelated families were found to have genetic variants in ARNT2. Subject 1 has a novel de novo heterozygous coding variant in ARNT2, c.388 C>G (p.P130A, CADD 25), predicted to be deleterious by 8/12 in silico algorithms. She is a 14-year old Caucasian girl with severe early onset obesity, BMI 28.1 kg/m2 (BMIz +4.72) at 2.5 years of age that has increased to 53.54 kg/m2 (BMIz + 3.25) at 14-years, and height > 95th %tile. She is non-dysmorphic, has developmental delay, absence seizures, behavior abnormalities & glucose intolerance/dyslipidemia secondary to obesity. Using genematcher, we identified another proband with the phenotype of obesity: an African American girl (BMIz +1.9) with biallelic inherited heterozygous variants in ARNT2, c.1228T>A (p.W410R, CADD 29) and c.916G>A (p.G306S, CADD 22). An only child conceived by IVF, she is non-dysmorphic and on treatment for bilateral focal epilepsy. All 3 variants are rare, with mean allele frequency < 0.005 in population-based databases such as gNOMAD. Both the patients have early onset obesity and a significant neurological phenotype. ARNT2 is a highly constrained gene of 717 amino acids with a significant depletion of missense variants in the N-terminus (1-244 aa) and overall fewer loss of function variants in ~282,644 alleles sequenced in gNOMAD. Conclusions: We propose that hypomorphic mutations in ARNT2 could be a potential novel cause of monogenic obesity in humans. Future studies will investigate the molecular mechanisms causing weight dysregulation in patient specific disease relevant hypothalamic neurons. Reference: (1) Turer et al., Dis Model Mech. 2018; 11(12)


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Sá ◽  
Ana Rita Oliveira ◽  
Cátia Machado ◽  
Marisa Azevedo ◽  
Cristina Pereira-Wilson

Disruptions in whole-body lipid metabolism can lead to the onset of several pathologies such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The present study aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind the lipid-lowering effects of the flavone luteolin-7-glucoside (L7G) which we previously showed to improve plasma lipid profile in rats. L7G is abundant in plant foods of Mediterranean diet such as aromatic plants used as herbs. Results show that dietary supplementation with L7G for one week induced the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) and of its target gene carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1) in rat liver. L7G showed a tendency to decrease the hepatic expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), without affecting fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein levels. Although SREBP-2 and LDLr mRNA levels did not change, the expression of HMG CoA reductase (HMGCR) was significantly repressed by L7G. L7G also inhibited this enzyme’sin vitroactivity in a dose dependent manner, but only at high and not physiologically relevant concentrations. These results add new evidence that the flavone luteolin-7-glucoside may help in preventing metabolic diseases and clarify the mechanisms underlying the beneficial health effects of diets rich in fruits and vegetables.


Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 122-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariateresa Fulciniti ◽  
Nicola Amodio ◽  
Rajya Bandi ◽  
Rao H. Prabhala ◽  
Sophia Adamia ◽  
...  

Abstract Deregulated expression of microRNAs (miR) is a hallmark of cancer. Tumor suppressor miRNAs are generally down-regulated in cancer cells compared to their normal counterpart, and their enforced expression indeed represents a promising strategy for cancer treatment. We have found miR-23b to be downregulated in CD138+ myeloma cells from 38 multiple myeloma (MM) patients and 18 plasma cell leukemia (PCL) patients compared to normal PCs. Decreased expression of miR-23b was further confirmed in an independent dataset of 66 MM patients by TaqMan miRNA assays. The downregulation of miR-23b expression was also observed in several myeloma cells lines when compared with PBMC and BMSC. Interestingly, interaction of BMSC with MM cells resulted in further decrease in miR-23b expression in both cell types. Moreover, Interleukin-6 (IL-6) also suppressed the expression of miR-23b in a time- and dose- dependent pattern, indicating that the human bone marrow microenvironment (huBMM) modulates miR-23b levels. miR-23b is commonly repressed in autoimmune conditions by IL-17, a cytokine shown to promote myeloma cell growth and inhibit its immune function. We have indeed observed further decrease in miR-23b expression in MM cells after IL-17 treatment for 24 hours. We have also observed downregulation of miR-23b in CD19+ Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) cells compared to CD19+ B cells from healthy donors, which was further decreased in the presence of components of the WM bone marrow milieu. We further assessed the functional significance of miR-23b by both gain- and loss-of-function studies. A significant decrease in cell proliferation and survival, along with induction of caspase 3/7 activity was observed over time in miR-23b mimic–transfected myeloma (H929, KMS11) and WM cell lines (MWCL1) with low miR-23b expression. At the molecular level, we have identified Sp1, a transcription factor endowed with oncogenic activity in MM and WM, as a target of miR-23b. Expression of miR-23b decreased Sp1 mRNA levels via 3’UTR binding, as assessed in luciferase reporter assays. On the other hand, genetic and/or pharmacological inhibition of Sp1 led to miR-23b upregulation, thus highlighting the occurrence of a feedback loop between miR-23b and its target. Of note, miR-23b transfection significantly reduced Sp1-driven NF-kB activity in MM and WM cells. Finally, c-Myc, an important oncogenic transcription factor known to stimulate MM cell proliferation, has been shown to transcriptionally repress miR-23b. Moreover, treatment with the demethylating agent 5-aza-deoxycitidine significantly increase the expression of miR-23b in MM1S and KMS-11 cells suggesting that promoter methylation may be an additional mechanism of miR-23b suppression in myeloma. Thus MYC-dependent miR-23b repression in myeloma cells may allow activation of oncogenic transcription factors Sp1 and NF-κB, representing the first feed forward loop with critical growth and survival role in myeloma. Taken together, these data support a model in which the humoral environment reduces miR-23b expression in tumor cells, suggesting a tumor suppressor role in MM and WM and highlighting the potential of a miR-23b-based replacement therapy to treat these hematologic malignancies. Disclosures: Anderson: gilead: Consultancy; onyx: Consultancy; celgene: Consultancy; sanofi aventis: Consultancy; oncopep: Equity Ownership; acetylon: Equity Ownership.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (33) ◽  
pp. E4828-E4836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Bo Zhao ◽  
Sourav Roy ◽  
Tusar T. Saha ◽  
Vladimir A. Kokoza ◽  
...  

Obligatory blood-triggered reproductive strategy is an evolutionary adaptation of mosquitoes for rapid egg development. It contributes to the vectorial capacity of these insects. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying reproductive processes is of particular importance. Here, we report that microRNA-309 (miR-309) plays a critical role in mosquito reproduction. A spatiotemporal expression profile of miR-309 displayed its blood feeding-dependent onset and ovary-specific manifestation in female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Antagomir silencing of miR-309 impaired ovarian development and resulted in nonsynchronized follicle growth. Furthermore, the genetic disruption of miR-309 by CRISPR/Cas9 system led to the developmental failure of primary follicle formation. Examination of genomic responses to miR-309 depletion revealed that several pathways associated with ovarian development are down-regulated. Comparative analysis of genes obtained from the high-throughput RNA sequencing of ovarian tissue from the miR-309 antagomir-silenced mosquitoes with those from the in silico computation target prediction identified that the gene-encoding SIX homeobox 4 protein (SIX4) is a putative target of miR-309. Reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation confirmed that SIX4 is a direct target of miR-309. RNA interference of SIX4 was able to rescue phenotypic manifestations caused by miR-309 depletion. Thus, miR-309 plays a critical role in mosquito reproduction by targeting SIX4 in the ovary and serves as a regulatory switch permitting a stage-specific degradation of the ovarian SIX4 mRNA. In turn, this microRNA (miRNA)-targeted degradation is required for appropriate initiation of a blood feeding-triggered phase of ovarian development, highlighting involvement of this miRNA in mosquito reproduction.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Choppin ◽  
Barbara Feldmeyer ◽  
Susanne Foitzik

Abstract Background In insect societies, queens monopolize reproduction while workers perform tasks such as brood care or foraging. Queen loss leads to ovary development and lifespan extension in workers of many ant species. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this phenotypic plasticity remain unclear. Recent studies highlight the importance of epigenetics in regulating plastic traits in social insects. Thus, we investigated the role of histone acetylation in regulating worker reproduction in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus. We removed queens from their colonies to induce worker fecundity, and either fed workers with chemical inhibitors of histone acetylation (C646), deacetylation (TSA), or the solvent (DMSO) as control. We monitored worker number for six weeks after which we assessed ovary development and sequenced fat body mRNA. Results Workers survived better in queenless colonies. They also developed their ovaries after queen removal in control colonies as expected, but not in colonies treated with the chemical inhibitors. Both inhibitors affected gene expression, although the inhibition of histone acetylation using C646 altered the expression of more genes with immunity, fecundity, and longevity functionalities. Interestingly, these C646-treated workers shared many upregulated genes with infertile workers from queenright colonies. We also identified one gene with antioxidant properties commonly downregulated in infertile workers from queenright colonies and both C646 and TSA-treated workers from queenless colonies. Conclusion Our results suggest that histone acetylation is involved in the molecular regulation of worker reproduction, and thus point to an important role of histone modifications in modulating phenotypic plasticity of life history traits in social insects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 530-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brid Bode ◽  
Ali Shahmoradi ◽  
Moritz J. Rossner ◽  
Henrik Oster

In mammals, 24-h rhythms are controlled by a hierarchical system of endogenous clocks, with a circadian pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus that synchronizes peripheral oscillators throughout the body. The molecular clock machinery is regulated by interlocked transcriptional translational feedback loops (TTLs). The core TTL includes the transcriptional modulators PER (1-3) and CRY (1/2) that feed back on their own expression by interaction with CLOCK/BMAL1. An accessory loop involving the transcription factors DEC1 and DEC2 has been described that also impinges on CLOCK/BMAL1-mediated transactivation. In Drosophila, the DEC ortholog CWO shows synergistic activity to PER. This prompted the authors to analyze PER1-DEC interaction in the mammalian SCN. They generated Per1/Dec double and triple mutant mice to monitor activity rhythms under entrained and free-running conditions. Furthermore, they analyzed expression of the clock genes Per2, Rev-Erbα, and Bmal1 in wild-type and Per1/Dec mutant SCN by in situ hybridization. The experiments reveal a critical role for Per1-Dec interaction in regulating activity phase under entrained conditions. In constant darkness, a synergistic function for Per1 and Dec1/2 in period regulation was found, correlating with disrupted clock gene mRNA levels in the SCN. Luciferase reporter gene assays indicate an activatory function of DECs on Bmal1 expression. Together, the results suggest a partially redundant and bidirectional regulatory function for the 2 Dec genes in the TTL and a conservation of Per-Dec (Cwo) synergism between vertebrate and invertebrate clocks.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrii V Burdin ◽  
Alexey A Kolobov ◽  
Anton V Demyanov ◽  
Alexey A Soshnev ◽  
Chad N Broker ◽  
...  

Introduction: Alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 (AGXT2) is the only known enzyme capable of degradation of all three endogenous methylarginines, which serve as markers and potentially mediators of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies also suggest that AGXT2 and its alternative substrate beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIB) play important role in lipid metabolism. The predicted core promoter region of mammalian AGXT2 promoter contains a highly conserved putative binding site for hepatic nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4A). Patients with severe deficiency in HNF4a develop maturity onset diabetes of young 1. Furthermore, polymorphisms of HNF4A are associated with increased risk of diabetes type 2. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that HNF4A is a major regulator of AGXT2 expression and activity. Methods and results: We demonstrated direct binding of HNF4A to the Agxt2 promoter region in hepatic cell line Hepa 1-6 using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Then we showed that mutations of the predicted HNF4A binding site in the Agxt2 core promoter result in up to 80% decrease in the promoter activity as assessed by luciferase reporter assays (p<0.001). We used siRNA-mediated knockdown of HNF4A to determine whether this factor is required for basal Agxt2 expression in Hepa 1-6 cells. Knockdown of HNF4A led to almost 50% reduction in Agxt2 mRNA levels compared to controls (p<0.01). We took advantage of the previously characterized inducible liver-specific Hnf4a knockout (KO) mice to determine whether HNF4A regulates Agxt2 expression in vivo and showed a 90% (p<0.001) decrease in liver Agxt2 expression and a 85% (p<0.01) decrease in liver AGXT2 activity towards methylarginines in Hnf4a KO mice compared with the wild-type littermates. Finaly, on a functional level, Hnf4a KO mice had significant amounts of BAIB present in plasma, whereas BAIB was not detectable in the plasma of the wild-type littermates. Conclusions: In our study we identified HNF4A as the major regulator of Agxt2 gene expression. This finding suggests that diabetic patients with HNF4A deficiency might have a unique mechanism for development of cardiovascular complication via AGXT2-dependent impairment of lipid metabolism and methylarginines-mediated vascular dysfunction.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Young Go ◽  
Yanhua Li ◽  
Zhenhai Chen ◽  
Mingyuan Han ◽  
Dongwan Yoo ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of equine arteritis virus (EAV) on type I interferon (IFN) production. Equine endothelial cells (EECs) were infected with the virulent Bucyrus strain (VBS) of EAV and expression of IFN-βwas measured at mRNA and protein levels by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and IFN bioassay using vesicular stomatitis virus expressing the green fluorescence protein (VSV-GFP), respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR results showed that IFN-βmRNA levels in EECs infected with EAV VBS were not increased compared to those in mock-infected cells. Consistent with quantitative RT-PCR, Sendai virus- (SeV-) induced type I IFN production was inhibited by EAV infection. Using an IFN-βpromoter-luciferase reporter assay, we subsequently demonstrated that EAV nsps 1, 2, and 11 had the capability to inhibit type I IFN activation. Of these three nsps, nsp1 exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect. Taken together, these data demonstrate that EAV has the ability to suppress the type I IFN production in EECs and nsp1 may play a critical role to subvert the equine innate immune response.


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