Triiodothyronine amplifies the adrenergic stimulation of uncoupling protein expression in rat brown adipocytes

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (5) ◽  
pp. E769-E777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Hernández ◽  
Maria Jesús Obregón

Uncoupling protein (UCP), the mitochondrial protein specific to brown adipose tissue, is activated transcriptionally in response to cold and adrenergic agents. We studied the role of triiodothyronine (T3) on the adrenergic stimulation of UCP mRNA expression by use of primary cultures of rat brown adipocytes. Basal UCP mRNA levels are undetectable. Norepinephrine (NE) increases UCP mRNA during differentiation, not during proliferation. In hypothyroid conditions, UCP mRNA response to NE is almost absent. The presence of T3 (0.2–20 nM) greatly increases the adrenergic response (30-fold). The sensitivity of UCP mRNA responses to NE is potentiated ∼100-fold by the presence of T3. The effect is proportional to the dose and time of preexposure to T3. The increases obtained with NE and T3 are prevented by actinomycin and cycloheximide. T3 greatly stabilizes UCP mRNA transcripts. The effects of thyroxine and retinoic acid are weaker than those of T3. In conclusion, in cultured rat brown adipocytes, T3 is required and both synergizes with NE to increase UCP mRNA and stabilizes its mRNA transcripts.

Endocrinology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 151 (10) ◽  
pp. 5074-5083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Martinez de Mena ◽  
Thomas S. Scanlan ◽  
Maria-Jesus Obregon

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis increases when uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) is activated adrenergically and requires T3. In humans, UCP1 activation in BAT seems involved in body weight maintenance. BAT type 2 deiodinase (D2) increases in response to adrenergic agents, producing the T3 required for UCP1 expression. T3 actions are mediated by thyroid hormone nuclear T3 receptors (TR), TRα and TRβ. Studies in mice suggest that TRβ is required for UCP1 induction, whereas TRα regulates body temperature and adrenergic sensitivity. In the present study, we compare the effects of T3vs. specific TRβ1 and TRα1 agonists [GC-1 and CO23] on the adrenergic induction of UCP1 and D2 in cultured rat brown adipocytes. T3 and GC-1 produced similar increases on UCP1, whereas CO23 increased UCP1 only at high doses (50 nm). GC-1 at low doses (0.2–10 nm) was less potent than T3, increasing the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity and mRNA. At higher doses, GC-1 further stimulated whereas T3 inhibited D2 activity but not D2 mRNA, suggesting posttranscriptional effects. CO23 had no effect on D2 activity but increased D2 mRNA. T3, GC-1, or CO23 by themselves did not increase UCP1 or D2 mRNA. High T3 doses shortened D2 half-life and increased D2 turnover via proteasome, whereas GC-1 did not change D2 stability. The α1- and α2-adrenergic D2 responses increased using high T3 doses. In summary, T3 increases the adrenergic stimulation of UCP1 and D2 expression mostly via the TRβ1 isoform, and in brown adipocytes, D2 is protected from degradation by the action of T3 on TRβ1.


2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Martinez-deMena ◽  
Maria-Jesus Obregón

Type II 5′ deiodinase (D2) activity produces triiodothyronine (T3) from thyroxine (T4) and is induced by cold and norepinephrine (NE) in brown adipose tissue. T3 is required for and amplifies the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity and mRNA in cultured brown adipocytes. D2 is upregulated by insulin and decrease in fasting. We now study the regulation by insulin of the adrenergically induced D2 activity and mRNA in primary cultures of rat brown adipocytes. Insulin alone does not increase D2 activity or mRNA. Insulin-depleted cells show a reduction in the adrenergically induced D2 activity, which is proportional to the length of insulin depletion and is restored after insulin addition. IGFs mimic this effect at higher doses. ERK 1/2 MAPK activity (p44/p42), stimulated by insulin, serum and NE, is an absolute requirement for the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity and mRNA. PI3K is stimulated by insulin and serum, and NE increases the effect of insulin. The action of insulin on D2 is not due to changes in D2 half-life or in the proteasome-mediated degradation of D2, but it seems to modulate the transcriptional induction mediated by NE. D2 mRNA expression, induced by NE plus T3, is reduced when insulin is withdrawn at early differentiation stages. Insulin or IGF-I promotes increases in D2 mRNA. Insulin is required for the induction of D2 mRNA by T3. In conclusion, MAPK signaling is required for the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity and mRNA, and insulin stimulates D2 activity via MAPK and PI3K and enhances the adrenergic pathways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. e994-e1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Ji Riis-Vestergaard ◽  
Bjørn Richelsen ◽  
Jens Meldgaard Bruun ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Jacob B Hansen ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation in humans has gained interest as a potential target for treatment of obesity and insulin resistance. In rodents, BAT is primarily induced through beta-3 adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) stimulation, whereas the primary beta adrenergic receptors (ADRBs) involved in human BAT activation are debated. We evaluated the importance of different ADRB subtypes for uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) induction in human brown adipocytes. Methods A human BAT cell model (TERT-hBA) was investigated for subtype-specific ADRB agonists and receptor knockdown on UCP1 mRNA levels and lipolysis (glycerol release). In addition, fresh human BAT biopsies and TERT-hBA were evaluated for expression of ADRB1, ADRB2, and ADRB3 using RT-qPCR. Results The predominant ADRB subtype in TERT-hBA adipocytes and BAT biopsies was ADRB1. In TERT-hBA, UCP1 mRNA expression was stimulated 11.0-fold by dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP), 8.0-fold to 8.4-fold by isoproterenol (ISO; a pan-ADRB agonist), and 6.1-fold to 12.7-fold by dobutamine (ADRB1 agonist), whereas neither procaterol (ADRB2 agonist), CL314.432, or Mirabegron (ADRB3 agonists) affected UCP1. Similarly, dbcAMP, ISO, and dobutamine stimulated glycerol release, whereas lipolysis was unaffected by ADRB2 and ADRB3 agonists. Selective knockdown of ADRB1 significantly attenuated ISO-induced UCP1 expression. Conclusion The adrenergic stimulation of UCP1 and lipolysis may mainly be mediated through ADRB1. Moreover, ADRB1 is the predominant ADRB in both TERT-hBA and human BAT biopsies. Thus, UCP1 expression in human BAT may, unlike in rodents, primarily be regulated by ADRB1. These findings may have implications for ADRB agonists as future therapeutic compounds for human BAT activation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 236 (3) ◽  
pp. 757-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Schimmel ◽  
D Dzierzanowski ◽  
M E Elliott ◽  
T W Honeyman

The present experiments were undertaken to investigate the role of the phosphoinositides phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns-4-P) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PtdIns-4,5-P2) in the alpha 1-adrenergic stimulation of respiration in isolated hamster brown adipocytes. Exposure of isolated brown adipocytes to the alpha-adrenergic-receptor agonist phenylephrine provoked a breakdown of 30-50% of the PtdIns-4-P and PtdIns-4,5-P2 after prelabelling of the cells with [32P]Pi. Coincident with the breakdown of phosphoinositides was an accumulation of labelled phosphatidic acid, which continued for the duration of the cell incubation. The time course of phosphoinositide breakdown was defined more precisely by pulse-chase experiments. Under these conditions, phenylephrine caused radioactivity in phosphatidylinositol, PtdIns-4-P and PtdIns-4,5-P2 to fall by more than 50% within 30 s and to remain at the depressed value for the duration of the incubation (10 min). This phospholipid response to alpha-adrenergic stimulation was blocked by exposure of the cells to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA); likewise phenylephrine stimulation of respiration was prevented by PMA. beta-Adrenergic stimulation of respiration and inhibition of respiration by 2-chloroadenosine and insulin were, however, unaffected by treatment with PMA. On the assumption that PMA is acting in these cells as an activator of protein kinase C, these results suggest the selective interruption of alpha-adrenergic actions in brown adipocytes by activated protein kinase C. These findings suggest that breakdown of phosphoinositides is an early event in alpha-adrenergic stimulation of brown adipocytes which may be important for the subsequent stimulation of respiration. The results from the pulse-chase studies also suggest, however, that phenylephrine-stimulated breakdown of inositol phospholipids is a short-lived event which does not appear to persist for the entire period of exposure to the alpha 1-adrenergic ligand.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (2) ◽  
pp. E287-E296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasa Petrovic ◽  
Irina G. Shabalina ◽  
James A. Timmons ◽  
Barbara Cannon ◽  
Jan Nedergaard

Most physiologically induced examples of recruitment of brown adipose tissue (BAT) occur as a consequence of chronic sympathetic stimulation (norepinephrine release within the tissue). However, in some physiological contexts (e.g., prenatal and prehibernation recruitment), this pathway is functionally contraindicated. Thus a nonsympathetically mediated mechanism of BAT recruitment must exist. Here we have tested whether a PPARγ activation pathway could competently recruit BAT, independently of sympathetic stimulation. We continuously treated primary cultures of mouse brown (pre)adipocytes with the potent peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonist rosiglitazone. In rosiglitazone-treated cultures, morphological signs of adipose differentiation and expression levels of the general adipogenic marker aP2 were manifested much earlier than in control cultures. Importantly, in the presence of the PPARγ agonist the brown adipocyte phenotype was significantly enhanced: UCP1 was expressed even in the absence of norepinephrine, and PPARα expression and norepinephrine-induced PGC-1α mRNA levels were significantly increased. However, the augmented levels of PPARα could not explain the brown-fat promoting effect of rosiglitazone, as this effect was still evident in PPARα-null cells. In continuously rosiglitazone-treated brown adipocytes, mitochondriogenesis, an essential part of BAT recruitment, was significantly enhanced. Most importantly, these mitochondria were capable of thermogenesis, as rosiglitazone-treated brown adipocytes responded to the addition of norepinephrine with a large increase in oxygen consumption. This thermogenic response was not observable in rosiglitazone-treated brown adipocytes originating from UCP1-ablated mice; hence, it was UCP1 dependent. Thus the PPARγ pathway represents an alternative, potent, and fully competent mechanism for BAT recruitment, which may be the cellular explanation for the enigmatic recruitment in prehibernation and prenatal states.


2000 ◽  
Vol 347 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore BENGTSSON ◽  
Barbara CANNON ◽  
Jan NEDERGAARD

In brown adipocytes, fundamental cellular processes (cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis) are regulated by adrenergic stimulation, notably through β-adrenergic receptors. The presence of all three β-receptor subtypes has been demonstrated in brown adipose tissue. Due to the significance of the action of these receptors and indications that the subtypes govern different processes, the adrenergic regulation of the expression of the β1-, β2- and β3-adrenoceptor genes was examined in murine brown-fat primary cell cultures. Moderate levels of β1-receptor mRNA, absence of β2-receptor mRNA and high levels of β3-receptor mRNA were observed in mature brown adipocytes (day 6 in culture). Noradrenaline (norepinephrine) addition led to diametrically opposite effects on β1- (markedly enhanced expression) and β3-gene expression (full cessation of expression, as previously shown). β2-Gene expression was induced by noradrenaline, but only transiently (< 1 h). The apparent affinities (EC50) of noradrenaline were clearly different (7 nM for the β1-gene and≤ 1 nM for the β3-gene), as were the mediation pathways (solely via β3-receptors and cAMP for the β1-gene and via β3-receptors and cAMP, as well as via α1-receptors and protein kinase C, for the β3-gene). The half-lives of the corresponding mRNA species were very short but different (17 min for β1-mRNA and 27 min for β3-mRNA), and these degradation rates were not affected by noradrenaline, implying that the mRNA levels were controlled by transcription. Inhibition of protein synthesis also led to diametrically opposite effects on β1- and β3-gene expression, but - notably - these effects were congruent with the noradrenaline effects, implying that a common factor regulating β1-gene expression negatively and β3-gene expression positively could be envisaged. In conclusion, very divergent effects of adrenergic stimulation on the expression of the different β-receptor genes were found within one cell type, and no unifying concept of adrenergic control of β-receptor gene expression can be formulated, either concerning different cell types, or concerning the different β-receptor subtype genes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 321 (3) ◽  
pp. 759-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pertti KUUSELA ◽  
Stefan REHNMARK ◽  
Anders JACOBSSON ◽  
Barbara CANNON ◽  
Jan NEDERGAARD

In order to investigate whether the positive effect of adrenergic stimulation on lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene expression in brown adipose tissue is a direct effect on the brown adipocytes themselves, the expression of the LPL gene was investigated by measuring LPL mRNA levels in brown adipocytes, isolated as precursors from the brown adipose tissue of rats and grown in culture in a fully defined medium before experimentation. Addition of noradrenaline led to an enhancement of LPL gene expression; the mRNA levels increased as a linear function of time for at least 5 h and were finally approx. 3 times higher than in control cells, an increase commensurate with that seen in vivoin both LPL mRNA levels and LPL activity during physiological stimulation. The increase was dependent on transcription. The effect of noradrenaline showed simple MichaelisŐMenten kinetics with an EC50 of approx. 11 nM. β3-Agonists (BRL-37344 and CGP-12177) could mimic the effect of noradrenaline; the β1-agonist dobutamine and the β2-agonist salbutamol could not; the α1-agonist cirazoline had only a weak effect. The effect of noradrenaline was fully inhibited by the β-antagonist propranolol and was halved by the α1-antagonist prazosin; the α2-antagonist yohimbine was without effect. An increase in LPL mRNA level similar to (but not significantly exceeding) that caused by noradrenaline could also be induced by the cAMP-elevating agents forskolin and cholera toxin, and 8-Br-cAMP also increased LPL mRNA levels. The increase in LPL gene expression was not mediated via an increase in the level of an intermediary proteinaceous factor. It is concluded that the physiologically induced increase in LPL gene expression is a direct effect of noradrenaline on the brown adipocytes themselves, mediated via a dominant β3-adrenergic pathway and an auxillary α1-adrenergic pathway which converge at a regulatory point in transcriptional control.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (9) ◽  
pp. E793-E799 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Andres Contreras ◽  
Yun-Hee Lee ◽  
Emilio P. Mottillo ◽  
James G. Granneman

Brown adipocytes (BA) generate heat in response to sympathetic activation and are the main site of nonshivering thermogenesis in mammals. Although most BA are located in classic brown adipose tissue depots, BA are also abundant in the inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT) before weaning. The number of BA is correlated with the density of sympathetic innervation in iWAT; however, the role of continuous sympathetic tone in the establishment and maintenance of BA in WAT has not been investigated. BA marker expression in iWAT was abundant in weaning mice but was greatly reduced by 8 wk of age. Nonetheless, BA phenotype could be rapidly reinstated by acute β3-adrenergic stimulation with CL-316,243 (CL). Genetic tagging of adipocytes with adiponectin-CreERT2 demonstrated that CL reinstates uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression in adipocytes that were present before weaning. Chronic surgical denervation dramatically reduced the ability of CL to induce the expression of UCP1 and other BA markers in the tissue as a whole, and this loss of responsiveness was prevented by concurrent treatment with CL. These results indicate that ongoing sympathetic activity is critical to preserve the ability of iWAT fat cells to express a BA phenotype upon adrenergic stimulation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (5) ◽  
pp. E1119-E1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Martinez-deMena ◽  
Arturo Hernández ◽  
Maria-Jesús Obregón

Type II 5′-iodothyronine deiodinase (D2), produces triiodothyronine (T3) and is stimulated by cold exposure via norepinephrine (NE) release in brown adipose tissue. Cultured rat brown adipocytes require T3for the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity. D2 mRNA expression in cultured brown adipocytes is undetectable with the use of basal conditions or NE without T3. Full D2 expression is achieved using NE + T3, especially after prolonged T3 exposure. β3-Adrenergic agonists mimic the NE action, whereas cAMP analogs do not. Prolonged exposure to T3 alone increases D2 mRNA. High T3 doses (500 nM) inhibit the adrenergic stimulation of D2 activity while increasing D2 mRNA. The effects obtained with NE + T3 or T3 alone are suppressed by actinomycin, but not by cycloheximide, which leads to accumulation of short D2 mRNA transcripts. Prolonged or short exposure to T3 did not change D2 mRNA half-life, but T3 seemed to elongate it. In conclusion, T3 is an absolute requirement for the adrenergic stimulation of D2 mRNA in brown adipocytes. T3upregulates D2 mRNA, an effect that might involve stimulation of factors required for transcription or for stabilization of D2 mRNA.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (1) ◽  
pp. E81-E87 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Moriscot ◽  
R. Rabelo ◽  
A. C. Bianco

Uncoupling protein (UCP) mRNA levels were studied in the interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT) of rats undergoing different manipulations of the adrenal function and BAT adrenergic stimulation. Adrenalectomy did not affect UCP mRNA levels for up to 8 days post-surgery. However, adrenalectomized rats underwent a greater increase in UCP mRNA levels (26%) than intact rats after 4 h of cold exposure. Administration of corticosterone (500 micrograms.100 g body wt-1.day-1 sc) to intact or adrenalectomized rats, kept at 28 degrees C, produced a marked decrease of UCP mitochondrial content and cellular mRNA levels in a time-dependent manner (30% by 12 h and 50% by 24 h). Pretreatment of intact rats with corticosterone virtually abolished the UCP mRNA response to cold and norepinephrine (NE). In contrast, when rats had been preexposed to cold for 96 h, the injection of corticosterone did not affect UCP mRNA. These results show that corticosterone is a powerful inhibitor of UCP gene expression in vivo. Corticosterone inhibits both basal gene expression at thermoneutrality and the response to adrenergic stimulation either by cold or exogenous NE, suggesting a direct action on BAT. The data further suggest that corticosterone inhibits the initial accumulation of UCP mRNA mediated by UCP gene transcription, rather than accelerating the degradation of UCP mRNA.


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