Disruption of Adipose Tissue Metabolism by Glucocorticoids Is Attenuated With LXRβ Antagonism

Abstract Excessive exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs), either from endogenous overproduction of cortisol, or exogenous pharmacological GC treatment, potentiates the development of diabetes and obesity in a fat depot-specific manner. Undesirable metabolic side effects resulting from the activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) remain a key limitation to the long-term therapeutic use of GCs as immunosuppressants. GC treatment disrupts the thermogenic function of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and enhances futile cycling within white adipose tissue (WAT). Mice lacking the liver X receptors (LXRs) were previously shown to have smaller AT depots with enhanced BAT activity compared to wildtype (WT) mice. We previously demonstrated that LXRβ is required to mediate the side effects of GCs in the liver but not the beneficial anti-inflammatory effects of GCs. The discovery of this GC/LXRβ cross-talk led to the hypothesis that LXRβ antagonism may be therapeutically beneficial to prevent GC-induced dysfunction in AT. To test this idea, LXRα-/- mice were treated for 5 days with vehicle, 5 mg/kg dexamethasone (Dex, a synthetic GC agonist), and/or 40 mg/kg GSK2033 (GSK, non-selective LXR antagonist). As expected, Dex-treated mice showed significant accumulation of lipids in BAT and were unable to maintain their body temperature when exposed to cold, yet GSK was able to protect against these effects. Dex increased body fat mass and caused adipocyte enlargement in WAT which was not observed in mice co-treated with GSK. At the transcriptional level, GSK attenuated Dex-mediated downregulation of thermogenic genes in BAT, and upregulation of lipogenic genes in WAT. Similar beneficial changes were confirmed in WT mice. The protection afforded by GSK against Dex-induced fat accumulation was confirmed to be cell-autonomous from studies in adipose-specific LXRβ-/- mice (AdβKO). Dex-dependent increases in lipolysis in gonadal WAT and plasma free fatty acids (FFA) were also attenuated by GSK co-treatment. With GSK co-treatment, Dex-induced liver steatosis was diminished suggesting that LXRβ antagonism attenuated FFA shuttling to the liver. The lipolytic and lipotoxic effects of Dex in AT and liver were largely abrogated in AdβKO along with improved systemic insulin sensitivity. Overall, our data suggest that LXRβ antagonism prevents disruption of BAT and WAT (and indirectly liver) function caused by GC treatment in an in vivo model, highlighting the potential role of LXRβ antagonists in combating the negative effects of excessive GC exposure on the development of diabetes and obesity. The identification of this novel mechanism of interrupting GC adipose tissue action suggests therapeutic targeting of LXRβ with an antagonist could improve the health of patients currently taking GCs to control inflammation but suffer the detrimental side effects of drug treatment.

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ThermoMouse: An In Vivo Model to Identify Modulators of UCP1 Expression in Brown Adipose Tissue

Cell Reports ◽

10.1016/j.celrep.2014.10.066 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 1584-1593 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Andrea Galmozzi ◽

Si B. Sonne ◽

Svetlana Altshuler-Keylin ◽

Yutaka Hasegawa ◽

Kosaku Shinoda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

In Vivo Model ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Ucp1 Expression

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GPAT3 deficiency alleviates insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in a mouse model of severe congenital generalized lipodystrophy

Human Molecular Genetics ◽

10.1093/hmg/ddz300 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 432-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mingming Gao ◽

Lin Liu ◽

Xiaowei Wang ◽

Hoi Yin Mak ◽

George Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Liver Steatosis ◽

Subcutaneous Fat ◽

Severe Form ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Tissue Mass ◽

Functional Link ◽

Brown Adipose

Abstract Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy type 2 (BSCL2) is the most severe form of human lipodystrophy and is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the BSCL2/seipin gene. Exactly how seipin may regulate adipogenesis remains unclear. A recent study in vitro suggested that seipin may function to inhibit the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (GPATs), and increased GPAT activity may be responsible for the defective adipogenesis under seipin deficiency. Here we generated Seipin−/−Gpat3−/− mice, which had mild but significant recovery of white adipose tissue mass over Seipin−/− mice. The mass of brown adipose tissue (BAT) of the Seipin−/−Gpat3−/− mice was almost completely restored to normal level. Importantly, the Seipin−/−Gpat3−/− mice showed significant improvement in liver steatosis and insulin sensitivity over Seipin−/− mice, which is attributable to the increased BAT mass and to the enhanced browning of the subcutaneous fat of the Seipin−/−Gpat3−/− mice. Together, our results establish a functional link between seipin and GPAT3 in vivo and suggest that GPAT inhibitors may have beneficial effects on BSCL2 patients.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of ThermoMouse: an in vivo model to identify modulators of UCP1 expression in brown adipose tissue.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.725255209.793502421 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Symonds

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

In Vivo Model ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Ucp1 Expression

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Functional characterization of human brown adipose tissue metabolism

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bcj20190464 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 477 (7) ◽

pp. 1261-1286 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marie Anne Richard ◽

Hannah Pallubinsky ◽

Denis P. Blondin

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

Functional Characterization ◽

Human Infants ◽

Positron Emission ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Treatment Of Obesity ◽

And Function

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has long been described according to its histological features as a multilocular, lipid-containing tissue, light brown in color, that is also responsive to the cold and found especially in hibernating mammals and human infants. Its presence in both hibernators and human infants, combined with its function as a heat-generating organ, raised many questions about its role in humans. Early characterizations of the tissue in humans focused on its progressive atrophy with age and its apparent importance for cold-exposed workers. However, the use of positron emission tomography (PET) with the glucose tracer [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) made it possible to begin characterizing the possible function of BAT in adult humans, and whether it could play a role in the prevention or treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). This review focuses on the in vivo functional characterization of human BAT, the methodological approaches applied to examine these features and addresses critical gaps that remain in moving the field forward. Specifically, we describe the anatomical and biomolecular features of human BAT, the modalities and applications of non-invasive tools such as PET and magnetic resonance imaging coupled with spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) to study BAT morphology and function in vivo, and finally describe the functional characteristics of human BAT that have only been possible through the development and application of such tools.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Cold but not sympathomimetics activates human brown adipose tissue in vivo.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.723897883.793548350 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Symonds

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose

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Gpr1 is an active chemerin receptor influencing glucose homeostasis in obese mice

Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1530/joe-14-0069 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 222 (2) ◽

pp. 201-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Jillian L Rourke ◽

Shanmugam Muruganandan ◽

Helen J Dranse ◽

Nichole M McMullen ◽

Christopher J Sinal

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Glucose Homeostasis ◽

Stromal Vascular Fraction ◽

Tolerance Test ◽

Glucose Levels ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Elevated Glucose ◽

And Function ◽

G Protein Coupled

Chemerin is an adipose-derived signaling protein (adipokine) that regulates adipocyte differentiation and function, immune function, metabolism, and glucose homeostasis through activation of chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1). A second chemerin receptor, G protein-coupled receptor 1 (GPR1) in mammals, binds chemerin with an affinity similar to CMKLR1; however, the function of GPR1 in mammals is essentially unknown. Herein, we report that expression of murineGpr1mRNA is high in brown adipose tissue and white adipose tissue (WAT) and skeletal muscle. In contrast to chemerin (Rarres2) andCmklr1,Gpr1expression predominates in the non-adipocyte stromal vascular fraction of WAT. Heterozygous and homozygousGpr1-knockout mice fed on a high-fat diet developed more severe glucose intolerance than WT mice despite having no difference in body weight, adiposity, or energy expenditure. Moreover, mice lackingGpr1exhibited reduced glucose-stimulated insulin levels and elevated glucose levels in a pyruvate tolerance test. This study is the first, to our knowledge, to report the effects ofGpr1deficiency on adiposity, energy balance, and glucose homeostasisin vivo. Moreover, these novel results demonstrate that GPR1 is an active chemerin receptor that contributes to the regulation of glucose homeostasis during obesity.

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TAF7L modulates brown adipose tissue formation

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.02811 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Haiying Zhou ◽

Bo Wan ◽

Ivan Grubisic ◽

Tommy Kaplan ◽

Robert Tjian

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

Core Promoter ◽

Uncoupling Protein ◽

Dna Looping ◽

Chromatin Interactions ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Important Regulator

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an essential role in metabolic homeostasis by dissipating energy via thermogenesis through uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Previously, we reported that the TATA-binding protein associated factor 7L (TAF7L) is an important regulator of white adipose tissue (WAT) differentiation. In this study, we show that TAF7L also serves as a molecular switch between brown fat and muscle lineages in vivo and in vitro. In adipose tissue, TAF7L-containing TFIID complexes associate with PPARγ to mediate DNA looping between distal enhancers and core promoter elements. Our findings suggest that the presence of the tissue-specific TAF7L subunit in TFIID functions to promote long-range chromatin interactions during BAT lineage specification.

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Noradrenaline-induced calorigenesis in warm- or cold-acclimated rats. In vivo estimation of adrenoceptor concentration of noradrenaline effecting half-maximal response

Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology ◽

10.1139/y80-161 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 58 (9) ◽

pp. 1072-1077 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Florent Depocas ◽

Gloria Zaror-Behrens ◽

Suzanne Lacelle

Keyword(s):

Adipose Tissue ◽

Steady State ◽

Brown Adipose Tissue ◽

Maximal Response ◽

Brown Adipose ◽

Acclimation Group ◽

Arterial Plasma ◽

State Concentration ◽

Na Uptake

Desmethylimipramine (DMI, 1 mg DMI∙HCl kg−1) and normetanephrine (NMN, 1 μg min−1 g−0.74) were used to inhibit, respectively, neuronal and extraneuronal uptakes of noradrenaline (NA) during calorigenesis induced in barbital-sedated warm-acclimated (WA) or cold-acclimated (CA) rats by infusion of NA, a procedure which mimics the effects of NA released within calorigenic tissues in response to cold exposure. The doses of the inhibitors were selected for maximal effectiveness in potentiating calorigenic response and for minimal side effects. For rats of either acclimation group treated with DMI and NMN, with DMI only, or with neither inhibitor the doses of NA required to evoke approximately half-maximal calorigenic responses were, respectively, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.5 ng min−1 g−0.74. The corresponding steady-state concentrations of NA in arterial plasma averaged 14.3, 21.7, and 43.2 nM in the three groups of WA rats and 10.0, 14.8, and 31.9 nM in the three groups of CA rats. Reduction by NA uptake inhibitors of the circulating levels of NA necessary to stimulate calorigenesis, half-maximally, presumably in brown adipose tissue, indicates a reduction in the steepness of the NA concentration gradient between capillary plasma and synaptic clefts in that tissue. The steady-state concentration of NA in blood plasma of rats treated with DMI and NMN and infused with NA at a dose of 0.5 ng min−1 g−0.74 (~1 × 10−8 M) is a good estimate of the NA concentration required at calorigenic adrenoceptors to effect half-maximal activation. Presumably, this concentration is also an estimate of that resulting from NA released at nerve endings during cold-induced activation of nonshivering thermogenesis at half-maximal rates in brown adipose tissue.

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