scholarly journals Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Diabetes: Is Mitochondrial Transfer a Friend or Foe?

Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalene K Montgomery

Obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are accompanied by a variety of systemic and tissue-specific metabolic defects, including inflammation, oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, lipotoxicity, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Over the past 30 years, association studies and genetic manipulations, as well as lifestyle and pharmacological invention studies, have reported contrasting findings on the presence or physiological importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of obesity and insulin resistance. It is still unclear if targeting mitochondrial function is a feasible therapeutic approach for the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose homeostasis. Interestingly, recent studies suggest that intact mitochondria, mitochondrial DNA, or other mitochondrial factors (proteins, lipids, miRNA) are found in the circulation, and that metabolic tissues secrete exosomes containing mitochondrial cargo. While this phenomenon has been investigated primarily in the context of cancer and a variety of inflammatory states, little is known about the importance of exosomal mitochondrial transfer in obesity and diabetes. We will discuss recent evidence suggesting that (1) tissues with mitochondrial dysfunction shed their mitochondria within exosomes, and that these exosomes impair the recipient’s cell metabolic status, and that on the other hand, (2) physiologically healthy tissues can shed mitochondria to improve the metabolic status of recipient cells. In this context the determination of whether mitochondrial transfer in obesity and diabetes is a friend or foe requires further studies.

Hypertension ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Cao ◽  
John A McClung ◽  
Shailendra P Singh ◽  
Lars Bellner ◽  
Maayan Waldman ◽  
...  

Introduction: Obesity and diabetes are associated with progressive cardiac fibrosis that, sequentially, results in diastolic dysfunction, reduced contractility, and ultimately heart failure. Contributing factors include hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, and a reduction in AMPK signaling. PGC-1α activates mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation and is decreased in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). We hypothesize that an epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) agonist (EET-A) will increase PGC-1α levels in a db mouse model of DM attenuate cardiomyopathy, and prevent heart failure. Methods: Db mice (4-wks), were allowed to acclimatize for 16-wks and were then divided into 3 treatment groups for an additional 16 wks: A) control, B) EET-A 1.5mg/100g BW 2 weeks and C) EET-A-Ln-PGC-1α shRNA. Ln-PGC-1α shRNA suppressed PGC-1α protein in heart tissue by 40-50%. Oxygen consumption (VO 2 ), and blood glucose was determined. Heart tissues were harvested to measure PGC-1α, HO-1, pAMPK, PGC-1α, echocardiographic fractional shortening, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and mitofusion protein markers. Results: All mice developed heart failure by the end of 16 weeks and were characterized by a decrease in myocardial contractility, an increase in insulin resistance and blood pressure, decreased VO 2 , the appearance of mitochondria dysfunction and a decrease in AMPK and downstream PGC-1α signaling. Mice treated with EET-A demonstrated an increase in PGC-1α levels, improved mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation (p<0.01 vs control), increased NO bioavailability (p<0.05 vs control), and normalization of glucose metabolism, insulin levels, VO 2 and LV systolic function (p<0.05 vs control). All of these findings were suppressed by PGC-1α inhibition which was accompanied by the onset of even more severe LV dysfunction than in the control group. Conclusion: Increased EET levels result in activation of PGC-1α-HO-1 which reverses diabetes induced insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cardiomyopathy. EET may have potential as a powerful agent for therapeutic application in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. R1-R15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalene K Montgomery ◽  
Nigel Turner

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the development of insulin resistance (IR); however, a large variety of association and intervention studies as well as genetic manipulations in rodents have reported contrasting results. Indeed, even 39 years after the first publication describing a relationship between IR and diminished mitochondrial function, it is still unclear whether a direct relationship exists, and more importantly if changes in mitochondrial capacity are a cause or consequence of IR. This review will take a journey through the past and summarise the debate about the occurrence of mitochondrial dysfunction and its possible role in causing decreased insulin action in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Evidence is presented from studies in various human populations, as well as rodents with genetic manipulations of pathways known to affect mitochondrial function and insulin action. Finally, we have discussed whether mitochondria are a potential target for the treatment of IR.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengyi Zhang ◽  
Mengqi Zeng ◽  
Xiao Han ◽  
Zhanwu Hou ◽  
Zhen Wang ◽  
...  

Insulin Resistance (IR), as the common pathophysiological basis, is closely related to a variety of metabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. IR is often accompanied with mitochondrial dysfunction which...


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ionel Sandovici ◽  
Constanze M. Hammerle ◽  
Sam Virtue ◽  
Yurena Vivas-Garcia ◽  
Adriana Izquierdo-Lahuerta ◽  
...  

AbstractWhen exposed to nutrient excess and insulin resistance, pancreatic β-cells undergo adaptive changes in order to maintain glucose homeostasis. The role that growth control genes, highly expressed in early pancreas development, might exert in programming β-cell plasticity in later life is a poorly studied area. The imprinted Igf2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) gene is highly transcribed during early life and has been identified in recent genome-wide association studies as a type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene in humans. Hence, here we investigate the long-term phenotypic metabolic consequences of conditional Igf2 deletion in pancreatic β-cells (Igf2βKO) in mice. We show that autocrine actions of IGF2 are not critical for β-cell development, or for the early post-natal wave of β-cell remodelling. Additionally, adult Igf2βKO mice maintain glucose homeostasis when fed a chow diet. However, pregnant Igf2βKO females become hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic, and their conceptuses exhibit hyperinsulinemia and placentomegalia. Insulin resistance induced by congenital leptin deficiency also renders Igf2βKO females more hyperglycaemic compared to leptin-deficient controls. Upon high-fat diet feeding, Igf2βKO females are less susceptible to develop insulin resistance. Based on these findings, we conclude that in female mice, autocrine actions of β-cell IGF2 during early development determine their adaptive capacity in adult life.


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