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Neuregulin 4 mediates the metabolic benefits of mild cold exposure by promoting beige fat thermogenesis

ABSTRACT: Interorgan crosstalk via secreted hormones and metabolites is a fundamental aspect of mammalian metabolic physiology. Beyond the highly specialized endocrine cells, peripheral tissues are emerging as an important source of metabolic hormones that influence energy and nutrient metabolism and contribute to disease pathogenesis. Neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) is a fat-derived hormone that protects mice from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NASH-associated liver cancer by shaping hepatic lipid metabolism and the liver immune microenvironment. Despite its enriched expression in brown fat, whether NRG4 plays a role in thermogenic response and mediates the metabolic benefits of cold exposure remain unexplored. Here we show that Nrg4 expression in inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT) is highly responsive to chronic cold exposure. Nrg4 deficiency impairs beige fat induction and renders mice more susceptible to diet-induced metabolic disorders under mild cold conditions. Using mice with adipocyte and hepatocyte-specific Nrg4 deletion, we reveal that adipose tissue-derived NRG4, but not hepatic NRG4, is essential for beige fat induction following cold acclimation. Furthermore, treatment with recombinant NRG4-Fc fusion protein promotes beige fat induction in iWAT and improves metabolic health in diet-induced obese mice. These findings highlight a critical role of NRG4 in mediating beige fat induction and preserving metabolic health under mild cold conditions.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE246993 | GEO | 2024/01/01

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Rodents are commonly housed below thermoneutrality (~20°C) 1. Under these conditions there is a substantial effect on rodent physiology including the hyperactivation of brown (BAT) and beige adipose tissue 2. Here, we raised animals from weaning, on an obesogenic diet at thermoneutrality (28°C) to closer mimic human physiology and determine the impact of a) moderate cold exposure (i.e. 20°C, a temperature reduction of ~8°C) or b) treatment with YM-178, a highly-selective, clinically used β3-adrenoreceptor agonist on classical BAT or subcutaneous inguinal (IWAT) beige depots. Under these conditions, uncoupling protein 1 mRNA was undetectable in IWAT in all groups. Maintenance at 20°C drove weight gain and a 125% increase in subcutaneous fat, an effect not seen with YM-178 administration thus suggesting a direct effect of ambient temperature in promoting weight gain and adiposity in obese rats. Using exploratory adipose tissue proteomics we reveal novel processes and pathways associated with cold-induced weight gain in BAT (i.e. histone deacetylation and glycosphingolipid biosynthesis) and IWAT (i.e. NAD+ binding and retinol metabolism). Conversely, YM-178 had minimal metabolic-related effects on BAT and drove a pro-inflammatory phenotype in IWAT. Exercise training elicits diverse effects on brown (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT) physiology in rodents housed below their thermoneutral zone (i.e. 28-32°C). In these conditions, BAT is chronically hyperactive and, unlike human residence, closer to thermoneutrality. Therefore, we set out to determine the effects of exercise training in obese animals at 28°C (i.e. thermoneutrality) on BAT and WAT in its basal (i.e. inactive) state. Sprague-Dawley rats (n=12) were housed at thermoneutrality from 3 weeks of age and fed a high-fat diet. At 12 weeks of age half these animals were randomised to 4-weeks of swim-training (1 hour/day, 5 days per week). Following a metabolic assessment interscapular and perivascular BAT and inguinal (I)WAT were taken for analysis of thermogenic genes and the proteome. Exercise attenuated weight gain but did not affect total fat mass or thermogenic gene expression. Proteomics revealed an impact of exercise training on2-oxoglutarate metabolic process, mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV, carbon metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. This was accompanied by an upregulation of multiple proteins involved in skeletal muscle physiology suggesting an adipocyte to myocyte switch in BAT. UCP1 mRNA was undetectable in IWAT with proteomics highlighting changes to DNA binding, the positive regulation of apoptosis, HIF-1 signalling and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction.

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Neuregulin 4 mediates the metabolic benefits of mild cold exposure by promoting beige fat thermogenesis

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