Project description:Metabolic fuels regulate insulin secretion by generating second messengers that drive insulin granule exocytosis, but the biochemical pathways involved are incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that stimulation of rat insulinoma cells or primary rat islets with glucose or glutamine + 2-aminobicyclo-(2,2,1)-heptane-2-carboxylic acid (Gln + BCH) induces reductive, "counter-clockwise" tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux of glutamine to citrate. Molecular or pharmacologic suppression of isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 (IDH2), which catalyzes reductive carboxylation of 2-ketoglutarate to isocitrate, results in impairment of glucose- and Gln + BCH-stimulated reductive TCA cycle flux, lowering of NADPH levels, and inhibition of insulin secretion. Pharmacologic suppression of IDH2 also inhibits insulin secretion in living mice. Reductive TCA cycle flux has been proposed as a mechanism for generation of biomass in cancer cells. Here we demonstrate that reductive TCA cycle flux also produces stimulus-secretion coupling factors that regulate insulin secretion, including in non-dividing cells.
Project description:Abscisic acid (ABA), a plant hormone, has recently been shown to play a role in glycemia regulation in mammals, by stimulating insulin-independent glucose uptake and metabolism in skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to test whether ABA could improve glycemic control in a murine model of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Mice were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin and the effect of ABA administration, alone or with insulin, was tested on glycemia. Diabetic mice treated with a single oral dose of ABA and low-dose subcutaneous insulin showed a significantly reduced glycemia profile compared with controls treated with insulin alone. In diabetic mice treated for four weeks with ABA, the effect of low-dose insulin on the glycemia profile after glucose load was significantly improved, and transcription both of the insulin receptor, and of glycolytic enzymes in muscle, was increased. Moreover, a significantly increased transcription and protein expression of AMPK, PGC1-α, and GLUT4 was observed in the skeletal muscle from diabetic mice treated with ABA, compared with untreated controls. ABA supplementation in conjunction with insulin holds the promise of reducing the dose of insulin required in T1D, reducing the risk of hypoglycemia, and improving muscle insulin sensitivity and glucose consumption.
Project description:ObjectivesThe initial aim of this study was to use a systems biology approach to analyse a ciprofloxacin-selected multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, L664.MethodsThe whole genome sequence and transcriptome of L664 were analysed. Site-directed mutagenesis to recreate each mutation was carried out, followed by phenotypic characterization and mutation frequency analysis. As a mutation in the TCA cycle was detected we tested the controversial hypothesis regarding the bacterial response to bactericidal antibiotics, put forward by Kohanski et al. (Cell 2007; 130: 797-810 and Mol Cell 2010; 37: 311-20), that exposure of bacteria to agents such as ciprofloxacin produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which transiently increase the mutation rate giving rise to MDR bacteria.ResultsL664 contained a mutation in ramR that conferred MDR. A mutation in tctA affected the TCA cycle and conferred the inability to grow on minimal agar. The virulence of L664 was not attenuated. Ciprofloxacin exposure produced ROS in L664 and SL1344 (tctA::aph), but it was reduced and occurred later. There were no significant differences in the rates of killing or mutations per generation to antibiotic resistance between the strains.ConclusionsWhilst we confirm production of ROS in response to ciprofloxacin, we have no data to support the hypothesis that this leads to selection of MDR strains. Our results indicate that the mutations in tctA and glgA were random as they did not pre-exist in the parental strain, and that the mutation in tctA did not provide a survival advantage or disadvantage in the presence of antibiotic.
Project description:PurposeTo investigate the potential role of gut microbiota in obesity-induced insulin resistance (IR).MethodsFour-week-old male C57BL/6 wild-type mice (n = 6) and whole-body SH2 domain-containing adaptor protein (LNK)-deficient in C57BL/6 genetic backgrounds mice (n = 7) were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD, 60% calories from fat) for 16 weeks. The gut microbiota of 13 mice feces samples was analyzed by using a 16 s rRNA sequencing analysis.ResultsThe structure and composition of the gut microbiota community of WT mice were significantly different from those in the LNK-/- group. The abundance of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-producing genus Proteobacteria was increased in WT mice, while some short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing genera in WT groups were significantly lower than in LNK-/- groups (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe structure and composition of the intestinal microbiota community of obese WT mice were significantly different from those in the LNK-/- group. The abnormality of the gut microbial structure and composition might interfere with glucolipid metabolism and exacerbate obesity-induced IR by increasing LPS-producing genera while reducing SCFA-producing probiotics.
Project description:Recent studies have reported that plasma levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites and TCA cycle-related metabolite change in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and in healthy humans after exercise. Exogenous dietary citric acid has been reported to alleviate fatigue during daily activities and after exercise. However, it is unknown whether dietary citric acid affects the plasma levels of these metabolites. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of exogenously administered citric acid on TCA cycle metabolites and TCA cycle-related metabolites in plasma. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control and citric acid groups. We evaluated the effect of exogenous dietary citric acid on the plasma TCA cycle and TCA cycle-related metabolites by metabolome analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). TCA cycle metabolites, including plasma citrate, cis-aconitate, and isocitrate, were significantly elevated after exogenous administration of citric acid. Anaplerotic amino acids, which are converted to TCA cycle metabolites, such as serine, glycine, tryptophan, lysine, leucine, histidine, glutamine, arginine, isoleucine, methionine, valine, and phenylalanine, also showed significantly elevated levels. Citric acid administration significantly increased the levels of initial TCA cycle metabolites in the plasma. This increase after administration of citric acid was shown to be opposite to the metabolic changes observed in patients with CFS. These results contribute novel insight into the fatigue alleviation mechanism of citric acid.
Project description:ObjectiveThroughout the last decade, interest has intensified in intermittent fasting, ketogenic diets, and exogenous ketone therapies as prospective health-promoting, therapeutic, and performance-enhancing agents. However, the regulatory roles of ketogenesis and ketone metabolism on liver homeostasis remain unclear. Therefore, we sought to develop a better understanding of the metabolic consequences of hepatic ketone body metabolism by focusing on the redox-dependent interconversion of acetoacetate (AcAc) and D-β-hydroxybutyrate (D-βOHB).MethodsUsing targeted and isotope tracing high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, dual stable isotope tracer nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy-based metabolic flux modeling, and complementary physiological approaches in novel cell type-specific knockout mice, we quantified the roles of hepatocyte D-β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH1), a mitochondrial enzyme required for NAD+/NADH-dependent oxidation/reduction of ketone bodies.ResultsExogenously administered AcAc is reduced to D-βOHB, which increases hepatic NAD+/NADH ratio and reflects hepatic BDH1 activity. Livers of hepatocyte-specific BDH1-deficient mice did not produce D-βOHB, but owing to extrahepatic BDH1, these mice nonetheless remained capable of AcAc/D-βOHB interconversion. Compared to littermate controls, hepatocyte-specific BDH1 deficient mice exhibited diminished liver tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux and impaired gluconeogenesis, but normal hepatic energy charge overall. Glycemic recovery after acute insulin challenge was impaired in knockout mice, but they were not more susceptible to starvation-induced hypoglycemia.ConclusionsKetone bodies influence liver homeostasis. While liver BDH1 is not required for whole body equilibration of AcAc and D-βOHB, loss of the ability to interconvert these ketone bodies in hepatocytes results in impaired TCA cycle flux and glucose production. Therefore, through oxidation/reduction of ketone bodies, BDH1 is a significant contributor to hepatic mitochondrial redox, liver physiology, and organism-wide ketone body homeostasis.