Project description:Organisms need to assess their nutritional state and adapt their digestive capacity to the demands for various nutrients. Modulation of digestive enzyme production represents a rational step to regulate nutriment uptake. However, the role of digestion in nutrient homeostasis has been largely neglected. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism underlying glucose repression of digestive enzymes in the adult Drosophila midgut. We demonstrate that glucose represses the expression of many carbohydrases and lipases. Our data reveal that the consumption of nutritious sugars stimulates the secretion of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) ligand, Dawdle, from the fat body. Dawdle then acts via circulation to activate TGF-β/Activin signaling in the midgut, culminating in the repression of digestive enzymes that are highly expressed during starvation. Thus, our study not only identifies a mechanism that couples sugar sensing with digestive enzyme expression but points to an important role of TGF-β/Activin signaling in sugar metabolism.
Project description:Organisms need to assess their nutritional state and adapt their digestive capacity to the demands for various nutrients. Modulation of digestive enzyme production represents a potential step to regulate nutriment intake. However, the role of digestion in nutrient homeostasis has been largely neglected. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism underlying glucose repression of amylase in the adult Drosophila midgut. We demonstrated that glucose represses many carbohydrases and lipases. Our data shows that the consumption of nutritious sugars stimulates the secretion of the TGFβ ligand, Dawdle. Dawdle then acts via the circulation to activate TGFβ/Activin signaling in the midgut, culminating in the repression of digestive enzyme expression. Thus, our study not only identifies a mechanism coupling sugar sensing to digestive enzyme expression but points to an important role of TGFβ/Activin signaling in sugar metabolism. RNA-sequencing of whole guts from Drosophila melannogaster OregonR adult females was performed under three feeding conditions: Standard medium, glucose, and agar. Three biological repeats were performed for each condition.
Project description:The Foxo transcription factors regulate multiple cellular functions. Foxo1 and Foxo3 are highly expressed in granulosa cells of ovarian follicles. Selective depletion of the Foxo1 and Foxo3 genes in granulosa cells revealed a novel ovarian-pituitary endocrine feedback loop characterized by: 1) undetectable levels of serum FSH but not LH, 2) reduced expression of the pituitary Fshb gene and its transcriptional regulators and 3) ovarian production of a factor(s) that suppresses pituitary cell Fshb. Equally notable and independent of FSH, depletion of Foxo1/3 altered the expression of specific genes associated with follicle growth versus apoptosis by disrupting critical regulatory interactions of Foxo1/3 with the activin and BMP2 pathways, respectively. As a consequence, granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis were decreased. These data provide the first evidence that Foxo1/3 divergently regulate follicle growth or death by interacting with the activin and BMP pathways in granulosa cells and by modulating pituitary FSH production. A direct comparison of ovarian granulosa cells from wild type d25, Foxo1/3 dKO d25 and Foxo1/3 dKO 2 month mice.
Project description:The Foxo transcription factors regulate multiple cellular functions. Foxo1 and Foxo3 are highly expressed in granulosa cells of ovarian follicles. Selective depletion of the Foxo1 and Foxo3 genes in granulosa cells revealed a novel ovarian-pituitary endocrine feedback loop characterized by: 1) undetectable levels of serum FSH but not LH, 2) reduced expression of the pituitary Fshb gene and its transcriptional regulators and 3) ovarian production of a factor(s) that suppresses pituitary cell Fshb. Equally notable and independent of FSH, depletion of Foxo1/3 altered the expression of specific genes associated with follicle growth versus apoptosis by disrupting critical regulatory interactions of Foxo1/3 with the activin and BMP2 pathways, respectively. As a consequence, granulosa cell proliferation and apoptosis were decreased. These data provide the first evidence that Foxo1/3 divergently regulate follicle growth or death by interacting with the activin and BMP pathways in granulosa cells and by modulating pituitary FSH production.
Project description:Body fat distribution is a heritable risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic disease. In humans, rare Inhibin beta E (INHBE, activin E) loss-of-function variants are associated with lower waist-to-hip ratio and protection from type 2 diabetes. Hepatic fatty acid sensing promotes INHBE expression during fasting and in obese individuals, yet it is unclear how the hepatokine activin E governs body shape and energy metabolism. Here, we uncover activin E as a negative feedback regulator of adipose lipolysis that restrains excessive fat breakdown during fasting. By suppressing β-agonist-induced lipolysis, activin E promotes visceral fat accumulation, adipocyte hypertrophy and contributes to adipose dysfunction in mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that activin E elicits its effect on adipose tissue through ACVR1C, activating SMAD2/3 signaling and suppressing PPARG target genes. Conversely, loss of activin E or ACVR1C increases fat utilization, lowers adiposity and drives gene signatures indicative of healthy adipose function. Our studies identify activin E-ACVR1C as metabolic rheostat promoting liver-adipose crosstalk to preserve fat mass during prolonged fasting, a mechanism that is maladaptive in obese individuals.
Project description:Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that play a major role in immunosurveillance against tumor initiation and metastasis spread. Signals and checkpoints that regulate NK cell fitness and function in the tumor microenvironment are not well defined. Transforming grow factor (TGF)- is a recognized suppressor of NK cells that inhibits IL-15 dependent signaling events and induces cellular transdifferentiation, however the role of other SMAD signaling pathways in NK cells is unknown. We used a global, label-free proteomics approach to compare the protein expression profiles of NK cells in the presence of TGF-b or activin-A.
Project description:Th17 cells are known to exert pathogenic and non-pathogenic functions. Although the cytokine transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) is instrumental for Th17 cell differentiation, it is dispensable for generation of pathogenic Th17 cells. Here, we examined the T cell-intrinsic role of Activin-A, a TGF-β superfamily member closely related to TGF-β1, in pathogenic Th17 cell differentiation. Activin-A expression was increased in individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Stimulation with interleukin-6 and Activin-A induced a molecular program that mirrored that of pathogenic Th17 cells and was inhibited by blocking Activin-A signaling. Genetic disruption of Activin-A and its receptor ALK4 in T cells impaired pathogenic Th17 cell differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, which was essential for pathogenic Th17 cell differentiation, was suppressed by TGF-β1-ALK5 but not Activin-A-ALK4 signaling. Thus, Activin-A drives pathogenic Th17 cell differentiation, implicating the Activin-A-ALK4-ERK axis as a therapeutic target for Th17 cell-related diseases.
Project description:Inflammation is one of the main pathological features leading to skin fibrosis and a key factor leading to the progression of skin fibrosis. Acidosis caused by a decrease in extracellular pH is a sign of the inflammatory process. Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are ligand-gated ion channels on the cell membrane that sense the drop in extracellular pH. However, the molecular mechanisms by which skin fibroblasts are regulated by Acid-sensing ion channel 3(ASIC3) remain unknown. This study investigated whether ASIC3 is related to inflammation and skin fibrosis and explored the underlying mechanisms. We demonstrate that Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is a direct target of ASIC3, and ASIC3 activation promotes M-CSF transcriptional regulation of macrophages for M2 polarization. The polarization of M2 macrophages transduced by the ASIC3-M-CSF signal promotes the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts through transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), thereby producing ASIC3-M-CSF-TGF-β1 positive feedback loop. Targeting ASIC3 may be a new treatment strategy for skin fibrosis.
Project description:Aerobic methanotrophic bacteria use methane as their sole source of carbon and energy and serve as a major sink for the potent greenhouse gas methane in freshwater ecosystems. Despite this important environmental role, little is known about the molecular details of how these organisms interact in the environment. Many bacterial species use quorum sensing systems to regulate gene expression in a density-dependent manner. We have identified a quorum sensing system in the genome of Methylobacter tundripaludum, a dominant methane-oxidizer in methane enrichments of sediment from Lake Washington (Seattle, WA, USA). We determined that M. tundripaludum primarily produces N-3-hydroxydecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (3-OH-CÂ10-HSL) and that production is governed by a positive feedback loop. We then further characterized this system by determining which genes are regulated by quorum sensing in this methane-oxidizer using RNA-seq, and discovered this system regulates the expression of a novel nonribosomal peptide synthetase biosynthetic gene cluster. These results identify and characterize a mode of cellular communication in an aerobic methane-oxidizing bacterium. Samples are 2 sets of biological replicates of a Methylobacter tundripaludum strain 21/22 mutant where the acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase gene mbaI (T451DRAFT_0796) has been deleted. The mutant strain was grown to log (48 hours) or stationary (68 hours) phase in the absence or presence of the AHL 3-OH-C10-HSL.
Project description:Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family members that regulate the post-implantation and mid-gestation stages of pregnancy. In this study we discovered that signaling via activin-like kinase 3 (ALK3/BMPR1A), a BMP type 1 receptor, is necessary for blastocyst attachment. To understand the role of ALK3 in the luminal uterine epithelium, we obtained the gene expression profiles of isolated luminal uterine epithelium from 3.5dpc control and Alk3 cKO mice. Gene expression profiling of isolated luminal uterine epithelium from control and Alk3 cKO mice. two group comparison