Project description:Lipid mobilization (lipolysis) in white adipose tissue (WAT) critically controls lipid turnover and adiposity in humans. While the acute regulation of lipolysis has been studied in detail, the transcriptional determinants of WAT lipolytic activity remain still largely unexplored. Here we show that the genetic inactivation of transcriptional co-factor transducin beta-like-related (TBLR) 1 blunts the lipolytic response of white adipocytes through the impairment of cAMP-dependent signal transduction. Indeed, mice lacking TBLR1 in adipocytes are defective in fasting-induced lipid mobilization and when placed on a high fat diet show aggravated adiposity, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. TBLR1 levels are found to increase under lipolytic conditions in WAT of both human patients and mice, correlating with serum free fatty acids (FFA). As a critical regulator of WAT cAMP signaling and lipid mobilization, proper activity of TBLR1 in adipocytes may thus represent a critical molecular checkpoint for the prevention of metabolic dysfunction in subjects with obesity-related disorders. We used microarrays to identify global gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes lacking TBLR1 and compared gene expression to control shRNA treated cells in both basal and isoproterenol stimulated states. We analyzed 12 RNA samples extracted from 3T3-L1 adipocytes that were treated with either control or TBLR1 specific shRNAs and with or without 10 µM isoproterenol for 3 hrs. Three replicates of each condition.
Project description:Light is a source of energy and an environmental cue that is available in excess in most surface environments. In prokaryotic systems, conversion of light to energy by photoautotrophs and photoheterotrophs is well understood, but the conversion of light to information and the cellular response to that information has been characterized in only a few species. Our goal was to explore the response of freshwater Actinobacteria, which are ubiquitous in illuminated aquatic environments, to light. We found that Actinobacteria without functional photosystems grow faster in the light, likely because sugar transport and metabolism are upregulated in the light, while protein synthesis is upregulated in the dark. Based on the action spectrum of the growth effect, and comparisons of the genomes of three Actinobacteria with this growth rate phenotype, we propose that the photosensor in these strains is a putative CryB-type cryptochrome. The ability to sense light and upregulate carbohydrate transport during the day could allow these cells to coordinate their time of maximum organic carbon uptake with the time of maximum organic carbon release by primary producers.
Project description:Light is a source of energy and an environmental cue that is available in excess in most surface environments. In prokaryotic systems, conversion of light to energy by photoautotrophs and photoheterotrophs is well understood, but the conversion of light to information and the cellular response to that information has been characterized in only a few species. Our goal was to explore the response of freshwater Actinobacteria, which are ubiquitous in illuminated aquatic environments, to light. We found that Actinobacteria without functional photosystems grow faster in the light, likely because sugar transport and metabolism are upregulated in the light, while protein synthesis is upregulated in the dark. Based on the action spectrum of the growth effect, and comparisons of the genomes of three Actinobacteria with this growth rate phenotype, we propose that the photosensor in these strains is a putative CryB-type cryptochrome. The ability to sense light and upregulate carbohydrate transport during the day could allow these cells to coordinate their time of maximum organic carbon uptake with the time of maximum organic carbon release by primary producers.
Project description:Lipid mobilization (lipolysis) in white adipose tissue (WAT) critically controls lipid turnover and adiposity in humans. While the acute regulation of lipolysis has been studied in detail, the transcriptional determinants of WAT lipolytic activity remain still largely unexplored. Here we show that the genetic inactivation of transcriptional co-factor transducin beta-like-related (TBLR) 1 blunts the lipolytic response of white adipocytes through the impairment of cAMP-dependent signal transduction. Indeed, mice lacking TBLR1 in adipocytes are defective in fasting-induced lipid mobilization and when placed on a high fat diet show aggravated adiposity, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. TBLR1 levels are found to increase under lipolytic conditions in WAT of both human patients and mice, correlating with serum free fatty acids (FFA). As a critical regulator of WAT cAMP signaling and lipid mobilization, proper activity of TBLR1 in adipocytes may thus represent a critical molecular checkpoint for the prevention of metabolic dysfunction in subjects with obesity-related disorders. We used microarrays to identify global gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes lacking TBLR1 and compared gene expression to control shRNA treated cells in both basal and isoproterenol stimulated states.