RESUMO
Cell-to-cell interactions mediated by intercellular junctions (IJs) are crucial for beta-cell functioning and proper insulin secretion, however, their role in type-2 diabetes is still unclear. This work aimed to evaluate the cellular distribution and expression of proteins associated with adherens (AJs) and gap junctions (GJs) in pancreatic islets of C57BL6 mice fed a high-fat (HF) diet. The administration of HF diet for 30 days induced an increase in body weight, post-prandial glycemia, insulinemia, glucose intolerance, and moderate insulin resistance associated with mild perturbations in insulin secretion. The intercellular content of the AJ-associated proteins (namely, E-, N-cadherins, and α-, ß-catenins) was significantly higher in islet cells of HF-fed mice. Inversely, the gap junctional content of Cx36 was significantly decreased, as revealed by immunofluorescence, which was paralleled by a reduction in the frequency of calcium oscillations in islets of prediabetic mice. In conclusion, the endocrine pancreas displays significant changes in the content of several junctional proteins at the cell-cell contact region following short-term HF diet administration, indicating that IJs may be involved in the adaptive response of beta cells seen during this state.
Assuntos
Células Secretoras de Insulina , Ilhotas Pancreáticas , Animais , Moléculas de Adesão Celular/metabolismo , Dieta Hiperlipídica/efeitos adversos , Insulina/metabolismo , Células Secretoras de Insulina/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BLRESUMO
Offspring born to obese and diabetic mothers are prone to metabolic diseases, a phenotype that has been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in oocytes. In addition, metabolic diseases impact the architecture and function of mitochondria-ER contact sites (MERCs), changes which associate with mitofusin 2 (MFN2) repression in muscle, liver and hypothalamic neurons. MFN2 is a potent modulator of mitochondrial metabolism and insulin signaling, with a key role in mitochondrial dynamics and tethering with the ER. Here, we investigated whether offspring born to mice with MFN2-deficient oocytes are prone to obesity and diabetes. Deletion of Mfn2 in oocytes resulted in a profound transcriptomic change, with evidence of impaired mitochondrial and ER function. Moreover, offspring born to females with oocyte-specific deletion of Mfn2 presented increased weight gain and glucose intolerance. This abnormal phenotype was linked to decreased insulinemia and defective insulin signaling, but not mitochondrial and ER defects in offspring liver and skeletal muscle. In conclusion, this study suggests a link between disrupted mitochondrial/ER function in oocytes and increased risk of metabolic diseases in the progeny. Future studies should determine whether MERC architecture and function are altered in oocytes from obese females, which might contribute toward transgenerational transmission of metabolic diseases.
Assuntos
GTP Fosfo-Hidrolases/metabolismo , Oócitos/metabolismo , Animais , Retículo Endoplasmático/metabolismo , Estresse do Retículo Endoplasmático/fisiologia , Feminino , GTP Fosfo-Hidrolases/genética , Homeostase/fisiologia , Camundongos , Mitocôndrias/metabolismo , Dinâmica Mitocondrial/fisiologia , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune assault that induces progressive beta-cell dysfunction and dead. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon gamma (IFNG) contribute for beta-cell death, which involves the activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and c- Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Prolactin (PRL), a physiological mediator for beta-cell proliferation, was shown to protect beta cells against cytokines pro-apoptotic effects. We presently investigated the mechanisms involved in the protective effects of prolactin against cytokine-induced beta-cell death. The findings obtained indicate that STAT3 activation is involved in the anti-apoptotic role of PRL in rat beta cells. PRL prevents the activation of JNK via AKT and promotes a shift from expression of pro- to anti-apoptotic proteins downstream of the JNK cascade. Furthermore, PRL partially prevents the activation of NFκB and the transcription of its target genes IkBa, Fas, Mcp1, A20 and Cxcl10 and also decreases NO production. On the other hand, the pro-survival effects of PRL do not involve modulation of cytokine-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of PRL in beta cells involve augmentation of anti-apoptotic mechanisms and, at the same time, reduction of pro-apoptotic effectors, rendering beta cells better prepared to deal with inflammatory insults. The better understanding of the pro-survival mechanisms modulated by PRL in beta cells can provide tools to prevent cell demise during an autoimmune attack or following islet transplantation.
Assuntos
Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Secretoras de Insulina/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Secretoras de Insulina/metabolismo , Proteínas Quinases JNK Ativadas por Mitógeno/metabolismo , NF-kappa B/metabolismo , Prolactina/farmacologia , Animais , Western Blotting , Células Cultivadas , Feminino , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas/genética , RNA Interferente Pequeno/genética , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/genética , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismoRESUMO
Low levels of estrogens are associated with obesity-related comorbidities. Mice with lower levels of estrogens are thereby more sensitive to the effects of a high-fat-diet (HFD) for the development of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Studies in vivo have demonstrated that taurine (TAU) supplementation prevents glucose and insulin resistance. Thus, we aimed to investigate the potential beneficial effects of TAU supplementation on glucose homeostasis of mice with low levels of estrogens fed with a HFD. 3-month-old female C57BL/6J mice underwent bilateral ovariectomy (OVX). After 1 week of recovery, mice were divided into 4 groups and either received: a standard chow diet (OVXC), chow diet plus drinking water enriched with 3% of TAU (OVXCT), HFD (OVXH), and HFD plus supplementation of TAU (OVXHT) for 14 weeks. Exposure to the HFD increased adiposity and plasma levels of glucose and insulin. Contrary to our prediction, the addition of TAU enhanced the deleterious effects of the HFD. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests (ipGTT and ipITT) indicated that mice maintained on the HFD + TAU had worse glucose intolerance and insulin resistance that was linked to lower insulin signaling in skeletal muscle and liver. Insulin secretion of isolated pancreatic islets of OVXH mice was higher than OVXC, and the addition of TAU associated with a HFD did not modulate insulin secretion, suggesting a failure of pancreatic ß cells of OVXHT mice. These results suggest that despite the beneficial reports of TAU, it should be used cautiously in situations where the levels of estrogens are low.
Assuntos
Suplementos Nutricionais , Glucose/metabolismo , Obesidade/tratamento farmacológico , Taurina/administração & dosagem , Animais , Glicemia/efeitos dos fármacos , Dieta Hiperlipídica/efeitos adversos , Estrogênios/metabolismo , Homeostase , Humanos , Insulina/metabolismo , Resistência à Insulina/genética , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/efeitos dos fármacos , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/patologia , Camundongos , Obesidade/genética , Obesidade/metabolismo , Obesidade/patologia , OvariectomiaRESUMO
In a state of caloric restriction (CR), improved insulin action was associated with the activation of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). Here, we verified whether AMPK was involved in impaired ß-cell function in islets from rats subjected to CR for 21 days. Eight-week-old male rats were distributed into a control (CTL) group that was fed an isocaloric diet ad libitum or a CR group that received 60% of the food consumed by the CTL group. From days 18-21, CTL and CR rats were treated with sense (CTLS and CRS) or antisense (CTLAS and CRAS) AMPKα2 oligonucleotides. Caloric restriction was associated with decreased body weight, perigonadal fat pads and insulinaemia, while higher glucose tolerance was observed in CRS rats. Antisense treatment normalized insulinaemia and glucose tolerance in CRAS rats and increased cholesterolaemia in CRAS and CTLAS groups. These effects were associated with reduced pAMPK/AMPK protein expression in the liver of rats treated with antisense oligonucleotides. Additionally, CRS islets showed higher pAMPK/AMPK content and lower glucose-induced insulin release. As expected, antisense oligonucleotides against AMPKα2 efficiently reduced pAMPK/AMPK protein in CRAS and CTLAS islets. The lower AMPK content in CRAS islets normalized the insulin secretion in islets exposed to 16.7 mM glucose. In addition, CTLAS islets presented higher insulin secretion at 2.8 and 16.7 mM glucose. These findings support the hypothesis that higher AMPK protein expression is involved in impaired ß-cell function in islets from rats subjected to CR for 21 days.
Assuntos
Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP/metabolismo , Restrição Calórica , Glucose/metabolismo , Insulina/metabolismo , Processamento de Proteína Pós-Traducional/fisiologia , Animais , Glicemia/metabolismo , Restrição Calórica/métodos , Secreção de Insulina , Células Secretoras de Insulina/metabolismo , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Ratos WistarRESUMO
Intercellular junctions play a role in regulating islet cytoarchitecture, insulin biosynthesis and secretion. In this study, we investigated the animal metabolic state as well as islet histology and cellular distribution/expression of CAMs and F-actin in the endocrine pancreas of C57BL/6/JUnib mice fed a high-fat diet (HFd) for a prolonged time period (8 months). Mice fed a HFd became obese and type 2 diabetic, displaying significant peripheral insulin resistance, hyperglycemia and moderate hyperinsulinemia. Isolated islets of HFd-fed mice displayed a significant impairment of glucose-induced insulin secretion associated with a diminished frequency of intracellular calcium oscillations compared with control islets. No marked change in islet morphology and cytoarchitecture was observed; however, HFd-fed mice showed higher beta cell relative area in comparison with controls. As shown by immunohistochemistry, ZO-1, E-, N-cadherins, α- and ß-catenins were expressed at the intercellular contact site of endocrine cells, while VE-cadherin, as well as ZO-1, was found at islet vascular compartment. Redistribution of N-, E-cadherins and α-catenin (from the contact region to the cytoplasm in endocrine cells) associated with increased submembranous F-actin cell level as well as increased VE-cadherin islet immunolabeling was observed in diabetic mice. Increased gene expression of VE-cadherin and ZO-1, but no change for the other proteins, was observed in islets of diabetic mice. Only in the case of VE-cadherin, a significant increase in islet content of this CAM was detected by immunoblotting in diabetic mice. In conclusion, CAMs are expressed by endocrine and endothelial cells of pancreatic islets. The distribution/expression of N-, E- and VE-cadherins as well as α-catenin and F-actin is significantly altered in islet cells of obese and diabetic mice.
Assuntos
Moléculas de Adesão Celular/metabolismo , Diabetes Mellitus Experimental/metabolismo , Dieta Hiperlipídica , Insulina/metabolismo , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Animais , Caderinas/análise , Caderinas/metabolismo , Cateninas/análise , Cateninas/metabolismo , Moléculas de Adesão Celular/análise , Diabetes Mellitus Experimental/patologia , Secreção de Insulina , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/patologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Proteína da Zônula de Oclusão-1/análise , Proteína da Zônula de Oclusão-1/metabolismoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is a plasma protein that mediates the exchange of triglycerides for esterified cholesterol between HDL and apoB-lipoproteins. Previous studies suggest that CETP may modify glucose metabolism in patients or cultured cells. In this study, we tested if stable CETP expression would impair glucose metabolism. METHODS: We used human CETP transgenic mice and non-transgenic littermate controls (NTg), fed with control or high fat diet, as well as in dyslipidemic background and aging conditions. Assays included glucose and insulin tolerance tests, isolated islets insulin secretion, tissue glucose uptake and adipose tissue GLUT mRNA expression. RESULTS: CETP expression did not modify glucose or insulin tolerance in all tested conditions such as chow and high fat diet, adult and aged mice, normo and dyslipidemic backgrounds. Fasting and fed state plasma levels of insulin were not differ in CETP and NTg mice. Direct measurements of isolated pancreatic islet insulin secretion rates induced by glucose (11, 16.7 or 22 mM), KCl (40 mM), and leucine (10 mM) were similar in NTg and CETP mice, indicating that CETP expression did not affect ß-cell function in vivo and ex vivo. Glucose uptake by insulin target tissues, measured in vivo using (3)H-2-deoxyglucose, showed that CETP expression had no effect on the glucose uptake in liver, muscle, perigonadal, perirenal, subcutaneous and brown adipose tissues. Accordingly, GLUT1 and GLUT4 mRNA in adipose tissue were not affected by CETP. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, by comparing the in vivo all-or-nothing CETP expressing mouse models, we demonstrated that CETP per se has no impact on the glucose tolerance and tissue uptake, global insulin sensitivity and beta cell insulin secretion rates.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Transferência de Ésteres de Colesterol/metabolismo , Glucose/metabolismo , Homeostase , Insulina/metabolismo , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas de Transferência de Ésteres de Colesterol/genética , Feminino , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Teste de Tolerância a Glucose , Transportador de Glucose Tipo 4/genética , Transportador de Glucose Tipo 4/metabolismo , Insulina/sangue , Secreção de Insulina , Camundongos Obesos , Camundongos Transgênicos , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismoRESUMO
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is provoked by an autoimmune assault against pancreatic ß cells. Exercise training enhances ß-cell mass in T1D. Here, we investigated how exercise signals ß cells in T1D condition. For this, we used several approaches. Wild-type and IL-6 knockout (KO) C57BL/6 mice were exercised. Afterward, islets from control and trained mice were exposed to inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß plus IFN-γ). Islets from control mice and ß-cell lines (INS-1E and MIN6) were incubated with serum from control or trained mice or medium obtained from 5-aminoimidazole-4 carboxamide1-ß-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR)-treated C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Subsequently, islets and ß cells were exposed to IL-1ß plus IFN-γ. Proteins were assessed by immunoblotting, apoptosis was determined by DNA-binding dye propidium iodide fluorescence, and NO(â¢) was estimated by nitrite. Exercise reduced 25, 75, and 50% of the IL-1ß plus IFN-γ-induced iNOS, nitrite, and cleaved caspase-3 content, respectively, in pancreatic islets. Serum from trained mice and medium from AICAR-treated C2C12 cells reduced ß-cell death, induced by IL-1ß plus IFN-γ treatment, in 15 and 38%, respectively. This effect was lost in samples treated with IL-6 inhibitor or with serum from exercised IL-6 KO mice. In conclusion, muscle contraction signals ß-cell survival in T1D through IL-6.
Assuntos
Apoptose , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 1/patologia , Células Secretoras de Insulina/patologia , Interleucina-6/fisiologia , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/patologia , Músculo Esquelético/patologia , Condicionamento Físico Animal , Animais , Western Blotting , Proliferação de Células , Células Cultivadas , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 1/metabolismo , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 1/terapia , Glucose/metabolismo , Insulina/metabolismo , Células Secretoras de Insulina/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Secretoras de Insulina/metabolismo , Interferon gama/farmacologia , Interleucina-1beta/farmacologia , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/efeitos dos fármacos , Ilhotas Pancreáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Músculo Esquelético/efeitos dos fármacos , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Óxido Nítrico/metabolismo , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Radioimunoensaio , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
Endurance exercise training as well as leucine supplementation modulates glucose homeostasis and protein turnover in mammals. Here, we analyze whether leucine supplementation alters the effects of endurance exercise on these parameters in healthy mice. Mice were distributed into sedentary (C) and exercise (T) groups. The exercise group performed a 12-week swimming protocol. Half of the C and T mice, designated as the CL and TL groups, were supplemented with leucine (1.5 % dissolved in the drinking water) throughout the experiment. As well known, endurance exercise training reduced body weight and the retroperitoneal fat pad, increased soleus mass, increased VO2max, decreased muscle proteolysis, and ameliorated peripheral insulin sensitivity. Leucine supplementation had no effect on any of these parameters and worsened glucose tolerance in both CL and TL mice. In the soleus muscle of the T group, AS-160(Thr-642) (AKT substrate of 160 kDa) and AMPK(Thr-172) (AMP-Activated Protein Kinase) phosphorylation was increased by exercise in both basal and insulin-stimulated conditions, but it was reduced in TL mice with insulin stimulation compared with the T group. Akt phosphorylation was not affected by exercise but was lower in the CL group compared with the other groups. Leucine supplementation increased mTOR phosphorylation at basal conditions, whereas exercise reduced it in the presence of insulin, despite no alterations in protein synthesis. In trained groups, the total FoxO3a protein content and the mRNA for the specific isoforms E2 and E3 ligases were reduced. In conclusion, leucine supplementation did not potentiate the effects of endurance training on protein turnover, and it also reduced its positive effects on glucose homeostasis.
Assuntos
Suplementos Nutricionais/análise , Glucose/metabolismo , Leucina/metabolismo , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP/genética , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP/metabolismo , Animais , Feminino , Homeostase , Humanos , Insulina/metabolismo , Camundongos , Músculo Esquelético/metabolismo , Resistência Física , Biossíntese de Proteínas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Natação , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismoRESUMO
The Kallikrein-Kinin System (KKS) has been implicated in several aspects of metabolism, including the regulation of glucose homeostasis and adiposity. Kinins and des-Arg-kinins are the major effectors of this system and promote their effects by binding to two different receptors, the kinin B2 and B1 receptors, respectively. To understand the influence of the KKS on the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), we generated an animal model deficient for both kinin receptor genes and leptin (obB1B2KO). Six-month-old obB1B2KO mice showed increased blood glucose levels. Isolated islets of the transgenic animals were more responsive to glucose stimulation releasing greater amounts of insulin, mainly in 3-month-old mice, which was corroborated by elevated serum C-peptide concentrations. Furthermore, they presented hepatomegaly, pronounced steatosis, and increased levels of circulating transaminases. This mouse also demonstrated exacerbated gluconeogenesis during the pyruvate challenge test. The hepatic abnormalities were accompanied by changes in the gene expression of factors linked to glucose and lipid metabolisms in the liver. Thus, we conclude that kinin receptors are important for modulation of insulin secretion and for the preservation of normal glucose levels and hepatic functions in obese mice, suggesting a protective role of the KKS regarding complications associated with obesity and T2DM.