ABSTRACT
The role of neuronal noncoding RNAs in energy control of the body is not fully understood. The arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus comprises neurons regulating food intake and body weight. Here we show that Dicer-dependent loss of microRNAs in these neurons of adult (DicerCKO) mice causes chronic overactivation of the signaling pathways involving phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and an imbalance in the levels of neuropeptides, resulting in severe hyperphagic obesity. Similarly, the activation of PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway due to Pten deletion in the adult forebrain leads to comparable weight increase. Conversely, the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin normalizes obesity in mice with an inactivated Dicer1 or Pten gene. Importantly, the continuous delivery of oligonucleotides mimicking microRNAs, which are predicted to target PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway components, to the hypothalamus attenuates adiposity in DicerCKO mice. Furthermore, loss of miR-103 causes strong upregulation of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway in vitro and its application into the ARC of the Dicer-deficient mice both reverses upregulation of Pik3cg, the mRNA encoding the catalytic subunit p110γ of the PI3K complex, and attenuates the hyperphagic obesity. Our data demonstrate in vivo the crucial role of neuronal microRNAs in the control of energy homeostasis.
Subject(s)
Hyperphagia/complications , Hypothalamus/metabolism , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Obesity/etiology , Obesity/pathology , Absorptiometry, Photon , Agouti-Related Protein/genetics , Agouti-Related Protein/metabolism , Animals , DEAD-box RNA Helicases/deficiency , DEAD-box RNA Helicases/genetics , HeLa Cells , Humans , Luminescent Proteins/genetics , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , MicroRNAs/genetics , Neuropeptide Y/genetics , Neuropeptide Y/metabolism , Oncogene Protein v-akt/metabolism , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/deficiency , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/genetics , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism , Ribonuclease III/deficiency , Ribonuclease III/genetics , TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism , Transduction, GeneticABSTRACT
In the course of our investigations of vanadium-containing complexes for use as insulin-enhancing agents, we have generated a series of novel vanadium coordination complexes with bidentate ligands. Specifically we have focused on two ligands: anthranilate (anc(-)), a natural metabolite of tryptophan, and imidizole-4-carboxylate (imc(-)), meant to mimic naturally occurring N-donor ligands. For each ligand, we have generated a series of complexes containing the V(III), V(IV), and V(V) oxidation states. Each complex was investigated using phosphatase inhibition studies of three different phosphatases (acid, alkaline, and tyrosine (PTP1B) phosphatase) as prima facia evidence for potential use as an insulin-enhancing agent. Using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as an artificial phosphatase substrate, the levels of inhibition were determined by measuring the absorbance of the product at 405nm using UV/vis spectroscopy. Under our experimental conditions, for instance, V(imc)(3) appears to be as potent an inhibitor of alkaline phosphatase as sodium orthovanadate when comparing the K(cat)/K(m) term. VO(anc)(2) is as potent an inhibitor of acid phosphatase and tyrosine phosphatase as the Na(3)VO(4). Thus, use of these complexes can increase our mechanistic understanding of the effects of vanadium in vivo.
