Inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling reduces renal fibrosis in murine glycogen storage disease type Ia.

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase-α (G6Pase-α or G6PC) that is expressed primarily in the gluconeogenic organs, namely liver, kidney cortex, and intestine. Renal G6Pase-α deficiency in GSD-Ia is characterized by impaired gluconeogenesis, nephromegaly due to elevated glycogen accumulation, and nephropathy caused, in part, by renal fibrosis, mediated by activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). The Wnt/ß-catenin signaling regulates the expression of a variety of downstream mediators implicated in renal fibrosis, including multiple genes in the RAS. Sustained activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling is associated with the development and progression of renal fibrotic lesions that can lead to chronic kidney disease. In this study, we examined the molecular mechanism underlying GSD-Ia nephropathy. Damage to the kidney proximal tubules is known to trigger acute kidney injury (AKI) that can, in turn, activate Wnt/ß-catenin signaling. We show that GSD-Ia mice have AKI that leads to activation of the Wnt/ß-catenin/RAS axis. Renal fibrosis was demonstrated by increased renal levels of Snail1, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and extracellular matrix proteins, including collagen-Iα1 and collagen-IV. Treating GSD-Ia mice with a CBP/ß-catenin inhibitor, ICG-001, significantly decreased nuclear translocated active ß-catenin and reduced renal levels of renin, Snail1, α-SMA, and collagen-IV. The results suggest that inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling may be a promising therapeutic strategy for GSD-Ia nephropathy.

Molecular mechanism underlying impaired hepatic autophagy in glycogen storage disease type Ib.

Type Ib glycogen storage disease (GSD-Ib) is caused by a deficiency in the glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) transporter (G6PT) that translocates G6P from the cytoplasm into the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, where the intraluminal G6P is hydrolyzed to glucose by glucose-6-phosphatase-α (G6Pase-α). Clinically, GSD-Ib patients manifest a metabolic phenotype of impaired blood glucose homeostasis and a long-term risk of hepatocellular adenoma/carcinoma (HCA/HCC). Studies have shown that autophagy deficiency contributes to hepatocarcinogenesis. In this study, we show that G6PT deficiency leads to impaired hepatic autophagy evident from attenuated expression of many components of the autophagy network, decreased autophagosome formation and reduced autophagy flux. The G6PT-deficient liver displayed impaired sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling, along with reduced expression of SIRT1, forkhead boxO3a (FoxO3a), liver kinase B-1 (LKB1) and the active p-AMPK. Importantly, we show that overexpression of either SIRT1 or LKB1 in G6PT-deficient liver restored autophagy and SIRT1/FoxO3a and LKB1/AMPK signaling. The hepatosteatosis in G6PT-deficient liver decreased SIRT1 expression. LKB1 overexpression reduced hepatic triglyceride levels, providing a potential link between LKB1/AMPK signaling upregulation and the increase in SIRT1 expression. In conclusion, downregulation of SIRT1/FoxO3a and LKB1/AMPK signaling underlies impaired hepatic autophagy which may contribute to HCA/HCC development in GSD-Ib. Understanding this mechanism may guide future therapies.

Hepatocyte cannabinoid 1 receptor nullification alleviates toxin-induced liver damage via NF-κB signaling.

Cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) expression is upregulated in the liver with viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (FLD), whereas its expression is muted under usual physiological conditions. Inhibiting CB1R has been shown to be beneficial in preserving hepatic function in FLD but it is unclear if inhibiting CB1R during an inflammatory response to an acute hepatic injury, such as toxin-induced injury, would also be beneficial. We found that intrinsic CB1R in hepatocytes regulated liver inflammation-related gene transcription. We tested if nullification of hepatocyte-specific CB1R (hCNR1-/-) in mice protects against concanavalin A (Con A)-induced liver injury. We looked for evidence of liver damage and markers of inflammation in response to Con A by measuring liver enzyme levels and proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-17) in serum collected from hCNR1-/- and control mice. We observed a shift to the right in the dose-response curve for liver injury and inflammation in hCNR1-/- mice. We also found less inflammatory cell infiltration and focal necrosis in livers of hCNR1-/- mice compared to controls, resulting from downregulated apoptotic markers. This anti-apoptotic mechanism results from increased activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), especially cAMP-dependent cannabinoid signaling and membrane-bound TNF-α, via downregulated TNF-α receptor 2 (TNFR2) transcription levels. Collectively, these findings provide insight into involvement of CB1R in the pathogenesis of acute liver injury.

The signaling pathways implicated in impairment of hepatic autophagy in glycogen storage disease type Ia.

Glucose-6-phosphatase-α (G6Pase-α or G6PC) deficiency in glycogen storage disease type-Ia (GSD-Ia) leads to impaired hepatic autophagy, a recycling process important for cellular metabolism and homeostasis. Autophagy can be regulated by several energy sensing pathways, including sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), forkhead box O (FoxO), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Using 10-day old global G6pc-deficient (G6pc-/-) mice, hepatic autophagy impairment was attributed to activation of mTOR and inhibition of AMPK signaling. In other studies, using adult liver-specific G6pc-deficient mice at both pre-tumor and tumor stages, hepatic autophagy impairment was attributed to downregulation of SIRT1 signaling and mTOR was not implicated. In this study, we provide a detailed analysis of the major autophagy pathways in young G6pc-/- mice over the first 4 weeks of life. We show that impaired SIRT1, FoxO3a, AMPK, and PPAR-α signaling are responsible for autophagy impairment but mTOR is involved minimally. Hepatic SIRT1 overexpression corrects defective autophagy, restores the expression of FoxO3a and liver kinase B1 but fails to normalize impaired PPAR-α expression or metabolic abnormalities associated with GSD-Ia. Importantly, restoration of hepatic G6Pase-α expression in G6pc-/- mice corrects defective autophagy, restores SIRT1/FoxO3a/AMPK/PPAR-α signaling and rectifies metabolic abnormalities. Taken together, these data show that hepatic autophagy impairment in GSD-Ia is mediated by downregulation of SIRT1/FoxO3a/AMPK/PPAR-α signaling.

A collagen domain-derived short adiponectin peptide activates APPL1 and AMPK signaling pathways and improves glucose and fatty acid metabolisms.

Adiponectin is a fat tissue-derived adipokine with beneficial effects against diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Accordingly, adiponectin-mimetic molecules possess significant pharmacological potential. Oligomeric states of adiponectin appear to determine its biological activity. We identified a highly conserved, 13-residue segment (ADP-1) from adiponectin's collagen domain, which comprises GXXG motifs and has one asparagine and two histidine residues that assist in oligomeric protein assembly. We therefore hypothesized that ADP-1 promotes oligomeric assembly and thereby mediates potential metabolic effects. We observed here that ADP-1 is stable in human serum and oligomerizes in aqueous environments. We also found that ADP-1 activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in an adaptor protein, phosphotyrosine interacting with PH domain and leucine zipper 1 (APPL1)-dependent pathway and stimulates glucose uptake in rat skeletal muscle cells (L6 myotubes). ADP-1-induced glucose transport coincided with ADP-1-induced biosynthesis of glucose transporter 4 and its translocation to the plasma membrane. ADP-1 induced an interaction between APPL1 and the small GTPase Rab5, resulting in AMPK phosphorylation, in turn leading to phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α. Similar to adiponectin, ADP-1 increased the expression of the adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) gene. Of note, ADP-1 decreased blood glucose levels and enhanced insulin production in pancreatic ß cells in db/db mice. Further, ADP-1 beneficially affected lipid metabolism by enhancing lipid globule formation in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes. To our knowledge, this is the first report on identification of a short peptide from adiponectin with positive effects on glucose or fatty acid metabolism.

4-Hydroxyisoleucine attenuates the inflammation-mediated insulin resistance by the activation of AMPK and suppression of SOCS-3 coimmunoprecipitation with both the IR-ß subunit as well as IRS-1.

It is known that 4-hydroxyisoleucine (4-HIL) from seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum has beneficial effects on low-grade inflammation; therefore, the insulin signaling as well as the anti-inflammatory effects of 4-HIL in TNF-α-induced insulin resistance in C2C12 myotubes was studied with an aim to dissect out the mechanism(s) of the inflammation-mediated insulin resistance. TNF-α suppressed insulin-stimulated glucose transport rate and increased Ser-307 phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1). However, the treatment of 4-hydroxyisoleucine enhanced insulin-stimulated glucose transport rate via the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a dose-dependent manner. 4-HIL also increases the tyrosine phosphorylation of both IR-ß and IRS-1. Moreover, coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) of insulin receptor-ß (IR-ß) subunit with IRS-1 was found to be increased by 4-hydroxyisoleucine. Concentration of SOCS-3 protein and coimmunoprecipitation of SOCS-3 protein with both the IR-ß subunit as well as IRS-1 was found to be decreased by 4-HIL. We conclude that the 4-hydroxyisoleucine reverses the insulin resistance by the activation of AMPK and suppression of SOCS-3 coimmunoprecipitation with both the IR-ß subunit as well as IRS-1.

Antidiabetic Potential of Potentilla fulgens Roots in Validated Animal Models of Diabetes

The present study was undertaken to investigate the antidiabetic potential of tap roots of Potentilla fulgens in streptozotocin induced diabetic rat models. The crude powder, ethanolic, ethanolic: aqueous and aqueous extracts of tap roots were administered to normoglycemic- and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats in a single dose study. The ethanolic extract showed significant improvement in oral glucose tolerance and antihyperglycemic effect on sucrose loaded normal rats and STZ-induced diabetic rats. Of the isolated aqueous, n-butanol, chloroform and n-hexane soluble fractions of the active ethanolic extract of the roots, the aqueous fraction (100 mg/kg body weight) showed significant blood glucose lowering effect on STZ-induced diabetic rats. In a multiple dose study, aqueous fraction of ethanolic extract of P. fulgens roots significantly improved the body weight, percent glycated hemoglobin (%HbA1c), fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance (OGTT), serum insulin, lipid profile, liver and kidney parameters in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The aqueous fraction also showed marked improvement in OGTT and serum insulin level in neonatal STZ-induced diabetic rats for 30 consecutive days. The aqueous fraction of the roots also inhibited the activity of alpha (α)-glucosidase enzyme in a dose dependent manner. In conclusion, the finding suggested that an aqueous fraction of tap roots of P. fulgens possessed potential antidiabetic activity.

Aegeline from Aegle marmelos stimulates glucose transport via Akt and Rac1 signaling, and contributes to a cytoskeletal rearrangement through PI3K/Rac1.

Aegeline is an alkaloidal-amide, isolated from the leaves of Aegle marmelos and have shown antihyperglycemic as well as antidyslipidemic activities in the validated animal models of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here we delineate, aegeline enhanced GLUT4 translocation mediated 2-deoxy-glucose uptake in both time and concentration-dependent manner. 2-deoxy-glucose uptake was completely stymied by the transport inhibitors (wortmannin and genistein) in C2C12 myotubes. Pharmacological inhibition of Akt (also known as protein kinase B) and Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) suggest that both Akt and Rac1 operate aegeline-stimulated glucose transport via distinct parallel pathways. Moreover, aegeline activates p21 protein-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) and cofilin (an actin polymerization regulator). Rac1 inhibitor (Rac1 inhib II) and PAK1 inhibitor (IPA-3) completely blocked aegeline-induced phosphorylation of cofilin and p21 protein-activated kinase 1 (PAK1). In summary, these findings suggest that aegeline stimulates the glucose transport through Akt and Rac1 dependent distinct parallel pathways and have cytoskeletal roles via stimulation of the PI3-kinase-Rac1-PAK1-cofilin pathway in the skeletal muscle cells. Therefore, multiple targets of aegeline in the improvement of insulin sensitivity of the skeletal muscle cells may be suggested.

Ethanolic extract of Allium cepa stimulates glucose transporter typ 4-mediated glucose uptake by the activation of insulin signaling.

The present work was undertaken to investigate the effects and the molecular mechanism of the standardized ethanolic extract of Allium cepa (onion) on the glucose transport for controlling diabetes mellitus. A. cepa stimulates glucose uptake by the rat skeletal muscle cells (L6 myotubes) in both time- and dose-dependent manners. This effect was shown to be mediated by the increased translocation of glucose transporter typ 4 protein from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane as well as the synthesis of glucose transporter typ 4 protein. The effect of A. cepa extract on glucose transport was stymied by wortmannin, genistein, and AI½. In vitro phosphorylation analysis revealed that, like insulin, A. cepa extract also enhances the tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor-ß, insulin receptor substrate-1, and the serine phosphorylation of Akt under both basal and insulin-stimulated conditions without affecting the total amount of these proteins. Furthermore, it is also shown that the activation of Akt is indispensable for the A. cepa-induced glucose uptake in L6 myotubes. Taken together, these findings provide ample evidence that the ethanolic extract of A. cepa stimulates glucose transporter typ 4 translocation-mediated glucose uptake by the activation of the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase/Akt dependent pathway.

4-Hydroxyisoleucine improves insulin resistance by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and act through AMPK and Akt dependent pathway.

4-Hydroxyisoleucine (4-HIL) is an unusual amino acid isolated from fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum graecum L). Various studies have shown that it acts as an antidiabetic agent yet its mechanism of action is not clear. We therefore investigated the effect 4-HIL on the high fructose diet fed streptozotocin induced diabetic rats and L6 myotubes. 4-HIL (50 mg/kg) has improved blood lipid profile, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in a diabetic rat model. It has increased the glucose uptake in L6 myotubes in AMPK-dependent manner and upregulated the expression of genes (PGC-1α, PGC-1ß, CPT 1 and CPT 2), which have role in mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in the liver, skeletal muscles as well as in L6 myotubes. Interestingly, it also increased the AMPK and Akt expression along with their phosphorylated forms in the liver and muscle tissues of treated animals. Altogether we concluded that 4-HIL acts to improve insulin resistance by promoting mitochondrial biogenesis in high fructose diet fed STZ induced diabetic rats.

Identification of novel PTP1B inhibitors by pharmacophore based virtual screening, scaffold hopping and docking.

Design and synthesis of protein tyrosine phosphatases-1B (PTP1B) inhibitors are important for the drugs targeted to treat diabetes and obesity. The pharmacophore modeling, docking and scaffold hopping techniques have been applied to discover the novel PTP1B inhibitors. The ten prioritized compounds (115-119, 120-121, 127, 130-131) from the library of 86 compounds were synthesized and found positive in the micro molar range for PTP1B in-vitro inhibitory assays as compared to Suramin (IC50 9.5 µM). Among these five active compounds (115-119) were tested in STZ-s induced diabetic rat model and the most active compound 115 in this test, was further tested in C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice where it significantly improved OGTT along with the fasting and random blood glucose level. The treatment by the compound 115 significantly improved the insulin resistance and insulin signaling by restoring the insulin level and normalizing the serum lipid profile. Compound 115 also augmented the insulin action by modulating the expression of genes involved in insulin signaling like IRS 1-2, PI3K, PTPN1, Akt2, AMPK and PPAR-α. Western blot analysis of both skeletal muscle and liver demonstrated that proteins and intermediate enzymes of insulin signaling were also increased as compared to control group. The compound 115 was also investigated for anti-adipogenic effect on 3T3L-1 cells. The compound 115 inhibited MDI induced lipid accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. The oral bioavailability of compound 115 was ∼10.29% after 30 mg/kg oral dosing assessed in rat.

Nymphaea rubra ameliorates TNF-α-induced insulin resistance via suppression of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and nuclear factor-κB in the rat skeletal muscle cells.

In this work, we demonstrated insulin signaling and the anti-inflammatory effects by the chloroform fraction of ethanolic extract of Nymphaea rubra flowers in TNF-α-induced insulin resistance in the rat skeletal muscle cell line (L6 myotubes) to dissect out its anti-hyperglycemic mechanism. N. rubra enhances the GLUT4-mediated glucose transport in a dose dependent manner and also increases the tyrosine phosphorylation of both IR-ß and IRS-1, and the IRS-1 associated PI-3 kinase activity in TNF-α-treated L6 myotubes. Moreover, N. rubra decreases Ser(307) phosphorylation of IRS-1 by the suppression of JNK and NF-κB activation. In conclusion, N. rubra reverses the insulin resistance by the inhibition of c-Jun NH2-Terminal Kinase and Nuclear-κB.

Bioactivity-guided chemical analysis of Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae), displaying antidiabetic activity.

One new Euphane-type triterpenoid 3ß-hydroxytirucalla-5, 24-dien-21-oic acid (1), and ten known compounds (2-11) were isolated from Melia azedarach L. through bioassay-guided chemical analysis. The structures of the isolated compounds were established by means of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic ((1)H, (13)C, DEPT, COSY, HSQC and HMBC) and MS spectral analyses. All the fractions and isolated pure compounds were evaluated for antidiabetic activity by determining their inhibitory effects on PTP-1B enzyme as well as glucose uptake stimulation in C2Cl2 myoblasts cells. Compounds 4 and 7 showed significant in vitro PTP-1B inhibitory activity with 69.2 and 66.8% inhibition at 10 µg/ml concentrations respectively.

Discovery of biaryl-4-carbonitriles as antihyperglycemic agents that may act through AMPK-p38 MAPK pathway.

A series of functionalized biaryl-4-carbonitriles was synthesized in three steps and evaluated for PTP-1B inhibitory activity. Among the synthesized compounds, four biaryls 6a-d showed inhibition (IC50 58-75 µM) against in vitro PTP-1B assay possibly due to interaction with amino acid residues Lys120, Tyr46 through hydrogen bonding and aromatic-aromatic interactions, respectively. Two biaryl-4-carbonitriles 6b and 6c showed improved glucose tolerance, fasting as well as postprandial blood glucose, serum total triglycerides, and increased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in SLM, STZ, STZ-S and C57BL/KsJ-db/db animal models. The bioanalysis of 4'-bromo-2,3-dimethyl-5-(piperidin-1-yl)biphenyl-4-carbonitrile (6b) revealed that like insulin, it increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells (L6 and C2C12 myotubes). The compound 6b significantly up-regulated the genes related to the insulin signaling pathways like AMPK, MAPK including glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) gene in muscle tissue of C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice. Furthermore, it was observed that the compound 6b up-regulated PPARα, UCP2 and HNF4α, which are key regulator of glucose, lipid, and fatty acid metabolism. Western blot analysis of the compound 6b showed that it significantly increased the phosphorylation of AMPK and p38 MAPK and ameliorated glucose uptake in C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice through the AMPK-p38 MAPK pathway.

Antidiabetic activity of heart wood of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb. and analysis of phytoconstituents.

The crude powder, ethanolic extract and aqueous, chloroform, hexane and n-butanol soluble fractions of ethanolic extract of heart wood of P. marsupium showed marked improvement on oral glucose tolerance post sucrose load in normal rats. All these fractions except aqueous fraction showed improvement on oral glucose tolerance post sucrose load on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The crude powder, ethanolic extract and hexane and n-butanol fractions showed marked decline in blood glucose level on STZ-induced diabetic rats. The ethanolic extract (100 mg/kg body weight) when given to STZ-induced diabetic rats for 10 consecutive days declined blood glucose, improved OGTT and increased their serum insulin levels. The ethanolic extract also showed marked improvement on oral glucose tolerance on high fat-low dosed STZ-induced diabetic rats and neonatally STZ treated rats. The ethanolic extract of P. marsupium also showed marked antidyslipidemic effects on high fat diet fed Syrian golden hamsters. Altered renal and hepatic function markers and serum insulin levels of high fat diet fed-low dosed STZ-treated diabetic rats were also found towards normalization when these animals were treated with ethanolic extract of P. marsupium for 28 consecutive days. The four out of five phenolic C-glycosides isolated from n-butanol fraction of ethanolic extract of P. marsupium enhanced glucose uptake by skeletal muscle cells (C2C12) in a dose dependent manner. It may primarily be concluded that phenolic-C-glycosides present in P. marsupium heart wood are the phytoconstituents responsible for the antihyperglycemic activity and validate the claim of antidiabetic activity of heart wood of P. marsupium.