Dietary delivery of glycomacropeptide within the whey protein matrix is not effective in mitigating tissue ceramide deposition and obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet.

Obesity is often accompanied by heightened circulating and tissue inflammation along with an increase in sphingolipids (e.g., ceramides) in metabolically active and insulin-sensitive organs. Whey protein isolate (WPI) has been shown to decrease inflammation and increase insulin sensitivity when given during a high-fat diet (HFD) intervention in rodents. The whey protein bioactive peptide glycomacropeptide (GMP) has also been linked to having anti-inflammatory properties and regulating lipogenesis. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine the effect of dietary GMP within the whey protein matrix on tissue inflammation, adiposity, and tissue ceramide accumulation in an obesogenic rodent model. Young adult male mice (10 wk old) underwent a 10-wk 60% HFD intervention. Glycomacropeptide was absent in the control low-fat diet and HFD WPI (-GMP) groups. The HFD WPI (1×GMP) treatment contained a standard amount of GMP, and HFD WPI (2×GMP) had double the amount. We observed no differences in weight gain or reductions in adiposity when comparing the GMP groups to HFD WPI (-GMP). Similarly, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance were not offset with GMP, and skeletal muscle and liver tissue ceramide content was unaltered with the GMP intervention. In contrast, the additional amount of GMP (2×GMP) might adversely affect tissue obesity-related pathologies. Together, dietary GMP given in a whey protein matrix during an HFD intervention does not alter weight gain, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and sphingolipid accumulation in the liver and skeletal muscle.

Weight loss increases skeletal muscle mitochondrial energy efficiency in obese mice.

Weight loss from an overweight state is associated with a disproportionate decrease in whole-body energy expenditure that may contribute to the heightened risk for weight regain. Evidence suggests that this energetic mismatch originates from lean tissue. Although this phenomenon is well documented, the mechanisms have remained elusive. We hypothesized that increased mitochondrial energy efficiency in skeletal muscle is associated with reduced expenditure under weight loss. Wildtype (WT) male C57BL6/N mice were fed with high fat diet for 10 weeks, followed by a subset of mice that were maintained on the obesogenic diet (OB) or switched to standard chow to promote weight loss (WL) for additional 6 weeks. Mitochondrial energy efficiency was evaluated using high-resolution respirometry and fluorometry. Mass spectrometric analyses were employed to describe the mitochondrial proteome and lipidome. Weight loss promoted ~50% increase in the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation (ATP produced per O2 consumed, or P/O) in skeletal muscle. However, weight loss did not appear to induce significant changes in mitochondrial proteome, nor any changes in respiratory supercomplex formation. Instead, it accelerated the remodeling of mitochondrial cardiolipin (CL) acyl-chains to increase tetralinoleoyl CL (TLCL) content, a species of lipids thought to be functionally critical for the respiratory enzymes. We further show that lowering TLCL by deleting the CL transacylase tafazzin was sufficient to reduce skeletal muscle P/O and protect mice from diet-induced weight gain. These findings implicate skeletal muscle mitochondrial efficiency as a novel mechanism by which weight loss reduces energy expenditure in obesity.

Cellular senescence and disrupted proteostasis induced by myotube atrophy are prevented with low-dose metformin and leucine cocktail.

Aging coincides with the accumulation of senescent cells within skeletal muscle that produce inflammatory products, known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, but the relationship of senescent cells to muscle atrophy is unclear. Previously, we found that a metformin + leucine (MET+LEU) treatment had synergistic effects in aged mice to improve skeletal muscle structure and function during disuse atrophy. Therefore, the study's purpose was to determine the mechanisms by which MET+LEU exhibits muscle atrophy protection in vitro and if this occurs through cellular senescence. C2C12 myoblasts differentiated into myotubes were used to determine MET+LEU mechanisms during atrophy. Additionally, aged mouse single myofibers and older human donor primary myoblasts were individually isolated to determine the translational potential of MET+LEU on muscle cells. MET+LEU (25 + 125 µM) treatment increased myotube differentiation and prevented myotube atrophy. Low concentration (0.1 + 0.5 µM) MET+LEU had unique effects to prevent muscle atrophy and increase transcripts related to protein synthesis and decrease transcripts related to protein breakdown. Myotube atrophy resulted in dysregulated proteostasis that was reversed with MET+LEU and individually with proteasome inhibition (MG-132). Inflammatory and cellular senescence transcriptional pathways and respective transcripts were increased following myotube atrophy yet reversed with MET+LEU treatment. Dasatinib + quercetin (D+Q) senolytic prevented myotube atrophy similar to MET+LEU. Finally, MET+LEU prevented loss in myotube size in alternate in vitro models of muscle atrophy as well as in aged myofibers while, in human primary myotubes, MET+LEU prevented reductions in myonuclei fusion. These data support that MET+LEU has skeletal muscle cell-autonomous properties to prevent atrophy by reversing senescence and improving proteostasis.

Mitochondrial phosphatidylethanolamine modulates UCP1 to promote brown adipose thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis by uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is one of the primary mechanisms by which brown adipose tissue (BAT) increases energy expenditure. UCP1 resides in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM), where it dissipates membrane potential independent of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase. Here, we provide evidence that phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) modulates UCP1-dependent proton conductance across the IMM to modulate thermogenesis. Mitochondrial lipidomic analyses revealed PE as a signature molecule whose abundance bidirectionally responds to changes in thermogenic burden. Reduction in mitochondrial PE by deletion of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase (PSD) made mice cold intolerant and insensitive to ß3 adrenergic receptor agonist-induced increase in whole-body oxygen consumption. High-resolution respirometry and fluorometry of BAT mitochondria showed that loss of mitochondrial PE specifically lowers UCP1-dependent respiration without compromising electron transfer efficiency or ATP synthesis. These findings were confirmed by a reduction in UCP1 proton current in PE-deficient mitoplasts. Thus, PE performs a previously unknown role as a temperature-responsive rheostat that regulates UCP1-dependent thermogenesis.

EFHD1 ablation inhibits cardiac mitoflash activation and protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia.

Altered levels of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) are a highly prevalent feature in different forms of cardiac injury, producing changes in contractility, arrhythmias, and mitochondrial dysfunction. In cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury, mitochondrial Ca2+ overload leads to pathological production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), activates the permeability transition, and cardiomyocyte death. Here we investigated the cardiac phenotype caused by deletion of EF-hand domain-containing protein D1 (Efhd1-/-), a Ca2+-binding mitochondrial protein whose function is poorly understood. Efhd1-/- mice are viable and have no adverse cardiac phenotypes. They feature reductions in basal ROS levels and mitoflash events, both important precursors for mitochondrial injury, though cardiac mitochondria have normal susceptibility to Ca2+ overload. Notably, we also find that Efhd1-/- mice and their cardiomyocytes are resistant to hypoxic injury.