ABSTRACT
Ovipositional decisions in herbivorous insects may be affected by social information from conspecifics. Social facilitation of oviposition has been suggested for the onion fly Delia antiqua. In the current study, we found that D. antiqua oviposition was unequal between paired oviposition stations of equal quality and that more eggs were laid on an oviposition station baited with decoy flies than on the control. The increased oviposition toward the decoys continued over time >8 h. When decoys were placed upside down, the number of eggs laid did not differ between the decoy and control sides of oviposition stations, suggesting that social facilitation of oviposition is mediated by visual cues. Based on these findings, mechanisms of social facilitation of oviposition in D. antiqua were discussed.
Subject(s)
Diptera/physiology , Host-Seeking Behavior , Oviposition , Vision, Ocular , Animals , Cues , Female , Onions , Social BehaviorABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to examine the effect of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) ligands on the inflammatory changes induced by the interaction between adipocytes and macrophages in obese adipose tissue. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: PPAR-alpha ligands (Wy-14,643 and fenofibrate) were added to 3T3-L1 adipocytes, RAW264 macrophages, or co-culture of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and RAW264 macrophages in vitro, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) mRNA expression and secretion were examined. PPAR-alpha ligands were administered to genetically obese ob/ob mice for 2 weeks. Moreover, the effect of PPAR-alpha ligands was also evaluated in the adipose tissue explants and peritoneal macrophages obtained from PPAR-alpha-deficient mice. RESULTS: In the co-culture of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and RAW264 macrophages, PPAR-alpha ligands reduced MCP-1 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression and secretion in vitro relative to vehicle-treated group. The anti-inflammatory effect of Wy-14,643 was observed in adipocytes treated with macrophage-conditioned media or mouse recombinant TNF-alpha and in macrophages treated with adipocyte-conditioned media or palmitate. Systemic administration of PPAR-alpha ligands inhibited the inflammatory changes in adipose tissue from ob/ob mice. Wy-14,643 also exerted an anti-inflammatory effect in the adipose tissue explants but not in peritoneal macrophages obtained from PPAR-alpha-deficient mice. DISCUSSION: This study provides evidence for the anti-inflammatory effect of PPAR-alpha ligands in the interaction between adipocytes and macrophages in obese adipose tissue, thereby improving the dysregulation of adipocytokine production and obesity-related metabolic syndrome.
Subject(s)
Adipocytes/drug effects , Cell Communication/drug effects , Fenofibrate/pharmacology , Macrophages/drug effects , Obesity/metabolism , PPAR alpha/metabolism , Pyrimidines/pharmacology , 3T3-L1 Cells , Adipocytes/metabolism , Adipocytes/pathology , Animals , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , Cell Line , Chemokine CCL2/metabolism , Coculture Techniques , Disease Models, Animal , Ligands , Macrophages/metabolism , Macrophages/pathology , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Knockout , Mice, Obese , Obesity/pathology , PPAR alpha/genetics , Peritoneal Cavity/pathology , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolismABSTRACT
Given that angiotensin II (AII) type 1 and 2 receptors (Agtr1 and Agtr2) are expressed in adipose tissue, AII may act directly on adipose tissue. However, regardless of whether AII directly modulates adipose tissue growth and metabolism in vivo and, if so, whether it is mediated via Agtr1 are still matters of debate. To understand the functional role of Agtr1 in adipose tissue growth and metabolism in vivo, we examined the metabolic phenotypes of mice lacking Agtr1a (Agtr1a-/- mice) during a high-fat diet. The Agtr1a-/- mice exhibited the attenuation of diet-induced body weight gain and adiposity, and insulin resistance relative to wild-type littermates (Agtr1a+/+ mice). They also showed increased energy expenditure accompanied by sympathetic activation, as revealed by increased rectal temperature and oxygen consumption, increased expression of uncoupling protein-1 mRNA in brown adipose tissue, and increased urinary catecholamine excretion. The heterozygous Agtr1a-deficient mice (Agtr1a+/- mice) also exhibited metabolic phenotypes similar to those of Agtr1a-/- mice. Using mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from Agtr1a+/+ and Agtr1a-/- mice, we found no significant difference between genotypes in the ability to differentiate into lipid-laden mature adipocytes. In primary cultures of mouse mature adipocytes, AII increased the expression of mRNAs for some adipocytokines, which was abolished by pharmacological blockade of Agtr1. This study demonstrates that Agtr1a-/- mice exhibit attenuation of diet-induced weight gain and adiposity through increased energy expenditure. The data also suggest that AII does not affect directly adipocyte differentiation, but can modulate adipocytokine production via Agtr1.
