Zbtb16 has a role in brown adipocyte bioenergetics.

OBJECTIVE: A better understanding of the processes influencing energy expenditure could provide new therapeutic strategies for reducing obesity. As the metabolic activity of the brown adipose tissue (BAT) and skeletal muscle is an important determinant of overall energy expenditure and adiposity, we investigated the role of genes that could influence cellular bioenergetics in these two tissues. DESIGN: We screened for genes that are induced in both the BAT and skeletal muscle during acute adaptive thermogenesis in the mouse by microarray. We used C57BL/6J mice as well as the primary and immortalized brown adipocytes and C2C12 myocytes to validate the microarray data. Further characterization included gene expression, mitochondrial density, cellular respiration and substrate utilization. We also used a Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel to assess in vivo effects on obesity and body fat content. RESULTS: We identified the transcription factor Zbtb16 (also known as Plzf and Zfp14) as being induced in both the BAT and skeletal muscle during acute adaptive thermogenesis. Zbtb16 overexpression in brown adipocytes led to the induction of components of the thermogenic program, including genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, glycolysis and mitochondrial function. Enhanced Zbtb16 expression also increased mitochondrial number, as well as the respiratory capacity and uncoupling. These effects were accompanied by decreased triglyceride content and increased carbohydrate utilization in brown adipocytes. Natural variation in Zbtb16 mRNA levels in multiple tissues across a panel of >100 mouse strains was inversely correlated with body weight and body fat content. CONCLUSION: Our results implicate Zbtb16 as a novel determinant of substrate utilization in brown adipocytes and of adiposity in vivo.

Adipose tissue lipin expression levels distinguish HIV patients with and without lipodystrophy.

OBJECTIVE: Lipodystrophy is the major complication of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients. Its pathophysiology is not well understood, but has been linked to antiadipogenic effects of antiretroviral drugs. Lipin represents a newly characterized protein that is critical for adipocyte differentiation, and lipin deficiency leads to lipodystrophy in the mouse. The objective of this study was to determine whether altered lipin gene expression is associated with HIV lipodystrophy in humans. DESIGN: We measured lipin mRNA levels in subcutaneous abdominal and femoral-gluteal adipose tissue biopsies from HIV-infected patients with or without lipodystrophy, and in healthy controls. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR was performed to quantitate total lipin expression levels, and expression of two lipin isoforms (lipin-alpha and -beta) that are generated by alternative mRNA splicing. RESULTS: As predicted from studies with mice, lipin mRNA levels were correlated with limb fat mass in HIV patients, with lower lipin levels in patients with lipodystrophy than those without lipodystrophy. Unexpectedly, however, this was explained by an increase in lipin-beta expression in HIV patients without lipodystrophy compared to patients with lipodystrophy and control subjects. In addition, lipin expression levels were inversely correlated with adipose tissue expression of inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-18, which typically increase in HIV-associated lipoatrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated lipin expression levels are associated both with the maintenance of greater fat mass and lower cytokine expression in HIV-infected patients. Based on the demonstrated role for lipin in promoting lipogenic gene expression, these observations raise the possibility that variations in lipin levels may contribute to variations in adipose tissue mass and function that distinguish HIV patients with and without lipodystrophy.

Farnesoid X-activated receptor induces apolipoprotein C-II transcription: a molecular mechanism linking plasma triglyceride levels to bile acids.

The farnesoid X-activated receptor (FXR; NR1H4), a member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, induces gene expression in response to several bile acids, including chenodeoxycholic acid. Here we used suppression subtractive hybridization to identify apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II) as an FXR target gene. Retroviral expression of FXR in HepG2 cells results in induction of the mRNA encoding apoC-II in response to several FXR ligands. EMSAs demonstrate that recombinant FXR and RXR bind to two FXR response elements that are contained within two important distal enhancer elements (hepatic control regions) that lie 11 kb and 22 kb upstream of the transcription start site of the apoC-II gene. A luciferase reporter gene containing the hepatic control region or two copies of the wild-type FXR response element was activated when FXR-containing cells were treated with FXR ligands. In addition, we report that hepatic expression of both apoC-II and phospholipid transfer protein mRNAs increases when mice are fed diets supplemented with cholic acid, an FXR ligand, and this induction is attenuated in FXR null mice. Finally, we observed decreased plasma triglyceride levels in mice fed cholic acid- containing diets. These results identify a mechanism whereby FXR and its ligands lower plasma triglyceride levels. These findings may have important implications in the clinical management of hyperlipidemias.

Exon-intron organization and chromosomal localization of the mouse monoglyceride lipase gene.

Monoglyceride lipase (MGL) functions together with hormone-sensitive lipase to hydrolyze intracellular triglyceride stores of adipocytes and other cells to fatty acids and glycerol. In addition, MGL presumably complements lipoprotein lipase in completing the hydrolysis of monoglycerides resulting from degradation of lipoprotein triglycerides. Cosmid clones containing the mouse MGL gene were isolated from a genomic library using the coding region of the mouse MGL cDNA as probe. Characterization of the clones obtained revealed that the mouse gene contains the coding sequence for MGL on seven exons, including a large terminal exon of approximately 2.6 kb containing the stop codon and the complete 3' untranslated region. Two different 5' leader sequences, diverging 21 bp upstream of the predicted translation initiation codon, were isolated from a mouse adipocyte cDNA library. Western blot analysis of different mouse tissues revealed protein size heterogeneities. The amino acid sequence derived from human MGL cDNA clones showed 84% identity with mouse MGL. The mouse MGL gene was mapped to chromosome 6 in a region with known homology to human chromosome 3q21.

Lipodystrophy in the fld mouse results from mutation of a new gene encoding a nuclear protein, lipin.

Mice carrying mutations in the fatty liver dystrophy (fld) gene have features of human lipodystrophy, a genetically heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by loss of body fat, fatty liver, hypertriglyceridemia and insulin resistance. Through positional cloning, we have isolated the gene responsible and characterized two independent mutant alleles, fld and fld(2J). The gene (Lpin1) encodes a novel nuclear protein which we have named lipin. Consistent with the observed reduction of adipose tissue mass in fld and fld(2J)mice, wild-type Lpin1 mRNA is expressed at high levels in adipose tissue and is induced during differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. Our results indicate that lipin is required for normal adipose tissue development, and provide a candidate gene for human lipodystrophy. Lipin defines a novel family of nuclear proteins containing at least three members in mammalian species, and homologs in distantly related organisms from human to yeast.

Mouse models of lipodystrophy.

Lipodystrophies are a group of heterogeneous diseases characterized by the loss of adipose tissue and by abnormalities of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, including insulin resistance, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. In this review, we describe several mouse models that recapitulate various aspects of the lipodystrophy syndrome, offering insights into the etiology of this condition and potential therapeutic approaches. Studies on these mice suggest that adipose is the primary tissue affected in lipodystrophy, and that secondary leptin deficiency may be responsible for the associated insulin resistance.

Adipose tissue deficiency, glucose intolerance, and increased atherosclerosis result from mutation in the mouse fatty liver dystrophy (fld) gene.

The fatty liver dystrophy (fld) mutant mouse is characterized by neonatal fatty liver and hypertriglyceridemia that resolve at weaning, and neuropathy affecting peripheral nerve in adulthood. We now report additional significant manifestations of this single gene mutation, which include adipose tissue deficiency, glucose intolerance, and increased susceptibility to atherosclerosis. In adult fld/fld mice, both white and brown fat pads exhibit an 80% reduction in mass compared with wild-type controls, and consist of immature adipocytes as assessed by morphological and molecular criteria. The lack of lipid accumulation in fld/fld adipose tissue could be attributed, in part, to a failure to induce expression of lipoprotein lipase and enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis, such as fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Related to the deficiency of adipose tissue, fld/fld mice were also found to exhibit profound glucose intolerance, modest hyperinsulinemia, and reduced tissue response to insulin. As insulin resistance is a important risk factor in vascular disease, we examined susceptibility of fld/fld mice to diet-induced atherosclerosis. Mutant mice fed an atherogenic diet developed 2-fold greater aortic lesions than their wild-type counterparts, despite having a less atherogenic lipoprotein cholesterol profile. The fld adipose-deficient phenotype has both similarities to and distinctions from the group of rare human diseases known as lipodystrophies.

A locus conferring resistance to diet-induced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis on mouse chromosome 2.

Dietary cholesterol is known to raise total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in humans and experimental animals, but the response among individuals varies greatly. Here we describe a mouse strain, C57BL/6ByJ (B6By), that is resistant to diet-induced hypercholesterolemia, in contrast to the phenotype seen in other common strains of mice including the closely related C57BL/6J (B6J) strain. Compared to B6J, B6By mice exhibit somewhat lower basal cholesterol levels on a chow diet, and show a relatively modest increase in absolute levels of total and LDL/VLDL cholesterol in response to an atherogenic diet containing 15% fat, 1.25% cholesterol, and 0.5% cholate. Correspondingly, B6By mice are also resistant to diet-induced aortic lesions, with less than 15% as many lesions as B6J. Food intake and cholesterol absorption are similar between B6By and B6J mice. To investigate the gene(s) underlying the resistant B6By phenotype, we performed genetic crosses with the unrelated mouse strain, A/J. A genome-wide scan revealed a locus, designated Diet1, on chromosome 2 near marker D2Mit117 showing highly significant linkage (lod = 9.6) between B6By alleles and hypo-response to diet. Examination of known genes in this region suggested that this locus represents a novel gene affecting plasma lipids and atherogenesis in response to diet.

Low level expression of hormone-sensitive lipase in arterial macrophage-derived foam cells: potential explanation for low rates of cholesteryl ester hydrolysis.

Conversion of arterial macrophages into foam cells is a key process involved in both the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Foam cell formation involves the progressive accumulation and storage of lipoprotein-derived cholesteryl esters. The resulting imbalance in cholesterol metabolism in arterial foam cells may be due in part to an inadequately low level of cytoplasmic neutral cholesteryl ester hydrolase (NCEH) activity. In this study, we have demonstrated that hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) mRNA is expressed at very low levels in macrophage-derived foam cells, using the unique approach of extracting mRNA from macrophage-derived foam cells purified from human and rabbit atherosclerotic plaques coupled with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We also demonstrate that macrophage-derived foam cells isolated from rabbit atherosclerotic lesions exhibit a resistance to high density lipoprotein (HDL)-mediated cholesterol efflux along with reduced levels of NCEH activity compared to lipid-loaded mouse peritoneal macrophages. Thus, low level expression of HSL may partially account for the reduced NCEH activity observed in arterial foam cells isolated from atherosclerosis-susceptible species.

Altered gene expression pattern in the fatty liver dystrophy mouse reveals impaired insulin-mediated cytoskeleton dynamics.

The mouse fatty liver dystrophy (fld) mutation is characterized by transient hypertriglyceridemia and fatty liver during the neonatal period, followed by development of a peripheral neuropathy. To uncover the metabolic pathway that is disrupted by the fld mutation, we analyzed the altered pattern of gene expression in the fatty liver of fld neonates by representational difference analysis of cDNA. Differentially expressed genes detected include a novel member of the Ras superfamily of small GTP-binding proteins, a novel Ser/Thr kinase, and several actin cytoskeleton-associated proteins including actin, profilin, alpha-actinin, and myosin light chain. Because these proteins have a potential functional link in the propagation of hormone signals, we investigated cytoskeleton dynamics in fld cells in response to hormone treatment. These studies revealed that preadipocytes from fld mice exhibit impaired formation of actin membrane ruffles in response to insulin treatment. These findings suggest that the altered mRNA expression levels detected in fld tissue represent a compensatory response for the nonfunctional fld gene and that the fld gene product may be required for development of normal insulin response.

Paradoxical effect on atherosclerosis of hormone-sensitive lipase overexpression in macrophages.

Foam cells formed from receptor-mediated uptake of lipoprotein cholesterol by macrophages in the arterial intima are critical in the initiation, progression, and stability of atherosclerotic lesions. Macrophages accumulate cholesterol when conditions favor esterification by acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) over cholesteryl-ester hydrolysis by a neutral cholesteryl-ester hydrolase, such as hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and subsequent cholesterol efflux mediated by extracellular acceptors. We recently made stable transfectants of a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, that overexpressed a rat HSL cDNA and had a 5-fold higher rate of cholesteryl-ester hydrolysis than control cells. The current study examined the effect of macrophage-specific HSL overexpression on susceptibility to diet-induced atherosclerosis in mice. A transgenic line overexpressing the rat HSL cDNA regulated with a macrophage-specific scavenger receptor promoter-enhancer was established by breeding with C57BL/6J mice. Transgenic peritoneal macrophages exhibited macrophage-specific 7-fold overexpression of HSL cholesterol esterase activity. Total plasma cholesterol levels in transgenic mice fed a chow diet were modestly elevated 16% compared to control littermates. After 14 weeks on a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet, total cholesterol increased 3-fold, with no difference between transgenics and controls. However, HSL overexpression resulted in thicker aortic fatty lesions that were 2.5-times larger in transgenic mice. HSL expression in the aortic lesions was shown by immunocytochemistry. Atherosclerosis was more advanced in transgenic mice exhibiting raised lesions involving the aortic wall, along with lipid accumulation in coronary arteries occurring only in transgenics. Thus, increasing cholesteryl-ester hydrolysis, without concomitantly decreasing ACAT activity or increasing cholesterol efflux, is not sufficient to protect against atherosclerosis. hormone-sensitive lipase overexpression in macrophages.

Genetic, physical, and transcript map of the fld region on mouse chromosome 12.

The fatty liver dystrophy (fld) mutation is manifested in abnormalities of lipid and glucose metabolism and peripheral neuropathy. To identify the gene affected by this mutation, we generated a genetic map of the fld region on chromosome 12 by the analysis of F2 offspring from an intersubspecific cross between strains BALB/cByJ-fld and CAST/EiJ. The results localize fld to the 0.42-cM interval between the microsatellite markers D12Mit170 and D12Mit184. A contig of YACs and BACs covering the nonrecombinant genomic region has been constructed and used for the identification of genes. Expressed sequence tag mapping and exon trapping identified three transcripts within the critical interval: Ctla2b, which encodes a cysteine protease inhibitor, and mouse homologs of KIAA0188 and KIAA0575, two long human transcripts of unknown function. Expression analysis revealed that Kiaa0188 is expressed in wildtype but not in fld liver, implicating this gene as a candidate for harboring the fld mutation.

The fatty liver dystrophy mutant mouse: microvesicular steatosis associated with altered expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-regulated proteins.

Fatty liver dystrophy ( fld) is an autosomal recessive mutation in mice characterized by hypertriglyceridemia and fatty liver during neonatal development. The fatty liver in fld/fld mice spontaneously resolves between the age of 14-18 days, at which point the animals develop a neuropathy associated with abnormal myelin formation in peripheral nerve. We have investigated the morphological and biochemical alterations that occur in the fatty liver of neonatal fld/fld mice. Studies at the light and electron microscopic level demonstrated the accumulation of lipid droplets and hypertrophic parenchymal cells in fld neonates, with no apparent liver pathology after resolution of the fatty liver. To better characterize the biochemical basis for the development of fatty liver in fld mice, we compared protein expression patterns in the fatty liver of fld mice and in the liver of phenotypically normal (wild-type) littermates using quantitative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. We detected 24 proteins with significantly altered expression levels (P < 0.001) in the fld fatty liver, 15 of which are proteins that are altered in abundance by peroxisome proliferating chemicals. As these compounds characteristically elicit changes in the expression of mitochondrial and peroxisomal enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation, we quantitated rates of fatty acid oxidation in hepatocytes isolated from fld and wild-type mice. These studies revealed that hepatic fatty acid oxidation in fld neonates is reduced by 60% compared to wild-type littermates. In hepatocytes from adult fld mice that no longer exhibit a fatty liver, oxidation rates were similar to those in hepatocytes from age-matched wild-type mice. These findings indicate that altered expression of proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation is associated with triglyceride accumulation in the fld fatty liver.

Hormone-sensitive lipase overexpression increases cholesteryl ester hydrolysis in macrophage foam cells.

Atherosclerosis is a complex physiopathologic process initiated by the formation of cholesterol-rich lesions in the arterial wall. Macrophages play a crucial role in this process because they accumulate large amounts of cholesterol esters (CEs) to form the foam cells that initiate the formation of the lesion and participate actively in the development of the lesion. Therefore, prevention or reversal of CE accumulation in macrophage foam cells could result in protection from multiple pathological effects. In this report, we show that the CE hydrolysis catalyzed by neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase (nCEH) can be modulated by overexpression of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) in macrophage foam cells. For these studies, RAW 264.7 cells, a murine macrophage cell line, were found to be a suitable model of foam cell formation. HSL expression and nCEH activity in these cells and in peritoneal macrophages were comparable. In addition, antibody titration showed that essentially all nCEH activity in murine macrophages was accounted for by HSL. To examine the effect of HSL overexpression on foam cell formation, RAW 264.7 cells were stably transfected with a rat HSL cDNA. The resulting HSL overexpression increased hydrolysis of cellular CEs 2- to 3-fold in lipid-laden cells in the presence of an acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) inhibitor. Furthermore, addition of cAMP produced a 5-fold higher rate of CE hydrolysis in cholesterol-laden, HSL-overexpressing cells than in control cells and resulted in nearly complete hydrolysis of cellular CEs in only 9 hours, compared with <50% hydrolysis in control cells. Thus, HSL overexpression stimulated the net hydrolysis of CEs, leading to faster hydrolysis of lipid deposits in model foam cells. These data suggest that HSL overexpression in macrophages, alone or in combination with ACAT inhibitors, may constitute a useful therapeutic approach for impeding CE accumulation in macrophages in vivo.