Ghrelin receptor in agouti-related peptide neurones regulates metabolic adaptation to calorie restriction.

Ghrelin is a gut hormone that signals to the hypothalamus to stimulate growth hormone release, increase food intake and promote fat deposition. The ghrelin receptor, also known as growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), is highly expressed in the brain, with the highest expression in agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurones in the hypothalamus. Compelling evidence indicates that ghrelin serves as a survival hormone with respect to maintaining blood glucose and body weight during nutritional deficiencies. Recent studies have demonstrated that AgRP neurones are involved in metabolic and behavioural adaptation to an energy deficit to improve survival. In the present study, we used a neuronal subtype-specific GHS-R knockout mouse (AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f ) to investigate the role of GHS-R in hypothalamic AgRP neurones in metabolic and behavioural adaptation to hypocaloric restricted feeding. We subjected the mice to a restricted feeding regimen of 40% mild calorie restriction (CR), with one-quarter of food allotment given in the beginning of the light cycle and three-quarters given at the beginning of the dark cycle, to mimic normal mouse intake pattern. The CR-fed AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f mice exhibited reductions in body weight, fat mass and blood glucose. Metabolic profiling of these CR-fed AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f mice showed a trend toward reduced basal metabolic rate, significantly reduced core body temperature and a decreased expression of thermogenic genes in brown adipose tissue. This suggests a metabolic reset to a lower threshold. Significantly increased physical activity, a trend toward increased food anticipatory behaviour and altered fuel preferences were also observed in these mice. In addition, these CR-fed AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f mice exhibited a decreased counter-regulatory response, showing impaired hepatic glucose production. Lastly, hypothalamic gene expression in AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f mice revealed increased AgRP expression and a decreased expression of genes in ß-oxidation pathways. In summary, our data suggest that GHS-R in AgRP neurones is a key component of the neurocircuitry involved in metabolic adaptation to calorie restriction.

Adiponectin is required for maintaining normal body temperature in a cold environment.

BACKGROUND: Thermogenic impairment promotes obesity and insulin resistance. Adiponectin is an important regulator of energy homeostasis. While many beneficial metabolic effects of adiponectin resemble that of activated thermogenesis, the role of adiponectin in thermogenesis is not clear. In this study, we investigated the role of adiponectin in thermogenesis using adiponectin-null mice (Adipoq -/-). METHODS: Body composition was measured using EchoMRI. Metabolic parameters were determined by indirect calorimetry. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by glucose- and insulin- tolerance tests. Core body temperature was measured by a TH-8 temperature monitoring system. Gene expression was assessed by real-time PCR and protein levels were analyzed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The mitochondrial density of brown adipose tissue was quantified by calculating the ratio of mtDNA:total nuclear DNA. RESULTS: Under normal housing temperature of 24 °C and ad libitum feeding condition, the body weight, body composition, and metabolic profile of Adipoq -/- mice were unchanged. Under fasting condition, Adipoq -/- mice exhibited reduced energy expenditure. Conversely, under cold exposure, Adipoq -/- mice exhibited reduced body temperature, and the expression of thermogenic regulatory genes was significantly reduced in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT). Moreover, we observed that mitochondrial content was reduced in BAT and subcutaneous WAT, and the expression of mitochondrial fusion genes was decreased in BAT of Adipoq -/- mice, suggesting that adiponectin ablation diminishes mitochondrial biogenesis and altered mitochondrial dynamics. Our study further revealed that adiponectin deletion suppresses adrenergic activation, and down-regulates ß3-adrenergic receptor, insulin signaling, and the AMPK-SIRT1 pathway in BAT. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that adiponectin is an essential regulator of thermogenesis, and adiponectin is required for maintaining body temperature under cold exposure.

Suppression of GHS-R in AgRP Neurons Mitigates Diet-Induced Obesity by Activating Thermogenesis.

Ghrelin, an orexigenic hormone released primarily from the gut, signals the hypothalamus to stimulate growth hormone release, enhance appetite and promote weight gain. The ghrelin receptor, aka Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor (GHS-R), is highly expressed in the brain, with highest expression in Agouti-Related Peptide (AgRP) neurons of the hypothalamus. We recently reported that neuron-specific deletion of GHS-R completely prevents diet-induced obesity (DIO) in mice by activating non-shivering thermogenesis. To further decipher the specific neuronal circuits mediating the metabolic effects of GHS-R, we generated AgRP neuron-specific GHS-R knockout mice (AgRP-Cre;Ghsrf/f). Our data showed that GHS-R in AgRP neurons is required for ghrelin's stimulatory effects on growth hormone secretion, acute food intake and adiposity, but not for long-term total food intake. Importantly, deletion of GHS-R in AgRP neurons attenuated diet-induced obesity (DIO) and enhanced cold-resistance in mice fed high fat diet (HFD). The HFD-fed knockout mice showed increased energy expenditure, and exhibited enhanced thermogenic activation in both brown and subcutaneous fat; this implies that GHS-R suppression in AgRP neurons enhances sympathetic outflow. In summary, our results suggest that AgRP neurons are key site for GHS-R mediated thermogenesis, and demonstrate that GHS-R in AgRP neurons plays crucial roles in governing energy utilization and pathogenesis of DIO.

Neuronal Deletion of Ghrelin Receptor Almost Completely Prevents Diet-Induced Obesity.

Ghrelin signaling has major effects on energy and glucose homeostasis, but it is unknown whether ghrelin's functions are centrally and/or peripherally mediated. The ghrelin receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), is highly expressed in the brain and detectable in some peripheral tissues. To understand the roles of neuronal GHS-R, we generated a mouse line where Ghsr gene is deleted in all neurons using synapsin 1 (Syn1)-Cre driver. Our data showed that neuronal Ghsr deletion abolishes ghrelin-induced spontaneous food intake but has no effect on total energy intake. Remarkably, neuronal Ghsr deletion almost completely prevented diet-induced obesity (DIO) and significantly improved insulin sensitivity. The neuronal Ghsr-deleted mice also showed improved metabolic flexibility, indicative of better adaption to different fuels. In addition, gene expression analysis suggested that hypothalamus and/or midbrain might be the sites that mediate the effects of GHS-R in thermogenesis and physical activity, respectively. Collectively, our results indicate that neuronal GHS-R is a crucial regulator of energy metabolism and a key mediator of DIO. Neuronal Ghsr deletion protects against DIO by regulating energy expenditure, not by energy intake. These novel findings suggest that suppressing central ghrelin signaling may serve as a unique antiobesity strategy.

The suppression of ghrelin signaling mitigates age­associated thermogenic impairment.

Aging is associated with severe thermogenic impairment, which contributes to obesity and diabetes in aging. We previously reported that ablation of the ghrelin receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS­R), attenuates age­associated obesity and insulin resistance. Ghrelin and obestatin are derived from the same preproghrelin gene. Here we showed that in brown adipocytes, ghrelin decreases the expression of thermogenic regulator but obestatin increases it, thus showing the opposite effects. We also found that during aging, plasma ghrelin and GHS­R expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT) are increased, but plasma obestatin is unchanged. Increased plasma ghrelin and unchanged obestatin during aging may lead to an imbalance of thermogenic regulation, which may in turn exacerbate thermogenic impairment in aging. Moreover, we found that GHS­R ablation activates thermogenic signaling, enhances insulin activation, increases mitochondrial biogenesis, and improves mitochondrial dynamics of BAT. In addition, we detected increased norepinephrine in the circulation, and observed that GHS­R knockdown in brown adipocytes directly stimulates thermogenic activity, suggesting that GHS­R regulates thermogenesis via both central and peripheral mechanisms.Collectively, our studies demonstrate that ghrelin signaling is an important thermogenic regulator in aging. Antagonists of GHS­R may serve as unique anti­obesity agents, combating obesity by activating thermogenesis.

Modulation of dendritic spines and synaptic function by Rac1: a possible link to Fragile X syndrome pathology.

Rac1, a protein of the Rho GTPase subfamily, has been implicated in neuronal and spine development as well as the formation of synapses with appropriate partners. Dendrite and spine abnormalities have been implicated in several psychiatric disorders such as Fragile X syndrome, where neurons show a high density of long, thin, and immature dendritic spines. Although abnormalities in dendrites and spines have been correlated with impaired cognitive abilities in mental retardation, the causes of these malformations are not yet well understood. Fragile X syndrome is the most common type of inherited mental retardation caused by the absence of FMRP protein, a RNA-binding protein implicated in the regulation of mRNA translation and transport, leading to protein synthesis. We suggest that FMRP might act as a negative regulator on the synthesis of Rac1. Maintaining an optimal level of Rac1 and facilitating the reorganization of the cytoskeleton likely leads to normal neuronal morphology during activity-dependent plasticity. In our study, we first demonstrated that Rac1 is not only associated but necessary for normal spine development and long-term synaptic plasticity. We further showed that, in Fmr1 knockout mice, lack of FMRP induces an overactivation of Rac1 in the mouse brain and other organs that have been shown to be altered in Fragile X syndrome. In those animals, pharmacological manipulation of Rac1 partially reverses their altered long-term plasticity. Thus, regulation of Rac1 may provide a functional link among deficient neuronal morphology, aberrant synaptic plasticity and cognition impairment in Fragile X syndrome.

Effect of hydrogen sulfide on cyclic AMP production in isolated bovine and porcine neural retinae.

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has been reported to exert pharmacological effects on neural and non-neural tissues from several mammalian species. In the present study, we examined the role of the intracellular messenger, cyclic AMP in retinal response to H(2)S donors, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) and sodium sulfide (Na(2)S) in cows and pigs. Isolated bovine and porcine neural retinae were incubated in oxygenated Krebs buffer solution prior to exposure to varying concentrations of NaHS, Na(2)S or the diterpene activator of adenylate cyclase, forskolin. After incubation at different time intervals, tissue homogenates were prepared for cyclic AMP assay using a well established methodology. In isolated bovine and porcine retinae, the combination of both phosphodiesterase inhibitor, IBMX (2 mM) and forskolin (10 microM) produced a synergistic increase (P < 0.001) in cyclic AMP concentrations over basal levels. NaHS (10 nM-100 microM) produced a time-dependent increase in cyclic AMP concentrations over basal levels which reached a maximum at 20 min in both bovine and porcine retinae. At this time point, both NaHS and Na(2)S (10 nM-100 microM) caused a significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent increase in cyclic AMP levels in bovine and porcine retinae. For instance, NaHS (100 nM) elicited a four-fold and three-fold increase in cyclic AMP concentrations in bovine and porcine retinae respectively whilst higher concentrations of Na(2)S (100 microM) produced a much lesser effect in both species. In bovine and porcine retinae, the effects caused by forskolin (10 microM) on cyclic AMP production were not potentiated by addition of low or high concentrations of both NaHS and Na(2)S. We conclude that H(2)S donors can increase cyclic AMP production in isolated neural retinae from cows and pigs. Bovine retina appears to be more sensitive to the stimulatory effect of H(2)S donors on cyclic nucleotide production than its porcine counterpart indicating that species differences exist in the magnitude of this response. Furthermore, effects produced by forskolin on cyclic AMP formation were not additive with those elicited by H(2)S donors suggesting that these agents may share a common mechanism in their action on the adenylyl cyclase pathway.