Orexigenic neurons expressing agouti-related protein (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus are activated in response to dynamic variations in the metabolic state, including exercise. We previously observed that carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (CPT1A), a rate-limiting enzyme of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, is a key factor in AgRP neurons, modulating whole-body energy balance and fluid homeostasis. However, the effect of CPT1A in AgRP neurons in aged mice and during exercise has not been explored yet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe alarming increase in obesity and its related metabolic health complications, such as type 2 diabetes, has evolved into a global pandemic. Obesity is mainly characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue, primarily due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Prolonged positive energy balance leads to the expansion of existing adipocytes (hypertrophy) and/or an increase in preadipocyte and adipocyte number (hyperplasia) to accommodate excess energy intake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCeliac disease is a highly prevalent immune-mediated enteropathy that develops in genetically susceptible individuals expressing HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 after ingestion of gluten and results in decreased quality of life and increased morbidity. This pathology is triggered by immunogenic peptides generated from gliadins present in gluten, which act on the intestinal mucosa in a context of high intestinal permeability, activating the innate and adaptive response of the immune system. Several in vivo rodent models attempt to reproduce some phases of the intestinal inflammatory process that occurs in celiac disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcquired muscle diseases such as cancer cachexia are responsible for the poor prognosis of many patients suffering from cancer. In vitro models are needed to study the underlying mechanisms of those pathologies. Extrusion bioprinting is an emerging tool to emulate the aligned architecture of fibers while implementing additive manufacturing techniques in tissue engineering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity and its associated metabolic comorbidities are a rising global health and social issue, with novel therapeutic approaches urgently needed. Adipose tissue plays a key role in the regulation of energy balance and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) have gained great interest in cell therapy. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) is the gatekeeper enzyme for mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fatty acid metabolism in the hypothalamus has an important role in food intake, but its specific role in AgRP neurons is poorly understood. Here, we examined whether carnitinea palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), a key enzyme in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, affects energy balance.
Methods: To obtain Cpt1aKO mice and their control littermates, Cpt1a mice were crossed with tamoxifen-inducible AgRP mice.
Targeting brain lipid metabolism is a promising strategy to regulate the energy balance and fight metabolic diseases such as obesity. The development of stable platforms for selective delivery of drugs, particularly to the hypothalamus, is a challenge but a possible solution for these metabolic diseases. Attenuating fatty acid oxidation in the hypothalamus CPT1A inhibition leads to satiety, but this target is difficult to reach with the current drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is an urgent need to identify reliable genetic biomarkers for accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of different tumor types. Described as a prognostic marker for many tumors is the neuronal protein carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 C (CPT1C). Several studies report that CPT1C is involved in cancer cell adaptation to nutrient depletion and hypoxia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensing of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) in the hypothalamus modulates energy balance, and its disruption leads to obesity. To date, the effects of saturated or unsaturated LCFA on hypothalamic-brown adipose tissue (BAT) axis and the underlying mechanisms have remained largely unclear. Our aim was to characterize the main molecular pathways involved in the hypothalamic regulation of BAT thermogenesis in response to LCFA with different lengths and degrees of saturation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of obesity and its related disorders has increased dramatically in recent years and has become a pandemic. Adipose tissue is a crucial regulator of these diseases due to its endocrine capacity. Thus, understanding adipose tissue metabolism is essential to finding new effective therapeutic approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActivation of oval cells (OCs) has been related to hepatocyte injury during chronic liver diseases including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, OCs plasticity can be affected under pathological environments. We previously found protection against hepatocyte cell death by inhibiting protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReciprocal interactions between endothelial cells (ECs) and adipocytes are fundamental to maintain white adipose tissue (WAT) homeostasis, as illustrated by the activation of angiogenesis upon WAT expansion, a process that is impaired in obesity. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between ECs and adipocytes remain poorly understood. Here, we show that local production of polyamines in ECs stimulates adipocyte lipolysis and regulates WAT homeostasis in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: The pathogenesis of liver fibrosis requires activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs); once activated, HSCs lose intracellular fatty acids but the role of fatty acid oxidation and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) in this process remains largely unexplored.
Methods: CPT1A was found in HSCs of patients with fibrosis. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation of CPT1A were performed in human HSC cell lines and primary HCSs.
Background & Aims: Autophagy-related gene 3 (ATG3) is an enzyme mainly known for its actions in the LC3 lipidation process, which is essential for autophagy. Whether ATG3 plays a role in lipid metabolism or contributes to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains unknown.
Methods: By performing proteomic analysis on livers from mice with genetic manipulation of hepatic p63, a regulator of fatty acid metabolism, we identified ATG3 as a new target downstream of p63.
The combination of machine learning methods together with computational modeling and simulation of the cardiovascular system brings the possibility of obtaining very valuable information about new therapies or clinical devices through experiments. However, the application of machine learning methods demands access to large cohorts of patients. As an alternative to medical data acquisition and processing, which often requires some degree of manual intervention, the generation of virtual cohorts made of synthetic patients can be automated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) is a central player in lipid metabolism, catalyzing the first step to fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Inhibiting CPT1A, especially in the brain, can have several pharmacological benefits, such as in treating obesity and brain cancer. C75-CoA is a strong competitive inhibitor of CPT1A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoth obesity and aging are associated with the development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Chronic low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue is one of the mechanisms implicated in the progression of these diseases. Obesity and aging trigger adipose tissue alterations that ultimately lead to a pro-inflammatory phenotype of the adipose tissue-resident immune cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhagocytosis is an inherent function of tissue macrophages for the removal of apoptotic cells and cellular debris during acute and chronic injury; however, the dynamics of this event during fibrosis development is unknown. We aim to prove that during the development of kidney fibrosis in the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model, there are some populations of macrophage with a reduced ability to phagocytose, and whether the infusion of a population of phagocytic macrophages could reduce fibrosis in the murine model UUO. For this purpose, we have identified the macrophage populations during the development of fibrosis and have characterized their phagocytic ability and their expression of CPT1a.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysical inactivity is a major public health problem that contributes to the development of several pathologies such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Regular exercise mitigates the progression of these metabolic problems and contributes positively to memory and behavior. Therefore, public health agencies have incorporated exercise in the treatment of widespread disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany metabolic pathways, including lipid metabolism, are rewired in tumors to support energy and biomass production and to allow adaptation to stressful environments. Neuroblastoma is the second deadliest solid tumor in children. Genetic aberrations, as the amplification of the -oncogene, correlate strongly with disease progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Coeliac disease (CD) is a complex autoimmune disorder that develops in genetically susceptible individuals. Dietary gluten triggers an immune response for which the only available treatment so far is a strict, lifelong gluten free diet. Human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genes and several non-HLA regions have been associated with the genetic susceptibility to CD, but their role in the pathogenesis of the disease is still essentially unknown, making it complicated to develop much needed non-dietary treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The endocrine and immunological properties of subcutaneous vs visceral adipose tissue (sWAT and vWAT, respectively) have turned a milestone in the study of metabolic diseases. The cytokine S100A4 is increased in obesity and has a role in adipose tissue dysfunction. However, the cellular source and its potential role in hepatic damage in obesity has not been elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF