Abscisic acid enhances glucose disposal and induces brown fat activity in adipocytes in vitro and in vivo.

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone also present in animals, where it is involved in the regulation of innate immune cell function and of glucose disposal, through its receptor LANCL2. ABA stimulates glucose uptake by myocytes and pre-adipocytes in vitro and oral ABA improves glycemic control in rats and in healthy subjects. Here we investigated the role of the ABA/LANCL2 system in the regulation of glucose uptake and metabolism in adipocytes.

Tolerability and efficacy study of P2X7 inhibition in experimental Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) neuropathy.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1A (CMT1A) is a demyelinating hereditary neuropathy for which pharmacological treatments are not yet available. An abnormally high intracellular Ca(2+) concentration was observed in Schwann cells (SC) from CMT1A rats, caused by the PMP22-mediated overexpression of the P2X7 purinoceptor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the tolerability and therapeutic potential of a pharmacological antagonist of the P2X7 receptor (A438079) in CMT1A.

Abscisic Acid Stimulates Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Secretion from L-Cells and Its Oral Administration Increases Plasma Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Levels in Rats.

In recent years, Abscisic Acid (ABA) has been demonstrated to be involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis in mammals as an endogenous hormone, by stimulating both insulin release and peripheral glucose uptake. In addition, ABA is released by glucose- or GLP-1-stimulated β-pancreatic cells. Here we investigated whether ABA can stimulate GLP-1 release.

Impaired increase of plasma abscisic Acid in response to oral glucose load in type 2 diabetes and in gestational diabetes.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is present and active in humans, regulating glucose homeostasis. In normal glucose tolerant (NGT) human subjects, plasma ABA (ABAp) increases 5-fold after an oral glucose load. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an oral glucose load on ABAp in type 2 diabetes (T2D) subjects.

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition as a soluble factor independent of its enzymatic activity.

Boosting NAD(+) biosynthesis with NAD(+) intermediates has been proposed as a strategy for preventing and treating age-associated diseases, including cancer. However, concerns in this area were raised by observations that nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), a key enzyme in mammalian NAD(+) biosynthesis, is frequently up-regulated in human malignancies, including breast cancer, suggesting possible protumorigenic effects for this protein. We addressed this issue by studying NAMPT expression and function in human breast cancer in vivo and in vitro.

The diadenosine homodinucleotide P18 improves in vitro myelination in experimental Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth 1A (CMT1A) is a demyelinating hereditary neuropathy whose pathogenetic mechanisms are still poorly defined and an etiologic treatment is not yet available. An abnormally high intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) occurs in Schwann cells from CMT1A rats (CMT1A SC) and is caused by overexpression of the purinoceptor P2X7. Normalization of the Ca(2+) levels through down-regulation of P2X7 appears to restore the normal phenotype of CMT1A SC in vitro.

Abscisic acid ameliorates the systemic sclerosis fibroblast phenotype in vitro.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) has been recently identified as an endogenous hormone in humans, regulating different cell functions, including inflammatory processes, insulin release and glucose uptake. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic inflammatory disease resulting in fibrosis of skin and internal organs. In this study, we investigated the effect of exogenous ABA on fibroblasts obtained from healthy subjects and from SSc patients.

NAD+ levels control Ca2+ store replenishment and mitogen-induced increase of cytosolic Ca2+ by Cyclic ADP-ribose-dependent TRPM2 channel gating in human T lymphocytes.

Intracellular NAD(+) levels ([NAD(+)](i)) are important in regulating human T lymphocyte survival, cytokine secretion, and the capacity to respond to antigenic stimuli. NAD(+)-derived Ca(2+)-mobilizing second messengers, produced by CD38, play a pivotal role in T cell activation. Here we demonstrate that [NAD(+)](i) modifications in T lymphocytes affect intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis both in terms of mitogen-induced [Ca(2+)](i) increase and of endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) store replenishment.

Inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase reduces neutrophil-mediated injury in myocardial infarction.

Aims: Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) is a key enzyme for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) biosynthesis, and recent evidence indicates its role in inflammatory processes. Here, we investigated the potential effects of pharmacological Nampt inhibition with FK866 in a mouse myocardial ischemia/reperfusion model. In vivo and ex vivo mouse myocardial ischemia/reperfusion procedures were performed.

The plant hormone abscisic acid increases in human plasma after hyperglycemia and stimulates glucose consumption by adipocytes and myoblasts.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is released from glucose-challenged human pancreatic β cells and stimulates insulin secretion. We investigated whether plasma ABA increased during oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs and IVGTTs) in healthy human subjects. In all subjects undergoing OGTTs (n=8), plasma ABA increased over basal values (in a range from 2- to 9-fold).

Binding of abscisic acid to human LANCL2.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is the central regulator of abiotic stress in plants and plays important roles during plant growth and development. In animal cells, ABA was shown to be an endogenous hormone, acting as a stress signal and stimulating cell functions involved in inflammatory responses and in insulin release. Recently, we demonstrated that Lanthionine synthetase component C-like protein 2 (LANCL2) is required for ABA binding to the plasmamembrane of granulocytes and for the activation of the signaling pathway triggered by ABA in human granulocytes and in rat insulinoma cells.

The high-resolution crystal structure of periplasmic Haemophilus influenzae NAD nucleotidase reveals a novel enzymatic function of human CD73 related to NAD metabolism.

Haemophilus influenzae is a major pathogen of the respiratory tract in humans that has developed the capability to exploit host NAD(P) for its nicotinamide dinucleotide requirement. This strategy is organized around a periplasmic enzyme termed NadN (NAD nucleotidase), which plays a central role by degrading NAD into adenosine and NR (nicotinamide riboside), the latter being subsequently internalized by a specific permease. We performed a biochemical and structural investigation on H.

Autocrine abscisic acid mediates the UV-B-induced inflammatory response in human granulocytes and keratinocytes.

UV-B is an abiotic environmental stress in both plants and animals. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone regulating fundamental physiological functions in plants, including response to abiotic stress. We previously demonstrated that ABA is an endogenous stress hormone also in animal cells.