Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a progressive disorder marked by lipid accumulation, leading to steatohepatitis (MASH). A key feature of the transition to MASH involves oxidative stress resulting from defects in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Here, we show that pathological alterations in the lipid composition of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) directly instigate electron transfer inefficiency to promote oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ribotoxic stress response (RSR) is a signaling pathway in which the p38- and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-activating mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAP3K) ZAKα senses stalling and/or collision of ribosomes. Here, we show that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating agents trigger ribosomal impairment and ZAKα activation. Conversely, zebrafish larvae deficient for ZAKα are protected from ROS-induced pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatic lipid metabolism is highly dynamic, and disruption of several circadian transcriptional regulators results in hepatic steatosis. This includes genetic disruption of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as the liver develops. To address the functional role of GR in the adult liver, we used an acute hepatocyte-specific GR knockout model to study temporal hepatic lipid metabolism governed by GR at several preprandial and postprandial circadian timepoints.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Metabolic disorders such as obesity represent a major health challenge. Obesity alone has reached epidemic proportions, with at least 2.8 million people worldwide dying annually from diseases caused by overweight or obesity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe gut microbiota impacts systemic levels of multiple metabolites including NAD precursors through diverse pathways. Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is an NAD precursor capable of regulating mammalian cellular metabolism. Some bacterial families express the NR-specific transporter, PnuC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImpaired mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in liver tissue has been hypothesised to contribute to the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It is unknown whether OXPHOS capacities in human visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) associate with NAFLD severity and how hepatic OXPHOS responds to improvement in NAFLD. In biopsies sampled from 62 patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery and nine control subjects without obesity we demonstrate that OXPHOS is reduced in VAT and SAT while increased in the liver in patients with obesity when compared with control subjects without obesity, but this was independent of NAFLD severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgouti-related protein (AgRP) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus regulates food intake and whole-body metabolism. NAD regulates multiple cellular processes controlling energy metabolism. Yet, its role in hypothalamic AgRP neurons to control food intake is poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) released from adipocytes inhibit lipolysis through an unclear mechanism. We hypothesized that the LCFA receptor, FFAR4 (GPR120), which is highly expressed in adipocytes, may be involved in this feedback regulation.
Methods And Results: Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of conditioned media from isoproterenol-stimulated primary cultures of murine and human adipocytes demonstrated that most of the released non-esterified free fatty acids (NEFAs) are known agonists for FFAR4.
Aim: Neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus are involved in regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, and dysregulation of signalling in these neurons promotes development of obesity. The role of the rate-limiting enzyme in the NAD salvage pathway, nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), for regulation energy homeostasis by the hypothalamus has not been extensively studied.
Methods: We determined whether Nampt mRNA or protein levels in the hypothalamus of mice were affected by diet-induced obesity, by fasting and re-feeding, and by leptin and ghrelin treatment.
Circadian rhythms can be perturbed by shift work, travel across time zones, many occupational tasks, or genetic mutations. Perturbed circadian rhythms are associated with the increasing problem of obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and insulin resistance. We hypothesized that insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle follows a circadian pattern and that this pattern is important for overall metabolic function.
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