Objective: Aging is accompanied by loss of brown adipocytes and a decline in their thermogenic potential, which may exacerbate the development of adiposity and other metabolic disorders. Presently, only limited evidence exists describing the molecular alterations leading to impaired brown adipogenesis with aging and the contribution of these processes to changes of systemic energy metabolism.
Methods: Samples of young and aged murine brown and white adipose tissue were used to compare age-related changes of brown adipogenic gene expression and thermogenesis-related lipid mobilization.
is considered to be one of the most successful intracellular pathogens, because it can reproduce in varied nutritional milieus, encountered in diverse host cell types of essentially any warm-blooded organism. Our earlier work demonstrated that the acute (tachyzoite) stage of depends on cooperativity of glucose and glutamine catabolism to meet biosynthetic demands. Either of these two nutrients can sustain the parasite survival; however, what determines the metabolic plasticity has not yet been resolved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe nematode Caenorhabditis elegans requires exogenous cholesterol to survive and its depletion leads to early developmental arrest. Thus, tight regulation of cholesterol storage and distribution within the organism is indispensable. Here, we present a novel class of C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious work indicated that lysine-specific demethylase 1 (Lsd1) can positively regulate the oxidative and thermogenic capacities of white and beige adipocytes. Here we investigate the role of Lsd1 in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and find that BAT-selective Lsd1 ablation induces a shift from oxidative to glycolytic metabolism. This shift is associated with downregulation of BAT-specific and upregulation of white adipose tissue (WAT)-selective gene expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxoplasma gondii is a widespread protozoan parasite infecting nearly all warm-blooded organisms. Asexual reproduction of the parasite within its host cells is achieved by consecutive lytic cycles, which necessitates biogenesis of significant energy and biomass. Here we show that glucose and glutamine are the two major physiologically important nutrients used for the synthesis of macromolecules (ATP, nucleic acid, proteins, and lipids) in T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurvival of nematode species depends on how successfully they disperse in the habitat and find a new host. As a new strategy for collective host finding in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, dauer larvae synthesize an extremely long-chain polyunsaturated wax ester (nematoil) that covers the surface of the animal. The oily coat promotes congregation of up to one thousand individuals into stable 'dauer towers' that can reach a beetle host more easily.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo long-chain ascarosides, O-ascarosylnonacosane-2,28-diol and O-ascarosyluntriacontane-2,30-diol, were isolated from Caenorhabditis elegans and detected in all developmental stages of the worm. The long-chain ascarosides were shown to be minor lipid components, and it was also shown that they do not induce dauer larva formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn response to pheromone(s), Caenorhabditis elegans interrupts its reproductive life cycle and enters diapause as a stress-resistant dauer larva. This decision is governed by a complex system of neuronal and hormonal regulation. All the signals converge onto the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe the stereoselective synthesis of 4alpha-bromo-5alpha-cholestan-3beta-ol, 21-nor-5alpha-cholestan-3beta-ol, 27-nor-5alpha-cholestan-3beta-ol and 21,27-bisnor-5alpha-cholestan-3beta-ol. In order to clarify the in vivo metabolism of cholesterol, these compounds have been used for feeding experiments in Caenorhabditis elegans. Our preliminary results provide important insights into the metabolism of cholesterol in worms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLET-767 from Caenorhabditis elegans belongs to a family of short chain dehydrogenases/reductases and is homologous to 17beta-hydroxysterol dehydrogenases of type 3 and 3-ketoacyl-CoA reductases. Worms subjected to RNA interference (RNAi) of let-767 displayed multiple growth and developmental defects in the first generation and arrested in the second generation as L1 larvae. To determine the function of LET-767 in vivo, we exploited a biochemical complementation approach, in which let-767 (RNAi)-arrested larvae were rescued by feeding with compounds isolated from wild type worms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA role of proteasomal proteolysis in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion is being actively studied. To evaluate the participation of the proteasome in postconditioning phenomenon, we used primary culture of neonatal cardiomyocytes. 30 minutes of anoxia followed by 60 minutes of reoxygenation was undergone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvestigation of the mechanisms of phenotypic realization of allelic polymorphism of the eNOS gene has shown that the level of eNOS mRNA and activity of this enzyme in platelets depends from genotype. We identified a T(-786)-->C polymorphism in the promoter region, a variable number of tandem repeats (4a/4b) in intron 4 and the G(894)-->T polymorphism in exon 7 of the eNOS gene in isolated human platelets. We measured eNOS mRNA in isolated platelets by reverse transcription-PCR and eNOS enzyme activity by fluorimetric detection system FCANOS-1 using diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-2A).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of proteasomal proteolysis in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion is being actively studied. To evaluate the participation of the proteasome in the preconditioning and postconditioning phenomena we used primary culture of neonatal cardiomyocytes. This culture was undergone 30min of anoxia followed by 60min of reoxygenation.
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