Lipid Signalling Dynamics of Palmitate- Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Skeletal Muscle
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Lipid signalling dynamics of palmitate- induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in skeletal muscle A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. Submitted September 2018. Ben Daniel McNally King’s College “Obviously my method of thought and reasoning is influenced by a scientific training – if that were not so my scientific training will have been a waste and a failure.” Rosalind Franklin – taken from a letter to her father, Ellis Franklin, undated (approximately 1940). “I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.” Marie Curie - Taken from Pierre Curie (1936). “Machines will do the heavy work, Men will supervise the machines, You owe much to these machines, Horsepower, not manpower, Brains, not brawn.” Progress by Public Service Broadcasting, released in 2017. Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. For more information on the word limits for the respective Degree Committee. i Abstract Approximately 340 million people worldwide have Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), making identification of the aetiological processes underlying this disease imperative. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has emerged as a potential mechanism driving the pathogenesis of obesity and T2DM. Palmitate, the predominant saturated fatty acid elevated in the blood plasma of obese individuals, induces ER stress and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. However, the interaction between ER stress, lipid metabolism and T2DM remains poorly understood. This thesis uses lipidomic tools to investigate skeletal muscle ER stress in cell culture and animal models. Chronic palmitate treatment of both mouse C2C12 and human primary myotubes induced ER stress, concurrent with the cytosolic phospholipase A2- dependent release of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from phosphatidylcholines (PCs). This phenotype was also observed in skeletal muscle from mouse models of diet-induced obesity and T2DM patients. Palmitate-stimulated catabolism of PUFA-containing PCs was concomitant with increases in bioactive eicosanoid secretion, which was shown to be important in the control of ER stress, inflammatory signalling and macrophage activation. This provides a novel link between palmitate and the control of ER stress and inflammation in metabolic disease. Previous work has suggested that the propagation of ER stress signalling between cells may result from the secretion of a, as yet undefined, cell non-autonomous signal. In this thesis, long-chain ceramides (40:1 and 42:1) were identified as signals transmitting the induction of ER stress between myotubes via exosome-mediated transport. Long-chain ceramide concentrations were increased in skeletal muscle and blood plasma from in vivo models of obesity and were elevated in the muscle of T2DM patients. Muscle synthesis of long chain ceramides in response to palmitate was found to occur via the de novo pathway and was linked to ER stress by Perk, an important unfolded protein response kinase. This work identifies ceramides as cell non-autonomous signals that propagate ER stress activation following exposure to palmitate, providing a novel mechanism for stress signalling in obesity and insulin resistance. ii Publications Roberts, L.D., Ashmore, T., McNally, B.D., et al. 2017 Inorganic nitrate mimics exercise- stimulated muscular fiber-type switching and myokine and γ-aminobutyric acid release. Diabetes 66 (3), 674-688. Sanders, F., McNally, B., Griffin, J.L., 2016 Blood triacylglycerols: a lipidomic window on diet and disease. Biochemical Society Transactions 44 (2), 638-644. McNally, B., Griffin, J.L., Roberts, L.D. 2016 Dietary inorganic nitrate: From villain to hero in metabolic disease? Mol Nutr Food Res. 60(1):67-78. iii Acknowledgements The past four years have been a challenging and rewarding period, in which I’ve learnt a lot. I would not have been able to complete this PhD, however, without a number of wonderful people who’ve helped and supported me throughout my time in Cambridge as a postgraduate student. I’d now like to take the opportunity to acknowledge a few of these. I owe a lot to not one, but two excellent supervisors. First, thank you to Dr Lee Roberts. You have been the perfect supervisor for me, providing the scientific guidance I’ve required, and a trust to pursue the questions I’ve been most interested in. I feared I would struggle when you moved to Leeds, but even from the other end of the country you were still able to keep me on course with our monthly meetings and a speedy reply whenever I’ve needed you. Your progress in, and enthusiasm for, research has inspired my own interest, and I hope that remains the case as I pursue a career in academia. Secondly, thanks to Professor Jules Griffin for the opportunity to research in your lab and the support and guidance during my PhD, as well as the financial support to keep me going through an unplanned fourth year! Thank you as well for funding experiments beyond my MRC budget and a number of conferences, including two trips the US and one to Swansea! It’s been a privilege to work for someone so respected in the field. I would also like to thank the other people in the group, past and present, for making the past 4 years such a great experience. In particular, to Steve, my third supervisor in all but title. Thank you for putting up with nonsensical and incessant questions for such a long time, allowing my PhD to run as smoothly as possible. Thanks as well for the many pub trips, beer festivals, football games and board game nights. Similarly, it’s not going to be the same without our other board game partner in crime, Emma. I’ll miss having a Cambridge resident to drag along to gigs as well! I’d also like to thank Tom for his biochemistry guidance and the needless halves, and Zoe, James, Antonio and Christine for teaching me all there is to know about LC-MS. Thanks to Evelina, Dean and Marta, my fellow office residents for keeping the small office the most fun office, and also to Sonia, Mike, Mel and Cecilia, among others, for making tea time a fun and of course important part of the working day, and evening pub trips a necessity. iv Acknowledgements Outside of the lab, I’ve been lucky enough to count on the friendship and love of a number of other people. Of course, none have been more supportive and patient than Fiona. Thank you for your understanding with my Saturday morning alarms and the care packages that have seen me through my thesis! Most importantly, thank you for maintaining my life outside of science, even when research feels all encompassing. Thank you as well to Osh and Ellie, the other constants in my life, for the many hours spent listening to me rant about science, the many games of cards and far too many episodes of Rush Hour. Thanks also to Ben, Fliss, Fi and Jo for being fun and supportive housemates. When Cambridge has got too much, I know I’ve always been able to count on friends who’ve moved away to London. Beth, Holly, Ellie, Eva, Becca, Kesia and Aidan – you’ve always been a message or a train journey away when I’ve needed you. Thanks for the dinners, the gigs, the parties, the hangouts and more love and support than I deserve. Thanks also to Chris and Harry for the nights out in London and even the odd visit to Cambridge, even if you do insist on going to places PhD students can’t afford. Hopefully we’ll find an activity that I can actually compete at, because golf and darts certainly haven’t gone my way. My school friends have always been important at keeping me in line. In particular, Daisy, despite everything you’ve had to go through over the last couple of years, you’ve still managed to spend more time checking in on me. David, I haven’t seen you anywhere near as much as I should have but your messages and the Frank Turner gigs are always important to me, even if you did beat me to the Dr title! To everyone else from school, I always look forward to our Christmas pub trips and wish they were more frequent! Lastly, and most importantly, I’d like to thank my family. To my parents, Paul and Beverley, and my brother, Joe, thank you for all the support and guidance to get me through this PhD. You’ve been there whenever I’ve needed you, be that a message, a trip out or a dinner at home! Family Christmas is always one of the best times of the year as well! I’m blessed to have family such as the three of you, and there’s no way I’d be submitting this without you. v Table of Contents Declaration ........................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... ii Publications ........................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................................