Prokineticin Receptor 1 As a Novel Suppressor of Preadipocyte Proliferation and Differentiation to Control Obesity

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Prokineticin Receptor 1 As a Novel Suppressor of Preadipocyte Proliferation and Differentiation to Control Obesity Prokineticin Receptor 1 as a Novel Suppressor of Preadipocyte Proliferation and Differentiation to Control Obesity Ce´cilia Szatkowski1., Judith Vallet1., Mojdeh Dormishian1., Nadia Messaddeq2, Phillippe Valet3, Mounia Boulberdaa1, Daniel Metzger2, Pierre Chambon2, Canan G. Nebigil1* 1 Institute of Research and Biotechnology of Strasbourg, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, UMR7242, University of Strasbourg, Medalis/Labex, Drug Discovery Center, Illkirch, France, 2 Institute of Genetic and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Centre national de la recherche scientifique UMR7104, Institut National de la Sante´ et de la Recherche Me´dicale U964, University of Strasbourg, Illkirch, France, 3 Institutes of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Institut National de la Sante´ et de la Recherche Me´dicale–University of Paul Sabatier UMR 1048, Toulouse, France Abstract Background: Adipocyte renewal from preadipocytes occurs throughout the lifetime and contributes to obesity. To date, little is known about the mechanisms that control preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. Prokineticin-2 is an angiogenic and anorexigenic hormone that activate two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs): PKR1 and PKR2. Prokineticin- 2 regulates food intake and energy metabolism via central mechanisms (PKR2). The peripheral effect of prokineticin-2 on adipocytes/preadipocytes has not been studied yet. Methodology/Principal Findings: Since adipocytes and preadipocytes express mainly prokineticin receptor-1 (PKR1), here, we explored the role of PKR1 in adipose tissue expansion, generating PKR1-null (PKR12/2) and adipocyte-specific (PKR1ad2/ 2) mutant mice, and using murine and human preadipocyte cell lines. Both PKR12/2 and PKR1ad2/2 had excessive abdominal adipose tissue, but only PKR12/2 mice showed severe obesity and diabetes-like syndrome. PKR1ad2/2) mice had increased proliferating preadipocytes and newly formed adipocyte levels, leading to expansion of adipose tissue. Using PKR1-knockdown in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, we show that PKR1 directly inhibits preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. These PKR1 cell autonomous actions appear targeted at preadipocyte cell cycle regulatory pathways, through reducing cyclin D, E, cdk2, c-Myc levels. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest PKR1 to be a crucial player in the preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. Our data should facilitate studies of both the pathogenesis and therapy of obesity in humans. Citation: Szatkowski C, Vallet J, Dormishian M, Messaddeq N, Valet P, et al. (2013) Prokineticin Receptor 1 as a Novel Suppressor of Preadipocyte Proliferation and Differentiation to Control Obesity. PLoS ONE 8(12): e81175. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081175 Editor: Xiaoli Chen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, United States of America Received June 21, 2013; Accepted October 9, 2013; Published December 4, 2013 Copyright: ß 2013 Szatkowski et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Fondation Recherche´ Me´dical, l9Association franc¸aise contre les myopathies, Medalis/labex and Re´gion Alsace. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: [email protected] . These authors contributed equally to this work. Introduction tissues (WATs). Preadipocytes are capable of proliferating and differentiating into an adipose deposit [7]. Stimulation of the Obesity causes many serious diseases such as type-2 diabetes proliferation of these cells may therefore result principally in an mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer, and increase in adipocyte number. In mice, preadipocytes can has contributed to increases in mortality and morbidity rates [1]. proliferate and subsequently differentiate into mature adipocytes Identification of factors regulating white fat tissue growth provides [8]. Thus, understanding the mechanisms controlling preadipocyte an important strategy to combat these diseases. Obesity is proliferation and conversion to adipocyte provides insights into the characterized by an expansion of adipose tissue mass due to etiology and prevention of obesity and its associated pathologies. hypertrophy, an increase in adipocyte size [2], and hyperplasia, an Prokineticin-2 is a potent angiogenic [9] and anorexigenic increase in cell number [3]. The expended adipose tissue plays a hormone [10]. It binds two similar G protein-coupled receptors key role for the induction of insulin resistance commonly seen in (GPCRs): PKR1 and PKR2 [11]. This hormone, which is widely obesity [4]. The adipocytes increase in size is due to lipid distributed in mammalian tissues [12], has HIF-1 binding sites and accumulation [5]. Mature adipocytes are postmitotic [6]. Thus, is induced by low oxygen levels [13]. It is involved in diverse effects adipocyte hyperplasia in adults requires the generation of new in peripheral systems, including angiogenesis in the ovary, testis adipocytes from precursor cells (preadipocytes) and stem cells [14,15] and heart [16]. It also stimulates hematopoiesis [17] and resident in the stromal-vascular compartment of white adipose neurogenesis [18]. Prokineticins induce the differentiation of PLOS ONE | www.plosone.org 1 December 2013 | Volume 8 | Issue 12 | e81175 PKR1 Controls Preadipocyte Function murine and human bone marrow cells into the monocyte/ days to the L2/L2 and PKR1ad2/2 mice at the 3 weeks of age. macrophage lineage [19] and activate monocyte proliferation and The second tamoxifen injection was realized at the age of 13 differentiation [20] and macrophage migration [21]. Prokineticin- weeks. All the analyses were performed when the mice were 24 2/PKR1 restores the pluripotency of epicardial progenitor cells and 40 weeks old. Mice were placed in metabolic cages (1 mouse/ and triggers the differentiation of endothelial and vascular smooth cage) and acclimated for 2 days before the experiment. The body muscle cells [16]. By binding to PKR1, prokineticin-2 directly weight, water and food intake, and urine volume were performed promotes angiogenesis, by activating MAPK and Akt [16]. daily for an additional 3 days. The primers utilized in these studies Prokineticin-2 [22] is involved in appetite suppression [10] and for the genotyping analyses were shown in the Table 1. energy homeostasis, thermoregulation (15), via a direct hypotha- lamic mechanism [23]. The intracranial or peripheral injection of Glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test prokineticin-2 has been shown to reduce food intake and body (ITT) weight in lean and obese mice at the levels of hypothalamus Prior to studies, mice were fasted for 5 h. For GTT, mice (central effect via PKR2) [10] and dorsal vagal complex received an intraperitoneal injection of glucose (1 mg/g body (peripheral effects via PKR1) [24]. However, the role of weight). In ITT studies, mice received an intraperitoneal injection prokineticin-2 and its receptors in adipocyte and preadipocyte of 0.75U of insulin per kg of body weight according to methods function is unknown. described elsewhere [27]. Blood samples were collected from the PKR1 is the principal receptor expressed by preadipocytes and tail vein (tail-snip technique) at various times after the glucose or adipocytes [12]. In this study, we explored the role of PKR1 in insulin load, as indicated. Blood glucose was immediately adipocyte function, in vivo using PKR1-null (PKR12/2) and ad2/2) determined on a Contour blood glucose monitoring system adipocyte-specific (PKR1 mutant mice, and in vitro, using (Bayer). murine (3T3-L1) and human preadipocyte cell lines (SGBS). Here we described multiple PKR1 functions regulates preadipocyte Insulin stimulation of Akt activity detected by Western proliferation and differentiation, controlling adipose tissue expan- sion. Blot assay Animals were anaesthetized with 1% pentobarbital and were H Materials and Methods followed by an IP injection of insulin (150 mU/g, Umaline , Rapide). 0 and 20 min after injection mice were scarified and the Ethics statement adipose tissues were harvested for protein extraction. Extracted The animal study was approved by the Animal Care and Use, proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and and ethics committees of the Perfecture du Bas-Rhin (Permit immunoblotted with the Phospho Akt (Ser-473 and Thr 308) Number: B67–274) with the recommendations in the Guide for Antibody kit (Cell Signaling Technology), following incubation the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the French Animal with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG. Care Committee, with European regulation-approved protocols. Phosphorylated protein was visualized by enzyme-linked chemi- The animal experimentation and housing were conducted at the luminescence (Amersham Biosciences) and quantified by scanning accredited Animal Experimentation and housing Facility of the laser densitometry, normalizing to total amounts of the Akt Institut de recherche de l9Ecole de biotechnologie de Strasbourg proteins. (Register number: C67-218-19). The human study was approved by the ethics committee of Histological and electron microscopy analyses Toulouse-Rangueil
Recommended publications
  • Searching for Novel Peptide Hormones in the Human Genome Olivier Mirabeau
    Searching for novel peptide hormones in the human genome Olivier Mirabeau To cite this version: Olivier Mirabeau. Searching for novel peptide hormones in the human genome. Life Sciences [q-bio]. Université Montpellier II - Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, 2008. English. tel-00340710 HAL Id: tel-00340710 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00340710 Submitted on 21 Nov 2008 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. UNIVERSITE MONTPELLIER II SCIENCES ET TECHNIQUES DU LANGUEDOC THESE pour obtenir le grade de DOCTEUR DE L'UNIVERSITE MONTPELLIER II Discipline : Biologie Informatique Ecole Doctorale : Sciences chimiques et biologiques pour la santé Formation doctorale : Biologie-Santé Recherche de nouvelles hormones peptidiques codées par le génome humain par Olivier Mirabeau présentée et soutenue publiquement le 30 janvier 2008 JURY M. Hubert Vaudry Rapporteur M. Jean-Philippe Vert Rapporteur Mme Nadia Rosenthal Examinatrice M. Jean Martinez Président M. Olivier Gascuel Directeur M. Cornelius Gross Examinateur Résumé Résumé Cette thèse porte sur la découverte de gènes humains non caractérisés codant pour des précurseurs à hormones peptidiques. Les hormones peptidiques (PH) ont un rôle important dans la plupart des processus physiologiques du corps humain.
    [Show full text]
  • Deletion of Vax1 from Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (Gnrh) Neurons Abolishes Gnrh Expression and Leads to Hypogonadism and Infertility
    3506 • The Journal of Neuroscience, March 23, 2016 • 36(12):3506–3518 Cellular/Molecular Deletion of Vax1 from Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Neurons Abolishes GnRH Expression and Leads to Hypogonadism and Infertility Hanne M. Hoffmann,1 Crystal Trang,1 Ping Gong,1 Ikuo Kimura,2 Erica C. Pandolfi,1 and XPamela L. Mellon1 1Department of Reproductive Medicine and the Center for Reproductive Science and Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0674, and 2Department of Applied Biological Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu-shi 183-8509, Japan Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons are at the apex of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that regu- lates mammalian fertility. Herein we demonstrate a critical role for the homeodomain transcription factor ventral anterior homeobox 1 (VAX1) in GnRH neuron maturation and show that Vax1 deletion from GnRH neurons leads to complete infertility in males and females. Specifically, global Vax1 knock-out embryos had normal numbers of GnRH neurons at 13 d of gestation, but no GnRH staining was detected by embryonic day 17. To identify the role of VAX1 specifically in GnRH neuron development, Vax1flox mice were generated and lineage tracing performed in Vax1flox/flox:GnRHcre:RosaLacZ mice. This identified VAX1 as essential for maintaining expression of Gnrh1. The absence of GnRH staining in adult Vax1flox/flox:GnRHcre mice led to delayed puberty, hypogonadism, and infertility. To address the mechanism by which VAX1 maintains Gnrh1 transcription, the capacity of VAX1 to regulate Gnrh1 transcription was evaluated in the GnRH cell lines GN11 and GT1-7.
    [Show full text]
  • Loss-Of-Function Mutation in the Prokineticin 2 Gene Causes
    Loss-of-function mutation in the prokineticin 2 gene SEE COMMENTARY causes Kallmann syndrome and normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism Nelly Pitteloud*†, Chengkang Zhang‡, Duarte Pignatelli§, Jia-Da Li‡, Taneli Raivio*, Lindsay W. Cole*, Lacey Plummer*, Elka E. Jacobson-Dickman*, Pamela L. Mellon¶, Qun-Yong Zhou‡, and William F. Crowley, Jr.* *Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Department of Medicine and Harvard Reproductive Endocrine Science Centers, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114; ‡Department of Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697; §Department of Endocrinology, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, University of Porto, San Joa˜o Hospital, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; and ¶Departments of Reproductive Medicine and Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 Communicated by Patricia K. Donahoe, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, August 14, 2007 (received for review May 8, 2007) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency in the human associated with KS, although no functional data on the mutant presents either as normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypo- proteins were provided (17). Herein, we demonstrate that homozy- gonadism (nIHH) or with anosmia [Kallmann syndrome (KS)]. To gous loss-of-function mutations in the PROK2 gene cause IHH in date, several loci have been identified to cause these disorders, but mice and humans. only 30% of cases exhibit mutations in known genes. Recently, murine studies have demonstrated a critical role of the prokineticin Results pathway in olfactory bulb morphogenesis and GnRH secretion. Molecular Analysis of PROK2 Gene. A homozygous single base pair Therefore, we hypothesize that mutations in prokineticin 2 deletion in exon 2 of the PROK2 gene (c.[163delA]ϩ [163delA]) (PROK2) underlie some cases of KS in humans and that animals was identified in the proband, in his brother with KS, and in his deficient in Prok2 would be hypogonadotropic.
    [Show full text]
  • Signaling Role of Prokineticin 2 on the Estrous Cycle of Female Mice
    Signaling Role of Prokineticin 2 on the Estrous Cycle of Female Mice The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Xiao, Ling, Chengkang Zhang, Xiaohan Li, Shiaoching Gong, Renming Hu, Ravikumar Balasubramanian, William F. Crowley W. Jr., Michael H. Hastings, and Qun-Yong Zhou. 2014. “Signaling Role of Prokineticin 2 on the Estrous Cycle of Female Mice.” PLoS ONE 9 (3): e90860. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090860. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090860. Published Version doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090860 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12064464 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Signaling Role of Prokineticin 2 on the Estrous Cycle of Female Mice Ling Xiao1,2, Chengkang Zhang1, Xiaohan Li1, Shiaoching Gong3, Renming Hu4, Ravikumar Balasubramanian5, William F. Crowley W. Jr.5, Michael H. Hastings6, Qun-Yong Zhou1* 1 Department of Pharmacology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America, 2 Department of Endocrinology, Jinshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 3 GENSAT Project, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America, 4 Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 5 Harvard Reproductive Endocrine Sciences Center & The Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, 6 Division of Neurobiology, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom Abstract The possible signaling role of prokineticin 2 (PK2) and its receptor, prokineticin receptor 2 (PKR2), on female reproduction was investigated.
    [Show full text]
  • Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptors and Obesity
    European Journal of Pharmacology 500 (2004) 243–253 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejphar Review Orphan G protein-coupled receptors and obesity Yan-Ling Xua, Valerie R. Jacksonb, Olivier Civellia,b,* aDepartment of Pharmacology, University of California Irvine, 101 Theory Dr., Suite 200, Irvine, CA 92612, USA bDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, 101 Theory Dr, Irvine, CA 92612, USA Accepted 1 July 2004 Available online 19 August 2004 Abstract The use of orphan G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) as targets to identify new transmitters has led over the last decade to the discovery of 12 novel neuropeptide families. Each one of these new neuropeptides has opened its own field of research, has brought new insights in distinct pathophysiological conditions and has offered new potentials for therapeutic applications. Interestingly, several of these novel peptides have seen their roles converge on one physiological response: the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. In this manuscript, we discuss four deorphanized GPCR systems, the ghrelin, orexins/hypocretins, melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) and neuropeptide B/neuropeptide W (NPB/NPW) systems, and review our knowledge of their role in the regulation of energy balance and of their potential use in therapies directed at feeding disorders. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Feeding; Ghrelin; Orexin/hypocretin; Melanin-concentrating hormone; Neuropeptide B; Neuropeptide W Contents 1. Introduction............................................................ 244 2. Searching for the natural ligands of orphan GPCRs ....................................... 244 2.1. Reverse pharmacology .................................................. 244 2.2. Orphan receptor strategy ................................................. 244 3. Orphan receptors and obesity................................................... 245 3.1. The ghrelin system .................................................... 245 3.2.
    [Show full text]
  • (PROK2) in Alzheimer's Disease
    cells Communication Involvement of the Chemokine Prokineticin-2 (PROK2) in Alzheimer’s Disease: From Animal Models to the Human Pathology Roberta Lattanzi 1, Daniela Maftei 1, Carla Petrella 2, Massimo Pieri 3, Giulia Sancesario 4, Tommaso Schirinzi 5, Sergio Bernardini 3, Christian Barbato 2 , Massimo Ralli 6 , Antonio Greco 6, Roberta Possenti 5, Giuseppe Sancesario 5 and Cinzia Severini 2,* 1 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology “Vittorio Erspamer”, Sapienza University of Rome, P.za A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (R.L.); [email protected] (D.M.) 2 Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, IBBC, CNR, Viale del Policlinico, 155, 00161 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (C.P.); [email protected] (C.B.) 3 Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (M.P.); [email protected] (S.B.) 4 Neuroimmunology Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, v. Ardeatina 354, 00179 Rome, Italy; [email protected] 5 Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (T.S.); [email protected] (R.P.); [email protected] (G.S.) 6 Department of Sense Organs, University Sapienza of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy; [email protected] (M.R.); [email protected] (A.G.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-06-4997-6742 Received: 17 October 2019; Accepted: 12 November 2019; Published: 13 November 2019 Abstract: Among mediators of inflammation, chemokines play a pivotal role in the neuroinflammatory process related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
    [Show full text]
  • ACTIVIN IS CRITICAL for the DEVELOPMENT of PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER INFLAMMATION by PIN XU Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
    ACTIVIN IS CRITICAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY AFTER INFLAMMATION by PIN XU Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Thesis Adviser: Dr. Alison K. Hall Department of Neurosciences CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August, 2007 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the dissertation of ____Pin Xu______________________________________________ candidate for the Ph.D. degree *. (signed)__ Gary Landreth______________________________ ___ (chair of the committee) ___Alison Hall____________________________________ ___Jerry Silver___________ ___________ _____ ___ ___Susann Brady-kalnay____________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) ____June 5, 2007___________________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Hongfa Xu and Ruiyun Pan, and to my husband Chen Liu. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title Page……………………..…………………………………………………….….…I Typed ETD Sign-off Sheet…………………………………………………….................II Dedication……………………………………………………………………………..…III Table of Contents………………………………………………………..……..……..….IV List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………VII List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….....…VIII Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………X Abstract…………………………………………………………………………...……...XI Chapter I: General Introduction……………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of GPCR Signaling in Cardiac Epithelial to Mesenchymal R, RR Transformation (EMT)
    Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine 29 (2019) 200–204 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tcm The role of GPCR signaling in cardiac Epithelial to Mesenchymal R, RR Transformation (EMT) ∗ Canan G. Nebigil, PharmD, PhD , Laurent Désaubry, PhD CNRS/Université de Strasbourg, Sorbonne University–CNRS, ESBS Pole API 300 boulevard Sébastien Brant, CS 10413, Paris, Illkirch F-67412, France a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Keywords: Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect, affecting 1.35 million newborns every year. Congenital heart disease Heart failure is a primary cause of late morbidity and mortality after myocardial infarction. Heart devel- Heart development opment is involved in several rounds of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal- Heart failure to-epithelial transition (MET). Errors in these processes contribute to congenital heart disease, and exert GPCR Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transformation deleterious effects on the heart and circulation after myocardial infarction. The identification of factors (EMT) that are involved in heart development and disease, and the development of new approaches for the Cardiac progenitor cells, Cardiac stem cells treatment of these disorders are of great interest. G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise 40% of Prokineticin clinically used drug targets, and their signaling are vital components of the heart during development, Apelin, Serotonin cardiac repair and in cardiac disease pathogenesis. This review focuses on the importance of EMT pro- Sphingosine-1-phosphate gram in the heart, and outlines the newly identified GPCRs as potential therapeutic targets of reprogram- ming EMT to support cardiac cell fate during heart development and after myocardial infarction.
    [Show full text]
  • Privileged Frameworks from Snake Venom
    Cell. Mol. Life Sci. (2015) 72:1939–1958 DOI 10.1007/s00018-015-1844-z Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences REVIEW Privileged frameworks from snake venom T. A. Reeks • B. G. Fry • P. F. Alewood Received: 17 December 2014 / Revised: 22 January 2015 / Accepted: 26 January 2015 / Published online: 19 February 2015 Ó Springer Basel 2015 Abstract Venom as a form of chemical prey capture is a Introduction key innovation that has underpinned the explosive ra- diation of the advanced snakes (Caenophidia). Small While venom in reptiles had a single, early evolution [1, 2], venom proteins are often rich in disulfide bonds thus it is at the base of the advanced snakes that it truly became facilitating stable molecular scaffolds that present key a key evolutionary innovation that underpinned the ex- functional residues on the protein surface. New toxin types plosive radiation of this lineage [3]. Snake venom is a are initially developed through the venom gland over-ex- complex mixture of enzymes, proteins and peptides. Many pression of normal body proteins, their subsequent gene of these toxin families have stable molecular scaffolds duplication and diversification that leads to neofunction- (Table 1). The toxins within the venom are a result of gene alisation as random mutations modify their structure and duplication of proteins or peptides typically used elsewhere function. This process has led to preferentially selected in the body, with the copy being selectively expressed in (privileged) cysteine-rich scaffolds that enable the snake to the venom gland [4]. These genes are often amplified into build arrays of toxins many of which may lead to multi-gene families with diverse neofunctionalisation fol- therapeutic products and research tools.
    [Show full text]
  • New Insights Into Metabolic Homeostasis Keith Tan
    Rockefeller University Digital Commons @ RU Student Theses and Dissertations 2015 Activity Based Profiling: New Insights into Metabolic Homeostasis Keith Tan Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/ student_theses_and_dissertations Part of the Life Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Tan, Keith, "Activity Based Profiling: New Insights into Metabolic Homeostasis" (2015). Student Theses and Dissertations. Paper 285. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ RU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ RU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACTIVITY BASED PROFILING: NEW INSIGHTS INTO METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of The Rockefeller University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Keith Tan June 2015 © Copyright by Keith Tan 2015 ACTIVITY BASED PROFILING: NEW INSIGHTS INTO METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS Keith Tan, Ph.D. The Rockefeller University 2015 There is mounting evidence that demonstrates that body weight and energy homeostasis is tightly regulated by a physiological system. This system consists of sensing and effector components that primarily reside in the central nervous system and disruption to these components can lead to obesity and metabolic disorders. Although many neural substrates have been identified in the past decades, there is reason to believe that there are numerous unidentified neural populations that play a role in energy balance. Besides regulating caloric consumption and energy expenditure, neural components that control energy homeostasis are also tightly intertwined with circadian rhythmicity but this aspect has received less attention.
    [Show full text]
  • Modeling of Human Prokineticin Receptors: Interactions with Novel Small-Molecule Binders and Potential Off- Target Drugs
    Modeling of Human Prokineticin Receptors: Interactions with Novel Small-Molecule Binders and Potential Off- Target Drugs Anat Levit1,2, Talia Yarnitzky1, Ayana Wiener1, Rina Meidan2, Masha Y. Niv1,3* 1 Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, 2 Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, 3 The Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Abstract Background and Motivation: The Prokineticin receptor (PKR) 1 and 2 subtypes are novel members of family A GPCRs, which exhibit an unusually high degree of sequence similarity. Prokineticins (PKs), their cognate ligands, are small secreted proteins of ,80 amino acids; however, non-peptidic low-molecular weight antagonists have also been identified. PKs and their receptors play important roles under various physiological conditions such as maintaining circadian rhythm and pain perception, as well as regulating angiogenesis and modulating immunity. Identifying binding sites for known antagonists and for additional potential binders will facilitate studying and regulating these novel receptors. Blocking PKRs may serve as a therapeutic tool for various diseases, including acute pain, inflammation and cancer. Methods and Results: Ligand-based pharmacophore models were derived from known antagonists, and virtual screening performed on the DrugBank dataset identified potential human PKR (hPKR) ligands with novel scaffolds. Interestingly, these included several HIV protease inhibitors for which endothelial cell dysfunction is a documented side effect. Our results suggest that the side effects might be due to inhibition of the PKR signaling pathway.
    [Show full text]
  • Prokineticin 2 Is a Hypothalamic Neuropeptide That Potently Inhibits Food Intake James V
    ORIGINAL ARTICLE Prokineticin 2 Is a Hypothalamic Neuropeptide That Potently Inhibits Food Intake James V. Gardiner,1 Attia Bataveljic,1 Neekhil A. Patel,1 Gavin A. Bewick,1 Debabrata Roy,1 Daniel Campbell,1 Hannah C. Greenwood,1 Kevin G. Murphy,1 Saira Hameed,1 Preeti H. Jethwa,2 Francis J.P. Ebling,2 Steven P. Vickers,3 Sharon Cheetham,3 Mohammad A. Ghatei,1 Stephen R. Bloom,1 and Waljit S. Dhillo1 OBJECTIVE—Prokineticin 2 (PK2) is a hypothalamic neu- ticins are so called because the first effect ascribed to them ropeptide expressed in central nervous system areas known to was the stimulation of guinea pig ileum smooth muscle be involved in food intake. We therefore hypothesized that PK2 contraction (2). Subsequently, PK2 has been shown to be plays a role in energy homeostasis. involved in several developmental and physiological pro- RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We investigated the cesses (7). It is thought to be critical for the development effect of nutritional status on hypothalamic PK2 expression and of the central nervous system (CNS) because mice lacking effects of PK2 on the regulation of food intake by intracerebro- either PK2 or PKR2 have poorly developed olfactory bulbs ventricular (ICV) injection of PK2 and anti-PK2 antibody. Subse- (8–10). In addition, these mice have hypogonadotrophic quently, we investigated the potential mechanism of action by hypogonadism due to abnormal gonadotrophin-releasing determining sites of neuronal activation after ICV injection of hormone neuronal migration (3,11). The same phenotype PK2, the hypothalamic site of action of PK2, and interaction occurs in humans with mutations of PK2 or PKR2 (11–13).
    [Show full text]