α-ketoisocaproic acid promotes ER stress through impairment of autophagy, thereby provoking lipid accumulation and insulin resistance in murine preadipocytes

Elevated serum leucine levels are associated with cognitive impairment and reduced gray matter and cerebral volume across the Alzheimer's disease continuum

Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), exhibits paradoxical effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD), demonstrating both neuroprotective and neurotoxic roles. While prior studies have investigated leucine's systemic and metabolic impacts, its influence on brain structure remains unexplored. This study aimed to fill this critical gap by examining the relationship between serum leucine levels, brain volume metrics, and cognitive performance in individuals across the AD continuum. Serum leucine concentrations were quantified using the Nightingale Health nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) platform. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog 11 and 13), and structural brain volumes, including total cerebrum, cerebrum gray matter, and total brain gray matter, were derived from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) via automated segmentation. Mediation analysis was employed to determine whether changes in brain volume mediate the association between serum leucine levels and cognitive performance. Elevated serum leucine levels were significantly associated with reduced total cerebrum volume, cerebrum gray matter volume, and total brain gray matter volume. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that these reductions in brain volume partially mediated the relationship between higher leucine levels and poorer cognitive outcomes. These findings provide evidence linking elevated leucine levels to brain atrophy and cognitive decline in AD, suggesting a potentially deleterious role of leucine in neurodegeneration. This highlights the importance of further mechanistic investigations to clarify leucine's role in AD pathology and assess its viability as a therapeutic target.

Untargeted Metabolite Profiling Reveals Acute Toxicity of Pentosidine on Adipose Tissue of Rats

Background: Pentosidine is an advanced glycation end product that is commonly found in heat-processed foods. Pentosidine has been involved in the occurrence and development of some chronic diseases. It was reported that pentosidine exposure can impair the function of the liver and kidneys. Adipose tissue, as an active endocrine organ, plays an important role in maintaining the normal physiological function of cells. However, the metabolic mechanism that causes pentosidine to induce toxicity in adipose tissue remains unclear. Methods: In the study, thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a normal diet group, low dose group, and high dose group. A non-targeted metabolomics approach was used to compare the metabolic profiles of adipose tissue between the pentosidine and normal diet groups. Furthermore, histopathological observation and body weight change analysis were performed to test the results of the metabolomics analysis. Results: A total of forty-two differential metabolites were identified. Pentosidine mainly disturbed twelve metabolic pathways, such as ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, sulfur metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, etc. Additionally, pyruvic acid was identified as a possible key upregulated metabolite involved in thirty-four metabolic pathways. α-Ketoglutaric acid was named as a probable key downregulated metabolite involved in nineteen metabolic pathways based on enrichment network analysis. In addition, histopathological analysis and body weight changes confirmed the results of the metabolomics analysis. Conclusions: These results provided a new perspective for the molecular mechanisms of adipose tissue toxicity induced by pentosidine.

Salubrinal promotes phospho-eIF2α-dependent activation of UPR leading to autophagy-mediated attenuation of iron-induced insulin resistance

Identification of new mechanisms mediating insulin sensitivity is important to allow validation of corresponding therapeutic targets. In this study, we first used a cellular model of skeletal muscle cell iron overload and found that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and insulin resistance occurred after iron treatment. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using cells engineered to express an Akt biosensor, based on nuclear FoxO localization, as well as western blotting for insulin signaling proteins. Use of salubrinal to elevate eIF2α phosphorylation and promote the unfolded protein response (UPR) attenuated iron-induced insulin resistance. Salubrinal induced autophagy flux and its beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity were not observed in autophagy-deficient cells generated by overexpressing a dominant-negative ATG5 mutant or via knockout of ATG7. This indicated the beneficial effect of salubrinal-induced UPR activation was autophagy-dependent. We translated these observations to an animal model of systemic iron overload-induced skeletal muscle insulin resistance where administration of salubrinal as pretreatment promoted eIF2α phosphorylation, enhanced autophagic flux in skeletal muscle and improved insulin responsiveness. Together, our results show that salubrinal elicited an eIF2α-autophagy axis leading to improved skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity both in vitro and in mice.

Selenium Protects Mouse Hypothalamic Cells from Glucocorticoid-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Vulnerability and Insulin Signaling Impairment

The use of glucocorticoid medications is known to cause metabolic side effects such as overeating, excess weight gain, and insulin resistance. The hypothalamus, a central regulator of feeding behavior and energy expenditure, is highly responsive to glucocorticoids, and it has been proposed that it plays a role in glucocorticoid-induced metabolic defects. Glucocorticoids can alter the expression and activity of antioxidant enzymes and promote the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Recent evidence indicates that selenium can counter the effects of glucocorticoids, and selenium is critical for proper hypothalamic function. This study sought to determine whether selenium is capable of protecting hypothalamic cells from dysfunction caused by glucocorticoid exposure. We treated mHypoE-44 mouse hypothalamic cells with corticosterone to study the effects on cellular physiology and the involvement of selenium. We found that corticosterone administration rendered cells more vulnerable to endoplasmic reticulum stress and the subsequent impairment of insulin signaling. Supplementing the cell culture media with additional selenium alleviated endoplasmic reticulum stress and promoted insulin signaling. These findings implicate a protective role of selenium against chronic glucocorticoid-induced hypothalamic dysfunction.

Differential effects of thiamethoxam and clothianidin exposure on their tissue distribution and chronic toxicity in mice

The frequent application of second-generation neonicotinoids thiamethoxam (TMX) and clothianidin (CLO) has led to a high detectable rate in environment samples and poses threats to nontarget organisms and human beings, however, the information on the influences of long-term exposure at low doses was limited. In this study, the tissue distribution of TMX and CLO in mice at acceptable daily intake (ADI) level and 5 × ADI was determined and the health effects were assessed. TMX and CLO were detected in the liver, serum, lung, heart and kidney in the TMX exposure groups, which indicated that TMX degraded to CLO in mice. Residue levels of TMX in tissues increased with the increasing of doses. The concentrations of CLO in different tissues in the CLO exposure groups were in the order C_kidney > C_lung > C_heart > C_liver. Measurement of biochemical indicators, combined with metabolomic analysis of liver, kidney, and cecal contents, examination of changes in the gut microbiota, and histopathological assessment indicated that both TMX and CLO affected energy absorption and lipid metabolism in mice and destroyed tissue structures. Furthermore, we found that CLO had a stronger effect on metabolism in mice, despite its lower acute toxicity. These results have prompted us to consider the chronic toxicity and potential hazards of chemicals in future risk assessments.