Immunophenotypic expression of UCP1 in hibernoma and other adipose/non adipose soft tissue tumours

A combinatorial siRNA and mRNA approach for obesity treatment using targeting lipid nanoparticles

Obesity, a widespread global health issue affecting millions, is characterized by excess fat deposition and metabolic dysfunction, significantly elevating the risk of comorbidities like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, all of which contribute to rising rates of preventable morbidity and mortality. Current approaches to obesity, including lifestyle modifications, and pharmacotherapy, often face limitations such as poor long-term adherence, side effects, and insufficient targeting of the complex, multifactorial pathways underlying the disease. Herein we report a dual, RNA-mediated combinatorial approach using targeting lipid nanoparticles (LNP) for the treatment of obesity. LNPs were co-encapsulated with mRNA encoding Interleukin-27 (mIL-27) to coactivate PGC-1α, PPARα, and UCP-1, thereby promoting adipocyte differentiation and enhancing adaptive thermogenesis within adipocytes, and siRNA targeting Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (siDPP-4) to silence the primary inhibitory enzyme of GLP-1, and GIP within the incretin system, effectively restoring glucose homeostasis. Following post translational silencing of DPP-4 and upregulation of IL-27 in a diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice model, increased expression of thermogenic biomarkers PGC-1α, PPARα, and UCP-1 was observed at the molecular, protein, and tissue level, and insulin sensitivity was restored. Importantly, this gene modulation led to a 21.1 % reduction of bodyweight after treatment in the DIO model. These findings demonstrate for the first time a dual RNA-mediated combinatorial approach, leveraging liver targeting LNP delivery with synergistic effects from incretin system regulation and induction of adipocyte differentiation and thermogenesis after codelivery of siDPP-4 and mIL-27. This innovative strategy provides a promising alternate framework for addressing obesity and its associated metabolic dysfunction.

Hibernoma in the renal sinus: A case mimicking malignancy

Introduction

Hibernomas are benign tumors of brown adipose tissue. Hibernoma in the renal sinus is extremely rare. Herein, we present the third known case of renal hibernoma.

Case presentation

A 71-year-old man reported to our department with a left kidney tumor with an average growth rate of 5 mm/year and a progressive contrast effect on computed tomography. It was diagnosed as a hibernoma following a laparoscopic radical nephrectomy.

Conclusion

We encountered a rare case of a hibernoma in the renal sinus. Development of new and accurate diagnostic methods for hibernoma, without resorting to nephrectomy, is essential.

Imaging diagnosis: CT characteristics of a retrobulbar hibernoma in a dog

A 12-year-old female spayed Beagle was referred for investigation of exophthalmos. CT revealed a well-defined, retrobulbar mass causing rostro-dorsal displacement of the left globe. The mass had a mildly heterogeneous precontrast soft tissue attenuation with mild heterogeneous enhancement following iohexol administration. The mass was surgically removed en bloc with an orbital exenteration. Histopathology confirmed the mass to be a hibernoma, a benign tumor of brown adipose tissue. Hibernomas have CT characteristics consistent with both benign and malignant adipose tumors and may be underrecognized by radiologists.

Intra-Abdominal and Retroperitoneal Benign Lipomatous Tumors-An Extremely Rare Mimic of Liposarcoma and its Diagnostic Challenge

Background. Lipomas are common superficial soft tissue tumors of mature adipocytes. In contrast, well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma typically presents in the retroperitoneum as large masses. We provide clinicopathologic and follow-up details of 9 retroperitoneal/intra-abdominal benign lipomatous tumors (BLT) and discuss the utility of ancillary fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in distinguishing from their malignant counterparts. Design. Clinicopathologic details and histology of 9 intra-abdominal and retroperitoneal lipomas were studied along with ancillary CD10 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and FISH for MDM2 and CDK4 amplification. Results. There were 6 females and 3 males. Median age at diagnosis was 52 years (range 36-81 years). Seven were identified incidentally and 2 presented with primary complaints. On imaging, 7 were considered suspicious for liposarcoma. Grossly, the tumors ranged from 3.4 to 41.2 cm (median 16.5 cm). Histologically, all cases showed well-differentiated BLT, further classified as lipoma (n = 7; 1 with metaplastic ossification, 2 with prominent vessels, and 4 ordinary lipomas) and lipoma-like hibernoma (n = 2)-the latter 2 showed intramuscular lesions with interspersed brown fat. CD10 IHC showed strong staining in the 2 hibernomas, whereas the staining was weak in the remaining. MDM2 and CDK4 amplification were negative by FISH in all. Follow-up (median 18 months) did not show recurrence on clinical or imaging evaluation. Conclusion. Retroperitoneal/intra-abdominal BLT are extremely rare and are indistinguishable clinically and radiographically from liposarcoma. This necessitates molecular confirmation even when the histology is convincingly benign, for a confident diagnosis. Our cohort shows that conservative excision without removal of abutted organs is sufficient in most cases.

Liposarcoma With Hibernoma-like Histology: A Clinicopathologic Study of 16 Cases

Hibernoma is an uncommon benign tumor of brown fat cells that consistently expresses uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Herein, we clinicopathologically characterized 16 liposarcomas, for which histology, at least focally, closely resembled that of hibernoma, including sheets of brown fat-like, finely multivacuolated-to-eosinophilic tumor cells with no or minimal nuclear atypia. The cohort consisted of 4 well-differentiated liposarcomas (WDLSs), 6 dedifferentiated liposarcomas with a concomitant WDLS component, and 6 myxoid liposarcomas (MLSs). For all dedifferentiated liposarcoma cases, hibernoma-like histology was present only in the WDLS component. All tumors presented as large, deep-seated masses. Hibernoma-like histology resembled the pale cell, mixed cell, eosinophilic cell, or spindle cell subtypes of hibernoma, and it was a focal observation, with conventional liposarcoma histology coexisting in all cases. However, a few biopsy samples were predominated by hibernoma-like patterns, and 1 case was initially interpreted as hibernoma. Hibernoma-like components in WDLS immunohistochemically coexpressed MDM2 and CDK4 in most cases and harboredMDM2amplification in tested cases, whereas half of the cases expressed UCP1. The hibernoma-like components of MLS expressed DDIT3, andDDIT3rearrangements were present in the tested cases, whereas only negative or equivocal UCP1 expression was observed. In summary, WDLS and MLS focally demonstrate hibernoma-like histology on rare occasions. These elements are neoplastic, and some such areas in WDLS likely represent true brown fat differentiation, as supported by UCP1 expression. This pattern requires recognition to avoid the misdiagnosis as hibernoma, especially in biopsies. A careful search for classic liposarcoma histology and additional work-ups for the MDM2/CDK4 or DDIT3 status will be helpful for an accurate diagnosis.

A Low-Protein High-Fat Diet Leads to Loss of Body Weight and White Adipose Tissue Weight via Enhancing Energy Expenditure in Mice

Obesity has become a worldwide health problem over the past three decades. During obesity, metabolic dysfunction of white adipose tissue (WAT) is a key factor increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. A variety of diet approaches have been proposed for the prevention and treatment of obesity. The low-protein high-fat diet (LPHF) is a special kind of high-fat diet, characterized by the intake of a low amount of protein, while compared to typical high-fat diet, may induce weight loss and browning of WAT. Physical activity is another effective intervention to treat obesity by reducing WAT mass, inducing browning of WAT. In order to determine whether an LPHF, along with exercise enhanced body weight loss and body fat loss as well as the synergistic effect of an LPHF and exercise on energy expenditure in a mice model, we combined a 10-week LPHF with an 8-week forced treadmill training. Meanwhile, a traditional high-fat diet (HPHF) containing the same fat and relatively more protein was introduced as a comparison. In the current study, we further analyzed energy metabolism-related gene expression, plasma biomarkers, and related physiological changes. When comparing to HPHF, which induced a dramatic increase in body weight and WAT weight, the LPHF led to considerable loss of body weight and WAT, without muscle mass and strength decline, while it exhibited a risk of liver and pancreas damage. The mechanism underlying the LPHF-induced loss of body weight and WAT may be attributed to the synergistically upregulated expression of Ucp1 in WAT and Fgf21 in the liver, which may enhance energy expenditure. The 8-week training did not further enhance weight loss and increased plasma biomarkers of muscle damage when combined with LPHF. Furthermore, LPHF reduced the expression of fatty acid oxidation-related genes in adipose tissues, muscle tissues, and liver. Our results indicated that an LPHF has potential for obesity treatment, while the physiological condition should be monitored during application.

Nuclear expression of MDM2 in hibernoma: a potential diagnostic pitfall

Hibernoma is a rare benign adipocytic tumor composed of a proliferation of brown and white fat cells varying in their proportions. The tumor may also contain fat cells resembling lipoblasts, which makes it difficult to distinguish it from atypical lipomatous tumor/well differentiated liposarcoma (ALT/WDLS). Although nuclear expressions of murine double minute 2 (MDM2) and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) are widely used as immunohistochemical surrogate markers for ALT/WDLS, the utility of these proteins in distinguishing between hibernoma and ALT/WDLS still remains to be elucidated. We evaluated immunohistochemical expressions of MDM2 and CDK4 in 10 hibernomas expressing uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1), a mitochondrial protein transporter consistently expressed in brown fat cells, and lacking MDM2 gene amplification, which was analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). In contrast to the data previously obtained, nuclear expression of MDM2 was observed in 100% (10/10 cases) of the hibernomas irrespective of the proportion of brown fat cells, whereas no cases were positive for CDK4. The tumors also showed almost concurrent expression of p53 (in 9/10 cases) and ubiquitin-specific-processing protease 7 (USP7) (in 10/10 cases), which deubiquitinates and stabilizes MDM2, potentially resulting in its nuclear expression without MDM2 gene amplification. MDM2 expression may thus be a diagnostic pitfall for hibernoma particularly in differentiating it from ALT/WDLS.

Cytoplasmic p16 Is Expressed in Normal Brown Fat and Hibernomas

White adipose tissue browning has emerged as a putative therapy of obesity, and studies in mice have shown that Cdkn2a is implicated in white-to-brown transition. However, the role of Cdkn2a product p16 has been never studied in human brown fat tissue. The aim of the study is to investigate the expression of p16 in normal brown fat and in hibernoma, a lipoma containing brown fat-like adipocytes. Ten normal brown fat tissues and 5 hibernomas were immunohistochemically studied for p16 expression. Nearby white adipose tissue was used for comparison. All brown fat and hibernomas specimens express p16 in a cytoplasmic manner. Neighboring white adipose tissue is negative for p16 expression. Thus, cytoplasmic p16 may be associated with fat tissue browning.