Recent insights into the molecular mechanisms of simultaneous fatty acid oxidation and synthesis in brown adipocytes

High-Throughput Single-Cell Mass Spectrometry Reveals Sex-Specific Metabolic Responses to 6:2 Chlorinated Polyfluoroalkyl Ether Sulfonate in Zebrafish Liver Cells

Compound 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate (6:2 Cl-PFESA) is an emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) with potential toxicity and health risks to biosystems and ecosystems. Here, we developed a metabolomics method based on single-cell mass spectrometry to investigate the hepatotoxicity and heterogeneous responses in zebrafish exposed to 6:2 Cl-PFESA. Zebrafish were exposed to an environmentally relevant concentration (200 ng/L) of 6:2 Cl-PFESA for 14 days. The livers were dissociated and prepared as cell suspensions and then introduced to high-throughput single-cell mass spectrometry for analysis of 6:2 Cl-PFESA and endogenous metabolites in individual primary liver cells. Significant sex-specific heterogeneity in 6:2 Cl-PFESA accumulation was observed (p < 0.05). Metabolomics analysis revealed perturbations in lipid metabolism, particularly affecting unsaturated fatty acids, ether lipids, and sphingolipids in zebrafish liver cells, indicating potential hepatotoxicity. Sex-dependent metabolic responses were evident: males showed notable changes in glucose and fatty acid metabolism, whereas females experienced pronounced disruptions in glycerophospholipid and amino acid pathways. ROC analysis identified sex-specific biomarkers, including FA(18:3) and FA(16:1) in males (AUC > 0.85), as well as proline and phosphatidylcholine in females (AUC > 0.90). These findings reflect metabolic dysregulation and highlight sex-specific responses. This study demonstrates the feasibility of single-cell metabolomics to elucidate the cellular mechanisms and metabolic responses of pollutant exposure, offering insights into precise and comprehensive toxicity assessments at the single-cell level.

Absence of MCJ/DnaJC15 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis

Obesity poses a global health challenge, demanding a deeper understanding of adipose tissue (AT) and its mitochondria. This study describes the role of the mitochondrial protein Methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ/DnaJC15) in orchestrating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Here we show how MCJ expression decreases during obesity, as evident in human and mouse adipose tissue samples. MCJKO mice, even without UCP1, a fundamental thermogenic protein, exhibit elevated BAT thermogenesis. Electron microscopy unveils changes in mitochondrial morphology resembling BAT activation. Proteomic analysis confirms these findings and suggests involvement of the eIF2α mediated stress response. The pivotal role of eIF2α is scrutinized by in vivo CRISPR deletion of eIF2α in MCJKO mice, abrogating thermogenesis. These findings uncover the importance of MCJ as a regulator of BAT thermogenesis, presenting it as a promising target for obesity therapy.

Metabolism of hepatic stellate cells in chronic liver diseases: emerging molecular and therapeutic interventions

Chronic liver diseases, primarily metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), metabolic and metabolic dysfunction-associated alcoholic liver disease (MetALD), and viral hepatitis, can lead to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and cancer. Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation plays a central role in the development of myofibroblasts and fibrogenesis in chronic liver diseases. However, HSC activation is influenced by the complex microenvironments within the liver, which are largely shaped by the interactions between HSCs and various other cell types. Changes in HSC phenotypes and metabolic mechanisms involve glucose, lipid, and cholesterol metabolism, oxidative stress, activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), autophagy, ferroptosis, senescence, and nuclear receptors. Clinical interventions targeting these pathways have shown promising results in addressing liver inflammation and fibrosis, as well as in modulating glucose and lipid metabolism and metabolic stress responses. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of HSC phenotypes and metabolic mechanisms presents opportunities for novel therapeutic approaches aimed at halting or even reversing chronic liver diseases.

Metabolic Reprogramming and Adaption in Breast Cancer Progression and Metastasis

Recent evidence has revealed that cancer is not solely driven by genetic abnormalities but also by significant metabolic dysregulation. Cancer cells exhibit altered metabolic demands and rewiring of cellular metabolism to sustain their malignant characteristics. Metabolic reprogramming has emerged as a hallmark of cancer, playing a complex role in breast cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. The different molecular subtypes of breast cancer exhibit distinct metabolic genotypes and phenotypes, offering opportunities for subtype-specific therapeutic approaches. Cancer-associated metabolic phenotypes encompass dysregulated nutrient uptake, opportunistic nutrient acquisition strategies, altered utilization of glycolysis and TCA cycle intermediates, increased nitrogen demand, metabolite-driven gene regulation, and metabolic interactions with the microenvironment. The tumor microenvironment, consisting of stromal cells, immune cells, blood vessels, and extracellular matrix components, influences metabolic adaptations through modulating nutrient availability, oxygen levels, and signaling pathways. Metastasis, the process of cancer spread, involves intricate steps that present unique metabolic challenges at each stage. Successful metastasis requires cancer cells to navigate varying nutrient and oxygen availability, endure oxidative stress, and adapt their metabolic processes accordingly. The metabolic reprogramming observed in breast cancer is regulated by oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and signaling pathways that integrate cellular signaling with metabolic processes. Understanding the metabolic adaptations associated with metastasis holds promise for identifying therapeutic targets to disrupt the metastatic process and improve patient outcomes. This chapter explores the metabolic alterations linked to breast cancer metastasis and highlights the potential for targeted interventions in this context.

Spatial Metabolomics Reveals the Effects of Dietary Capsaicin Intervention on Interscapular Adipose Tissue Metabolome in Mice

Capsaicin is a polyphenol with a well-known anti-obesity potential, which could activate brown adipose tissue and promote the browning of white adipose tissue. Indeed, conventional proteomics have been used to investigate the browning effects of capsaicin on adipose tissue. However, the existence of a layer of white adipose tissue above the interscapular brown adipose tissue poses a great challenge to obtain intact interscapular brown adipose tissue without including adjacent white adipose tissue. Therefore, the traditional method normally focuses on changes occurring in the bottom layer of interscapular brown adipose tissue. Spatial metabolomics is an omics method that enables the analysis of metabolite distributions in tissue sections. Therefore, in the current study, spatial metabolomics was utilized to investigate the effects of dietary capsaicin intervention on interscapular brown adipose tissue and adjacent white adipose tissue. The results indicated several noteworthy findings that capsaicin treatment may induce similar metabolite alterations across various regions of brown adipose tissue irrespective of their proximity to WAT, while it also markedly influences the metabolites in the adjacent white adipose tissue. A KEGG pathway analysis further revealed these changes were associated with key characteristics of beige energy metabolism pathways, such as thermogenesis, glycerol phospholipid metabolism, and pentose phosphate pathway. Taken together, this study may supplement useful details to understand the mechanisms of capsaicin enhancing BAT activity and promoting WAT browning.

Adipocyte metabolic state regulates glial phagocytic function

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are well-established risk factors for neurodegenerative disorders1-4, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The adipocyte-brain axis is crucial for brain function, as adipocytes secrete signaling molecules, including lipids and adipokines, that impinge on neural circuits to regulate feeding and energy expenditure5. Disruptions in the adipocyte-brain axis are associated with neurodegenerative conditions6, but the causal links are not fully understood. Neural debris accumulates with age and injury, and glial phagocytic function is crucial for clearing this debris and maintaining a healthy brain microenvironment7-9. Using adult Drosophila, we investigate how adipocyte metabolism influences glial phagocytic activity in the brain. We demonstrate that a prolonged obesogenic diet increases adipocyte fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. Genetic manipulations that mimic obesogenic diet-induced changes in adipocyte lipid and mitochondrial metabolism unexpectedly reduce the expression of the phagocytic receptor Draper in Drosophila microglia-like cells in the brain. We identify Apolpp-the Drosophila equivalent of human apolipoprotein B (ApoB)-as a critical adipocyte-derived signal that regulates glial phagocytosis. Additionally, we show that Lipoprotein Receptor 1 (LpR1), the LDL receptor on phagocytic glia, is required for glial capacity to clear injury-induced neuronal debris. Our findings establish that adipocyte-brain lipoprotein signaling regulates glial phagocytic function, revealing a novel pathway that links adipocyte metabolic disorders with neurodegeneration.

Glucocorticoid modulates oxidative and thermogenic function of rat brown adipose tissue and human brown adipocytes

Chronic and excessive glucocorticoid (GC) exposure can cause Cushing's syndrome, resulting in fat accumulation in selected body areas. Particularly in the brown adipose tissue (BAT), GC acts negatively, resulting in whitening of the tissue. We hypothesized that dysregulation of microRNAs by GC could be an additional mechanism to explain its negative actions in BAT. Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: (1) Control sham and (2) GC group that was administered dexamethasone 6.25 mg/200 μL via osmotic pump implantation over 28 days. After this period, the animals were euthanized and BAT tissue was properly stored. Human fat cells treated with dexamethasone were used to translate the experimental results found in animals to human biology. GC-treated rat BAT presented with large lipid droplets, severely impaired thermogenic activation, and reduced glucose uptake measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT. GC exposure induced a reduction in the mitochondrial OXPHOS system and oxygen consumption. MicroRNA profiling of BAT revealed five top-regulated microRNAs and among them miR-21-5p was the most significantly upregulated in GC-treated rats compared to the control group. Although upregulation of miR-21-5p in the tissue, differentiated primary brown adipocytes from GC-treated rats had decreased miR-21-5p levels compared to the control group. To translate these results to the clinic, human brown adipocytes were treated with dexamethasone and miR-21-5p inhibitor. In human brown cells, inhibition of miR-21-5p increased brown adipocyte differentiation and prevented GC-induced glucose uptake, resulting in a lower glycolysis rate. In conclusion, high-dose GC therapy significantly impacts brown adipose tissue function, with a notable association between glucose uptake and miR-21-5p.

Mitochondrial complex I inhibition triggers NAD+-independent glucose oxidation via successive NADPH formation, "futile" fatty acid cycling, and FADH2 oxidation

Inhibition of mitochondrial complex I (NADH dehydrogenase) is the primary mechanism of the antidiabetic drug metformin and various unrelated natural toxins. Complex I inhibition can also be induced by antidiabetic PPAR agonists, and it is elicited by methionine restriction, a nutritional intervention causing resistance to diabetes and obesity. Still, a comprehensible explanation to why complex I inhibition exerts antidiabetic properties and engenders metabolic inefficiency is missing. To evaluate this issue, we have systematically reanalyzed published transcriptomic datasets from MPP-treated neurons, metformin-treated hepatocytes, and methionine-restricted rats. We found that pathways leading to NADPH formation were widely induced, together with anabolic fatty acid biosynthesis, the latter appearing highly paradoxical in a state of mitochondrial impairment. However, concomitant induction of catabolic fatty acid oxidation indicated that complex I inhibition created a "futile" cycle of fatty acid synthesis and degradation, which was anatomically distributed between adipose tissue and liver in vivo. Cofactor balance analysis unveiled that such cycling would indeed be energetically futile (-3 ATP per acetyl-CoA), though it would not be redox-futile, as it would convert NADPH into respirable FADH2 without any net production of NADH. We conclude that inhibition of NADH dehydrogenase leads to a metabolic shift from glycolysis and the citric acid cycle (both generating NADH) towards the pentose phosphate pathway, whose product NADPH is translated 1:1 into FADH2 by fatty acid cycling. The diabetes-resistant phenotype following hepatic and intestinal complex I inhibition is attributed to FGF21- and GDF15-dependent fat hunger signaling, which remodels adipose tissue into a glucose-metabolizing organ.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances induce lipid metabolic impairment in fish: Integration on field investigation and laboratory study

The biotoxicity of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to aquatic organisms has been widely concerned. However, studies on toxic effects of PFASs are usually evaluated directly by using laboratory exposure rather than laboratory validation based on data obtained in the field. In this study, wild catfish (Silurus meridinalis) was explored on the relationship between PFASs bioaccumulation and lipid disorders. Nine and thirteen lipid metabolites were significantly associated with perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and 6:2/8:2Cl-PFESA (trade name F-53B) exposures, respectively; and the correlated lipid metabolites were the fatty acid (FA) and conjugates, FA esters, steroids, and glycerophosphate subclasses. The effects of PFASs on lipid metabolism of fish and its mechanism were further analyzed through exposure experiments. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) of different sexes underwent PFOS and F-53B exposures for 21 days at 100 ng/L and 100 μg/L. By determining gene expression levels, hepatic lipid contents, and histopathological change, the adverse effects order on lipid metabolism in male or female was 100 μg/L F-53B > 100 μg/L PFOS > 100 ng/L F-53B > 100 ng/L PFOS; the stress response in male was more intensive than that in female. PFOS and F-53B activated the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor pathway, promoting the processes of FA and total cholesterol (T-CHO) transport, FA β-oxidation, FA synthesis, and finally induced FA and T-CHO transportation from blood into liver, then accelerated FA to FA ester transformation, and CHO into steroids. Laboratory experiments confirmed the field analysis. This study innovatively explored the adverse effects of PFOS and F-53B on lipid metabolism and their mechanisms at field and laboratory levels, highlighting concerns regarding PFASs health risks.

Subtherapeutic Kitasamycin Promoted Fat Accumulation in the Longissimus Dorsi Muscle in Growing-Finishing Pigs

Kitasamycin (KM), a broad-spectrum macrolide antibiotic, has implications for growth performance and residue in animals and humans. This study aimed to explore the effects of different KM doses on intramuscular fat accumulation, cecal microflora, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) using a growing-finishing pig model. Forty-two pigs were divided into three groups: control, subtherapeutic KM (50 mg/kg, KM50), and therapeutic KM (200 mg/kg, KM200) diets over 8 weeks. KM50 led to increased back fat thickness, fat content in the longissimus dorsi muscle (LM), and elevated plasma total cholesterol (TC) levels (p < 0.05), supported by upregulated lipid synthesis gene expression (Acc1, Fas, Scd1) (p < 0.05) in the LM. KM50 altered cecal microflora, reducing Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. abundance, while increasing SCFA concentrations (acetic acid, propionic acid, total SCFAs) (p < 0.05). KM200 had minimal effects on intestinal weight and density, with increased apparent digestibility of nutrients. These findings highlight the dose-dependent impact of KM on intramuscular fat deposition. Subtherapeutic KM induced ectopic fat deposition, emphasizing potential risks in disease treatment for humans and animals.

Complex II ambiguities-FADH2 in the electron transfer system

The prevailing notion that reduced cofactors NADH and FADH2 transfer electrons from the tricarboxylic acid cycle to the mitochondrial electron transfer system creates ambiguities regarding respiratory Complex II (CII). CII is the only membrane-bound enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and is part of the electron transfer system of the mitochondrial inner membrane feeding electrons into the coenzyme Q-junction. The succinate dehydrogenase subunit SDHA of CII oxidizes succinate and reduces the covalently bound prosthetic group FAD to FADH2 in the canonical forward tricarboxylic acid cycle. However, several graphical representations of the electron transfer system depict FADH2 in the mitochondrial matrix as a substrate to be oxidized by CII. This leads to the false conclusion that FADH2 from the β-oxidation cycle in fatty acid oxidation feeds electrons into CII. In reality, dehydrogenases of fatty acid oxidation channel electrons to the Q-junction but not through CII. The ambiguities surrounding Complex II in the literature and educational resources call for quality control, to secure scientific standards in current communications of bioenergetics, and ultimately support adequate clinical applications. This review aims to raise awareness of the inherent ambiguity crisis, complementing efforts to address the well-acknowledged issues of credibility and reproducibility.

GPR84-mediated signal transduction affects metabolic function by promoting brown adipocyte activity

The G protein-coupled receptor 84 (GPR84), a medium-chain fatty acid receptor, has garnered attention because of its potential involvement in a range of metabolic conditions. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this effect remain elusive. Our study has shed light on the pivotal role of GPR84, revealing its robust expression and functional significance within brown adipose tissue (BAT). Mice lacking GPR84 exhibited increased lipid accumulation in BAT, rendering them more susceptible to cold exposure and displaying reduced BAT activity compared with their WT counterparts. Our in vitro experiments with primary brown adipocytes from GPR84-KO mice revealed diminished expression of thermogenic genes and reduced O2 consumption. Furthermore, the application of the GPR84 agonist 6-n-octylaminouracil (6-OAU) counteracted these effects, effectively reinstating the brown adipocyte activity. These compelling in vivo and in vitro findings converge to highlight mitochondrial dysfunction as the primary cause of BAT anomalies in GPR84-KO mice. The activation of GPR84 induced an increase in intracellular Ca2+ levels, which intricately influenced mitochondrial respiration. By modulating mitochondrial Ca2+ levels and respiration, GPR84 acts as a potent molecule involved in BAT activity. These findings suggest that GPR84 is a potential therapeutic target for invigorating BAT and ameliorating metabolic disorders.

A CRISPR Screen Identifies the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Rfwd2 as a Negative Regulator of Glucose Uptake in Brown Adipocytes

Brown adipose tissue activation increases energy expenditure and has been shown to improve glucose tolerance, making it a promising target for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Brown adipocytes differentiate into cells with multilocular lipid droplets, which can efficiently absorb and oxidize glucose; however, the mechanisms regulating these processes are not completely understood. We conducted a genome-wide loss-of-function screen using a CRISPR-based approach to identify genes that promote or inhibit adipogenesis and glucose uptake in brown adipocytes. We validated genes that negatively or positively regulated these pathways and verified that the E3-ubiquitin ligase Rfwd2 suppressed brown adipocyte glucose uptake. Brown adipocytes with CRISPR-targeted Rfwd2 deletion showed an altered proteomic landscape and increased basal, as well as insulin-stimulated, glucose uptake. These data reveal the complexity of genetic regulation of brown adipogenesis and glucose metabolism.