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Mirasierra M, Fernández-Pérez A, Lizarbe B, Keiran N, Ruiz-Cañas L, Casarejos MJ, Cerdán S, Vendrell J, Fernández-Veledo S, Vallejo M. Alx3 deficiency disrupts energy homeostasis, alters body composition, and impairs hypothalamic regulation of food intake. Cell Mol Life Sci 2024; 81:343. [PMID: 39129011 PMCID: PMC11335267 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-024-05384-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/27/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
The coordination of food intake, energy storage, and expenditure involves complex interactions between hypothalamic neurons and peripheral tissues including pancreatic islets, adipocytes, muscle, and liver. Previous research shows that deficiency of the transcription factor Alx3 alters pancreatic islet-dependent glucose homeostasis. In this study we carried out a comprehensive assessment of metabolic alterations in Alx3 deficiency. We report that Alx3-deficient mice exhibit decreased food intake without changes in body weight, along with reduced energy expenditure and altered respiratory exchange ratio. Magnetic resonance imaging reveals increased adiposity and decreased muscle mass, which was associated with markers of motor and sympathetic denervation. By contrast, Alx3-deficient mice on a high-fat diet show attenuated weight gain and improved insulin sensitivity, compared to control mice. Gene expression analysis demonstrates altered lipogenic and lipolytic gene profiles. In wild type mice Alx3 is expressed in hypothalamic arcuate nucleus neurons, but not in major peripheral metabolic organs. Functional diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging reveals selective hypothalamic responses to fasting in the arcuate nucleus of Alx3-deficient mice. Additionally, altered expression of proopiomelanocortin and melanocortin-3 receptor mRNA in the hypothalamus suggests impaired regulation of feeding behavior. This study highlights the crucial role for Alx3 in governing food intake, energy homeostasis, and metabolic nutrient partitioning, thereby influencing body mass composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mercedes Mirasierra
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Fernández-Pérez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial (CDTI), Madrid, Spain
| | - Blanca Lizarbe
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Noelia Keiran
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Research Unit, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) - Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Laura Ruiz-Cañas
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Chronic Diseases and Cancer Area 3, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigaciones Sanitarias (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
| | - María José Casarejos
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Neurobiology Department, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigaciones Sanitarias (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sebastián Cerdán
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Joan Vendrell
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Research Unit, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) - Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Sonia Fernández-Veledo
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Research Unit, Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV) - Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Mario Vallejo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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Satrustegui J, Larrubia PL, Rodrigues TB, Choi IY, McKenna MC. A tribute to Sebastián Cerdán and his key contributions to brain metabolism. J Neurochem 2024; 168:455-460. [PMID: 37169729 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
This is a tribute to Sebastián Cerdán, a brilliant and innovative NMR spectroscopist whose studies contributed greatly to the fundamental information to the understanding of brain metabolism, particularly in regard to multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques. Sebastián Cerdán sadly passed away in May 2022. He was a wonderful mentor and colleague who will be greatly missed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorgina Satrustegui
- Departamento de Biologia Molecular & Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Tiago B Rodrigues
- Member of the Parliament and President of the Parliamentary Committee of Environment and Energy Portuguese Parliament, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - In-Young Choi
- Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
| | - Mary C McKenna
- Department of Pediatrics and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Mohr AA, Garcia-Serrano AM, Vieira JP, Skoug C, Davidsson H, Duarte JM. A glucose-stimulated BOLD fMRI study of hypothalamic dysfunction in mice fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2021; 41:1734-1743. [PMID: 32757742 PMCID: PMC8217889 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x20942397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The hypothalamus is the central regulator of energy homeostasis. Hypothalamic neuronal circuits are disrupted upon overfeeding, and play a role in the development of metabolic disorders. While mouse models have been extensively employed for understanding the mechanisms of hypothalamic dysfunction, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on hypothalamic nuclei has been challenging. We implemented a robust glucose-induced fMRI paradigm that allows to repeatedly investigate hypothalamic responses to glucose. This approach was used to test the hypothesis that hypothalamic nuclei functioning is impaired in mice exposed to a high-fat and high-sucrose diet (HFHSD) for seven days. The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal was measured from brains of mice under light isoflurane anaesthesia, during which a 2.6 g/kg glucose load was administered. The mouse hypothalamus responded to glucose but not saline administration with a biphasic BOLD fMRI signal reduction. Relative to controls, HFHSD-fed mice showed attenuated or blunted responses in arcuate nucleus, lateral hypothalamus, ventromedial nucleus and dorsomedial nucleus, but not in paraventricular nucleus. In sum, we have developed an fMRI paradigm that is able to determine dysfunction of glucose-sensing neuronal circuits within the mouse hypothalamus in a non-invasive manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adélaïde A Mohr
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Alba M Garcia-Serrano
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - João Pp Vieira
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Skoug
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Henrik Davidsson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - João Mn Duarte
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Integrative analysis of physiological responses to high fat feeding with diffusion tensor images and neurochemical profiles of the mouse brain. Int J Obes (Lond) 2021; 45:1203-1214. [PMID: 33574566 PMCID: PMC8159736 DOI: 10.1038/s41366-021-00775-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Background Obesity proceeds with important physiological and microstructural alterations in the brain, but the precise relationships between the diet and feeding status, its physiological responses, and the observed neuroimaging repercussions, remain elusive. Here, we implemented a mouse model of high fat diet (HFD) feeding to explore specific associations between diet, feeding status, phenotypic and endocrine repercussions, and the resulting microstructural and metabolic alterations in the brain, as detected by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurochemical metabolic profiling. Methods Brain DTI images were acquired from adult male C57BL6/J mice after 6 weeks of HFD, or standard diet (SD) administrations, both under the fed, and overnight fasted conditions. Metabolomic profiles of the cortex (Ctx), hippocampus (Hipc), and hypothalamus (Hyp) were determined by 1H high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) spectroscopy, in cerebral biopsies dissected after microwave fixation. Mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA) maps, and HRMAS profiles were complemented with determinations of phenotypic alterations and plasma levels of appetite-related hormones, measured by indirect calorimetry and multiplex assays, respectively. We used Z-score and alternating least squares scaling (ALSCAL) analysis to investigate specific associations between diet and feeding status, physiological, and imaging parameters. Results HFD induced significant increases in body weight and the plasma levels of glucose and fatty acids in the fed and fasted conditions, as well as higher cerebral MD (Ctx, Hipc, Hyp), FA (Hipc), and mobile saturated fatty acids resonances (Ctx, Hipc, Hyp). Z-score and ASLCAL analysis identified the precise associations between physiological and imaging variables. Conclusions The present study reveals that diet and feeding conditions elicit prominent effects on specific imaging and spectroscopic parameters of the mouse brain that can be associated to the alterations in phenotypic and endocrine variables. Together, present results disclose a neuro-inflammatory response to HFD, characterized primarily by vasogenic edema and compensatory responses in osmolyte concentrations.
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Lizarbe B, Campillo B, Guadilla I, López-Larrubia P, Cerdán S. Magnetic resonance assessment of the cerebral alterations associated with obesity development. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2020; 40:2135-2151. [PMID: 32703110 PMCID: PMC7585928 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x20941263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Obesity is a current threat to health care systems, affecting approximately 13% of the world's adult population, and over 18% children and adolescents. The rise of obesity is fuelled by inadequate life style habits, as consumption of diets rich in fats and sugars which promote, additionally, the development of associated comorbidities. Obesity results from a neuroendocrine imbalance in the cerebral mechanisms controlling food intake and energy expenditure, including the hypothalamus and the reward and motivational centres. Specifically, high-fat diets are known to trigger an early inflammatory response in the hypothalamus that precedes weight gain, is time-dependent, and eventually extends to the remaining appetite regulating regions in the brain. Multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) methods are currently available to characterize different features of cerebral obesity, including diffusion weighted, T2 and volumetric imaging and 1H and 13C spectroscopic evaluations. In particular, consistent evidences have revealed increased water diffusivity and T2 values, decreased grey matter volumes, and altered metabolic profiles and fluxes, in the brain of animal models and in obese humans. This review provides an integrative interpretation of the physio-pathological processes associated with obesity development in the brain, and the MRI and MRS methods implemented to characterize them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca Lizarbe
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC/UAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Basilio Campillo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC/UAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Guadilla
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC/UAM, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Sebastián Cerdán
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Alberto Sols” CSIC/UAM, Madrid, Spain
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Mountjoy KG. ELISA versus LUMINEX assay for measuring mouse metabolic hormones and cytokines: sharing the lessons I have learned. J Immunoassay Immunochem 2020; 42:154-173. [PMID: 33111625 DOI: 10.1080/15321819.2020.1838924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has long been the standard for quantitative analysis of metabolic hormones and cytokines. LUMINEX multiplex bead array assays were developed as cost- and time-effective alternatives to ELISA, but they are the only cost- and time-effective if they provide informative data. Here, I show that using half-volume of reagents for an adiponectin single-plex LUMINEX assay and a 6-plex LUMINEX xMAP mouse metabolic bead assay, produces reliable data and increases assay cost-effectiveness. I provide direct comparisons between LUMINEX assay and ELISA for quantitation of mouse leptin and insulin, and evaluate glucagon, GLP-1, IL-6, and TNFα data obtained using the 6-plex LUMINEX assay for a high-fat diet-induced obesity study. Good correlations between assays were obtained for fasting leptin and non-fasting insulin. However, the LUMINEX assay proved unsuitable for quantitating fasting insulin. ELISA proved suitable for quantitating fasting male, but not female, insulin. The LUMINEX assay gave lower values for leptin and higher values for insulin, compared with ELISA. The mouse metabolic LUMINEX assay proved unsuitable for quantitating glucagon, GLP-1, IL-6, and TNFα, due to undetectable levels in most fasting and non-fasting plasma. Overall, quantitative leptin levels were the only reliable data obtained from the mouse metabolic LUMINEX assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen G Mountjoy
- Departments of Physiology and Molecular Medicine and Pathology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Maurice Wilkins Centre for Biodiscovery, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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