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Chen JH, Goh KJ, Rocha N, Groeneveld MP, Minic M, Barrett TG, Savage D, Semple RK. Evaluation of human dermal fibroblasts directly reprogrammed to adipocyte-like cells as a metabolic disease model. Dis Model Mech 2017; 10:1411-1420. [PMID: 28982679 PMCID: PMC5769609 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.030981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adipose tissue is the primary tissue affected in most single gene forms of severe insulin resistance, and growing evidence has implicated it as a site at which many risk alleles for insulin resistance identified in population-wide studies might exert their effect. There is thus increasing need for human adipocyte models in which to interrogate the function of known and emerging genetic risk variants. However, primary adipocyte cultures, existing immortalised cell lines and stem-cell based models all have significant biological or practical limitations. In an attempt to widen the repertoire of human cell models in which to study adipocyte-autonomous effects of relevant human genetic variants, we have undertaken direct reprogramming of skin fibroblasts to adipocyte-like cells by employing an inducible recombinant lentivirus overexpressing the master adipogenic transcription factor PPARγ2. Doxycycline-driven expression of PPARγ2 and adipogenic culture conditions converted dermal fibroblasts into triglyceride-laden cells within days. The resulting cells recapitulated most of the crucial aspects of adipocyte biology in vivo, including the expression of mature adipocyte markers, secreted high levels of the adipokine adiponectin, and underwent lipolysis when treated with isoproterenol/3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). They did not, however, exhibit insulin-inducible glucose uptake, and withdrawal of doxycycline produced rapid delipidation and loss of adipogenic markers. This protocol was applied successfully to a panel of skin cells from individuals with monogenic severe insulin resistance; however, surprisingly, even cell lines harbouring mutations causing severe, generalised lipodystrophy accumulated large lipid droplets and induced adipocyte-specific genes. The direct reprogramming protocol of human dermal fibroblasts to adipocyte-like cells we established is simple, fast and efficient, and has the potential to generate cells which can serve as a tool to address some, though not all, aspects of adipocyte function in the presence of endogenous disease-causing mutations. Summary: Human dermal fibroblasts can be reprogrammed efficiently to adipocyte-like cells that have utility for modelling some aspects of human monogenic metabolic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian-Hua Chen
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Kim Jee Goh
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Nuno Rocha
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Matthijs P Groeneveld
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Marina Minic
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Timothy G Barrett
- The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - David Savage
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Robert K Semple
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK .,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
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Minic M, Rocha N, Harris J, Groeneveld MP, Leiter S, Wareham N, Sleigh A, De Lonlay P, Hussain K, O’Rahilly S, Semple RK. Constitutive Activation of AKT2 in Humans Leads to Hypoglycemia Without Fatty Liver or Metabolic Dyslipidemia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2017; 102:2914-2921. [PMID: 28541532 PMCID: PMC5546860 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2017-00768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Context The activating p.Glu17Lys mutation in AKT2, a kinase mediating many of insulin's metabolic actions, causes hypoinsulinemic hypoglycemia and left-sided hemihypertrophy. The wider metabolic profile and longer-term natural history of the condition has not yet been reported. Objective To characterize the metabolic and cellular consequences of the AKT2 p.Glu17Lys mutation in two previously reported males at the age of 17 years. Design and Intervention Body composition analysis using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, overnight profiling of plasma glucose, insulin, and fatty acids, oral glucose tolerance testing, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine hepatic triglyceride content was undertaken. Hepatic de novo lipogenesis was quantified using deuterium incorporation into palmitate. Signaling in dermal fibroblasts was studied ex vivo. Results Both patients had 37% adiposity. One developed hypoglycemia after 2 hours of overnight fasting with concomitant suppression of plasma fatty acids and ketones, whereas the other maintained euglycemia with an increase in free fatty acids. Blood glucose excursions after oral glucose were normal in both patients, albeit with low plasma insulin concentrations. In both patients, plasma triglyceride concentration, hepatic triglyceride content, and fasting hepatic de novo lipogenesis were normal. Dermal fibroblasts of one proband showed low-level constitutive phosphorylation of AKT and some downstream substrates, but no increased cell proliferation rate. Conclusions The p.Glu17Lys mutation of AKT2 confers low-level constitutive activity upon the kinase and produces hypoglycemia with suppressed fatty acid release from adipose tissue, but not fatty liver, hypertriglyceridemia, or elevated hepatic de novo lipogenesis. Hypoglycemia may spontaneously remit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Minic
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Nuno Rocha
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Julie Harris
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Matthijs P. Groeneveld
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Leiter
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Wareham
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Alison Sleigh
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health Research/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Pascale De Lonlay
- Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
- Centre de Référence des Maladies Héréditaires du Métabolisme, Hôpital Necker, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75015 Paris, France
- Institut Imagine, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 1163, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Khalid Hussain
- Department of Pediatric Medicine, Sidra Medical and Research Center, PO Box 26999, Doha, Qatar
| | - Stephen O’Rahilly
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Robert K. Semple
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
- The National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
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Groeneveld MP, Brierley GV, Rocha NM, Siddle K, Semple RK. Acute knockdown of the insulin receptor or its substrates Irs1 and 2 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes suppresses adiponectin production. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21105. [PMID: 26888756 PMCID: PMC4758029 DOI: 10.1038/srep21105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Loss of function of the insulin receptor (INSR) in humans produces severe insulin resistance. Unlike “common” insulin resistance, this is associated with elevated plasma levels of the insulin-sensitising, adipose-derived protein adiponectin. The underlying mechanism for this paradox is unclear, and it is at odds with the acute stimulation of adiponectin secretion reported on insulin treatment of cultured adipocytes. Given recent evidence for ligand-independent actions of the INSR, we used a lentiviral system to knock down Insr or its substrates Irs1 and Irs2 conditionally in 3T3-L1 murine preadipocytes/adipocytes to assess whether acute loss of their expression has different consequences to withdrawal of insulin. Efficient knockdown of either Insr or Irs1/2 was achieved by conditional shRNA expression, severely attenuating insulin-stimulated AKT phosphorylation and glucose uptake. Dual knockdown of Irs1 and Irs2 but not Insr in preadipocytes impaired differentiation to adipocytes. Acute knockdown of Insr or both Irs1 and Irs2 in adipocytes increased Adipoq mRNA expression but reduced adiponectin secretion, assessed by immunoassay. Knockdown sustained for 14 days also reduced immunoassay-detected adiponectin secretion, and moreover induced delipidation of the cells. These findings argue against a distinct effect of Insr deficiency to promote adiponectin secretion as the explanation for paradoxical insulin receptoropathy-related hyperadiponectinaemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthijs P Groeneveld
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gemma V Brierley
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nuno M Rocha
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kenneth Siddle
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert K Semple
- The University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK.,The National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
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Groeneveld MP, Huang-Doran I, Semple RK. Adiponectin and leptin in human severe insulin resistance - diagnostic utility and biological insights. Biochimie 2012; 94:2172-9. [PMID: 22342226 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2012.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2011] [Accepted: 01/30/2012] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
There is an intimate interplay between systemic insulin action and the actions of the adipocyte-derived proteins leptin and adiponectin. Concordant findings in humans and rodents demonstrate that leptin gates critical physiological functions to the prevailing nutritional state, however the physiological functions of adiponectin are less convincingly established. Murine evidence suggests that adiponectin can exert insulin-sensitising effects, plasma concentrations of adiponectin in humans correlate in most populations with insulin sensitivity, and increasingly strong evidence suggests an association between common genetic variation around the adiponectin gene and diabetes. However rare and severe genetic variants lowering adiponectin levels have not been convincingly associated with insulin resistance, and the discordant and sometimes extreme hyperadiponectinaemia seen in patients with severe insulin resistance due to loss of insulin receptor function poses a challenge to the widely held view that low adiponectin in humans plays a role in causing prevalent insulin resistance. The mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains to be elucidated, but the best available evidence implicates increased production of adiponectin in states of insulin receptor dysfunction, attributable at least in part to increased transcription of the ADIPOQ gene. Further investigation of the cellular basis of insulin receptoropathy-related hyperadiponectinaemia may shine further light on the human pathobiology of this most abundant and enigmatic product of adipose tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- M P Groeneveld
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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Lindhurst MJ, Parker VER, Payne F, Sapp JC, Rudge S, Harris J, Witkowski AM, Zhang Q, Groeneveld MP, Scott CE, Daly A, Huson SM, Tosi LL, Cunningham ML, Darling TN, Geer J, Gucev Z, Sutton VR, Tziotzios C, Dixon AK, Helliwell T, O'Rahilly S, Savage DB, Wakelam MJO, Barroso I, Biesecker LG, Semple RK. Mosaic overgrowth with fibroadipose hyperplasia is caused by somatic activating mutations in PIK3CA. Nat Genet 2012; 44:928-33. [PMID: 22729222 PMCID: PMC3461408 DOI: 10.1038/ng.2332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 211] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2012] [Accepted: 05/17/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT signaling pathway is critical for cellular growth and metabolism. Correspondingly, loss of function of PTEN, a negative regulator of PI3K, or activating mutations in AKT1, AKT2 or AKT3 have been found in distinct disorders featuring overgrowth or hypoglycemia. We performed exome sequencing of DNA from unaffected and affected cells from an individual with an unclassified syndrome of congenital progressive segmental overgrowth of fibrous and adipose tissue and bone and identified the cancer-associated mutation encoding p.His1047Leu in PIK3CA, the gene that encodes the p110α catalytic subunit of PI3K, only in affected cells. Sequencing of PIK3CA in ten additional individuals with overlapping syndromes identified either the p.His1047Leu alteration or a second cancer-associated alteration, p.His1047Arg, in nine cases. Affected dermal fibroblasts showed enhanced basal and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP(3)) generation and concomitant activation of downstream signaling relative to their unaffected counterparts. Our findings characterize a distinct overgrowth syndrome, biochemically demonstrate activation of PI3K signaling and thereby identify a rational therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie J Lindhurst
- The National Human Genome Research Institute, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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