Coinjection of CCK and leptin reduces food intake via increased CART/TRH and reduced AMPK phosphorylation in the hypothalamus.

CCK and leptin are anorectic hormones produced in the small intestine and white adipose tissue, respectively. Investigating how these hormones act together as an integrated anorectic signal is important for elucidating the mechanisms by which energy balance is maintained. We found here that coadministration of subthreshold CCK and leptin, which individually have no effect on feeding, dramatically reduced food intake in rats. Phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the hypothalamus significantly decreased after coinjection of CCK and leptin. In addition, coadministration of these hormones significantly increased mRNA levels of anorectic cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in the hypothalamus. The interactive effect of CCK and leptin on food intake was abolished by intracerebroventricular preadministration of the AMPK activator AICAR or anti-CART/anti-TRH antibodies. These findings indicate that coinjection of CCK and leptin reduces food intake via reduced AMPK phosphorylation and increased CART/TRH in the hypothalamus. Furthermore, by using midbrain-transected rats, we investigated the role of the neural pathway from the hindbrain to the hypothalamus in the interaction of CCK and leptin to reduce food intake. Food intake reduction induced by coinjection of CCK and leptin was blocked in midbrain-transected rats. Therefore, the neural pathway from hindbrain to hypothalamus plays an important role in transmitting the anorectic signals provided by coinjection of CCK and leptin. Our findings give further insight into the mechanisms of feeding and energy balance.

Involvement of guanylin and GC-C in rat mesenteric macrophages in resistance to a high-fat diet.

A high-fat diet (HFD) is a well-known contributing factor in the development of obesity. Most rats fed HFDs become obese. Those that avoid obesity when fed HFDs are considered diet resistant (DR). We performed a microarray screen to identify genes specific to the mesenteric fat of DR rats and revealed high expression of guanylin and guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) in some subjects. Our histologic studies revealed that the cellular source of guanylin and GC-C is macrophages. Therefore, we developed double-transgenic (Tg) rats overexpressing guanylin and GC-C in macrophages and found that they were resistant to the effects of HFDs. In the mesenteric fat of HFD-fed Tg rats, Fas and perilipin mRNAs were downregulated, and those of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation were upregulated, compared with the levels in HFD-fed wild-type rats. In vitro studies demonstrated that lipid accumulation was markedly inhibited in adipocytes cocultured with macrophages expressing guanylin and GC-C and that this inhibition was reduced after treatment with guanylin- and GC-C-specific siRNAs. Our results suggest that the macrophagic guanylin-GC-C system contributes to the altered expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism, leading to resistance to obesity.

Investigation of ifosfamide nephrotoxicity induced in a liver-kidney co-culture biochip.

In this article, we present a liver-kidney co-culture model in a micro fluidic biochip. The liver was modeled using HepG2/C3a and HepaRG cell lines and the kidney using MDCK cell lines. To demonstrate the synergic interaction between both organs, we investigated the effect of ifosfamide, an anticancerous drug. Ifosfamide is a prodrug which is metabolized by the liver to isophosforamide mustard, an active metabolite. This metabolism process also leads to the formation of chloroacetaldehyde, a nephrotoxic metabolite and acrolein a urotoxic one. In the biochips of MDCK cultures, we did not detect any nephrotoxic effects after 72 h of 50 µM ifosfamide exposure. However, in the liver-kidney biochips, the same 72 h exposure leads to a nephrotoxicity illustrated by a reduction of the number of MDCK cells (up to 30% in the HepaRG-MDCK) when compared to untreated co-cultures or treated MDCK monocultures. The reduction of the MDCK cell number was not related to a modification of the cell cycle repartition in ifosfamide treated cases when compared to controls. The ifosfamide biotransformation into 3-dechloroethylifosfamide, an equimolar byproduct of the chloroacetaldehyde production, was detected by mass spectrometry at a rate of apparition of 0.3 ± 0.1 and 1.1 ± 0.3 pg/h/biochips in HepaRG monocultures and HepaRG-MDCK co-cultures respectively. Any metabolite was detected in HepG2/C3a cultures. Furthermore, the ifosfamide treatment in HepaRG-MDCK co-culture system triggered an increase in the intracellular calcium release in MDCK cells on contrary to the treatment on MDCK monocultures. As 3-dechloroethylifosfamide is not toxic, we have tested the effect of equimolar choloroacetaldehyde concentration onto the MDCK cells. At this concentration, we found a quite similar calcium perturbation and MDCK nephrotoxicity via a reduction of 30% of final cell numbers such as in the ifosfamide HepaRG-MDCK co-culture experiments. Our results suggest that ifosfamide nephrotoxicity in a liver-kidney micro fluidic co-culture model using HepaRG-MDCK cells is induced by the metabolism of ifosfamide into chloroacetaldehyde whereas this pathway is not functional in HepG2/C3a-MDCK model. This study demonstrates the interest in the development of systemic organ-organ interactions using micro fluidic biochips. It also illustrated their potential in future predictive toxicity model using in vitro models as alternative methods.

Possible involvement of melanocortin-4-receptor and AMP-activated protein kinase in the interaction of glucagon-like peptide-1 and leptin on feeding in rats.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and leptin are anorectic hormones produced in the small intestine and white adipose tissue, respectively. Investigating how these hormones act together as an integrated anorectic signal is important to elucidate a mechanism to maintain energy balance. In the present study, coadministration of subthreshold GLP-1 and leptin dramatically reduced feeding in rats. Although coadministration of GLP-1 with leptin did not enhance leptin signal transduction in the hypothalamus, it significantly decreased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In addition, coadministration of GLP-1 with leptin significantly increased proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA levels. Considering that α-melanocortin stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is derived from POMC and functions through the melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4-R) as a key molecule involved in feeding reduction, the interaction of GLP-1 and leptin on feeding reduction may be mediated through the α-MSH/MC4-R system. As expected, the interaction of GLP-1 and leptin was abolished by intracerebroventricular preadministration of the MC4-R antagonists agouti-related peptide and SHU9119. Taken together, GLP-1 and leptin cooperatively reduce feeding at least in part via inhibition of AMPK following binding of α-MSH to MC4-R.

Effect of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)gamma agonists on prostaglandins cascade in joint cells.

In response to inflammatory cytokines, chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts produce high amounts of prostaglandins (PG) which self-perpetuate locally the inflammatory reaction. Prostaglandins act primarily through membrane receptors coupled to G proteins but also bind to nuclear Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs). Amongst fatty acids, the cyclopentenone metabolite of PGD2, 15-deoxy-Delta12,14PGJ2 (15d-PGJ2), was shown to be a potent ligand of the PPARgamma isotype prone to inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators. As the stimulated synthesis of PGE2 originates from the preferential coupling of inducible enzymes, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and membrane PGE synthase-1 (mPGES-1), we investigated the potency of 15d-PGJ2 to regulate prostaglandins synthesis in rat chondrocytes stimulated with interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). We demonstrated that 15d-PGJ2, but not the high-affinity PPARgamma ligand rosiglitazone, decreased almost completely PGE2 synthesis and mPGES-1 expression. The inhibitory potency of 15d-PGJ2 was unaffected by changes in PPARgamma expression and resulted from inhibition of NF-kappaB nuclear binding and IkappaBalpha sparing, secondary to reduced phosphorylation of IKKbeta. Consistently with 15d-PGJ2 being a putative endogenous regulator of the inflammatory reaction if synthesized in sufficient amounts, the present data confirm the variable PPARgamma-dependency of its effects in joint cells while underlining possible species and cell types specificities.

Role of the neural pathway from hindbrain to hypothalamus in interaction of GLP1 and leptin in rats.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) and leptin are anorectic hormones. Previously, we have shown that i.p. coadministration of subthreshold GLP1 with leptin dramatically reduced food intake in rats. In this study, by using midbrain-transected rats, we investigated the role of the neural pathway from the hindbrain to the hypothalamus in the interaction of GLP1 and leptin in reducing food intake. Food intake reduction induced by coinjection of GLP1 and leptin was blocked in midbrain-transected rats. These findings indicate that the ascending neural pathway from the hindbrain plays an important role in transmitting the anorectic signals provided by coinjection of GLP1 and leptin.

Activation of PPARs α, ß/δ, and γ Impairs TGF-ß1-Induced Collagens' Production and Modulates the TIMP-1/MMPs Balance in Three-Dimensional Cultured Chondrocytes.

Background and Purpose. We investigated the potency of Peroxisome Proliferators-Activated Receptors (PPARs) α, ß/δ, and γ agonists to modulate Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1-) induced collagen production or changes in Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinase- (TIMP-) 1/Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) balance in rat chondrocytes embedded in alginate beads. Experimental Approach. Collagen production was evaluated by quantitative Sirius red staining, while TIMP-1 protein levels and global MMP (-1, -2, -3, -7, and -9) or specific MMP-13 activities were measured by ELISA and fluorigenic assays in culture media, respectively. Levels of mRNA for type II collagen, TIMP-1, and MMP-3 & 13 were quantified by real-time PCR. Key Results. TGF-ß1 increased collagen deposition and type II collagen mRNA levels, while inducing TIMP-1 mRNA and protein expression. In contrast, it decreased global MMP or specific MMP-13 activities, while decreasing MMP-3 or MMP-13 mRNA levels. PPAR agonists reduced most of the effects of TGF-ß1 on changes in collagen metabolism and TIMP-1/MMP balance in rat in a PPAR-dependent manner, excepted for Wy14643 on MMP activities. Conclusions and Implications. PPAR agonists reduce TGF-ß1-modulated ECM turnover and inhibit chondrocyte activities crucial for collagen biosynthesis, and display a different inhibitory profile depending on selectivity for PPAR isotypes.

Modulation of hepatocarcinoma cell morphology and activity by parylene-C coating on PDMS.

BACKGROUND: The ability to understand and locally control the morphogenesis of mammalian cells is a fundamental objective of cell and developmental biology as well as tissue engineering research. We present parylene-C (ParC) deposited on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a new substratum for in vitro advanced cell culture in the case of Human Hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our findings establish that the intrinsic properties of ParC-coated PDMS (ParC/PDMS) influence and modulate initial extracellular matrix (ECM; here, type-I collagen) surface architecture, as compared to non-coated PDMS substratum. Morphological changes induced by the presence of ParC on PDMS were shown to directly affect liver cell metabolic activity and the expression of transmembrane receptors implicated in cell adhesion and cell-cell interaction. These changes were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which elucidated differences in HepG2 cell adhesion, spreading, and reorganization into two- or three-dimensional structures by neosynthesis of ECM components. Local modulation of cell aggregation was successfully performed using ParC/PDMS micropatterns constructed by simple microfabrication. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrated for the first time the modulation of HepG2 cells' behavior in relation to the intrinsic physical properties of PDMS and ParC, enabling the local modulation of cell spreading in a 2D or 3D manner by simple microfabrication techniques. This work will provide promising insights into the development of cell-based platforms that have many applications in the field of in vitro liver tissue engineering, pharmacology and therapeutics.