APPL1 binds to adiponectin receptors and mediates adiponectin signalling and function.

Adiponectin, also known as Acrp30, is an adipose tissue-derived hormone with anti-atherogenic, anti-diabetic and insulin sensitizing properties. Two seven-transmembrane domain-containing proteins, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, have recently been identified as adiponectin receptors, yet signalling events downstream of these receptors remain poorly defined. By using the cytoplasmic domain of AdipoR1 as bait, we screened a yeast two-hybrid cDNA library derived from human fetal brain. This screening led to the identification of a phosphotyrosine binding domain and a pleckstrin homology domain-containing adaptor protein, APPL1 (adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain and leucine zipper motif). APPL1 interacts with adiponectin receptors in mammalian cells and the interaction is stimulated by adiponectin. Overexpression of APPL1 increases, and suppression of APPL1 level reduces, adiponectin signalling and adiponectin-mediated downstream events (such as lipid oxidation, glucose uptake and the membrane translocation of glucose transport 4 (GLUT4)). Adiponectin stimulates the interaction between APPL1 and Rab5 (a small GTPase) interaction, leading to increased GLUT4 membrane translocation. APPL1 also acts as a critical regulator of the crosstalk between adiponectin signalling and insulin signalling pathways. These results demonstrate a key function for APPL1 in adiponectin signalling and provide a molecular mechanism for the insulin sensitizing function of adiponectin.

Peripheral disruption of the Grb10 gene enhances insulin signaling and sensitivity in vivo.

Grb10 is a pleckstrin homology and Src homology 2 domain-containing protein that interacts with a number of phosphorylated receptor tyrosine kinases, including the insulin receptor. In mice, Grb10 gene expression is imprinted with maternal expression in all tissues except the brain. While the interaction between Grb10 and the insulin receptor has been extensively investigated in cultured cells, whether this adaptor protein plays a positive or negative role in insulin signaling and action remains controversial. In order to investigate the in vivo role of Grb10 in insulin signaling and action in the periphery, we generated Grb10 knockout mice by the gene trap technique and analyzed mice with maternal inheritance of the knockout allele. Disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues had no significant effect on fasting glucose and insulin levels. On the other hand, peripheral-tissue-specific knockout of Grb10 led to significant overgrowth of the mice, consistent with a role for endogenous Grb10 as a growth suppressor. Loss of Grb10 expression in insulin target tissues, such as skeletal muscle and fat, resulted in enhanced insulin-stimulated Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies revealed that disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues led to increased insulin sensitivity. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that Grb10 is a negative regulator of insulin signaling and action in vivo.

Synthesis and structure-activity studies of side chain analogues of the anti-tubercular agent, Q203.

The anti-tubercular activity of 6-chloro-2-ethyl-N-(4-(4-(4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)piperidin-1-yl)benzyl)imidazo [1,2-a]pyridine-3-carboxamide (Q203) is modified by varying its side chain. In this study, we synthesized Q203 analogues with different side chains and studied their effects on anti-tubercular activity. Many analogues showed good potency against M. tuberculosis replicating in liquid broth culture medium (extracellular activity) regardless of chain length and conformational changes. However, a polar character in the side chain region was unfavorable for anti-tubercular activity. The analogues, 25, 28, 35, and 36, displayed excellent activity against M. tuberculosis replicating inside macrophages (intracellular activity) and promising pharmacokinetic (PK) properties with high drug exposure level and long half-life.

Shigella outer membrane protein PSSP-1 is broadly protective against Shigella infection.

In developing countries, Shigella is a primary cause of diarrhea in infants and young children. Although antibiotic therapy is an effective treatment for shigellosis, therapeutic options are narrowing due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Thus, preventive vaccination could become the most efficacious approach for controlling shigellosis. We have identified several conserved protein antigens that are shared by multiple Shigella serotypes and species. Among these, one antigen induced cross-protection against experimental shigellosis, and we have named it pan-Shigella surface protein 1 (PSSP-1). PSSP-1-induced protection requires a mucosal administration route and coadministration of an adjuvant. When PSSP-1 was administered intranasally, it induced cross-protection against Shigella flexneri serotypes 2a, 5a, and 6, Shigella boydii, Shigella sonnei, and Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1. Intradermally administered PSSP-1 induced strong serum antibody responses but failed to induce protection in the mouse lung pneumonia model. In contrast, intranasal administration elicited efficient local and systemic antibody responses and production of interleukin 17A and gamma interferon. Interestingly, blood samples from patients with recent-onset shigellosis showed variable but significant mucosal antibody responses to other conserved Shigella protein antigens but not to PSSP-1. We suggest that PSSP-1 is a promising antigen for a broadly protective vaccine against Shigella.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) activity stimulation by cerulenin via sympathetic nervous system activation overrides cerulenin's peripheral effect.

To clarify the paradoxic effects of cerulenin, namely its in vitro inhibitory effects on fat catabolism and its in vivo reduction of fat mass, we studied the in vivo and in vitro effects of cerulenin on carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) activity, the rate-limiting enzyme of fatty acid oxidation. A single ip injection of cerulenin significantly reduced body weight and increased core temperature without significantly reducing food intake. In situ hybridization study revealed that a single injection of cerulenin did not affect the expression of orexigenic neuropeptide mRNA. Cerulenin's effect on CPT-1 activity was biphasic in the liver and muscle: early suppression during the first 1 h and late stimulation in the 3-5 h after ip treatment. In vitro cerulenin treatment reduced CPT-1 activity, which was overcome by cotreating with catecholamine. Intracerebroventricular injection of cerulenin increased CPT-1 activity significantly in soleus muscle, and this effect was sustained for up to 3 h. Pretreatment with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine inhibited the cerulenin-induced increase in core temperature and the late-phase stimulating effect of cerulenin on CPT-1 activity. In adrenalectomized mice, cerulenin also increased the activity. In vivo cerulenin treatment enhanced muscle CPT-1 activity in monosodium glutamate-treated arcuate nucleus lesioned mice but not in gold thioglucose-treated ventromedial hypothalamus lesioned mice. These findings suggest that cerulenin-induced late-phase stimulating effects on CPT-1 activity and energy expenditure is mediated by the activation of innervated sympathetic nervous system neurons through the firing of undefined neurons of the ventromedial hypothalamus, rather than the arcuate nucleus.

Lead optimization of a novel series of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine amides leading to a clinical candidate (Q203) as a multi- and extensively-drug-resistant anti-tuberculosis agent.

A critical unmet clinical need to combat the global tuberculosis epidemic is the development of potent agents capable of reducing the time of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis therapy. In this paper, we report on the optimization of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine amide (IPA) lead compound 1, which led to the design and synthesis of Q203 (50). We found that the amide linker with IPA core is very important for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. Linearity and lipophilicity of the amine part in the IPA series play a critical role in improving in vitro and in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetic profile. The optimized IPAs 49 and 50 showed not only excellent oral bioavailability (80.2% and 90.7%, respectively) with high exposure of the area under curve (AUC) but also displayed significant colony-forming unit (CFU) reduction (1.52 and 3.13 log10 reduction at 10 mg/kg dosing level, respectively) in mouse lung.

Effect of maternal immune status on responsiveness of bacillus calmette-gurin vaccination in mouse neonates.

OBJECTIVES: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination has proven to be efficient in immunologically naïve infants; however, it has not been investigated that maternal natural exposure to Mycobacterium and/or BCG vaccine could influence the characteristics of immune responses to BCG in newborns. In this study, we analyzed whether the maternal immune status to M tuberculosis (M tb) can affect neonatal immunity to BCG using a mouse model. METHODS: Neonates were obtained from mice that were previously exposed to live BCG, to live M avium, or to heat-killed M tb H37Rv, and from naïve control mothers. One week after birth, the neonates were divided into two subgroups: one group immunized with live BCG via the subcutaneous route and the other group of neonates sham-treated. Interferon-gamma (IFNγ) secretion in response to in vitro stimulation with heat-killed BCG or purified protein derivative (PPD) was examined. Protection against M tb infection was evaluated by challenging mice nasally with live M tb H37Rv followed by counting colonies from spleen and lung homogenates. RESULTS: BCG-immunized neonates showed increased IFNγ secretion in response to heat-killed BCG or PPD. All mice in BCG-immunized neonates subgroups showed reduced bacterial burden (colony forming unit) in the lungs when compared with control naive neonate mice. However, no statistically significant difference was observed when comparing BCG-immunized mice born from mothers previously exposed to M avium or immunized with either heat-killed H37Rv or live BCG and mice born from naïve mothers. CONCLUSION: The maternal immune status to M tb does not appear to impact on the immunogenicity of BCG vaccine in their progeny in our experimental conditions.

Dynamic regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide gene expression and food intake by melanocortin analogues and reversal with melanocortin-4 receptor antagonist.

Melanocortins are known to be involved in the inhibition of food intake and energy metabolism. Acute and chronic intracerebroventricular administration of several different analogues of alpha-MSH, such as alpha-MSH, NDP-MSH, alpha-MSH-ND, [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND, and [Lys(6)]alpha-MSH-ND, which were substituted in the position of His(6) with Gln and Lys, and cyclic16k-MSH to C57J/BL6 mice resulted in a significant inhibition of both time course food intake and body weight gain, compared to the saline-administered control. However, [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND(6-10), the truncated form of [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND, had no inhibitory effects on food intake. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that the expression levels of AGRP and NPY in the hypothalamus were significantly and rapidly diminished while POMC expression was strongly induced by [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND. Administration of JKC-363, a selective MC4R-specific antagonist, coupled with [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND, specifically reversed the [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND-induced inhibition of food intake, but also reversed the hypothalamic expression levels of neuropeptides such as AGRP, NPY, MCH, and POMC, which suggests [Gln(6)]alpha-MSH-ND can function as a selective MC4R agonist.

Identification of domains directing specificity of coupling to G-proteins for the melanocortin MC3 and MC4 receptors.

The melanocortin receptors, MC3R and MC4R, are G protein-coupled receptors that are involved in regulating energy homeostasis. Using a luciferase reporter gene under the transcriptional control of a cAMP- responsive element (CRE), the coupling efficiency of the MC4R and MC3R to G-proteins was previously shown to be different. MC4R exhibited only 30-50% of the maximum activity induced by MC3R. To assess the role of the different MC3R and MC4R domains in G-protein coupling, several chimeric MC3R/MC4R receptors were constructed. The relative luciferase activities, which were assessed after transfecting the chimeric receptors into HEK 293T cells, showed that the i3 (3rd intracellular) loop domain has an essential role in the differential signaling of MC3R and MC4R. To reveal which amino acid residue was involved in the MC4R-specific signaling in the i3 loop, a series of mutant MC4Rs was constructed. Reporter gene analysis showed that single mutations of Arg(220) to Ala and Thr(232) to either Val or Ala increased the relative luciferase activities, which suggests that these specific amino acids, Arg(220) and Thr(232), in the i3 loop of MC4R play crucial roles in G-protein coupling and the subtype-specific signaling pathways. An examination of the inositol phosphate (IP) levels in the cells transfected with either MC3R or MC4R after being exposed to the melanocortin peptides revealed significant stimulation of IP production by MC3R but no detectable increase in IP production was observed by MC4R. Furthermore, none of the MC4R mutants displayed melanocortin peptide-stimulated IP production. Overall, this study demonstrated that MC3R and MC4R have distinct signaling in either the cAMP- or the inositol phospholipid-mediated pathway with different conformational requirements.