BCAA insufficiency leads to premature ovarian insufficiency via ceramide-induced elevation of ROS.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a disease featured by early menopause before 40 years of age, accompanied by an elevation of follicle-stimulating hormone. Though POI affects many aspects of women's health, its major causes remain unknown. Many clinical studies have shown that POI patients are generally underweight, indicating a potential correlation between POI and metabolic disorders. To understand the pathogenesis of POI, we performed metabolomics analysis on serum and identified branch-chain amino acid (BCAA) insufficiency-related metabolic disorders in two independent cohorts from two clinics. A low BCAA diet phenotypically reproduced the metabolic, endocrine, ovarian, and reproductive changes of POI in young C57BL/6J mice. A mechanism study revealed that the BCAA insufficiency-induced POI is associated with abnormal activation of the ceramide-reactive oxygen species (ROS) axis and consequent impairment of ovarian granulosa cell function. Significantly, the dietary supplement of BCAA prevented the development of ROS-induced POI in female mice. The results of this pathogenic study will lead to the development of specific therapies for POI.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase regulates hepatic nutrient metabolism through Sirt1 protein stabilization.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (Nnmt) methylates nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, to produce N(1)-methylnicotinamide (MNAM). Nnmt has emerged as a metabolic regulator in adipocytes, but its role in the liver, the tissue with the strongest Nnmt expression, is not known. In spite of its overall high expression, here we find that hepatic expression of Nnmt is highly variable and correlates with multiple metabolic parameters in mice and humans. Further, we find that suppression of hepatic Nnmt expression in vivo alters glucose and cholesterol metabolism and that the metabolic effects of Nnmt in the liver are mediated by its product MNAM. Supplementation of high-fat diet with MNAM decreases serum and liver cholesterol and liver triglycerides levels in mice. Mechanistically, increasing Nnmt expression or MNAM levels stabilizes sirtuin 1 protein, an effect that is required for their metabolic benefits. In summary, we describe here a novel regulatory pathway for vitamin B3 that could provide a new opportunity for metabolic disease therapy.

Methionine and choline regulate the metabolic phenotype of a ketogenic diet.

Low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets are commonly used as weight loss alternatives to low-fat diets, however the physiological and molecular adaptations to these diets are not completely understood. It is assumed that the metabolic phenotype of the ketogenic diet (KD) is caused by the absence of carbohydrate and high fat content, however in rodents the protein content of KD affects weight gain and ketosis. In this study we examined the role of methionine and choline in mediating the metabolic effects of KD. We have found that choline was more effective than methionine in decreasing the liver steatosis of KD-fed mice. On the other hand, methionine supplementation was more effective than choline in restoring weight gain and normalizing the expression of several fatty acid and inflammatory genes in the liver of KD-fed mice. Our results indicate that choline and methionine restriction rather than carbohydrate restriction underlies many of the metabolic effects of KD.