Palmitic acid-rich diet suppresses glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in pancreatic islets in mice.

The objective was to clarify whether dietary palmitic acid supplementation affects glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway in pancreatic islets in mice. Eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three treatment diet groups: control diet, palmitic acid-supplemented diet (PAL) and oleic acid-supplemented diet (OLE). After 2 weeks of treatment, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test were performed. GSIS was assessed by pancreatic perfusion in situ with basal (100 mg/dL) glucose followed by a high (300 mg/dL) glucose concentration. We measured mRNA levels of ER stress markers such as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), immunoglobulin heavy-chain binding protein (BIP) and X-box binding protein (XBP)-1 using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses in isolated islets. Immunohistochemical staining was also performed. Mice fed PAL showed significantly decreased glucose tolerance (p < 0.05). In the perfusion study, GSIS was significantly suppressed in the PAL group (p < 0.05). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that islet CHOP, BIP, and XBP-1 mRNA expression were significantly increased in the PAL group (p < 0.05). TUNEL-positive ß-cells were not detected in all groups. Dietary palmitic acid-supplementation for 2 weeks might suppress GSIS and induce ER stress in pancreatic islets in mice, in the early stage of lipotoxicity.

Coenzyme Q10 reverses mitochondrial dysfunction in atorvastatin-treated mice and increases exercise endurance.

Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs widely used in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases; however, they are associated with various types of myopathies. Statins inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase and thus decrease biosynthesis of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and may also reduce ubiquinones, essential coenzymes of a mitochondrial electron transport chain, which contain isoprenoid residues, synthesized through an HMG-CoA reductase-dependent pathway. Therefore, we hypothesized that statin treatment might influence physical performance through muscular mitochondrial dysfunction due to ubiquinone deficiency. The effect of two statins, atorvastatin and pravastatin, on ubiquinone content, mitochondrial function, and physical performance was examined by using statin-treated mice. Changes in energy metabolism in association with statin treatment were studied by using cultured myocytes. We found that atorvastatin-treated mice developed muscular mitochondrial dysfunction due to ubiquinone deficiency and a decrease in exercise endurance without affecting muscle mass and strength. Meanwhile, pravastatin at ten times higher dose of atorvastatin had no such effects. In cultured myocytes, atorvastatin-related decrease in mitochondrial activity led to a decrease in oxygen utilization and an increase in lactate production. Conversely, coenzyme Q(10) treatment in atorvastatin-treated mice reversed atorvastatin-related mitochondrial dysfunction and a decrease in oxygen utilization, and thus improved exercise endurance. Atorvastatin decreased exercise endurance in mice through mitochondrial dysfunction due to ubiquinone deficiency. Ubiquinone supplementation with coenzyme Q(10) could reverse atorvastatin-related mitochondrial dysfunction and decrease in exercise tolerance.

XPS analysis of the dentin irradiated by Er: YAG laser.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Er:YAG laser irradiation on human dentin surface using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). 10 human dentin disks were prepared from extracted human molars for XPS analysis. These specimens were divided into two groups of five: a control group and group that were irradiated by an Er:YAG laser beam (100 mJ, 1Hz). All specimens were analyzed by XPS over a wide scanning range and narrow scanning ranges. The Ca/P ratio was calculated from the XPS results. In the results, the binding energies of Ca, P, and N in the laser-irradiated group were higher than those in the control group. The Ca/P ratio of the Er:YAG laser irradiated group (1.24+/-0.05) was significantly lower than that of the control group (1.52+/-0.16). This study showed that Er:YAG laser irradiation decreased Ca/P ratio and denatured the collagen of human dentin.

Phosphagen kinase of the giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila. Cloning and expression of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial isoforms of taurocyamine kinase.

The giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila lives at deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the East Pacific Rise and the Galapagos Rift. The large size and high growth rate of R. pachyptila is supported by an endosymbiotic relationship with a chemosynthetic bacterium. Elucidation of the regulation of energy metabolism of the giant tubeworm remains an interesting problem. The purpose of this study is to determine the cDNA sequence of phosphagen kinase, one of the most important enzymes in energy metabolism, and to characterize its function. Two phosphagen kinase cDNA sequences amplified from the cDNA library of R. pachyptila showed high derived amino acid sequence identity (74%) with those of cytoplasmic taurocyamine kinase (TK) and mitochondrial TK from an annelid Arenicola brasiliensis. The cytoplasmic form of the Riftia recombinant enzyme showed stronger activity for the substrates taurocyamine and also considerable activity for lombricine (21% that of taurocyamine). The mitochondrial form, which was structurally similar to mitochondrial creatine kinase, showed stronger activity for taurocyamine, and a broader activity for various guanidine compounds: glycocyamine (35% that of taurocyamine), lombricine (31%) and arginine (3%). Both forms showed no activity for creatine. The difference in substrate specificities between the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial forms might be attributable to the large difference in the amino acid sequence of the GS region and/or several key amino acid residues for establishing guanidine substrate specificity. Based on these results, we conclude that Riftia contains at least two forms of TK as phosphagen kinase. We also report the kinetic parameters, Km and kcat, of Arenicola and Riftia TKs for the first time. The Km values for taurocyamine of Arenicola and Riftia TKs ranged from 0.9 to 4.0 mM and appear to be comparable to those of other annelid-specific enzymes, lombricine kinase and glycocyamine kinase, but are significantly lower than those of Neanthes cytoplasmic and mitochondrial creatine kinases. Comparison of kcat/Km value in various annelid phosphagen kinases indicates that Arenicola mitochondrial TK has the highest catalytic efficiency (16.2 s-1 mM-1). In Arenicola TKs, the mitochondrial form has seven-fold higher efficiency than the cytoplasmic form.