RESUMO
The role of neuronal noncoding RNAs in energy control of the body is not fully understood. The arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus comprises neurons regulating food intake and body weight. Here we show that Dicer-dependent loss of microRNAs in these neurons of adult (DicerCKO) mice causes chronic overactivation of the signaling pathways involving phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), Akt, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and an imbalance in the levels of neuropeptides, resulting in severe hyperphagic obesity. Similarly, the activation of PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway due to Pten deletion in the adult forebrain leads to comparable weight increase. Conversely, the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin normalizes obesity in mice with an inactivated Dicer1 or Pten gene. Importantly, the continuous delivery of oligonucleotides mimicking microRNAs, which are predicted to target PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway components, to the hypothalamus attenuates adiposity in DicerCKO mice. Furthermore, loss of miR-103 causes strong upregulation of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway in vitro and its application into the ARC of the Dicer-deficient mice both reverses upregulation of Pik3cg, the mRNA encoding the catalytic subunit p110γ of the PI3K complex, and attenuates the hyperphagic obesity. Our data demonstrate in vivo the crucial role of neuronal microRNAs in the control of energy homeostasis.
Assuntos
Hiperfagia/complicações , Hipotálamo/metabolismo , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Obesidade/etiologia , Obesidade/patologia , Absorciometria de Fóton , Proteína Relacionada com Agouti/genética , Proteína Relacionada com Agouti/metabolismo , Animais , RNA Helicases DEAD-box/deficiência , RNA Helicases DEAD-box/genética , Células HeLa , Humanos , Proteínas Luminescentes/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , MicroRNAs/genética , Neuropeptídeo Y/genética , Neuropeptídeo Y/metabolismo , Proteína Oncogênica v-akt/metabolismo , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/deficiência , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/genética , Fosfatidilinositol 3-Quinases/metabolismo , Ribonuclease III/deficiência , Ribonuclease III/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismo , Transdução GenéticaRESUMO
Whereas it is generally perceived to be harmful, enhanced coagulation activation can also convey salutary effects. The high prevalence of the prothrombotic factor V Leiden (FVL) mutation in whites has been attributed to a positive selection pressure (eg, resulting from reduced blood loss or improved survival in sepsis). The consequences of enhanced coagulation activation, as observed in FVL carriers, on microvascular diabetic complications remain unknown. We therefore investigated the role of FVL in diabetic nephropathy. In heterozygous or homozygous diabetic FVL mice, albuminuria and indices of diabetic nephropathy were reduced compared with diabetic wild-type mice. This was associated with reduced glomerular apoptosis and preservation of podocytes in diabetic FVL-positive mice. In vitro, low-dose thrombin (50pM) prevented, whereas high-dose thrombin (20nM) aggravated, glucose-induced apoptosis in podocytes. In diabetic patients, the FVL mutation, but not the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G polymorphism, is associated with reduced albuminuria, which is consistent with a nephroprotective role of low but sustained thrombin generation. Consistently, anticoagulation of diabetic FVL-positive mice with hirudin abolished the nephroprotective effect. These results identify a nephroprotective function of low but sustained thrombin levels in FVL carriers, supporting a dual, context-dependent function of thrombin in chronic diseases.