Improved glucose control and reduced body fat mass in free fatty acid receptor 2-deficient mice fed a high-fat diet.

Free fatty acid receptor 2 (Ffar2), also known as GPR43, is activated by short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and expressed in intestine, adipocytes, and immune cells, suggesting involvement in lipid and immune regulation. In the present study, Ffar2-deficient mice (Ffar2-KO) were given a high-fat diet (HFD) or chow diet and studied with respect to lipid and energy metabolism. On a HFD, Ffar2-KO mice had lower body fat mass and increased lean body mass. The changed body composition was accompanied by improved glucose control and lower HOMA index, indicating improved insulin sensitivity in Ffar2-KO mice. Moreover, the Ffar2-KO mice had higher energy expenditure accompanied by higher core body temperature and increased food intake. The liver weight and content of triglycerides as well as plasma levels of cholesterol were lower in the Ffar2-KO mice fed a HFD. A histological examination unveiled decreased lipid interspersed in brown adipose tissue of the Ffar2-KO mice. Interestingly, no significant differences in white adipose tissue (WAT) cell size were observed, but significantly lower macrophage content was detected in WAT from HFD-fed Ffar2-KO compared with wild-type mice. In conclusion, Ffar2 deficiency protects from HFD-induced obesity and dyslipidemia at least partly via increased energy expenditure.

The Use of Antibodies in Small-Molecule Drug Discovery.

Antibodies are powerful research tools that can be used in many areas of biology to probe, measure, and perturb various biological structures. Successful drug discovery is dependent on the correct identification of a target implicated in disease, coupled with the successful selection, optimization, and development of a candidate drug. Because of their specific binding characteristics, with regard to specificity, affinity, and avidity, coupled with their amenability to protein engineering, antibodies have become a key tool in drug discovery, enabling the quantification, localization, and modulation of proteins of interest. This review summarizes the application of antibodies and other protein affinity reagents as specific research tools within the drug discovery process.

Chronic effects of palmitate overload on nutrient-induced insulin secretion and autocrine signalling in pancreatic MIN6 beta cells.

BACKGROUND: Sustained exposure of pancreatic ß cells to an increase in saturated fatty acids induces pleiotropic effects on ß-cell function, including a reduction in stimulus-induced insulin secretion. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic over supply of palmitate upon glucose- and amino acid-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS and AASIS, respectively) and autocrine-dependent insulin signalling with particular focus on the importance of ceramide, ERK and CaMKII signalling. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: GSIS and AASIS were both stimulated by >7-fold resulting in autocrine-dependent activation of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt). Insulin release was dependent upon nutrient-induced activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as their pharmacological inhibition suppressed GSIS/AASIS significantly. Chronic (48 h, 0.4 mM) palmitate treatment blunted glucose/AA-induced activation of CaMKII and ERK and caused a concomitant reduction (~75%) in GSIS/AASIS and autocrine-dependent activation of PKB. This inhibition could not be attributed to enhanced mitochondrial fatty acid uptake/oxidation or ceramide synthesis, which were unaffected by palmitate. In contrast, diacylglycerol synthesis was elevated suggesting increased palmitate esterification rather than oxidation may contribute to impaired stimulus-secretion coupling. Consistent with this, 2-bromopalmitate, a non-oxidisable palmitate analogue, inhibited GSIS as effectively as palmitate. CONCLUSIONS: Our results exclude changes in ceramide content or mitochondrial fatty acid handling as factors initiating palmitate-induced defects in insulin release from MIN6 ß cells, but suggest that reduced CaMKII and ERK activation associated with palmitate overload may contribute to impaired stimulus-induced insulin secretion.

The long-chain fatty acid receptor, GPR40, and glucolipotoxicity: investigations using GPR40-knockout mice.

GPR40 (G-protein-coupled receptor 40) has been shown to be a physiologically relevant receptor for long-chain fatty acids. It is a family A G-protein-coupled receptor highly expressed in the beta-cell where it increases insulin secretion by signalling via Gq and phospholipase C. Fatty acids are well known to mediate both acute stimulatory effects and chronic detrimental effects on the beta-cell. GPR40-transgenic and GPR40-/- animals have been important tools in studies of the metabolic effects of GPR40. In the present article, we review the literature on transgenic GPR40 models and present some of our own studies on the effects of a high-fat diet on the metabolic phenotype of GPR40-/- mice. GPR40 ligands represent interesting novel therapies for Type 2 diabetes but it is presently unclear whether agonists or antagonists represent the best therapeutic approach.