Landscape of Intercellular Crosstalk in Healthy and NASH Liver Revealed by Single-Cell Secretome Gene Analysis.

Cell-cell communication via ligand-receptor signaling is a fundamental feature of complex organs. Despite this, the global landscape of intercellular signaling in mammalian liver has not been elucidated. Here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing on non-parenchymal cells isolated from healthy and NASH mouse livers. Secretome gene analysis revealed a highly connected network of intrahepatic signaling and disruption of vascular signaling in NASH. We uncovered the emergence of NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs), which are marked by high expression of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2), as a feature of mouse and human NASH that is linked to disease severity and highly responsive to pharmacological and dietary interventions. Finally, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) serve as a hub of intrahepatic signaling via HSC-derived stellakines and their responsiveness to vasoactive hormones. These results provide unprecedented insights into the landscape of intercellular crosstalk and reprogramming of liver cells in health and disease.

Myeloid-specific ablation of Basp1 ameliorates diet-induced NASH in mice by attenuating pro-inflammatory signaling.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: NASH represents a severe stage of fatty liver disease characterized by hepatocyte injury, inflammation, and liver fibrosis. Myeloid-derived innate immune cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, play an important role in host defense and disease pathogenesis. Despite this, the nature of transcriptomic reprogramming of myeloid cells in NASH liver and its contribution to disease progression remain incompletely defined. APPROACH AND RESULTS: In this study, we performed bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing (sc-RNA seq) analysis to delineate the landscape of macrophage and dendritic cell transcriptomes in healthy and NASH livers. Our analysis uncovered cell type-specific patterns of transcriptomic reprogramming on diet-induced NASH. We identified brain-abundant membrane-attached signal protein 1 (Basp1) as a myeloid-enriched gene that is markedly induced in mouse and human NASH liver. Myeloid-specific inactivation of Basp1 attenuates the severity of diet-induced NASH pathologies, as shown by reduced hepatocyte injury and liver fibrosis in mice. Mechanistically, cultured macrophages lacking Basp1 exhibited a diminished response to pro-inflammatory stimuli, impaired NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and reduced cytokine secretion. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings uncover Basp1 as a critical regulator of myeloid inflammatory signaling that underlies NASH pathogenesis.

Intrahepatic paracrine signaling by cardiotrophin-like cytokine factor 1 ameliorates diet-induced NASH in mice.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The mammalian liver harbors heterogeneous cell types that communicate via local paracrine signaling. Recent studies have delineated the transcriptomic landscape of the liver in NASH that provides insights into liver cell heterogeneity, intercellular crosstalk, and disease-associated reprogramming. However, the nature of intrahepatic signaling and its role in NASH progression remain obscure. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Here, we performed transcriptomic analyses and identified cardiotrophin-like cytokine factor 1 (CLCF1), a member of the IL-6 family cytokines, as a cholangiocyte-derived paracrine factor that was elevated in the liver from diet-induced NASH mice and patients with NASH. Adenovirus-associated virus-mediated overexpression of CLCF1 in the liver ameliorated NASH pathologies in two diet-induced NASH models in mice, illustrating that CLCF1 induction may serve an adaptive and protective role during NASH pathogenesis. Unexpectedly, messenger RNA and protein levels of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR), a subunit of the receptor complex for CLCF1, were markedly downregulated in NASH liver. Hepatocyte-specific inactivation of LIFR accelerated NASH progression in mice, supporting an important role of intrahepatic cytokine signaling in maintaining tissue homeostasis under metabolic stress conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Together, this study sheds light on the molecular nature of intrahepatic paracrine signaling during NASH pathogenesis and uncovers potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Cideb controls sterol-regulated ER export of SREBP/SCAP by promoting cargo loading at ER exit sites.

SREBPs are master regulators of lipid homeostasis and undergo sterol-regulated export from ER to Golgi apparatus for processing and activation via COPII-coated vesicles. While COPII recognizes SREBP through its escort protein SCAP, factor(s) specifically promoting SREBP/SCAP loading to the COPII machinery remains unknown. Here, we show that the ER/lipid droplet-associated protein Cideb selectively promotes the loading of SREBP/SCAP into COPII vesicles. Sterol deprivation releases SCAP from Insig and enhances ER export of SREBP/SCAP by inducing SCAP-Cideb interaction, thereby modulating sterol sensitivity. Moreover, Cideb binds to the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Sec12 to enrich SCAP/SREBP at ER exit sites, where assembling of COPII complex initiates. Loss of Cideb inhibits the cargo loading of SREBP/SCAP, reduces SREBP activation, and alleviates diet-induced hepatic steatosis. Our data point to a linchpin role of Cideb in regulated ER export of SREBP and lipid homeostasis.

Organic cation transporter 3 (Oct3) is a distinct catecholamines clearance route in adipocytes mediating the beiging of white adipose tissue.

Beiging of white adipose tissue (WAT) is a particularly appealing target for therapeutics in the treatment of metabolic diseases through norepinephrine (NE)-mediated signaling pathways. Although previous studies report NE clearance mechanisms via SLC6A2 on sympathetic neurons or proinflammatory macrophages in adipose tissues (ATs), the low catecholamine clearance capacity of SLC6A2 may limit the cleaning efficiency. Here, we report that mouse organic cation transporter 3 (Oct3; Slc22a3) is highly expressed in WAT and displays the greatest uptake rate of NE as a selective non-neural route of NE clearance in white adipocytes, which differs from other known routes such as adjacent neurons or macrophages. We further show that adipocytes express high levels of NE degradation enzymes Maoa, Maob, and Comt, providing the molecular basis on NE clearance by adipocytes together with its reuptake transporter Oct3. Under NE administration, ablation of Oct3 induces higher body temperature, thermogenesis, and lipolysis compared with littermate controls. After prolonged cold challenge, inguinal WAT (ingWAT) in adipose-specific Oct3-deficient mice shows much stronger browning characteristics and significantly elevated expression of thermogenic and mitochondrial biogenesis genes than in littermate controls, and this response involves enhanced ß-adrenergic receptor (ß-AR)/protein kinase A (PKA)/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-responsive element binding protein (Creb) pathway activation. Glycolytic genes are reprogrammed to significantly higher levels to compensate for the loss of ATP production in adipose-specific Oct3 knockout (KO) mice, indicating the fundamental role of glucose metabolism during beiging. Inhibition of ß-AR largely abolishes the higher lipolytic and thermogenic activities in Oct3-deficient ingWAT, indicating the NE overload in the vicinity of adipocytes in Oct3 KO adipocytes. Of note, reduced functional alleles in human OCT3 are also identified to be associated with increased basal metabolic rate (BMR). Collectively, our results demonstrate that Oct3 governs ß-AR activity as a NE recycling transporter in white adipocytes, offering potential therapeutic applications for metabolic disorders.

LRRK2 mediated Rab8a phosphorylation promotes lipid storage.

BACKGROUND: Several mutations in leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene have been associated with pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder marked by resting tremors, and rigidity, leading to Postural instability. It has been revealed that mutations that lead to an increase of kinase activity of LRRK2 protein are significantly associated with PD pathogenesis. Recent studies have shown that some Rab GTPases, especially Rab8, serve as substrates of LRRK2 and undergo phosphorylation in its switch II domain upon interaction. Current study was performed in order to find out the effects of the phosphorylation of Rab8 and its mutants on lipid metabolism and lipid droplets growth. METHODS: The phosphorylation status of Rab8a was checked by phos-tag gel. Point mutant construct were generated to investigate the function of Rab8a. 3T3L1 cells were transfected with indicated plasmids and the lipid droplets were stained with Bodipy. Fluorescent microscopy experiments were performed to examine the sizes of lipid droplets. The interactions between Rab8a and Optineurin were determined by immunoprecipitation and western blot. RESULTS: Our assays demonstrated that Rab8a was phosphorylated by mutated LRRK2 that exhibits high kinase activity. Phosphorylation of Rab8a on amino acid residue T72 promoted the formation of large lipid droplets. T72D mutant of Rab8a had higher activity to promote the formation of large lipid droplets compared with wild type Rab8a, with increase in average diameter of lipid droplets from 2.10 µm to 2.46 µm. Moreover, phosphorylation of Rab8a weakened the interaction with its effector Optineurin. CONCLUSIONS: Y1699C mutated LRRK2 was able to phosphorylate Rab8a and phosphorylation of Rab8a on site 72 plays important role in the fusion and enlargement of lipid droplets. Taken together, our study suggests an indirect relationship between enhanced lipid storage capacity and PD pathogenesis.

Differential Roles of Cell Death-inducing DNA Fragmentation Factor-α-like Effector (CIDE) Proteins in Promoting Lipid Droplet Fusion and Growth in Subpopulations of Hepatocytes.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic subcellular organelles whose growth is closely linked to obesity and hepatic steatosis. Cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-α-like effector (CIDE) proteins, including Cidea, Cideb, and Cidec (also called Fsp27), play important roles in lipid metabolism. Cidea and Cidec are LD-associated proteins that promote atypical LD fusion in adipocytes. Here, we find that CIDE proteins are all localized to LD-LD contact sites (LDCSs) and promote lipid transfer, LD fusion, and growth in hepatocytes. We have identified two types of hepatocytes, one with small LDs (small LD-containing hepatocytes, SLHs) and one with large LDs (large LD-containing hepatocytes, LLHs) in the liver. Cideb is localized to LDCSs and promotes lipid exchange and LD fusion in both SLHs and LLHs, whereas Cidea and Cidec are specifically localized to the LDCSs and promote lipid exchange and LD fusion in LLHs. Cideb-deficient SLHs have reduced LD sizes and lower lipid exchange activities. Fasting dramatically induces the expression of Cidea/Cidec and increases the percentage of LLHs in the liver. The majority of the hepatocytes from the liver of obese mice are Cidea/Cidec-positive LLHs. Knocking down Cidea or Cidec significantly reduced lipid storage in the livers of obese animals. Our data reveal that CIDE proteins play differential roles in promoting LD fusion and lipid storage; Cideb promotes lipid storage under normal diet conditions, whereas Cidea and Cidec are responsible for liver steatosis under fasting and obese conditions.

Control of lipid droplet fusion and growth by CIDE family proteins.

Cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector (CIDE) family proteins including Cidea, Cideb and Cidec/Fsp27 are expressed in many different tissues and are known as lipid droplet (LD)-and ER-associated proteins. Systematic analyses using genetically modified animal models have demonstrated that CIDE proteins play important roles in regulating various aspects of lipid homeostasis, including lipid storage, lipolysis and lipid secretion. Recent research in ours and other laboratories has revealed that CIDE proteins are crucial regulators of LD fusion and growth in the adipose tissue, liver, skin and mammary glands. CIDE-mediated LD fusion and growth is different from other membrane fusions in that it requires CIDE proteins to be enriched and clustered at the LD-LD contact sites (LDCS). The enriched CIDE proteins then allow the recruitment of other proteins to the LDCS and the formation of potential fusion pores. Neutral lipids in the smaller LDs of the contacted pair are transferred to the larger LDs, owing to the internal pressure difference, thus resulting in the fusion and growth of the LDs. This review summarizes the physiological roles of CIDE proteins in controlling lipid homeostasis, insulin sensitivity and the development of metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver, with a particular focus on the role of CIDE proteins in controlling LD fusion and growth. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent Advances in Lipid Droplet Biology edited by Rosalind Coleman and Matthijs Hesselink.

The progress and challenges in metabolic research in China.

Metabolism refers to a chain of chemical reactions converting food/fuel into energy to conduct cellular processes, including the synthesis of the building blocks of the body, such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates, and the elimination of nitrogenous wastes. Metabolic chain reactions are catalyzed by various enzymes that are orchestrated in specific pathways. Metabolic pathways are important for organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. The coordinated regulation of metabolic pathways is important for maintaining metabolic homeostasis. The key steps and crucial enzymes in these pathways have been well investigated. However, the crucial regulatory factors and feedback (or feedforward) mechanisms of nutrients and intermediate metabolites of these biochemical processes remain to be fully elucidated. In addition, the roles of these enzymes and regulatory factors in controlling metabolism under physiological and pathological conditions are largely unknown. In particular, metabolic dysregulation is closely linked to the development of many diseases, including obesity, fatty liver, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, metabolism, an old area of biochemistry, has attracted much attention in the last decade. With substantially increased government funding, the involvement of talented researchers, an improved infrastructure and scientific environment over the last ten years, the basic research in the field of metabolism in China has dramatically advanced. Here, we have summarized the major discoveries of scientists in China in the last decade in the area of metabolism. Due to the vast amount of information, we focused this review on specific aspects of metabolism, particularly metabolic regulation and lipid metabolism in vertebrates. © 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(11):847-853, 2016.

RNF13, a RING finger protein, mediates endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis through the inositol-requiring enzyme (IRE1α)/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathway.

Disturbance of homeostasis at endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes stress to cells that in turn triggers an adaptive signaling pathway termed unfolded protein response for the purpose of restoring normal cellular physiology or initiating signaling events leading to apoptosis. Identification of those genes that are involved in the unfolded protein response-mediated apoptotic signaling pathway would be valuable toward elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying the relationship between ER stress and apoptosis. We initiated a genetic screen by using the retroviral insertion mutation system to search for genes whose inactivation confers resistance to apoptosis induction by staurosporine. Using this approach, RING finger protein 13 (RNF13) was identified. Interestingly, RNF13 is highly enriched in ER. RNF13 knockdown cells are resistant to apoptosis and JNK activation triggered by ER stress. Conversely, overexpression of RNF13 induces JNK activation and caspase-dependent apoptosis. The RING and transmembrane domains of RNF13 are both required for its effects on JNK activation and apoptosis. Moreover, systematic analysis of the involvement of individual signaling components in the ER stress pathway using knockdown approach reveals that RNF13 acts upstream of the IRE1α-TRAF2 signaling axis for JNK activation and apoptosis. Finally, RNF13 co-immunoprecipitates with IRE1α, and the intact RING domain is also required for mediating its interaction. Together, our data support a model that RNF13 is a critical mediator for facilitating ER stress-induced apoptosis through the activation of the IRE1α-TRAF2-JNK signaling pathway.

Identification of Single Nucleotide Polymorphic Loci and Candidate Genes for Seed Germination Percentage in Okra under Salt and No-Salt Stresses by Genome-Wide Association Study.

Excessive soil salinity is a major stressor inhibiting crops' growth, development, and yield. Seed germination is a critical stage of crop growth and development, as well as one of the most salt-sensitive stages. Salt stress has a significant inhibitory effect on seed germination. Okra is a nutritious vegetable, but its seed germination percentage (GP) is low, whether under salt stress conditions or suitable conditions. In this study, we used 180 okra accessions and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on the germination percentage using 20,133,859 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers under 0 (CK, diluted water), 70 (treatment 1, T1), and 140 mmol/L (treatment 2, T2) NaCl conditions. Using the mixed linear model (MLM) in Efficient Mixed-model Association eXpedated (EMMAX) and Genome-wide Efficient Mixed Model Association (GEMMA) software, 511 SNP loci were significantly associated during germination, of which 167 SNP loci were detected simultaneously by both programs. Among the 167 SNPs, SNP2619493 on chromosome 59 and SNP2692266 on chromosome 44 were detected simultaneously under the CK, T1, and T2 conditions, and were key SNP loci regulating the GP of okra seeds. Linkage disequilibrium block analysis revealed that nsSNP2626294 (C/T) in Ae59G004900 was near SNP2619493, and the amino acid changes caused by nsSNP2626294 led to an increase in the phenotypic values in some okra accessions. There was an nsSNP2688406 (A/G) in Ae44G005470 near SNP2692266, and the amino acid change caused by nsSNP2688406 led to a decrease in phenotypic values in some okra accessions. These results indicate that Ae59G004900 and Ae44G005470 regulate the GP of okra seeds under salt and no-salt stresses. The gene expression analysis further demonstrated these results. The SNP markers and genes that were identified in this study will provide reference for further research on the GP of okra, as well as new genetic markers and candidate genes for cultivating new okra varieties with high GPs under salt and no-salt stress conditions.

Hepatic danger signaling triggers TREM2+ macrophage induction and drives steatohepatitis via MS4A7-dependent inflammasome activation.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is an advanced stage of metabolic fatty liver disease. The pathogenic mechanisms of MASH center on hepatocyte injury and the ensuing immune response within the liver microenvironment. Recent work has implicated TREM2+ macrophages in various disease conditions, and substantial induction of TREM2+ NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs) serves as a hallmark of metabolic liver disease. Despite this, the mechanisms through which NAMs contribute to MASH pathogenesis remain poorly understood. Here, we identify membrane-spanning 4-domains a7 (MS4A7) as a NAM-specific pathogenic factor that exacerbates MASH progression in mice. Hepatic MS4A7 expression was strongly induced in mouse and human MASH and associated with the severity of liver injury. Whole-body and myeloid-specific ablation of Ms4a7 alleviated diet-induced MASH pathologies in male mice. We demonstrate that exposure to lipid droplets (LDs), released upon injury of steatotic hepatocytes, triggered NAM induction and exacerbated MASH-associated liver injury in an MS4A7-dependent manner. Mechanistically, MS4A7 drove NLRP3 inflammasome activation via direct physical interaction and shaped disease-associated cell states within the liver microenvironment. This work reveals the LD-MS4A7-NLRP3 inflammasome axis as a pathogenic driver of MASH progression and provides insights into the role of TREM2+ macrophages in disease pathogenesis.

Cidea promotes hepatic steatosis by sensing dietary fatty acids.

UNLABELLED: High levels of dietary saturated fat have been closely associated with the development of hepatic steatosis, but the factors that mediate this process remain elusive. Here, we observed that the level of cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-alpha-like effector a (Cidea) expression was highly correlated with the severity of hepatic steatosis in humans. Overexpression of Cidea in mouse liver resulted in increased hepatic lipid accumulation and the formation of large lipid droplets (LDs). In contrast, mice with a Cidea deficiency had decreased lipid accumulation and alleviated hepatic steatosis when they received a high-fat-diet feeding or in ob/ob mice. Furthermore, the knockdown of Cidea in livers of ob/ob mice resulted in significantly reduced hepatic lipid accumulation and smaller LDs. Importantly, we observed that Cidea expression in hepatocytes was specifically induced by saturated fatty acids (FAs), and such induction was reduced when sterol response element-binding protein (SREBP)1c was knocked down. In contrast, the overexpression of SREBP1c restored the saturated FA-induced expression of Cidea. In addition, we observed that the stability of Cidea protein in hepatocytes increased significantly in response to treatment with FAs. CONCLUSION: Cidea plays critical roles in promoting hepatic lipid accumulation and in the development of hepatic steatosis by acting as a sensor that responds to diets that contain FAs.

CIDE proteins and lipid metabolism.

Lipid homeostasis is maintained through the coordination of lipid metabolism in various tissues, including adipose tissue and the liver. The disruption of lipid homeostasis often results in the development of metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, liver steatosis, and cardiovascular diseases. Cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor 45-like effector family proteins, including Cidea, Cideb, and Fsp27 (Cidec), are emerging as important regulators of various lipid metabolic pathways and play pivotal roles in the development of metabolic disorders. This review summarizes the latest cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor 45-like effector protein discoveries related to the control of lipid metabolism, with emphasis on the role of these proteins in lipid droplet growth in adipocytes and in the regulation of very low-density lipoprotein lipidation and maturation in hepatocytes.

Opposing roles of cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector B and perilipin 2 in controlling hepatic VLDL lipidation.

Regulation of hepatic very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) assembly and maturation is crucial in controlling lipid homeostasis and in the development of metabolic disorders, including obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. Cideb, a member of cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector (CIDE) protein family, has been previously shown to promote VLDL lipidation and maturation. However, the precise subcellular location of Cideb-mediated VLDL lipidation and the factors modulating its activity remain elusive. In addition to its localization to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lipid droplets (LD), we observed that Cideb was also localized to the Golgi apparatus. Mature and lipid-rich VLDL particles did not accumulate in the Golgi apparatus in Cideb(-/-) livers. Interestingly, we observed that hepatic perilipin 2/adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) levels were markedly increased in Cideb(-/-) mice. Liver-specific knockdown of perilipin 2 in Cideb(-/-) mice resulted in the reduced accumulation of hepatic triglycerides (TAG), increased VLDL-TAG secretion, and the accumulation of mature TAG-rich VLDL in the Golgi apparatus. These data reveal that Cideb and perilipin 2 play opposing roles in controlling VLDL lipidation and hepatic lipid homeostasis.

Neuregulin 4 suppresses NASH-HCC development by restraining tumor-prone liver microenvironment.

The mammalian liver comprises heterogeneous cell types within its tissue microenvironment that undergo pathophysiological reprogramming in disease states, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Patients with NASH are at an increased risk for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular and cellular nature of liver microenvironment remodeling that links NASH to liver carcinogenesis remains obscure. Here, we show that diet-induced NASH is characterized by the induction of tumor-associated macrophage (TAM)-like macrophages and exhaustion of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the liver. The adipocyte-derived endocrine factor Neuregulin 4 (NRG4) serves as a hormonal checkpoint that restrains this pathological reprogramming during NASH. NRG4 deficiency exacerbated the induction of tumor-prone liver immune microenvironment and NASH-related HCC, whereas transgenic NRG4 overexpression elicited protective effects in mice. In a therapeutic setting, recombinant NRG4-Fc fusion protein exhibited remarkable potency in suppressing HCC and prolonged survival in the treated mice. These findings pave the way for therapeutic intervention of liver cancer by targeting the NRG4 hormonal checkpoint.

Chain length-dependent inulin alleviates diet-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice.

Dietary fiber is regarded to improve host metabolic disorders through modulating gut microbiota. The study was to investigate the effects of inulin with different degree of polymerization (DP) on adiposity, related metabolic syndrome, and the possible mechanisms from the points of gut microbiota and metabolite changes. C57Bl/6J male mice were randomly allocated to normal diet (ND) group, high-fat diet (HFD) group, two HFD groups with short-chain inulin (HFD-S) and medium and long-chain inulin (HFD-ML) for 8 weeks. Compared with HFD treatment, ML-inulin supplementation significantly decreased weight gain, hepatic steatosis, chronic inflammation, and increased insulin sensitivity, energy expenditure and thermogenesis. This could be mimicked by S-inulin supplementation to some degree although it is not as effective as ML inulin. Also, mice treated with S and ML inulin had a remarkable alternation in the composition of gut microbiota and increased the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). However, reduced serum levels of essential fatty acids, vitamins B1 and B3 by HFD were further decreased by both inulin supplementations. ML inulin can prevent HFD-induced obesity and the associated metabolic disorders, and may be used as novel gut microbiota modulator to prevent HFD-induced gut dysbiosis and metabolic disorders.

Regulation of gene expression by FSP27 in white and brown adipose tissue.

BACKGROUND: Brown and white adipose tissues (BAT and WAT) play critical roles in controlling energy homeostasis and in the development of obesity and diabetes. The mouse Fat-Specific protein 27 (FSP27), a member of the cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector (CIDE) family, is expressed in both BAT and WAT and is associated with lipid droplets. Over-expression of FSP27 promotes lipid storage, whereas FSP27 deficient mice have improved insulin sensitivity and are resistant to diet-induced obesity. In addition, FSP27-deficient white adipocytes have reduced lipid storage, smaller lipid droplets, increased mitochondrial activity and a higher expression of several BAT-selective genes. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which FSP27 controls lipid storage and gene expression in WAT and BAT, we systematically analyzed the gene expression profile of FSP27-deficient WAT by microarray analysis and compared the expression levels of a specific set of genes in WAT and BAT by semi-quantitative real-time PCR analysis. RESULTS: BAT-selective genes were significantly up-regulated, whereas WAT-selective genes were down-regulated in the WAT of FSP27-deficient mice. The expression of the BAT-selective genes was also dramatically up-regulated in the WAT of leptin/FSP27 double deficient mice. In addition, the expression levels of genes involved in multiple metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation, the TCA cycle, fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid oxidation, were increased in the FSP27-deficient WAT. In contrast, the expression levels for genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, the classic complement pathway and TGF-beta signaling were down-regulated in the FSP27-deficient WAT. Most importantly, the expression levels of regulatory factors that determine BAT identity, such as CEBP alpha/beta, PRDM16 and major components of the cAMP pathway, were markedly up-regulated in the WAT of FSP27-deficient mice. The expression levels of these regulatory factors were also up-regulated in leptin/FSP27 double deficient mice. Interestingly, distinct gene expression profiles were observed in the BAT of FSP27-deficient mice. Taken together, these data suggest that the WAT of FSP27-deficient mice have a gene expression profile similar to that of BAT. CONCLUSIONS: FSP27 acts as a molecular determinant that controls gene expression for a diversity of metabolic and signaling pathways and, in particular, the expression of regulatory factors, including CEBP alpha/beta, PRDM16 and components of the cAMP signaling pathway, that control the identity of WAT and BAT.

The obesity-induced adipokine sST2 exacerbates adipose Treg and ILC2 depletion and promotes insulin resistance.

Depletion of fat-resident regulatory T cells (Tregs) and group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) has been causally linked to obesity-associated insulin resistance. However, the molecular nature of the pathogenic signals suppress adipose Tregs and ILC2s in obesity remains unknown. Here, we identified the soluble isoform of interleukin (IL)-33 receptor ST2 (sST2) as an obesity-induced adipokine that attenuates IL-33 signaling and disrupts Treg/ILC2 homeostasis in adipose tissue, thereby exacerbates obesity-associated insulin resistance in mice. We demonstrated sST2 is a target of TNFα signaling in adipocytes that is countered by Zbtb7b. Fat-specific ablation of Zbtb7b augments adipose sST2 gene expression, leading to diminished fat-resident Tregs/ILC2s, more pronounced adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis, and impaired glucose homeostasis in mice. Mechanistically, Zbtb7b suppresses NF-κB activation in response to TNFα through destabilizing IκBα. These findings uncover an adipokine-immune signaling pathway that is engaged in obesity to drive the pathological changes of the immunometabolic landscape.

ORP5 localizes to ER-lipid droplet contacts and regulates the level of PI(4)P on lipid droplets.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are evolutionarily conserved organelles that play important roles in cellular metabolism. Each LD is enclosed by a monolayer of phospholipids, distinct from bilayer membranes. During LD biogenesis and growth, this monolayer of lipids expands by acquiring phospholipids from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through nonvesicular mechanisms. Here, in a mini-screen, we find that ORP5, an integral membrane protein of the ER, can localize to ER-LD contact sites upon oleate loading. ORP5 interacts with LDs through its ligand-binding domain, and ORP5 deficiency enhances neutral lipid synthesis and increases the size of LDs. Importantly, there is significantly more phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI(4)P) and less phosphatidylserine (PS) on LDs in ORP5-deficient cells than in normal cells. The increased presence of PI(4)P on LDs in ORP5-deficient cells requires phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase 2-α. Our results thus demonstrate the existence of PI(4)P on LDs and suggest that LD-associated PI(4)P may be primarily used by ORP5 to deliver PS to LDs.