Modulation of nutrient sensing nuclear hormone receptors promotes weight loss through appetite suppression in mice.

AIM: Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear receptors involved in glucose and lipid metabolism. Three isoforms of PPARs have been identified with different tissue distribution and biological functions. Although the pharmacology of each receptor is well studied, the physiological effect of simultaneous activation of PPARalpha, gamma and delta is only starting to emerge. We sought to determine the biological effects of a novel PPAR pan activator and elucidate the physiological mechanisms involved. METHODS: Ob/ob, diet-induced obese (DIO) or PPARalpha knockout mice were administered a novel agonist that activates all PPARs to various degrees to determine the effect on body weight, body composition, food intake and energy expenditure. In addition, serum parameters including glucose, insulin, triglycerides and ketone bodies as well as tissue acylcarnitine were evaluated. The effect of the novel agonist on liver and skeletal muscle histopathology was also studied. RESULTS: We report that simultaneous activation of all PPARs resulted in substantial weight loss in ob/ob and DIO mice. Consistent with known PPAR pharmacology, we observed that agonist treatment increased lipid oxidation, although appetite suppression was mainly responsible for the weight loss. Agonist-induced weight loss was completely absent in PPARalpha knockout mice suggesting that PPARalpha pharmacology was the major contributor to weight regulation in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our work provides evidence that simultaneous activation of PPARalpha, gamma and delta decreases body weight by regulating appetite. These effects of the pan agonist were completely absent in PPARalpha knockout mice, suggesting that PPARalpha pharmacology was the major contributor to weight loss.

Prodrug delivery of novel PTP1B inhibitors to enhance insulin signalling.

A growing percentage of the population is resistant to two key hormones - insulin and leptin - as a result of increased obesity, often leading to significant health consequences such as type 2 diabetes. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a key negative regulator of signalling by both of these hormones, so that inhibitors of this enzyme may provide promise for correcting endocrine abnormalities in both diabetes and obesity. As with other tyrosine phosphatases, identification of viable drug candidates targeting PTP1B has been elusive because of the nature of its active site. Beginning with novel phosphotyrosine mimetics, we have designed some of the most potent PTP1B inhibitors. However, their highly acidic structures limit intrinsic permeability and pharmacokinetics. Ester prodrugs of these inhibitors improve their drug-like properties with the goal of delivering these nanomolar inhibitors to the cytoplasm of cells within target tissues. In addition to identifying prodrugs that is able to deliver active drugs into cells to inhibit PTP1B and increase insulin signalling, these compounds were further modified to gain a variety of cleavage properties for targeting activity in vivo. One such prodrug candidate improved insulin sensitivity in ob/ob mice, with lowered fasting blood glucose levels seen in the context of lowered fasting insulin levels following 4 days of intraperitoneal dosing. The results presented in this study highlight the potential for design of orally active drug candidates targeting PTP1B, while also delineating the considerable challenges remaining.

Administration of myostatin does not alter fat mass in adult mice.

AIM: Myostatin, a member of the TGF-beta superfamily, is produced by skeletal muscle and acts as a negative regulator of muscle mass. It has also been suggested that low-dose administration of myostatin (2 mug/day) in rodents can reduce fat mass without altering muscle mass. In the current study, we attempted to further explore the effects of myostatin on adipocytes and its potential to reduce fat mass, since myostatin administration could potentially be a useful strategy to treat obesity and its complications in humans. METHODS: Purified myostatin protein was examined for its effects on adipogenesis and lipolysis in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes as well as for effects on fat mass in wild-type, myostatin null and obese mice. RESULTS: While myostatin was capable of inhibiting adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells, it did not alter lipolysis in fully differentiated adipocytes. Importantly, pharmacological administration of myostatin over a range of doses (2-120 mug/day) did not affect fat mass in wild-type or genetically obese (ob/ob, db/db) mice, although muscle mass was significantly reduced at the highest myostatin dose. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that myostatin does not reduce adipose stores in adult animals. Contrary to prior indications, pharmacological administration of myostatin does not appear to be an effective strategy to treat obesity in vivo.

Purification and properties of RhaR, the positive regulator of the L-rhamnose operons of Escherichia coli.

The product of the rhaR gene, which regulates the level of mRNA produced from the four L-rhamnose-inducible promoters of the rhamnose operon, has been hypersynthesized and purified by a two-column procedure. The purified protein is a 33 kDa DNA-binding protein that binds to an inverted repeat structure located within the psr promoter, the promoter for the rhaS and rhaR genes. The equilibrium binding constants and kinetic constants have been determined under a variety of solution conditions. The protein binds with high affinity and its binding is sensitive to salt concentration and the presence of L-rhamnose. The nucleotides and phosphate residues contacted by RhaR were identified by chemical interference assays. All of the contacts are made to one face of the DNA and the symmetrical pattern matches the inverted repeat sequence proposed for the binding site. An unusual property of the binding site is that the two half-sites of the inverted repeat are separated from one another by 17 base-pairs of uncontacted DNA. Significant binding is retained if the 17 base-pairs are extended by insertions of integral turns of DNA, but not by half-integral turns. The complex of RhaR-DNA appears to be sharply bent, approximately 160 degrees.

Positive regulation of the Escherichia coli L-rhamnose operon is mediated by the products of tandemly repeated regulatory genes.

The rhaC gene, whose product is the positive activator of the genes required for L-rhamnose utilization, has been cloned along with the rhamnose structural genes. The rhaC sequence shows two partially overlapping reading frames, encoding two proteins of molecular weight 32,000 and 35,000 RhaS and RhaR. Both proteins show significant homology to AraC, the positive activator of the arabinose operon. S1 mapping located transcriptional start points and showed that RhaR, and possibly RhaS, positively regulate transcription from the structural gene promoters as well as transcription from their own promoter. In-vivo dimethyl sulfate footprinting and DNase I footprinting indicate that the RhaR protein may bind to DNA elements upstream from its RNA polymerase binding site.

Transcription from the rha operon psr promoter.

S1 nuclease mapping experiments performed with RNA extracted from cell lines that were unable to metabolize L-rhamnose demonstrated that L-rhamnose and not a metabolite was the inducer of the L-rhamnose operons of Escherichia coli. In vitro transcription studies showed that purified RhaR activates transcription from the psr promoter in the presence of L-rhamnose. In the absence of L-rhamnose, RhaR binds to the psr promoter but does not activate transcription until L-rhamnose is added.

Mutational analysis of a signal sequence required for protein secretion in Leishmania major.

In eukaryotes, amino-terminal extensions, signal sequences, mediate the translocation of lysosomal, membrane and secreted proteins into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Structure/function studies indicate that eukaryotic signal sequences are composed of 3 distinct domains, a positively charged amino-terminal domain, a central hydrophobic domain, and a polar carboxy-terminal domain. In an attempt to better understand protein trafficking in Leishmania we have constructed strains of Leishmania major that secrete an exogenous protein, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), under the control of a mammalian signal sequence. In this report we present a mutational analysis of this signal sequence. Deletion of the entire signal sequence or the hydrophobic core region prevents secretion of IFN-gamma and results in cytoplasmic expression of the protein. Mutations in the amino-terminal domain indicate that a net positive charge is not required for efficient secretion of IFN-gamma. Mutations in the carboxy-terminal domain are more complex and display two phenotypes, either they prevent expression of IFN-gamma or they have no effect on protein secretion. These results indicate that the function of the signal sequence in targeting proteins to the ER in Leishmania is similar to that observed in yeasts and higher eukaryotes and suggests that the Leishmania protein secretory apparatus may also be similar.

A sequence insertion targeting vector for Leishmania enriettii.

We have demonstrated previously that Leishmania enriettii contains the enzymatic machinery to mediate efficient interplasmidic homologous recombination. In this report we show that a sequence insertion targeting vector, pALT-Neo-Tub, can be inserted into the genome of L. enriettii by homologous recombination between alpha-tubulin sequences found in the plasmid and their homologs in the genome. pALT-Neo-Tub, a pBluescript-derived vector containing the neor gene flanked by the alpha-tubulin intergenic and alpha-tubulin coding sequences, was used to transfect cells to G418 resistance. Analysis of the DNA from the drug resistant clones indicates that all of the insertion events are restricted to the alpha-tubulin gene repeats. As little as 200 base pairs of sequence homology between the plasmid and the genome is required for integration. Nonhomologous recombination events are not detected. These results indicate that exogenous DNA sequences can be integrated into the L. enriettii genome provided that they are flanked by homologous DNA sequences.

Homologous recombination in Leishmania enriettii.

We have used derivatives of the recently developed stable transfection vector pALT-Neo to formally demonstrate that Leishmania enriettii contains the enzymatic machinery necessary for homologous recombination. This observation has implications for gene regulation, gene amplification, genetic diversity, and the maintenance of tandemly repeated gene families in the Leishmania genome as well as in closely related organisms, including Trypanosoma brucei. Two plasmids containing nonoverlapping deletions of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene, as well as the neomycin-resistance gene, were cotransfected into L. enriettii. Analysis of the DNA from these cells by Southern blotting and plasmid rescue revealed that a full-length or doubly deleted CAT gene could be reconstructed by homologous crossing-over and/or gene conversion between the two deletion plasmids. Additionally, parasites cotransfected with pALT-Neo and pALT-CAT-S, a plasmid containing two copies of the chimeric alpha-tubulin-CAT gene, resulted in G418-resistant parasites expressing high levels of CAT activity. The structure of the DNA within these cells, as shown by Southern blot analysis and the polymerase chain reaction, is that which would be expected from a homologous exchange event occurring between the two plasmids.

Cross-induction of the L-fucose system by L-rhamnose in Escherichia coli.

Dissimilation of L-fucose as a carbon and energy source by Escherichia coli involves a permease, an isomerase, a kinase, and an aldolase encoded by the fuc regulon at minute 60.2. Utilization of L-rhamnose involves a similar set of proteins encoded by the rha operon at minute 87.7. Both pathways lead to the formation of L-lactaldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. A common NAD-linked oxidoreductase encoded by fucO serves to reduce L-lactaldehyde to L-1,2-propanediol under anaerobic growth conditions, irrespective of whether the aldehyde is derived from fucose or rhamnose. In this study it was shown that anaerobic growth on rhamnose induces expression of not only the fucO gene but also the entire fuc regulon. Rhamnose is unable to induce the fuc genes in mutants defective in rhaA (encoding L-rhamnose isomerase), rhaB (encoding L-rhamnulose kinase), rhaD (encoding L-rhamnulose 1-phosphate aldolase), rhaR (encoding the positive regulator for the rha structural genes), or fucR (encoding the positive for the fuc regulon). Thus, cross-induction of the L-fucose enzymes by rhamnose requires formation of L-lactaldehyde; either the aldehyde itself or the L-fuculose 1-phosphate (known to be an effector) formed from it then interacts with the fucR-encoded protein to induce the fuc regulon.

Stable expression of the bacterial neor gene in Leishmania enriettii.

Molecular genetic studies in parasitic protozoa have been hindered by the lack of methods for the introduction and expression of modified or foreign genes in these organisms. Two recent reports described the transient expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene under the control of parasite-specific sequences. We now describe the stable expression of a selectable marker, the gene for neomycin resistance (neor) in Leishmania enriettii. A chimaeric gene containing the neor gene inserted between two alpha-tubulin intergenic sequences was introduced into the cells and drug-resistant L. enriettii were observed which stably expressed the neor gene. One goal of this work was to analyse the sequences necessary for trans-splicing of messenger RNA, as trypanosomatids have a novel process of RNA trans-splicing, described initially in Trypanosome brucei and subsequently in several other trypanosomatids, including L. enriettii. Many trypanosomatid genes are arranged in tandem arrays and the intergenic sequences contain both the splice acceptor site for the addition of the spliced leader sequence and a putative polyadenylation site. Messenger RNA isolated from several different neor L. enrietti lines contained the spliced leader sequence joined to the neor gene at the position of the splice acceptor site in the alpha-tubulin intergenic sequence. The neor mRNA was also polyadenylated. Plasmid DNA is present within the drug-resistant organisms and appears to be extrachromosomal. The development of these methods allows the functional analysis of sequences necessary for trans-splicing.

Charged residues dominate a unique interlocking topography in the heterodimeric cytokine interleukin-12.

Human interleukin-12 (IL-12, p70) is an early pro-inflammatory cytokine, comprising two disulfide-linked subunits, p35 and p40. We solved the crystal structures of monomeric human p40 at 2.5 A and the human p70 complex at 2.8 A resolution, which reveals that IL-12 is similar to class 1 cytokine-receptor complexes. They also include the first description of an N-terminal immunoglobulin-like domain, found on the p40 subunit. Several charged residues from p35 and p40 intercalate to form a unique interlocking topography, shown by mutagenesis to be critical for p70 formation. A central arginine residue from p35 projects into a deep pocket on p40, which may be an ideal target for a small molecule antagonist of IL-12 formation.

Transfected Leishmania expressing biologically active IFN-gamma.

Infection of susceptible BALB/c mice with Leishmania major leads to progressive infection with the failure to expand and activate Th1 CD4+ T cells that elaborate IFN-gamma, a critically implicated cytokine for control of disease. We used the recently described capacity to express foreign genes in trypanosomatids to introduce into Leishmania the murine IFN-gamma gene on a drug-selectable plasmid under the constitutive control of intergenic tubulin sequences. Several clones of L. major were established and demonstrated to contain IFN-gamma DNA and IFN-gamma RNA that was appropriately trans-spliced with the Leishmania-specific leader sequence, and to secrete IFN-gamma into the media. The secreted IFN-gamma was biologically active as assessed by up-regulation of class II MHC Ag and induction of macrophage nitric oxide synthase activity in a macrophage cell line. Infection of nude mice with IFN-gamma-containing organisms resulted in significantly slower progression of disease as compared to infection with organisms containing the empty plasmid, suggesting that biologically important activation of infected macrophages might be occurring in vivo. Infection of genetically susceptible BALB/c mice, however, did not impede the expansion of Th2 cells and the inexorable progression of disease. Despite the demonstration of increased levels of IFN-gamma transcription in vivo, induction of nitric oxide synthase in macrophages and expression of Ly-6, and IFN-gamma-inducible Ag, on CD4+ lymphocytes could not be shown. In all cases, organisms recovered from tissue amastigotes contained the IFN-gamma plasmid and secreted active IFN-gamma. The data confirm earlier studies that IFN-gamma alone is not sufficient to impede activation and maturation of Th2 cells in susceptible mice, even when targeted directly to the infected cell.

Crystal structure of the B7-1/CTLA-4 complex that inhibits human immune responses.

Optimal immune responses require both an antigen-specific and a co-stimulatory signal. The shared ligands B7-1 and B7-2 on antigen-presenting cells deliver the co-stimulatory signal through CD28 and CTLA-4 on T cells. Signalling through CD28 augments the T-cell response, whereas CTLA-4 signalling attenuates it. Numerous animal studies and recent clinical trials indicate that manipulating these interactions holds considerable promise for immunotherapy. With the consequences of these signals well established, and details of the downstream signalling events emerging, understanding the molecular nature of these extracellular interactions becomes crucial. Here we report the crystal structure of the human CTLA-4/B7-1 co-stimulatory complex at 3.0 A resolution. In contrast to other interacting cell-surface molecules, the relatively small CTLA-4/B7-1 binding interface exhibits an unusually high degree of shape complementarity. CTLA-4 forms homodimers through a newly defined interface of highly conserved residues. In the crystal lattice, CTLA-4 and B7-1 pack in a strikingly periodic arrangement in which bivalent CTLA-4 homodimers bridge bivalent B7-1 homodimers. This zipper-like oligomerization provides the structural basis for forming unusually stable signalling complexes at the T-cell surface, underscoring the importance of potent inhibitory signalling in human immune responses.