Metformin treatment results in distinctive skeletal muscle mitochondrial remodeling in rats with different intrinsic aerobic capacities.

The rationale for the use of metformin as a treatment to slow aging was largely based on data collected from metabolically unhealthy individuals. For healthspan extension metformin will also be used in periods of good health. To understand potential context specificity of metformin treatment on skeletal muscle, we used a rat model (HCR/LCR) with a divide in intrinsic aerobic capacity. Outcomes of metformin treatment differed based on baseline intrinsic mitochondrial function, oxidative capacity of the muscle (gastroc vs soleus), and the mitochondrial population (IMF vs SS). Metformin caused lower ADP-stimulated respiration in LCRs, with less of a change in HCRs. However, a washout of metformin resulted in an unexpected doubling of respiratory capacity in HCRs. These improvements in respiratory capacity were accompanied by mitochondrial remodeling that included increases in protein synthesis and changes in morphology. Our findings raise questions about whether the positive findings of metformin treatment are broadly applicable.

17α-Estradiol alleviates high-fat diet-induced inflammatory and metabolic dysfunction in skeletal muscle of male and female mice.

17α-estradiol (17α-E2) is a naturally occurring nonfeminizing diastereomer of 17ß-estradiol that has life span-extending effects in rodent models. To date, studies of the systemic and tissue-specific benefits of 17α-E2 have largely focused on the liver, brain, and white adipose tissue with far less focus on skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle has an important role in metabolic and age-related disease. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether 17α-E2 treatment has positive, tissue-specific effects on skeletal muscle during a high-fat feeding. We hypothesized that male, but not female, mice, would benefit from 17α-E2 treatment during a high-fat diet (HFD) with changes in the mitochondrial proteome to support lipid oxidation and subsequent reductions in diacylglycerol (DAG) and ceramide content. To test this hypothesis, we used a multiomics approach to determine changes in lipotoxic lipid intermediates, metabolites, and proteins related to metabolic homeostasis. Unexpectedly, we found that 17α-E2 had marked, but different, beneficial effects within each sex. In male mice, we show that 17α-E2 alleviates HFD-induced metabolic detriments of skeletal muscle by reducing the accumulation of diacylglycerol (DAG), and inflammatory cytokine levels, and altered the abundance of most of the proteins related to lipolysis and ß-oxidation. Similar to male mice, 17α-E2 treatment reduced fat mass while protecting muscle mass in female mice but had little muscle inflammatory cytokine levels. Although female mice were resistant to HFD-induced changes in DAGs, 17α-E2 treatment induced the upregulation of six DAG species. In female mice, 17α-E2 treatment changed the relative abundance of proteins involved in lipolysis, ß-oxidation, as well as structural and contractile proteins but to a smaller extent than male mice. These data demonstrate the metabolic benefits of 17α-E2 in skeletal muscle of male and female mice and contribute to the growing literature of the use of 17α-E2 for multi tissue health span benefits.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using a multiomics approach, we show that 17α-E2 alleviates HFD-induced metabolic detriments in skeletal muscle by altering bioactive lipid intermediates, inflammatory cytokines, and the abundance of proteins related to lipolysis and muscle contraction. The positive effects of 17α-E2 in skeletal muscle occur in both sexes but differ in their outcome.

Proinflammatory and antiinflammatory attributes of fetuin-a: a novel hepatokine modulating cardiovascular and glycemic outcomes in metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Fetuin-A is a novel hepatokine. The number of biologic roles attributed to fetuin-A has increased exponentially in the past decade. The objective of this review is to discuss the pathophysiology of fetuin-A action, its proinflammatory and antiinflammatory attributes in different biological systems throughout the body, and pharmacologic interventions that modulate fetuin-A levels. METHODS: PubMed, Medline, and Embase search for articles published to July 2014, using the terms "alpha-2-hs-glycoprotein" [MeSH Terms] OR "alpha-2-hs-glycoprotein" [All Fields] OR "fetuin a" [All Fields]. RESULTS: Fetuin-A is the endogenous ligand for Toll-like receptor-4 activation, for lipid-induced insulin resistance. Fetuin-A has inverse interaction with adiponectin. Increased fetuin-A is a risk factor for diabetes and fatty liver disease in normoglycemia and prediabetes. Fetuin-A is a negative acute-phase reactant in sepsis and endotoxemia, promotes wound healing, and is neuroprotective in Alzheimer's disease. Decreased fetuin-A predicts increased disease activity in obstructive lung disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. Both elevated and reduced fetuin-A may be linked with increased cardiovascular events. CONCLUSION: Fetuin-A is a pleotropic molecule with diverse (sometimes even contradictory) effects in different systems, brought about by interaction with a variety of receptors, including the insulin, transforming growth factor-ß, and a plethora of Toll-like receptors. As a proinflammatory molecule, fetuin-A contributes to insulin resistance and is an important link between liver, adipose tissue, and muscles. Fetuin-A is neuroprotective and plays an important antiinflammatory role in sepsis and autoimmune disorders. Pharmacologic options are limited in modulating serum fetuin-A, but salsalates, curcumin, and vitamin D are promising agents of the future.