Extracellular thiamine concentration influences thermogenic competency of differentiating neck area-derived human adipocytes.

Introduction: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates energy in the form of heat majorly via the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). The activation of BAT, which is enriched in the neck area and contains brown and beige adipocytes in humans, was considered as a potential therapeutic target to treat obesity. Therefore, finding novel agents that can stimulate the differentiation and recruitment of brown or beige thermogenic adipocytes are important subjects for investigation. The current study investigated how the availability of extracellular thiamine (vitamin B1), an essential cofactor of mitochondrial enzyme complexes that catalyze key steps in the catabolism of nutrients, affects the expression of thermogenic marker genes and proteins and subsequent functional parameters during ex vivo adipocyte differentiation. Methods: We differentiated primary human adipogenic progenitors that were cultivated from subcutaneous (SC) or deep neck (DN) adipose tissues in the presence of gradually increasing thiamine concentrations during their 14-day differentiation program. mRNA and protein expression of thermogenic genes were analyzed by RT-qPCR and western blot, respectively. Cellular respiration including stimulated maximal and proton-leak respiration was measured by Seahorse analysis. Results: Higher thiamine levels resulted in increased expression of thiamine transporter 1 and 2 both at mRNA and protein levels in human neck area-derived adipocytes. Gradually increasing concentrations of thiamine led to increased basal, cAMP-stimulated, and proton-leak respiration along with elevated mitochondrial biogenesis of the differentiated adipocytes. The extracellular thiamine availability during adipogenesis determined the expression levels of UCP1, PGC1a, CKMT2, and other browning-related genes and proteins in primary SC and DN-derived adipocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. Providing abundant amounts of thiamine further increased the thermogenic competency of the adipocytes. Discussion: Case studies in humans reported that thiamine deficiency was found in patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Our study raises the possibility of a novel strategy with long-term thiamine supplementation, which can enhance the thermogenic competency of differentiating neck area-derived adipocytes for preventing or combating obesity.

Corrigendum: Human abdominal subcutaneous-derived active beige adipocytes carrying FTO rs1421085 obesity-risk alleles exert lower thermogenic capacity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1155673.].

Human abdominal subcutaneous-derived active beige adipocytes carrying FTO rs1421085 obesity-risk alleles exert lower thermogenic capacity.

Introduction: White adipocytes store lipids, have a large lipid droplet and few mitochondria. Brown and beige adipocytes, which produce heat, are characterized by high expression of uncoupling protein (UCP) 1, multilocular lipid droplets, and large amounts of mitochondria. The rs1421085 T-to-C single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the human FTO gene interrupts a conserved motif for ARID5B repressor, resulting in adipocyte type shift from beige to white. Methods: We obtained abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue from donors carrying FTO rs1421085 TT (risk-free) or CC (obesity-risk) genotypes, isolated and differentiated their preadipocytes into beige adipocytes (driven by the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone for 14 days), and activated them with dibutyryl-cAMP for 4 hours. Then, either the same culture conditions were applied for additional 14 days (active beige adipocytes) or it was replaced by a white differentiation medium (inactive beige adipocytes). White adipocytes were differentiated by their medium for 28 days. Results and Discussion: RNA-sequencing was performed to investigate the gene expression pattern of adipocytes carrying different FTO alleles and found that active beige adipocytes had higher brown adipocyte content and browning capacity compared to white or inactive beige ones when the cells were obtained from risk-free TT but not from obesity-risk CC genotype carriers. Active beige adipocytes carrying FTO CC had lower thermogenic gene (e.g., UCP1, PM20D1, CIDEA) expression and thermogenesis measured by proton leak respiration as compared to TT carriers. In addition, active beige adipocytes with CC alleles exerted lower expression of ASC-1 neutral amino acid transporter (encoded by SLC7A10) and less consumption of Ala, Ser, Cys, and Gly as compared to risk-free carriers. We did not observe any influence of the FTO rs1421085 SNP on white and inactive beige adipocytes highlighting its exclusive and critical effect when adipocytes were activated for thermogenesis.

Availability of abundant thiamine determines efficiency of thermogenic activation in human neck area derived adipocytes.

Brown/beige adipocytes express uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) that enables them to dissipate energy as heat. Systematic activation of this process can alleviate obesity. Human brown adipose tissues are interspersed in distinct anatomical regions including deep neck. We found that UCP1 enriched adipocytes differentiated from precursors of this depot highly expressed ThTr2 transporter of thiamine and consumed thiamine during thermogenic activation of these adipocytes by cAMP which mimics adrenergic stimulation. Inhibition of ThTr2 led to lower thiamine consumption with decreased proton leak respiration reflecting reduced uncoupling. In the absence of thiamine, cAMP-induced uncoupling was diminished but restored by thiamine addition reaching the highest levels at thiamine concentrations larger than present in human blood plasma. Thiamine is converted to thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) in cells; the addition of TPP to permeabilized adipocytes increased uncoupling fueled by TPP-dependent pyruvate dehydrogenase. ThTr2 inhibition also hampered cAMP-dependent induction of UCP1, PGC1a, and other browning marker genes, and thermogenic induction of these genes was potentiated by thiamine in a concentration-dependent manner. Our study reveals the importance of amply supplied thiamine during thermogenic activation in human adipocytes which provides TPP for TPP-dependent enzymes not fully saturated with this cofactor and by potentiating the induction of thermogenic genes.

Transglutaminase 2 associated with PI3K and PTEN in a membrane-bound signalosome platform blunts cell death.

Atypically expressed transglutaminase 2 (TG2) has been identified as a poor prognostic factor in a variety of cancers. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of TG2 to the prolonged cell survival of differentiated acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) cells in response to the standard treatment with combined retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO). We report that one advantage of ATRA + ATO treatment compared to ATRA alone diminishes the amount of activated and non-activated CD11b/CD18 and CD11c/CD18 cell surface integrin receptors. These changes suppress ATRA-induced TG2 docking on the cytosolic part of CD18 ß2-integrin subunits and reduce cell survival. In addition, TG2 overexpresses and hyperactivates the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), phospho-AKT S473, and phospho-mTOR S2481 signalling axis. mTORC2 acts as a functional switch between cell survival and death by promoting the full activation of AKT. We show that TG2 presumably triggers the formation of a signalosome platform, hyperactivates downstream mTORC2-AKT signalling, which in turn phosphorylates and inhibits the activity of FOXO3, a key pro-apoptotic transcription factor. In contrast, the absence of TG2 restores basic phospho-mTOR S2481, phospho-AKT S473, PI3K, and PTEN expression and activity, thereby sensitising APL cells to ATO-induced cell death. We conclude, that atypically expressed TG2 may serve as a hub, facilitating signal transduction via signalosome formation by the CD18 subunit with both PI3K hyperactivation and PTEN inactivation through the PI3K-PTEN cycle in ATRA-treated APL cells.

Tissue Transglutaminase Knock-Out Preadipocytes and Beige Cells of Epididymal Fat Origin Possess Decreased Mitochondrial Functions Required for Thermogenesis.

Beige adipocytes with thermogenic function are activated during cold exposure in white adipose tissue through the process of browning. These cells, similar to brown adipocytes, dissipate stored chemical energy in the form of heat with the help of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Recently, we have shown that tissue transglutaminase (TG2) knock-out mice have decreased cold tolerance in parallel with lower utilization of their epididymal adipose tissue and reduced browning. To learn more about the thermogenic function of this fat depot, we isolated preadipocytes from the epididymal adipose tissue of wild-type and TG2 knock-out mice and differentiated them in the beige direction. Although differentiation of TG2 knock-out preadipocytes is phenotypically similar to the wild-type cells, the mitochondria of the knock-out beige cells have multiple impairments including an altered electron transport system generating lower electrochemical potential difference, reduced oxygen consumption, lower UCP1 protein content, and a higher portion of fragmented mitochondria. Most of these differences are present in preadipocytes as well, and the differentiation process cannot overcome the functional disadvantages completely. TG2 knock-out beige adipocytes produce more iodothyronine deiodinase 3 (DIO3) which may inactivate thyroid hormones required for the establishment of optimal mitochondrial function. The TG2 knock-out preadipocytes and beige cells are both hypometabolic as compared with the wild-type controls which may also be explained by the lower expression of solute carrier proteins SLC25A45, SLC25A47, and SLC25A42 which transport acylcarnitine, Co-A, and amino acids into the mitochondrial matrix. As a consequence, the mitochondria in TG2 knock-out beige adipocytes probably cannot reach the energy-producing threshold required for normal thermogenic functions, which may contribute to the decreased cold tolerance of TG2 knock-out mice.

FEBS Open Bio: past, present and future.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of FEBS Open Bio, we spoke to some of the key figures of the journal's genesis, development, and its future direction, and recount here their thoughts and experiences. Prof. Félix. Goñi discusses the role of the FEBS Publication Committee in the journal's beginnings, Dr Mary Purton relates her experiences as the journal's Executive Editor, Prof. László Fésüs explains how the journal developed during his tenure as Chair of the Publication Committee, and Prof. Johannes Buchner looks forward to the future of FEBS Press and academic publishing. Finally, Prof. John (Iain) Mowbray describes his "Friday afternoon thought" to start a new journal.

Regulatory modules of human thermogenic adipocytes: functional genomics of large cohort and Meta-analysis derived marker-genes.

BACKGROUND: Recently, ProFAT and BATLAS studies identified brown and white adipocytes marker genes based on analysis of large databases. They offered scores to determine the thermogenic status of adipocytes using the gene-expression data of these markers. In this work, we investigated the functional context of these genes. RESULTS: Gene Set Enrichment Analyses (KEGG, Reactome) of the BATLAS and ProFAT marker-genes identified pathways deterministic in the formation of brown and white adipocytes. The collection of the annotated proteins of the defined pathways resulted in expanded white and brown characteristic protein-sets, which theoretically contain all functional proteins that could be involved in the formation of adipocytes. Based on our previously obtained RNA-seq data, we visualized the expression profile of these proteins coding genes and found patterns consistent with the two adipocyte phenotypes. The trajectory of the regulatory processes could be outlined by the transcriptional profile of progenitor and differentiated adipocytes, highlighting the importance of suppression processes in browning. Protein interaction network-based functional genomics by STRING, Cytoscape and R-Igraph platforms revealed that different biological processes shape the brown and white adipocytes and highlighted key regulatory elements and modules including GAPDH-CS, DECR1, SOD2, IL6, HRAS, MTOR, INS-AKT, ERBB2 and 4-NFKB, and SLIT-ROBO-MAPK. To assess the potential role of a particular protein in shaping adipocytes, we assigned interaction network location-based scores (betweenness centrality, number of bridges) to them and created a freely accessible platform, the AdipoNET ( https//adiponet.com ), to conveniently use these data. The Eukaryote Promoter Database predicted the response elements in the UCP1 promoter for the identified, potentially important transcription factors (HIF1A, MYC, REL, PPARG, TP53, AR, RUNX, and FoxO1). CONCLUSION: Our integrative approach-based results allowed us to investigate potential regulatory elements of thermogenesis in adipose tissue. The analyses revealed that some unique biological processes form the brown and white adipocyte phenotypes, which presumes the existence of the transitional states. The data also suggests that the two phenotypes are not mutually exclusive, and differentiation of thermogenic adipocyte requires induction of browning as well as repressions of whitening. The recognition of these simultaneous actions and the identified regulatory modules can open new direction in obesity research.

BMP7 Increases UCP1-Dependent and Independent Thermogenesis with a Unique Gene Expression Program in Human Neck Area Derived Adipocytes.

White adipocytes contribute to energy storage, accumulating lipid droplets, whereas brown and beige adipocytes mainly function in dissipating energy as heat primarily via the action of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1). Bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7) was shown to drive brown adipocyte differentiation in murine interscapular adipose tissue. Here, we performed global RNA-sequencing and functional assays on adipocytes obtained from subcutaneous (SC) and deep-neck (DN) depots of human neck and differentiated with or without BMP7. We found that BMP7 did not influence differentiation but upregulated browning markers, including UCP1 mRNA and protein in SC and DN derived adipocytes. BMP7 also enhanced mitochondrial DNA content, levels of oxidative phosphorylation complex subunits, along with PGC1α and p-CREB upregulation, and fragmentation of mitochondria. Furthermore, both UCP1-dependent proton leak and UCP1-independent, creatine-driven substrate cycle coupled thermogenesis were augmented upon BMP7 addition. The gene expression analysis also shed light on the possible role of genes unrelated to thermogenesis thus far, including ACAN, CRYAB, and ID1, which were among the highest upregulated ones by BMP7 treatment in both types of adipocytes. Together, our study shows that BMP7 strongly upregulates thermogenesis in human neck area derived adipocytes, along with genes, which might have a supporting role in energy expenditure.

Biochemical Characterisation of Human Transglutaminase 4.

Transglutaminases are protein-modifying enzymes involved in physiological and pathological processes with potent therapeutic possibilities. Human TG4, also called prostate transglutaminase, is involved in the development of autoimmune and tumour diseases. Although rodent TG4 is well characterised, biochemical characteristics of human TG4 that could help th e understanding of its way of action are not published. First, we analysed proteomics databases and found that TG4 protein is present in human tissues beyond the prostate. Then, we studied in vitro the transamidase activity of human TG4 and its regulation using the microtitre plate method. Human TG4 has low transamidase activity which prefers slightly acidic pH and a reducing environment. It is enhanced by submicellar concentrations of SDS suggesting that membrane proximity is an important regulatory event. Human TG4 does not bind GTP as tested by GTP-agarose and BODIPY-FL-GTPγS binding, and its proteolytic activation by dispase or when expressed in AD-293 cells was not observed either. We identified several potential human TG4 glutamine donor substrates in the AD-293 cell extract by biotin-pentylamine incorporation and mass spectrometry. Several of these potential substrates are involved in cell-cell interaction, adhesion and proliferation, suggesting that human TG4 could become an anticancer therapeutic target.

Irisin Stimulates the Release of CXCL1 From Differentiating Human Subcutaneous and Deep-Neck Derived Adipocytes via Upregulation of NFκB Pathway.

Thermogenic brown and beige adipocytes might open up new strategies in combating obesity. Recent studies in rodents and humans have indicated that these adipocytes release cytokines, termed "batokines". Irisin was discovered as a polypeptide regulator of beige adipocytes released by myocytes, primarily during exercise. We performed global RNA sequencing on adipocytes derived from human subcutaneous and deep-neck precursors, which were differentiated in the presence or absence of irisin. Irisin did not exert an effect on the expression of characteristic thermogenic genes, while upregulated genes belonging to various cytokine signaling pathways. Out of the several upregulated cytokines, CXCL1, the highest upregulated, was released throughout the entire differentiation period, and predominantly by differentiated adipocytes. Deep-neck area tissue biopsies also showed a significant release of CXCL1 during 24 h irisin treatment. Gene expression data indicated upregulation of the NFκB pathway upon irisin treatment, which was validated by an increase of p50 and decrease of IκBα protein level, respectively. Continuous blocking of the NFκB pathway, using a cell permeable inhibitor of NFκB nuclear translocation, significantly reduced CXCL1 release. The released CXCL1 exerted a positive effect on the adhesion of endothelial cells. Together, our findings demonstrate that irisin stimulates the release of a novel adipokine, CXCL1, via upregulation of NFκB pathway in neck area derived adipocytes, which might play an important role in improving tissue vascularization.

ASC-1 transporter-dependent amino acid uptake is required for the efficient thermogenic response of human adipocytes to adrenergic stimulation.

Brown and beige adipocytes dissipate energy by uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)-dependent and UCP1-independent thermogenesis, which may be utilized to develop treatments against obesity. We have found that mRNA and protein expression of the alanine/serine/cysteine transporter-1 (ASC-1) was induced during adipocyte differentiation of human brown-prone deep neck and beige-competent subcutaneous neck progenitors, and SGBS preadipocytes. cAMP stimulation of differentiated adipocytes led to elevated uptake of serine, cysteine, and glycine, in parallel with increased oxygen consumption, augmented UCP1-dependent proton leak, increased creatine-driven substrate cycle-coupled respiration, and upregulation of thermogenesis marker genes and several respiratory complex subunits; these outcomes were impeded in the presence of the specific ASC-1 inhibitor, BMS-466442. Our data suggest that ASC-1-dependent consumption of serine, cysteine, and glycine is required for efficient thermogenic stimulation of human adipocytes.

Gamma-gliadin specific celiac disease antibodies recognize p31-43 and p57-68 alpha gliadin peptides in deamidation related manner as a result of cross-reaction.

Celiac disease (CeD) is a T-cell-dependent enteropathy with autoimmune features where tissue transglutaminase (TG2)-mediated posttranslational modification of gliadin peptides has a decisive role in the pathomechanism. The humoral immune response is reported to target mainly TG2-deamidated γ-gliadin peptides. However, α-gliadin peptides, like p57-68, playing a crucial role in the T-cell response, and p31-43, a major trigger of innate responses, also contain B-cell gliadin epitopes and γ-gliadin like motifs. We aimed to identify if there are anti-gliadin-specific antibodies in CeD patients targeting the p31-43 and p57-68 peptides and to examine whether deamidation of these peptides could increase their antigenicity. We explored TG2-mediated deamidation of the p31-43 and p57-68 peptides, and investigated serum antibody reactivity toward the native and deamidated α and γ-gliadin peptides in children with confirmed CeD and in prospectively followed infants at increased risk for developing CeD. We affinity-purified antibody populations utilizing different single peptide gliadin antigens and tested their binding preferences for cross-reactivity in real-time interaction assays based on bio-layer interferometry. Our results demonstrate that there is serum reactivity toward p31-43 and p57-68 peptides, which is due to cross-reactive γ-gliadin specific antibodies. These γ-gliadin specific antibodies represent the first appearing antibody population in infancy and they dominate the serum reactivity of CeD patients even later on and without preference for deamidation. However, for the homologous epitope sequences in α-gliadins shorter than the core QPEQPFP heptapeptide, deamidation facilitates antibody recognition. These findings reveal the presence of cross-reactive antibodies in CeD patients recognizing the disease-relevant α-gliadins.

Role of Tissue Transglutaminase Catalytic and Guanosine Triphosphate-Binding Domains in Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression.

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a multifunctional protein that can act as a cross-linking enzyme, GTPase/ATPase, protein kinase, and protein disulfide isomerase. TG2 is involved in cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and growth, as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Our previous findings indicate that the increased expression of TG2 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) results in tumor metastasis with a significant decrease in disease- and cancer-specific survival outcome. Given the importance of the prometastatic activity of TG2 in RCC, in the present study, we aim to investigate the relative contribution of TG2's transamidase and guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding/GTPase activity in the cell migration, invasion, EMT, and cancer stemness of RCC. For this purpose, the mouse RCC cell line RenCa was transduced with wild-type-TG2 (wt-TG2), GTP-binding deficient-form TG2-R580A, transamidase-deficient form with low GTP-binding affinity TG2-C277S, and transamidase-inactive form TG2-W241A. Our results suggested that predominantly, GTP-binding activity of TG2 is responsible for cell migration and invasion. In addition, CD marker analysis and spheroid assay confirmed that GTP binding/GTPase activity of TG2 is important in the maintenance of mesenchymal character and the cancer stem cell profile. These findings support a prometastatic role for TG2 in RCC that is dependent on the GTP binding/GTPase activity of the enzyme.

Thermogenic Activation Downregulates High Mitophagy Rate in Human Masked and Mature Beige Adipocytes.

Thermogenic brown and beige adipocytes oxidize metabolic substrates producing heat, mainly by the mitochondrial uncoupling protein UCP1, and can thus counteract obesity. Masked beige adipocytes possess white adipocyte-like morphology, but can be made thermogenic by adrenergic stimuli. We investigated the regulation of mitophagy upon thermogenic activation of human masked and mature beige adipocytes. Human primary abdominal subcutaneous adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) and Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) preadipocytes were differentiated to white and beige adipocytes, then their cAMP-induced thermogenic potential was assessed by detecting increased expressions of UCP1, mitochondrial DNA content and respiratory chain complex subunits. cAMP increased the thermogenic potential of white adipocytes similarly to beige ones, indicating the presence of a masked beige population. In unstimulated conditions, a high autophagic flux and mitophagy rates (demonstrated by LC3 punctae and TOM20 co-immunostaining) were observed in white adipocytes, while these were lower in beige adipocytes. Silencing and gene expression experiments showed that the ongoing mitophagy was Parkin-independent. cAMP treatment led to the downregulation of mitophagy through PKA in both types of adipocytes, resulting in more fragmented mitochondria and increased UCP1 levels. Our data indicates that mitophagy is repressed upon encountering a short-term adrenergic stimulus, as a fast regulatory mechanism to provide high mitochondrial content for thermogenesis.

Transglutaminase 2 Has Metabolic and Vascular Regulatory Functions Revealed by In Vivo Activation of Alpha1-Adrenergic Receptor.

The multifunctional tissue transglutaminase has been demonstrated to act as α1-adrenergic receptor-coupled G protein with GTPase activity in several cell types. To explore further the pathophysiological significance of this function we investigated the in vivo effects of the α1-adrenergic receptor agonist phenylephrine comparing responses in wild type and TG2-/- mice. Injection of phenylephrine, but not a beta3-adrenergic agonist (CL-316,243), resulted in the long-term decline of the respiratory exchange ratio and lower lactate concentration in TG2-/- mice indicating they preferred to utilize fatty acids instead of glucose as fuels. Measurement of tail blood pressure revealed that the vasoconstrictive effect of phenylephrine was milder in TG2-/- mice leading to lower levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes in blood. LDH isoenzyme patterns indicated more damage in lung, liver, kidney, skeletal, and cardiac muscle of wild type mice; the latter was confirmed by a higher level of heart-specific CK-MB. Our data suggest that TG2 as an α1-adrenergic receptor-coupled G protein has important regulatory functions in alpha1-adrenergic receptor-mediated metabolic processes and vascular functions.

Autologous apoptotic neutrophils inhibit inflammatory cytokine secretion by human dendritic cells, but enhance Th1 responses.

Neutrophils represent the most abundant cell type in peripheral blood and exhibit a remarkably brief (6-8 h) half-life in circulation. The fundamental role of these professional phagocytes has been established in acute inflammation, based on their potential to both initiate and receive inflammatory signals. Furthermore, neutrophils also take part in maintaining chronic inflammatory processes, such as in various autoimmune diseases. Here, we demonstrate that human autologous apoptotic neutrophils are readily engulfed by immature monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) with similar efficiency as allogeneic apoptotic neutrophils [Majai G et al. (2010) J Leukoc Biol 88, 981-991]. Interestingly, in contrast to the allogeneic system, exposure of moDCs to autologous apoptotic neutrophils inhibits LPS + IFN-γ-induced production of inflammatory cytokines in a phagocytosis-independent manner. Autologous apoptotic neutrophil-primed DCs are able to modulate T-cell responses by inducing the generation of IFN-γ-secreting cells while hampering that of IL-17A-producing cells. Our observations indicate that capture of autologous apoptotic neutrophils by immature DCs may impede further neutrophil-mediated phagocytosis and tissue damage, and allow increased clearance of dying cells by macrophages.

FTO Intronic SNP Strongly Influences Human Neck Adipocyte Browning Determined by Tissue and PPARγ Specific Regulation: A Transcriptome Analysis.

Brown adipocytes, abundant in deep-neck (DN) area in humans, are thermogenic with anti-obesity potential. FTO pro-obesity rs1421085 T-to-C single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) shifts differentiation program towards white adipocytes in subcutaneous fat. Human adipose-derived stromal cells were obtained from subcutaneous neck (SC) and DN fat of nine donors, of which 3-3 carried risk-free (T/T), heterozygous or obesity-risk (C/C) FTO genotypes. They were differentiated to white and brown (long-term Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) stimulation) adipocytes; then, global RNA sequencing was performed and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were compared. DN and SC progenitors had similar adipocyte differentiation potential but differed in DEGs. DN adipocytes displayed higher browning features according to ProFAT or BATLAS scores and characteristic DEG patterns revealing associated pathways which were highly expressed (thermogenesis, interferon, cytokine, and retinoic acid, with UCP1 and BMP4 as prominent network stabilizers) or downregulated (particularly extracellular matrix remodeling) compared to SC ones. Part of DEGs in either DN or SC browning was PPARγ-dependent. Presence of the FTO obesity-risk allele suppressed the expression of mitochondrial and thermogenesis genes with a striking resemblance between affected pathways and those appearing in ProFAT and BATLAS, underlining the importance of metabolic and mitochondrial pathways in thermogenesis. Among overlapping regulatory influences that determine browning and thermogenic potential of neck adipocytes, FTO genetic background has a thus far not recognized prominence.

Protein-peptide based assay for the characterization of human blood coagulation factor XIII-A isopeptidase activity.

Blood coagulation factor XIII-A (FXIII-A), a member of the transglutaminase enzyme family, is best known for its fibrin clot stabilizing function during blood coagulation. It possesses amine incorporating and protein crosslinking transamidase activities, but it is also able to cleave the previously formed isopeptide bond by its isopeptidase activity. Our aim was to develop a protein-based assay for better characterization of FXIII-A isopeptidase activity. The first attempt applying the crosslinked D-dimer of fibrin as a substrate was not successful because of poor reproducibility. Then, the principle of an earlier published anisotropy based activity assay was adapted for the measurement of FXIII-A isopeptidase activity. After crosslinking the fluorescently labelled α2-antiplasmin derived peptide and S100A4(GST) lysine donor protein, this protease-resistant γ-glutamyl-ε-lysine isopeptide bond containing protein-peptide product was applied as a substrate for FXIII-A. Using this substrate and detecting decreasing anisotropy, kinetic measurement of FXIII-A isopeptidase activity was achieved at high sensitivity even in a complex biological sample and in the presence of inhibitor.

Benefits of Combined All-Trans Retinoic Acid and Arsenic Trioxide Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Cells and Further Enhancement by Inhibition of Atypically Expressed Transglutaminase 2.

Randomized trials in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients have shown that treatment with a combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) is superior in efficacy to monotherapy, with significantly decreased mortality. So far, there are little data available to explain the success of the ATRA and ATO combination treatment in molecular terms. We showed that ATRA- and ATO-treated cells had the same capacity for superoxide production, which was reduced by two-thirds in the combined treatment. Secreted inflammatory biomarkers (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [MCP-1], interleukin-1 beta [IL-1ß] and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) were significantly decreased and were further reduced in a transglutaminase 2 (TG2) expression-dependent manner. The amount of secreted TNF-α in the supernatant of NB4 TG2 knockout cells was close to 50 times lower than in ATRA-treated differentiated wild-type NB4 cells. The irreversible inhibitor of TG2 NC9 not only decreased reactive oxygen species production 28-fold, but decreased the concentration of MCP-1, IL-1ß and TNF-α 8-, 15- and 61-fold, respectively in the combined ATRA + ATO-treated wild-type NB4 cell culture. We propose that atypical expression of TG2 leads to the generation of inflammation, which thereby serves as a potential target for the prevention of differentiation syndrome.