Deciphering specificity and cross-reactivity in tachykinin NK1 and NK2 receptors.

The tachykinin receptors neurokinin 1 (NK1R) and neurokinin 2 (NK2R) are G protein-coupled receptors that bind preferentially to the natural peptide ligands substance P and neurokinin A, respectively, and have been targets for drug development. Despite sharing a common C-terminal sequence of Phe-X-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2 that helps direct biological function, the peptide ligands exhibit some degree of cross-reactivity toward each other's non-natural receptor. Here, we investigate the detailed structure-activity relationships of the ligand-bound receptor complexes that underlie both potent activation by the natural ligand and cross-reactivity. We find that the specificity and cross-reactivity of the peptide ligands can be explained by the interactions between the amino acids preceding the FxGLM consensus motif of the bound peptide ligand and two regions of the receptor: the ß-hairpin of the extracellular loop 2 (ECL2) and a N-terminal segment leading into transmembrane helix 1. Positively charged sidechains of the ECL2 (R177 of NK1R and K180 of NK2R) are seen to play a vital role in the interaction. The N-terminal positions 1 to 3 of the peptide ligand are entirely dispensable. Mutated and chimeric receptor and ligand constructs neatly swap around ligand specificity as expected, validating the structure-activity hypotheses presented. These findings will help in developing improved agonists or antagonists for NK1R and NK2R.

Age-dependent transition from islet insulin hypersecretion to hyposecretion in mice with the long QT-syndrome loss-of-function mutation Kcnq1-A340V.

Loss-of-function (LoF) mutations in KCNQ1, encoding the voltage-gated K+ channel Kv7.1, lead to long QT syndrome 1 (LQT1). LQT1 patients also present with post-prandial hyperinsulinemia and hypoglycaemia. In contrast, KCNQ1 polymorphisms are associated with diabetes, and LQTS patients have a higher prevalence of diabetes. We developed a mouse model with a LoF Kcnq1 mutation using CRISPR-Cas9 and hypothesized that this mouse model would display QT prolongation, increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and allow for interrogation of Kv7.1 function in islets. Mice were characterized by electrocardiography and oral glucose tolerance tests. Ex vivo, islet glucose-induced insulin release was measured, and beta-cell area quantified by immunohistochemistry. Homozygous mice had QT prolongation. Ex vivo, glucose-stimulated insulin release was increased in islets from homozygous mice at 12-14 weeks, while beta-cell area was reduced. Non-fasting blood glucose levels were decreased at this age. In follow-up studies 8-10 weeks later, beta-cell area was similar in all groups, while glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was now reduced in islets from hetero- and homozygous mice. Non-fasting blood glucose levels had normalized. These data suggest that Kv7.1 dysfunction is involved in a transition from hyper- to hyposecretion of insulin, potentially explaining the association with both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in LQT1 patients.

Cardiolipin Synthesis in Brown and Beige Fat Mitochondria Is Essential for Systemic Energy Homeostasis.

Activation of energy expenditure in thermogenic fat is a promising strategy to improve metabolic health, yet the dynamic processes that evoke this response are poorly understood. Here we show that synthesis of the mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin is indispensable for stimulating and sustaining thermogenic fat function. Cardiolipin biosynthesis is robustly induced in brown and beige adipose upon cold exposure. Mimicking this response through overexpression of cardiolipin synthase (Crls1) enhances energy consumption in mouse and human adipocytes. Crls1 deficiency in thermogenic adipocytes diminishes inducible mitochondrial uncoupling and elicits a nuclear transcriptional response through endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated retrograde communication. Cardiolipin depletion in brown and beige fat abolishes adipose thermogenesis and glucose uptake, which renders animals insulin resistant. We further identify a rare human CRLS1 variant associated with insulin resistance and show that adipose CRLS1 levels positively correlate with insulin sensitivity. Thus, adipose cardiolipin has a powerful impact on organismal energy homeostasis through thermogenic fat bioenergetics.

Rapid Elevation in CMPF May Act As a Tipping Point in Diabetes Development.

Prediabetes, a state of mild glucose intolerance, can persist for years before a sudden decline in beta cell function and rapid deterioration to overt diabetes. The mechanism underlying this tipping point of beta cell dysfunction remains unknown. Here, the furan fatty acid metabolite CMPF was evaluated in a prospective cohort. Those who developed overt diabetes had a significant increase in CMPF over time, whereas prediabetics maintained chronically elevated levels, even up to 5 years before diagnosis. To evaluate the effect of increasing CMPF on diabetes progression, we used obese, insulin-resistant models of prediabetes. CMPF accelerated diabetes development by inducing metabolic remodeling, resulting in preferential utilization of fatty acids over glucose. This was associated with diminished glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, increased ROS formation, and accumulation of proinsulin, all characteristics of human diabetes. Thus, an increase in CMPF may represent the tipping point in diabetes development by accelerating beta cell dysfunction.

Transcriptional and translational regulation of cytokine signaling in inflammatory ß-cell dysfunction and apoptosis.

Disease is conventionally viewed as the chaotic inappropriate outcome of deranged tissue function resulting from aberrancies in cellular processes. Yet the patho-biology of cellular dysfunction and death encompasses a coordinated network no less sophisticated and regulated than maintenance of homeostatic balance. Cellular demise is far from passive subordination to stress but requires controlled coordination of energy-requiring activities including gene transcription and protein translation that determine the graded transition between defensive mechanisms, cell cycle regulation, dedifferentiation and ultimately to the activation of death programmes. In fact, most stressors stimulate both homeostasis and regeneration on one hand and impairment and destruction on the other, depending on the ambient circumstances. Here we illustrate this bimodal ambiguity in cell response by reviewing recent progress in our understanding of how the pancreatic ß cell copes with inflammatory stress by changing gene transcription and protein translation by the differential and interconnected action of reactive oxygen and nitric oxide species, microRNAs and posttranslational protein modifications.