In obesity, adipocytes distant from vasculature become hypoxic and dysfunctional. This hypoxic response is mediated by hypoxia-inducible factors (Hif1α, Hif2α, and Hif3α) and their obligate partner, Hif1β (Arnt). We show that mice lacking Hif1β in fat (FH1βKO) are lean, exhibit reduced adipocyte size, and are protected from age- and diet-induced glucose intolerance. There is also reduced Vegf and vascular permeability in FH1βKO fat, but diet-induced inflammation and fibrosis is unchanged. Adipocytes from FH1βKO mice have reduced glucose uptake due to decreased Glut1 and Glut4, which is mirrored in 3T3-L1 adipocytes with Hif1β knockdown. Hif1β knockdown cells also fail to respond appropriately to hypoxia with reduced cellular respiration and reduced mitochondrial gene expression. Some, but not all, of these effects are reproduced by Hif1α knockdown. Thus, Hif1β/Arnt regulates glucose uptake, mitochondrial gene expression, and vascular permeability to control adipose mass and function, providing a target for obesity therapy.

Sirt3 is a member of the sirtuin family of protein deacetylases that is localized in mitochondria and regulates mitochondrial function. Sirt3 expression in skeletal muscle is decreased in models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and regulated by feeding, fasting, and caloric restriction. Sirt3 knockout mice exhibit decreased oxygen consumption and develop oxidative stress in skeletal muscle, leading to JNK activation and impaired insulin signaling. This effect is mimicked by knockdown of Sirt3 in cultured myoblasts, which exhibit reduced mitochondrial oxidation, increased reactive oxygen species, activation of JNK, increased serine and decreased tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1, and decreased insulin signaling. Thus, Sirt3 plays an important role in diabetes through regulation of mitochondrial oxidation, reactive oxygen species production, and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.

Acetylation is increasingly recognized as an important metabolic regulatory posttranslational protein modification, yet the metabolic consequence of mitochondrial protein hyperacetylation is unknown. We find that high-fat diet (HFD) feeding induces hepatic mitochondrial protein hyperacetylation in mice and downregulation of the major mitochondrial protein deacetylase SIRT3. Mice lacking SIRT3 (SIRT3KO) placed on a HFD show accelerated obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and steatohepatitis compared to wild-type (WT) mice. The lipogenic enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 is highly induced in SIRT3KO mice, and its deletion rescues both WT and SIRT3KO mice from HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance. We further identify a single nucleotide polymorphism in the human SIRT3 gene that is suggestive of a genetic association with the metabolic syndrome. This polymorphism encodes a point mutation in the SIRT3 protein, which reduces its overall enzymatic efficiency. Our findings show that loss of SIRT3 and dysregulation of mitochondrial protein acetylation contribute to the metabolic syndrome.

Mammals have two principal types of fat. White adipose tissue primarily serves to store extra energy as triglycerides, whereas brown adipose tissue is specialized to burn lipids for heat generation and energy expenditure as a defence against cold and obesity. Recent studies have demonstrated that brown adipocytes arise in vivo from a Myf5-positive, myoblastic progenitor by the action of Prdm16 (PR domain containing 16). Here, we identified a brown-fat-enriched miRNA cluster, MiR-193b-365, as a key regulator of brown fat development. Blocking miR-193b and/or miR-365 in primary brown preadipocytes markedly impaired brown adipocyte adipogenesis by enhancing Runx1t1 (runt-related transcription factor 1; translocated to, 1) expression, whereas myogenic markers were significantly induced. Forced expression of Mir193b and/or Mir365 in C2C12 myoblasts blocked the entire programme of myogenesis, and, in adipogenic conditions, miR-193b induced myoblasts to differentiate into brown adipocytes. Mir193b-365 was upregulated by Prdm16 partially through Pparα. Our results demonstrate that Mir193b-365 serves as an essential regulator for brown fat differentiation, in part by repressing myogenesis.

Environmental factors, such as the macronutrient composition of the diet, can have a profound impact on risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. In the present study we demonstrate how a single, simple dietary factor--leucine--can modify insulin resistance by acting on multiple tissues and at multiple levels of metabolism. Mice were placed on a normal or high fat diet (HFD). Dietary leucine was doubled by addition to the drinking water. mRNA, protein and complete metabolomic profiles were assessed in the major insulin sensitive tissues and serum, and correlated with changes in glucose homeostasis and insulin signaling. After 8 weeks on HFD, mice developed obesity, fatty liver, inflammatory changes in adipose tissue and insulin resistance at the level of IRS-1 phosphorylation, as well as alterations in metabolomic profile of amino acid metabolites, TCA cycle intermediates, glucose and cholesterol metabolites, and fatty acids in liver, muscle, fat and serum. Doubling dietary leucine reversed many of the metabolite abnormalities and caused a marked improvement in glucose tolerance and insulin signaling without altering food intake or weight gain. Increased dietary leucine was also associated with a decrease in hepatic steatosis and a decrease in inflammation in adipose tissue. These changes occurred despite an increase in insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase indicating enhanced activation of mTOR, a phenomenon normally associated with insulin resistance. These data indicate that modest changes in a single environmental/nutrient factor can modify multiple metabolic and signaling pathways and modify HFD induced metabolic syndrome by acting at a systemic level on multiple tissues. These data also suggest that increasing dietary leucine may provide an adjunct in the management of obesity-related insulin resistance.

C57BL/6J and 129S6/Sv (B6 and 129) mice differ dramatically in their susceptibility to developing diabetes in response to diet- or genetically induced insulin resistance. A major locus contributing to this difference has been mapped to a region on mouse chromosome 14 that contains the gene encoding PKCδ. Here, we found that PKCδ expression in liver was 2-fold higher in B6 versus 129 mice from birth and was further increased in B6 but not 129 mice in response to a high-fat diet. PRKCD gene expression was also elevated in obese humans and was positively correlated with fasting glucose and circulating triglycerides. Mice with global or liver-specific inactivation of the Prkcd gene displayed increased hepatic insulin signaling and reduced expression of gluconeogenic and lipogenic enzymes. This resulted in increased insulin-induced suppression of hepatic gluconeogenesis, improved glucose tolerance, and reduced hepatosteatosis with aging. Conversely, mice with liver-specific overexpression of PKCδ developed hepatic insulin resistance characterized by decreased insulin signaling, enhanced lipogenic gene expression, and hepatosteatosis. Therefore, changes in the expression and regulation of PKCδ between strains of mice and in obese humans play an important role in the genetic risk of hepatic insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and hepatosteatosis; and thus PKCδ may be a potential target in the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

The objective is to investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the regulation of core body temperature. Sequencing cDNA libraries from individual warm-sensitive neurons from the preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus, a region involved in the central control of thermoregulation, identified neurons that express both IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and insulin receptor transcripts. The effects of administration of IGF-1 into the POA was measured by radiotelemetry monitoring of core temperature, brown adipose tissue (BAT) temperature, metabolic assessment, and imaging of BAT by positron emission tomography of 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose uptake combined with computed tomography. IGF-1 injection into the POA caused dose-dependent hyperthermia that could be blocked by pretreatment with the IGF-1R tyrosine kinase inhibitor, PQ401. The IGF-1-evoked hyperthermia involved activation of brown adipose tissue and was accompanied by a switch from glycolysis to fatty acid oxidation as a source of energy as shown by lowered respiratory exchange ratio. Transgenic mice that lack neuronal insulin receptor expression in the brain (NIRKO mice) were unable to mount the full hyperthermic response to IGF-1, suggesting that the IGF-1 mediated hyperthermia is partly dependent on expression of functional neuronal insulin receptors. These data indicate a novel thermoregulatory role for both IGF-1R and neuronal insulin receptors in IGF-1 activation of BAT and hyperthermia. These central effects of IGF-1 signaling may play a role in regulation of metabolic rate, aging, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Increased intraabdominal (visceral) fat is associated with a high risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. We have previously shown that the mesodermal developmental transcription factor Tbx15 is highly differentially expressed between visceral and subcutaneous (s.c.) fat in both humans and rodents, and in humans visceral fat Tbx15 expression is decreased in obesity. Here we show that, in mice, Tbx15 is 260-fold more highly expressed in s.c. preadipocytes than in epididymal preadipocytes. Overexpression of Tbx15 in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes impairs adipocyte differentiation and decreases triglyceride content. This defect in differentiation can be corrected by stimulating cells with the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone (Rosi). However, triglyceride accumulation remains decreased by ∼50%, due to a decrease in basal lipogenic rate and increase in basal lipolytic rate. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes overexpressing Tbx15 also have a 15% reduction in mitochondrial mass and a 28% reduction in basal mitochondrial respiration (P = 0.004) and ATP turnover (P = 0.02), and a 45% (P = 0.003) reduction in mitochondrial respiratory capacity. Thus, differential expression of Tbx15 between fat depots plays an important role in the interdepot differences in adipocyte differentiation, triglyceride accumulation, and mitochondrial function that may contribute to the risk of diabetes and metabolic disease.