Extracellular Free Fatty Acids Research Articles

Effects of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound on the Regulation of Free Fatty Acid Release in 3T3-L1 Cells.

To investigate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on the proliferation, differentiation, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced lipolysis of 3T3-L1 cells, and to explore the feasibility of regulating the release of free fatty acids (FFA) to prevent lipotoxicity. Different intensities (30, 60, 90, and 120 mW/cm2) of LIPUS were applied to 3T3-L1 preadipocytes for different durations (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes). Appropriate parameters for subsequent experiments were selected by assessing cell viability. The effect of LIPUS on the proliferation and differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells was evaluated by microscope observation, flow cytometry, and lipid content determination. After treated with LIPUS and TNF-α (50 ng/mL), the degree of lipolysis was assessed by measuring the extracellular FFA content. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of relevant genes. Different parameters of LIPUS significantly enhance the viability of 3T3-L1 cells (P < .05), with 20 minutes and 30 mW/cm2 as the most suitable settings. After LIPUS treatment, 3T3-L1 cell proliferation accelerated, apoptosis rate and G1 phase cell proportion decreased, the content of lipid droplets and TG was increased in differentiated cells, while FFA release decreased (P < .05). The expression of PCNA, PPARγ, C/EBPα, Perilipin A mRNA increased, and the expression of TNF-α, ATGL, HSL mRNA decreased (P < .05). LIPUS could promote the proliferation and differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells and inhibit TNF-α-induced lipolysis, indicating its potential as a therapy for mitigating lipotoxicity caused by decompensated adipocytes.

TIM-3/Gal-9 interaction affects glucose and lipid metabolism in acute myeloid leukemia cell lines.

T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (TIM-3) is a transmembrane molecule first identified as an immunoregulator. This molecule is also expressed on leukemic cells in acute myeloid leukemia and master cell survival and proliferation. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of TIM-3 interaction with its ligand galectin-9 (Gal-9) on glucose and lipid metabolism in AML cell lines. HL-60 and THP-1 cell lines, representing M3 and M5 AML subtypes, respectively, were cultured under appropriate conditions. The expression of TIM-3 on the cell surface was ascertained by flow cytometric assay. We used real-time PCR to examine the mRNA expression of GLUT-1, HK-2, PFKFB-3, G6PD, ACC-1, ATGL, and CPT-1A; colorimetric assays to measure the concentration of glucose, lactate, GSH, and the enzymatic activity of G6PD; MTT assay to determine cellular proliferation; and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to designate FFAs. We observed the significant upregulated expression of GLUT-1, HK-2, PFKFB-3, ACC-1, CPT-1A, and G6PD and the enzymatic activity of G6PD in a time-dependent manner in the presence of Gal-9 compared to the PMA and control groups in both HL-60 and THP-1 cell lines (p > 0.05). Moreover, the elevation of extracellular free fatty acids, glucose consumption, lactate release, the concentration of cellular glutathione (GSH) and cell proliferation were significantly higher in the presence of Gal-9 compared to the PMA and control groups in both cell lines (p < 0.05). TIM-3/Gal-9 ligation on AML cell lines results in aerobic glycolysis and altered lipid metabolism and also protects cells from oxidative stress, all in favor of leukemic cell survival and proliferation.

FATP4 deletion in liver cells induces elevation of extracellular lipids via metabolic channeling towards triglycerides and lipolysis

Evidence from mice with global deletion of fatty-acid transport protein4 (FATP4) indicates its role on β-oxidation and triglycerides (TG) metabolism. We reported that plasma glycerol and free fatty acids (FA) were increased in liver-specific Fatp4 deficient (L-FATP4−/−) mice under dietary stress. We hypothesized that FATP4 may mediate hepatocellular TG lipolysis. Here, we demonstrated that L-FATP4−/− mice showed an increase in these blood lipids, liver TG, and subcutaneous fat weights. We therefore studied TG metabolism in response to oleate treatment in two experimental models using FATP4-knockout HepG2 (HepKO) cells and L-FATP4−/− hepatocytes. Both FATP4-deificient liver cells showed a significant decrease in β-oxidation products by ∼30–35% concomitant with marked upregulation of CD36, FATP2, and FATP5 as well as lipoprotein microsomal-triglyceride-transfer protein genes. By using 13C3D5-glycerol, HepKO cells displayed an increase in metabolically labelled TG species which were further increased with oleate treatment. This increase was concomitant with a step-wise elevation of TG in cells and supernatants as well as the secretion of cholesterol very low-density and high-density lipoproteins. Upon analyzing TG lipolytic enzymes, both mutant liver cells showed marked upregulated expression of hepatic lipase, while that of hormone-sensitive lipase and adipose-triglyceride lipase was downregulated. Lipolysis measured by extracellular glycerol and free FA was indeed increased in mutant cells, and this event was exacerbated by oleate treatment. Taken together, FATP4 deficiency in liver cells led to a metabolic shift from β-oxidation towards lipolysis-directed TG and lipoprotein secretion, which is in line with an association of FATP4 polymorphisms with blood lipids.

Enhanced productivity of extracellular free fatty acids by gene disruptions of acyl-ACP synthetase and S-layer protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

BackgroundBased on known metabolic response to excess free fatty acid (FFA) products, cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 preferentially both recycles via FFA recycling process and secrets them into medium. Engineered cyanobacteria with well growth and highly secreted FFA capability are considered best resources for biofuel production and sustainable biotechnology. In this study, to achieve the higher FFA secretion goal, we successfully constructs Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 mutants disrupting genes related to FFA recycling reaction (aas gene encoding acyl–acyl carrier protein synthetase), and surface layer protein (encoded by sll1951).ResultsThree Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 engineered strains, including two single mutants lacking aas (KA) and sll1951 (KS), and one double mutant lacking both aas and sll1951 (KAS), significantly secreted FFAs higher than that of wild type (WT). Certain increase of secreted FFAs was noted when cells were exposed to nitrogen-deficient conditions, BG11-half N and BG11-N conditions, with the exception of strain KS. Under BG11-N condition at day 10, strain KAS strikingly secreted FFAs products up to 40%w/DCW or 238.1 mg/L, with trace amounts of PHB. Unexpectedly, strain KS, with S-layer disruption, appeared to have endured longer in BG11-N growth medium. This strain KS significantly acclimated to the BG11-N environment by accumulating a greater glycogen pool with lower FFA production, whereas strain KA favored higher PHB and intracellular lipid accumulations with moderate FFA secretion.ConclusionsMutations of both aas and sll1951 genes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 significantly improved the productivity of secreted FFAs, especially under nitrogen deprivation.

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 overexpressing genes involved in CBB cycle and free fatty acid cycling enhances the significant levels of intracellular lipids and secreted free fatty acids

The integrative aspect on carbon fixation and lipid production is firstly implemented in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using metabolic engineering approach. Genes related to Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle including rbcLXS and glpD and free fatty acid recycling including aas encoding acyl-ACP synthetase were practically manipulated in single, double and triple overexpressions via single homologous recombination. The significantly increased growth rate and intracellular pigment contents were evident in glpD-overexpressing (OG) strain among all strains studied under normal growth condition. The triple aas_glpD_rbcLXS-overexpressing (OAGR) strain notably gave the highest contents of both intracellular lipids and extracellular free fatty acids (FFAs) of about 35.9 and 9.6% w/DCW, respectively, when compared to other strains at day 5 of cultivation. However, the highest intracellular lipid titer and production rate were observed in OA strain at day 5 (228.7 mg/L and 45.7 mg/L/day, respectively) and OG strain at day 10 (358.3 mg/L and 35.8 mg/L/day, respectively) due to their higher growth. For fatty acid (FA) compositions, the main saturated fatty acid of palmitic acid (C16:0) was dominantly found in both intracellular lipid and secreted FFAs fractions. Notably, intracellular FA proportion of myristic acid (C14:0) was induced in all engineered strains whereas the increase of stearic acid (C18:0) composition was found in extracellular FFAs fraction. Altogether, these overexpressing strains efficiently produced higher lipid production via homeostasis balance on both its lipid synthesis and FFAs secretion.

Bioremediation and Biomass Production with the Green Microalga Chlorococcum humicola and Textile Mill Effluent (TE)

The study aimed at possible bioremediation of textile mill effluent (TE) and simultaneous production of useful biomass. The green, unicellular microalga, Chlorococcum humicola was grown in TE. Even in undiluted effluent, this alga reduced several important effluent parameters from 9 to 94% in 6 days and produced increased biomass with improved cell contents as compared to control. Strikingly, NO3 and NO2–nitrogen went below detectable limits within 3 days. In a comparative growth experiment, the growth rate of the alga was maximum in 10% dilution of effluent with supplementation of 0.15% NaNO3. This alga produced extracellular H2O2, even in dark which was limited by nitrogen. TE-grown cells accumulated 32% more lipids and 25% more starch as compared to control. Further, two allelopathic extracellular free fatty acids, namely palmitic and linoleic acids, were detected.

Exogenous Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Suppress Non-Apoptotic Cell Death

The initiation and execution of cell death is regulated by various lipids. How the levels of environmental (exogenous) lipids impact cell death sensitivity is not well understood. Using a high-throughput lipid modulation screen we find that physiological levels of extracellular free fatty acids have diverse effects on non-apoptotic and apoptotic cell death induced by lethal small molecules and natural products. In particular, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are found to suppress the non-apoptotic, iron-dependent cell death process of ferroptosis. This protective effect requires acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 3 (ACSL3) and involves suppression of toxic lipid ROS accumulation specifically at the plasma membrane. Exogenous MUFAs also protect cells from apoptotic lipotoxicity caused by the accumulation of saturated fatty acids, but through a genetically distinct mechanism. Thus, MUFAs emerge as key lipid metabolites regulating both non-apoptotic and apoptotic cell death.

Membrane-Located Expression of Thioesterase From Acinetobacter baylyi Enhances Free Fatty Acid Production With Decreased Toxicity in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803

It has been previously reported that photosynthetic production of extracellular free fatty acids (FFAs) in cyanobacteria was realized by thioesterases (TesA) mediated hydrolysis of fatty acyl-ACP in cytosol and excretion of the FFA outside of the cell. However, two major issues related to the genetically modified strains need to be addressed before the scale-up commercial application becomes possible: namely, the toxicity of FFAs, and the diversity of carbon lengths of fatty acids that could mimic the fossil fuel. To address those issues, we hypothesized that generating FFAs near membrane could facilitate rapid excretion of the FFA outside of the cell and thus decrease toxicity caused by intracellular FFAs in the cytosolic expression of thioesterase. To realize this, we localized a leaderless thioesterase (AcTesA) from Acinetobacter baylyi on the cytosolic side of the inner membrane of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 using a membrane scaffolding system. The engineered strain with AcTesA on its membrane (mAcT) produced extracellular FFAs up to 171.9 ± 13.22 mg⋅L-1 compared with 40.24 ± 10.94 and 1.904 ± 0.158 mg⋅L-1 in the cytosol-expressed AcTesA (AcT) and wild-type (WT) strains, respectively. Moreover, the mAcT strain generated around 1.5 and 1.9 times less reactive oxygen species than AcT and WT, respectively. Approximately 78% of total FFAs were secreted with an average rate of 1 mg⋅L-1⋅h-1, which was higher than 0.44 mg⋅L-1⋅h-1 reported previously. In the case of mAcT strain, 60% of total secreted FFAs was monounsaturated (C18:1) which is the preferable biodiesel component. Therefore, the engineered mAcT strain shows enhanced FFAs production with less toxicity which is highly desirable for biodiesel production.

Reprogramming Yeast Metabolism from Alcoholic Fermentation to Lipogenesis

Engineering microorganisms for production of fuels and chemicals often requires major re-programming of metabolism to ensure high flux toward the product of interest. This is challenging, as millions of years of evolution have resulted in establishment of tight regulation of metabolism for optimal growth in the organism's natural habitat. Here, we show through metabolic engineering that it is possible to alter the metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from traditional ethanol fermentation to a pure lipogenesis metabolism, resulting in high-level production of free fatty acids. Through metabolic engineering and process design, we altered subcellular metabolic trafficking, fine-tuned NADPH and ATP supply, and decreased carbon flux to biomass, enabling production of 33.4 g/L extracellular free fatty acids. We further demonstrate that lipogenesis metabolism can replace ethanol fermentation by deletion of pyruvate decarboxylase enzymes followed by adaptive laboratory evolution. Genome sequencing of evolved strains showed that pyruvate kinase mutations were essential for this phenotype.

Removal of the product from the culture medium strongly enhances free fatty acid production by genetically engineered Synechococcus elongatus

BackgroundCyanobacterial mutants engineered for production of free fatty acids (FFAs) secrete the products to the medium and hence are thought to be useful for biofuel production. The dAS1T mutant constructed from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 has indeed a large capacity of FFA production, which is comparable to that of triacylglycerol production in green algae, but the yield of secreted FFAs is low because the cells accumulate most of the FFAs intracellularly and eventually die of their toxicity. To increase the FFA productivity, enhancement of FFA secretion is required.ResultsGrowth of dAS1T cells but not WT cells was inhibited in a liquid medium supplemented with 0.13 g L−1 of palmitic acid. This suggested that when FFA accumulates in the medium, it would inhibit the release of FFA from the cell, leading to FFA accumulation in the cell to a toxic level. To remove FFAs from the medium during cultivation, an aqueous-organic two-phase culture system was developed. When the dAS1T culture was overlaid with isopropyl myristate (IM), the final cell density, cellular chlorophyll content, and the photosynthetic yield of PSII were greatly improved. The total amount of extracellular FFA was more than three times larger than that in the control culture grown without IM, with most of the secreted FFAs being recovered in the IM layer. The cellular FFA content was decreased by more than 85% by the presence of the IM layer. Thus, the two-phase culture system effectively facilitated FFA secretion out of the cell. An average FFA excretion rate of 1.5 mg L−1 h−1 was attained in the 432 h of cultivation, with a total amount of excreted FFA being 0.64 g L−1 of culture. These figures were more than three times higher than those reported previously for the cyanobacteria-based FFA production systems.ConclusionsRemoval of FFA from the culture medium is important for improving the productivity of the FFA production system using cyanobacteria. Further increase in productivity would require an increase in both the rates of FFA production in the cell and active FFA export across the plasma membrane.

Modulation of the balance of fatty acid production and secretion is crucial for enhancement of growth and productivity of the engineered mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus.

BackgroundAmong the three model cyanobacterial species that have been used for engineering a system for photosynthetic production of free fatty acids (FFAs), Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 has been the least successful; the FFA-excreting mutants constructed from this strain could attain lower rates of FFA excretion and lower final FFA concentrations than the mutants constructed from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC7002. It has been suggested that S. elongatus PCC7942 cells suffer from toxicity of FFA, but the cause of the low productivity has remained to be determined.ResultsBy modulating the expression level of the acyl–acyl carrier protein thioesterase and raising the light intensity during cultivation, FFA secretion rates comparable to those obtained with the other cyanobacterial species were attained with an engineered Synechococcus elongatus mutant (dAS1T). The final FFA concentration in the external medium was also higher than previously reported for other S. elongatus mutants. However, about 85 % of the total FFA in the culture was found to remain in the cells, causing severe photoinhibition. Targeted inactivation of the wzt gene in dAS1T, which gene manipulation was previously shown to result in loss of the hydrophilic O-antigen layer on the cell surface, increased FFA secretion, alleviated photoinhibition, and lead to 50 and 45 % increase in the final cell density and the total amount of FFA in the culture (i.e., the sum of the cellular and extracellular FFA), respectively. The average rate of production of total FFA by the culture of the ∆wzt strain was 2.7 mg L−1 h−1, being five times higher than those reported for Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and comparable to the rates of triacylglycerol production in green algae.ConclusionSynechococcus elongatus PCC7942 has larger capacity of FFA production than Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 but accumulates most of the product in the cell because of the imbalance of the rates of FFA production and secretion. This causes severe photoinhibition and exerts adverse effects on cell growth and FFA productivity. Enhancement of FFA secretion would be required to fully exploiting the capacity of FFA production for the purpose of biofuel production.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0506-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Overproduction and secretion of free fatty acids through disrupted neutral lipid recycle in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The production of fuels and chemicals from biorenewable resources is important to alleviate the environmental concerns, costs, and foreign dependency associated with the use of petroleum feedstock. Fatty acids are attractive biomolecules due to the flexibility of their iterative biosynthetic pathway, high energy content, and suitability for conversion into other secondary chemicals. Free fatty acids (FFAs) that can be secreted from the cell are particularly appealing due to their lower harvest costs and straightforward conversion into a broad range of biofuel and biochemical products. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to overproduce extracellular FFAs by targeting three native intracellular processes. β-oxidation was disrupted by gene knockouts in FAA2, PXA1 and POX1, increasing intracellular fatty acids levels up to 55%. Disruptions in the acyl-CoA synthetase genes FAA1, FAA4 and FAT1 allowed the extracellular detection of free fatty acids up to 490mg/L. Combining these two disrupted pathways, a sextuple mutant (Δfaa1 Δfaa4 Δfat1 Δfaa2 Δpxa1 Δpox1) was able to produce 1.3g/L extracellular free fatty acids. Further diversion of carbon flux into neutral lipid droplet formation was investigated by the overexpression of DGA1 or ARE1 and by the co-overexpression of a compatible lipase, TGL1, TGL3 or TGL5. The sextuple mutant overexpressing the diacylglycerol acyltransferase, DGA1, and the triacylglycerol lipase, TGL3, yielded 2.2g/L extracellular free fatty acids. This novel combination of pathway interventions led to 4.2-fold higher extracellular free fatty acid levels than previously reported for S. cerevisiae.

Extracellular secretion of free fatty acids by the chrysophyte Ochromonas danica under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic growth.

Recently, microalgae have gained a lot of attention because of their ability to produce fatty acids in their surrounding environments. The present paper describes the influence of organic carbon on the different fatty acid pools including esterified fatty acids, intracellular free fatty acids and extracellular free fatty acids in Ochromonas danica. It also throws light on the ability of O. danica to secrete free fatty acids in the growth medium under photoautotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. Biomass production of photoautotrophically grown O. danica was higher than that of mixotrophically grown, where a cellular biomass formation of 1.8 g L(-1) was observed under photoautotrophic condition which was about five folds higher than that under mixotrophic conditions. Contrary, the esterified fatty acid content reached up to 99 mg g(-1) CDW under photoautotrophic conditions at the late exponential phase, while during mixotrophic conditions a maximum of 212 mg g(-1) CDW was observed at the stationary phase. Furthermore, O. danica cells grown under mixotrophic conditions showed higher intracellular free fatty acid and extracellular free fatty acid contents (up to 51 and 20 mg g(-1) CDW, respectively) than cells grown under photoautotrophic conditions (up to 26 and 4 mg g(-1) CDW, respectively). The intra- and extracellular free fatty acids consisted of a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3 and C20:4n-6.

Enhancement of free fatty acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by control of fatty acyl-CoA metabolism.

Production of biofuels derived from microbial fatty acids has attracted great attention in recent years owing to their potential to replace petroleum-derived fuels. To be cost competitive with current petroleum fuel, flux toward the direct precursor fatty acids needs to be enhanced to approach high yields. Herein, fatty acyl-CoA metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to accumulate more free fatty acids (FFA). For this purpose, firstly, haploid S. cerevisiae double deletion strain △faa1△faa4 was constructed, in which the genes FAA1 and FAA4 encoding two acyl-CoA synthetases were deleted. Then the truncated version of acyl-CoA thioesterase ACOT5 (Acot5s) encoding Mus musculus peroxisomal acyl-CoA thioesterase 5 was expressed in the cytoplasm of the strain △faa1△faa4. The resulting strain △faa1△faa4 [Acot5s] accumulated more extracellular FFA with higher unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) ratio as compared to the wild-type strain and double deletion strain △faa1△faa4. The extracellular total fatty acids (TFA) in the strain △faa1△faa4 [Acot5s] increased to 6.43-fold as compared to the wild-type strain during the stationary phase. UFA accounted for 42 % of TFA in the strain △faa1△faa4 [Acot5s], while no UFA was detected in the wild-type strain. In addition, the expression of Acot5s in △faa1△faa4 restored the growth, which indicates that FFA may not be the reason for growth inhibition in the strain △faa1△faa4. RT-PCR results demonstrated that the de-repression of fatty acid synthesis genes led to the increase of extracellular fatty acids. The study presented here showed that through control of the acyl-CoA metabolism by deleting acyl-CoA synthetase and expressing thioesterase, more FFA could be produced in S. cerevisiae, demonstrating great potential for exploitation in the platform of microbial fatty acid-derived biofuels.

Production of triacylglycerols in Escherichia coli by deletion of the diacylglycerol kinase gene and heterologous overexpression of atfA from Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1

This study investigated the production of triacylglycerols in cells of the wild type of Escherichia coli and of a strain with a deleted diacylglycerol kinase gene (dgkA). By overexpression of atfA from Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 and fadD from E. coli in the dgkA deletion mutant, cellular contents of up to 4.9% (w/w) triacylglycerols could be achieved in batch cultivation. Furthermore, heterologous expression of atfA relieves the negative effects of dgkA deletion on growth. Process optimization and fed-batch fermentation resulted in the production of 530 mg l (-1) triacylglycerols and a maximal content of 8.5% (w/w) triacylglycerols of the cell dry mass. This clearly exceeded all previous results concerning triacylglycerol production in E. coli. Furthermore, the production of extracellular free fatty acids and fatty acid ethyl esters was investigated. Like triacylglycerols, both products are potential biofuels, and we show their continuous production in a repeated batch process, with recovery of the production cells.

Free Fatty Acids-Sensing G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Drug Targeting and Therapeutics

G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) (also known as seven-transmembrane domain receptor) superfamily represents the largest protein family in the human genome. These receptors respond to various physiological ligands such as photons, odors, pheromones, hormones, ions, and small molecules including amines, amino acids to large peptides and steroids. Thus, GPCRs are involved in many diseases and the target of around half of all conventional drugs. The physiological roles of free fatty acids (FFAs), in particular, long-chain FFAs, are important for the development of many metabolic disease including obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. In the past half decade, deorphanization of several GPCRs has revealed that GPR40, GPR41, GPR43, GPR84 and GPR120 sense concentration of extracellular FFAs with various carbon chain lengths. GPR40 and GPR120 are activated by medium- and long-chain FFAs. GPR84 is activated by medium- chain, but not long-chain, FFAs. GPR41 and GPR43 are activated by short-chain FFAs. GPR40 is highly expressed in pancreatic beta cells and plays a crucial role in FFAs-induced insulin secretion. GPR120 is mainly expressed in enteroendocrine cells and plays an important role for FFAs-induced glucagon-like peptide-1. GPR43 is abundant in leukocytes and adipose tissue, whilst GPR41 is highly expressed in adipose tissue, the pancreas and leukocytes. GPR84 is expressed in leukocytes and monocyte/macrophage. This review aims to shed light on the physiological roles and development of drugs targeting these receptors.

Involvement of Dynamin-Related Protein 1 in Free Fatty Acid-Induced INS-1-Derived Cell Apoptosis

Elevated extracellular free fatty acids (FFAs) can induce pancreatic beta cell apoptosis, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in FFA-induced beta cell apoptosis. However, molecular mechanisms linking mitochondrial dysfunction and FFA-induced beta cell apoptosis are not clear. Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP-1) is a mitochondrial fission modulator. In this study, we investigated its role in FFA-induced INS-1 beta cell apoptosis. DRP-1 protein was promptly induced in INS-1 cells and rat islets after stimulation by FFAs, and this DRP-1 upregulation was accompanied by increased INS-1 cell apoptosis. Induction of DRP-1 expression significantly promoted FFA-induced apoptosis in DRP-1 WT (DRP-1 wild type) inducible INS-1-derived cell line, but not in DRP-1K38A (a dominant negative mutant of DRP-1) inducible INS-1-derived cell line. To validate these in vitro results, we transplanted DRP-1 WT or DRP-1 K38A cells into renal capsules of streptozotocin (STZ)-treated diabetic mice to study the apoptosis in xenografts. Consistent with the in vitro results, the over-expression of DRP-1 led to aggravated INS-1-derived cell apoptosis triggered by FFAs. In contrast, dominant-negative suppression of DRP-1 function as represented by DRP-1 K38A significantly prevented FFA-induced apoptosis in xenografts. It was further demonstrated that mitochondrial membrane potential decreased, while cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were enhanced by the induction of DRP-1WT, but prevented by DRP-1 K38A in INS-1-derived cells under FFA stimulation. These results indicated that DRP-1 mediates FFA-induced INS-1-derived cell apoptosis, suggesting that suppression of DRP-1 is a potentially useful therapeutic strategy for protecting against beta cell loss that leads to type 2 diabetes.

An alternative physiological role for the EmhABC efflux pump in Pseudomonas fluorescens cLP6a

BackgroundEfflux pumps belonging to the resistance-nodulation-division (RND) superfamily in bacteria are involved in antibiotic resistance and solvent tolerance but have an unknown physiological role. EmhABC, a RND-type efflux pump in Pseudomonas fluorescens strain cLP6a, extrudes hydrophobic antibiotics, dyes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons including phenanthrene. The effects of physico-chemical factors such as temperature or antibiotics on the activity and expression of EmhABC were determined in order to deduce its physiological role(s) in strain cLP6a in comparison to the emhB disruptant strain, cLP6a-1.ResultsEfflux assays conducted with 14C-phenanthrene showed that EmhABC activity is affected by incubation temperature. Increased phenanthrene efflux was measured in cLP6a cells grown at 10°C and decreased efflux was observed at 35°C compared with cells grown at the optimum temperature of 28°C. Membrane fatty acids in cLP6a cells were substantially altered by changes in growth temperature and in the presence of tetracycline. Changed membrane fatty acids and increased membrane permeability were associated with ~30-fold increased expression of emhABC in cLP6a cells grown at 35°C, and with increased extracellular free fatty acids. Growth of P. fluorescens cLP6a at supra-optimal temperature was enhanced by the presence of EmhABC compared to strain cLP6a-1.ConclusionsCombined, these observations suggest that the EmhABC efflux pump may be involved in the management of membrane stress effects such as those due to unfavourable incubation temperatures. Efflux of fatty acids replaced as a result of membrane damage or phospholipid turnover may be the primary physiological role of the EmhABC efflux pump in P. fluorescens cLP6a.

Expression and regulation of GPAT isoforms in cultured human keratinocytes and rodent epidermis

Phospholipids are required for epidermal lamellar body formation. Glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferases (GPATs) catalyze the initial step in the biosynthesis of glycerolipids. Little is known about the expression and regulation of GPATs in epidermis/keratinocytes. Here, we demonstrate that GPAT 1, 3, and 4 are expressed in epidermis/keratinocytes, whereas GPAT2 is not detected. In mouse epidermis, GPAT 3 and 4 are mainly localized to the upper layers whereas GPAT1 is found in both the upper and lower layers. GPAT1 and 3 mRNA increase during fetal rat epidermal development. No change in GPAT expression was observed in adult mice following acute permeability barrier disruption. Calcium-induced human keratinocyte differentiation increased GPAT3 mRNA whereas both GPAT1 and 4 mRNA levels decreased. In parallel, total GPAT activity increased 2-fold in differentiated keratinocytes attributable to an increase in N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) sensitive GPAT activity localized to microsomes with little change in NEM resistant activity, consistent with an increase in GPAT3. Furthermore, PPARγ or PPARδ activators increased GPAT3 mRNA, microsomal GPAT activity, and glycerol lipid synthesis without affecting the expression of GPAT1 or 4. Finally, both PPARγ and PPARδ activators increased GPAT3 mRNA via increasing its transcription. Thus, multiple isoforms of GPAT are expressed and differentially regulated in epidermis/keratinocytes.

Direct evidence of lipid translocation between adipocytes and prostate cancer cells with imaging FTIR microspectroscopy

Various epidemiological studies show a positive correlation between high intake of dietary FAs and metastatic prostate cancer (CaP). Moreover, CaP metastasizes to the bone marrow, which harbors a rich source of lipids stored within adipocytes. Here, we use Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy to study adipocyte biochemistry and to demonstrate that PC-3 cells uptake isotopically labeled FA [deuterated palmitic acid (D(31)-PA)] from an adipocyte. Using this vibrational spectroscopic technique, we detected subcellular locations in a single adipocyte enriched with D(31)-PA using the upsilon(as+s)(C-D)(2+3) (D(31)-PA): upsilon(as+s)(C-H)(2+3) (lipid hydrocarbon) signal. In addition, larger adipocytes were found to consist of a higher percentage of D(31)-PA of the total lipid found within the adipocyte. Following background subtraction, the upsilon(as)(C-D)(2+3) signal illuminated starved PC-3 cells cocultured with D(31)-PA-loaded adipocytes, indicating translocation of the labeled FA. This study demonstrates lipid-specific translocation between adipocytes and tumor cells and the use of FTIR microspectroscopy to characterize various biomolecular features of a single adipocyte without the requirement for cell isolation and lipid extraction.