Mitsugu Nakata

Overexpression of GPR40 in Pancreatic β-Cells Augments Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion and Improves Glucose Tolerance in Normal and Diabetic Mice

OBJECTIVE GPR40 is a G protein–coupled receptor regulating free fatty acid–induced insulin secretion. We generated transgenic mice overexpressing the hGPR40 gene under control of the mouse insulin II promoter and used them to examine the role of GPR40 in the regulation of insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Normal (C57BL/6J) and diabetic (KK) mice overexpressing the hGPR40 gene under control of the insulin II promoter were generated, and their glucose metabolism and islet function were analyzed. RESULTS In comparison with nontransgenic littermates, hGPR40 transgenic mice exhibited improved oral glucose tolerance with an increase in insulin secretion. Although islet morphologic analysis showed no obvious differences between hGPR40 transgenic and nontransgenic mice, isolated islets from hGPR40 transgenic mice had enhanced insulin secretion in response to high glucose (16 mmol/l) compared with those from nontransgenic mice, and they both had similar low glucose (3 mmol/l)-stimulated insulin secretion. In addition, hGPR40 transgenic islets significantly increased insulin secretion against a naturally occurring agonist palmitate in the presence of 11 mmol/l glucose. hGPR40 transgenic mice were also found to be resistant to high-fat diet–induced glucose intolerance, and hGPR40 transgenic mice harboring KK background showed augmented insulin secretion and improved oral glucose tolerance compared with nontransgenic littermates. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that GPR40 may have a role in regulating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and plasma glucose levels in vivo and that pharmacological activation of GPR40 may provide a novel insulin secretagogue beneficial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Spatial and temporal role of the apelin/APJ system in the caliber size regulation of blood vessels during angiogenesis.

Blood vessels change their caliber to adapt to the demands of tissues or organs for oxygen and nutrients. This event is mainly organized at the capillary level and requires a size‐sensing mechanism. However, the molecular regulatory mechanism involved in caliber size modification in blood vessels is not clear. Here we show that apelin, a protein secreted from endothelial cells under the activation of Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase on endothelial cells, plays a role in the regulation of caliber size of blood vessel through its cognate receptor APJ, which is expressed on endothelial cells. During early embryogenesis, APJ is expressed on endothelial cells of the new blood vessels sprouted from the dorsal aorta, but not on pre‐existing endothelial cells of the dorsal aorta. Apelin‐deficient mice showed narrow blood vessels in intersomitic vessels during embryogenesis. Apelin enhanced endothelial cell proliferation in the presence of vascular endothelial growth factor and promoted cell‐to‐cell aggregation. These results indicated that the apelin/APJ system is involved in the regulation of blood vessel diameter during angiogenesis.

Targeted disruption of the neurotrophin-3 gene with lacZ induces loss of trkC-positive neurons in sensory ganglia but not in spinal cords

We have replaced the NT-3 gene with Escherichia coli-derived lacZ gene by means of homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells and thus produced null mutant mice. Mice homozygous for this mutation developed to birth, but most of them could not suck well and died within 2 days after birth. The surviving homozygous mutant mice displayed movement disorder similar to ataxia. The expression of lacZ was widely distributed in the target tissues of peripheral nerves, spinal motor neurons, lumbar dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia during the prenatal periods. A neuroanatomical examination revealed that there was marked cell reduction present in trigeminal and lumbar dorsal root ganglia in the developing homozygous mutant mice. In these tissues, the expression of trkC, a high-affinity receptor for NT-3, was markedly reduced. In contrast, we did not find any morphological abnormalities, significant cell loss or decreased levels of trkC expression in the motor neurons present in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. These results indicate that the absence of the NT-3 gene leads to a defect in the sensory nervous system, but it may be complemented by other neurotrophins in the motor nervous system during the development.

Derivation of rat embryonic stem cells and generation of protease-activated receptor-2 knockout rats

One of the remarkable achievements in knockout (KO) rat production reported during the period 2008–2010 is the derivation of authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rat blastocysts using a novel culture medium containing glycogen synthase kinase 3 and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitors (2i medium). Here, we report gene-targeting technology via homologous recombination in rat ES cells, demonstrating its use through production of a protease-activated receptor-2 gene (Par-2) KO rat. We began by generating germline-competent ES cells from Dark Agouti rats using 2i medium. These ES cells, which differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro, can produce chimeras with high ES cell contribution when injected into blastocysts. We then introduced a targeting vector with a neomycin-resistant gene driven by the CAG promoter to disrupt Par-2. After a 7-day drug selection, 489 neomycin-resistant colonies were obtained. Following screening by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genotyping and quantitative PCR analysis, we confirmed three homologous recombinant clones, resulting in chimeras that transmitted the Par-2 targeted allele to offspring. Par-2 KO rats showed a loss of Par-2 messenger RNA expression in their stomach cells and a lack of PAR-2 mediated smooth muscle relaxation in the aorta as indicated by pharmacological testing. Compared with mice, rats offer many advantages in biomedical research, including a larger body size; consequently, they are widely used in scientific investigation. Thus, the establishment of a gene-targeting technology using rat ES cells will be a valuable tool in human disease model production and drug discovery.

Analysis of neurotrophin-3 expression using the lacZ reporter gene suggests its local mode of neurotrophic activity

We replaced the mouse neurotrophin-3 gene with the Escherichia coli-derived lacZ gene by means of homologous recombination. The mice with this mutation were useful models for studying the distribution of neurotrophin-3 expression in vivo, because visualization by 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) staining was simple and rapid compared with in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry. Whole-mount staining of mutant embryos at embryonic day 10 revealed that lacZ, a reporter for the neurotrophin-3 gene, was expressed in the mesencephalon, mandibular arch and somites. In the embryos at days 13-17, lacZ was markedly expressed in the peripheral target tissues of sensory and sympathetic neurons. We also found that spinal motor neurons and sensory neurons in trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia express lacZ. Some of these X-Gal staining regions overlapped with the sites expressing trkC, a high-affinity receptor for neurotrophin-3. The distribution of X-Gal staining in heterozygotes and homozygotes was similar to that of neurotrophin-3 messenger RNA detected by in situ hybridization. However, there was less lacZ expression in the dorsal root ganglia of homozygotes than neurotrophin-3 expression in wild-type mice. These results suggest that the neurotrophin-3 produced in the dorsal root ganglia also plays a role in the survival of some of the neurotrophin-3-positive neurons and that the local mode of neurotrophic activity is widely distributed.

Neurotrophin-3 is expressed in the posterior lobe of mouse cerebellum, but does not affect the cerebellar development

We replaced the neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene with Escherichia coli-derived lacZ via homologous recombination in embryonic stem (ES) cells and generated the mutant mice. Here we show the in vivo expression of NT-3 in the cerebellum during the postnatal period. A high level of lacZ expression was found in the granular layer of posterior lobe (lobules VII to X) in the postnatal NT-3(+/-) cerebellum. The expression in these regions was reduced with age. Although the Purkinje cells are considered to be a target of NT-3 and the NT-3(-/-) mice displayed severe moving disorders like ataxia, no histological abnormality was observed in their cerebellum. These findings suggest that the NT-3 expressed in the cerebellum gives some trophic effects primarily to the posterior lobe, however, the deficiency does not affect its development.

Lack of GPR40/FFAR1 does not induce diabetes even under insulin resistance condition

G protein‐coupled receptor/free fatty acid receptor 1 (GPR40/FFAR1) regulates free fatty acid‐induced insulin secretion. This study has been performed to clarify whether or not loss of GPR40/FFAR1 function exacerbates diabetes, that is, whether GPR40 has an essential physiological role in the development of diabetes or not.

An enzyme immunoassay for human lymphotoxin.

A highly sensitive and specific enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for human lymphotoxin (hLT) has been developed. The assay is based upon a sandwich system employing two kinds of anti-hLT antibodies with neutralizing activity. One of them was mouse monoclonal antibody raised against Escherichia coli-derived recombinant hLT with a deletion of 20 amino-terminal amino acids and used as labelled antibody. The other was rabbit antibody raised against the carboxyl-terminal portion of hLT and used as solid-phase antibody. The EIA employing such a combination was able to detect less than 50 pg/ml of hLT, showing that this method was approximately 5-10 times higher sensitivity than the conventional bioassay employing L929 cell-lysis. The mean recovery of hLT added to serum specimens was 101% and the coefficients of variation were 3.3-7.8% (intra-assay) and 2.9-17.2% (interassay). There was a good correlation between the present EIA and the bioassay (r = 0.93).

Generation of gene-targeted mice using embryonic stem cells derived from a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Gene-targeting technology using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells has become the “gold standard” for analyzing gene functions and producing disease models. Recently, genetically modified mice with multiple mutations have increasingly been produced to study the interaction between proteins and polygenic diseases. However, introduction of an additional mutation into mice already harboring several mutations by conventional natural crossbreeding is an extremely time- and labor-intensive process. Moreover, to do so in mice with a complex genetic background, several years may be required if the genetic background is to be retained. Establishing ES cells from multiple-mutant mice, or disease-model mice with a complex genetic background, would offer a possible solution. Here, we report the establishment and characterization of novel ES cell lines from a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (3xTg-AD mouse, Oddo et al. in Neuron 39:409–421, 2003) harboring 3 mutated genes (APPswe, TauP301L, and PS1M146V) and a complex genetic background. Thirty blastocysts were cultured and 15 stable ES cell lines (male: 11; female: 4) obtained. By injecting these ES cells into diploid or tetraploid blastocysts, we generated germline-competent chimeras. Subsequently, we confirmed that F1 mice derived from these animals showed similar biochemical and behavioral characteristics to the original 3xTg-AD mice. Furthermore, we introduced a gene-targeting vector into the ES cells and successfully obtained gene-targeted ES cells, which were then used to generate knockout mice for the targeted gene. These results suggest that the present methodology is effective for introducing an additional mutation into mice already harboring multiple mutated genes and/or a complex genetic background.