Neil B. Ruderman

Enhanced muscle fat oxidation and glucose transport by ACRP30 globular domain: acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibition and AMP-activated protein kinase activation.

gACRP30, the globular subunit of adipocyte complement-related protein of 30 kDa (ACRP30), improves insulin sensitivity and increases fatty acid oxidation. The mechanism by which gACRP30 exerts these effects is unknown. Here, we examined if gACRP30 activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that has been shown to increase muscle fatty acid oxidation and insulin sensitivity. Incubation of rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL), a predominantly fast twitch muscle, with gACRP30 (2.5 μg/ml) for 30 min led to 2-fold increases in AMPK activity and phosphorylation of both AMPK on Thr-172 and acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) on Ser-79. Accordingly, concentration of malonyl CoA was diminished by 30%. In addition, gACRP30 caused a 1.5-fold increase in 2-deoxyglucose uptake. Similar changes in malonyl CoA and ACC were observed in soleus muscle incubated with gACRP30 (2.5 μg/ml), although no significant changes in AMPK activity or 2-deoxyglucose uptake were detected. When EDL was incubated with full-length hexameric ACRP30 (10 μg/ml), AMPK activity and ACC phosphorylation were not altered. Administration of gACRP30 (75 μg) to C57 BL/6J mice in vivo led to increased AMPK activity and ACC phosphorylation and decreased malonyl CoA concentration in gastrocnemius muscle within 15–30 min. Both in vivo and in vitro, activation of AMPK was the first effect of gACRP30 and was transient, whereas alterations in malonyl CoA and ACC occurred later and were more sustained. Thus, gACRP30 most likely exerts its actions on muscle fatty acid oxidation by inactivating ACC via activation of AMPK and perhaps other signal transduction proteins.

SIRT3 regulates mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation by reversible enzyme deacetylation

Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent protein deacetylases. They mediate adaptive responses to a variety of stresses, including calorie restriction and metabolic stress. Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is localized in the mitochondrial matrix, where it regulates the acetylation levels of metabolic enzymes, including acetyl coenzyme A synthetase 2 (refs 1, 2). Mice lacking both Sirt3 alleles appear phenotypically normal under basal conditions, but show marked hyperacetylation of several mitochondrial proteins. Here we report that SIRT3 expression is upregulated during fasting in liver and brown adipose tissues. During fasting, livers from mice lacking SIRT3 had higher levels of fatty-acid oxidation intermediate products and triglycerides, associated with decreased levels of fatty-acid oxidation, compared to livers from wild-type mice. Mass spectrometry of mitochondrial proteins shows that long-chain acyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (LCAD) is hyperacetylated at lysine 42 in the absence of SIRT3. LCAD is deacetylated in wild-type mice under fasted conditions and by SIRT3 in vitro and in vivo; and hyperacetylation of LCAD reduces its enzymatic activity. Mice lacking SIRT3 exhibit hallmarks of fatty-acid oxidation disorders during fasting, including reduced ATP levels and intolerance to cold exposure. These findings identify acetylation as a novel regulatory mechanism for mitochondrial fatty-acid oxidation and demonstrate that SIRT3 modulates mitochondrial intermediary metabolism and fatty-acid use during fasting.

Malonyl-CoA, fuel sensing, and insulin resistance

Malonyl-CoA is an allosteric inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) I, the enzyme that controls the transfer of long-chain fatty acyl (LCFA)-CoAs into the mitochondria where they are oxidized. In rat skeletal muscle, the formation of malonyl-CoA is regulated acutely (in minutes) by changes in the activity of the beta-isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCbeta). This can occur by at least two mechanisms: one involving cytosolic citrate, an allosteric activator of ACCbeta and a precursor of its substrate cytosolic acetyl-CoA, and the other involving changes in ACCbeta phosphorylation. Increases in cytosolic citrate leading to an increase in the concentration of malonyl-CoA occur when muscle is presented with insulin and glucose, or when it is made inactive by denervation, in keeping with a diminished need for fatty acid oxidation in these situations. Conversely, during exercise, when the need of the muscle cell for fatty acid oxidation is increased, decreases in the ATP/AMP and/or creatine phosphate-to-creatine ratios activate an isoform of an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which phosphorylates ACCbeta and inhibits both its basal activity and activation by citrate. The central role of cytosolic citrate links this malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism to the glucose-fatty acid cycle concept of Randle et al. (P. J. Randle, P. B. Garland. C. N. Hales, and E. A. Newsholme. Lancet 1: 785-789, 1963) and to a mechanism by which glucose might autoregulate its own use. A similar citrate-mediated malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism appears to exist in other tissues, including the pancreatic beta-cell, the heart, and probably the central nervous system. It is our hypothesis that by altering the cytosolic concentrations of LCFA-CoA and diacylglycerol, and secondarily the activity of one or more protein kinase C isoforms, changes in malonyl-CoA provide a link between fuel metabolism and signal transduction in these cells. It is also our hypothesis that dysregulation of the malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism, if it leads to sustained increases in the concentrations of malonyl-CoA and cytosolic LCFA-CoA, could play a key role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in muscle. That it may contribute to abnormalities associated with the insulin resistance syndrome in other tissues and the development of obesity has also been suggested. Studies are clearly needed to test these hypotheses and to explore the notion that exercise and some pharmacological agents that increase insulin sensitivity act via effects on malonyl-CoA and/or cytosolic LCFA-CoA.Malonyl-CoA is an allosteric inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) I, the enzyme that controls the transfer of long-chain fatty acyl (LCFA)-CoAs into the mitochondria where they are oxidized. In rat skeletal muscle, the formation of malonyl-CoA is regulated acutely (in minutes) by changes in the activity of the β-isoform of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCβ). This can occur by at least two mechanisms: one involving cytosolic citrate, an allosteric activator of ACCβ and a precursor of its substrate cytosolic acetyl-CoA, and the other involving changes in ACCβphosphorylation. Increases in cytosolic citrate leading to an increase in the concentration of malonyl-CoA occur when muscle is presented with insulin and glucose, or when it is made inactive by denervation, in keeping with a diminished need for fatty acid oxidation in these situations. Conversely, during exercise, when the need of the muscle cell for fatty acid oxidation is increased, decreases in the ATP/AMP and/or creatine phosphate-to-creatine ratios activate an isoform of an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which phosphorylates ACCβ and inhibits both its basal activity and activation by citrate. The central role of cytosolic citrate links this malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism to the glucose-fatty acid cycle concept of Randle et al. (P. J. Randle, P. B. Garland. C. N. Hales, and E. A. Newsholme. Lancet 1: 785-789, 1963) and to a mechanism by which glucose might autoregulate its own use. A similar citrate-mediated malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism appears to exist in other tissues, including the pancreatic β-cell, the heart, and probably the central nervous system. It is our hypothesis that by altering the cytosolic concentrations of LCFA-CoA and diacylglycerol, and secondarily the activity of one or more protein kinase C isoforms, changes in malonyl-CoA provide a link between fuel metabolism and signal transduction in these cells. It is also our hypothesis that dysregulation of the malonyl-CoA regulatory mechanism, if it leads to sustained increases in the concentrations of malonyl-CoA and cytosolic LCFA-CoA, could play a key role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in muscle. That it may contribute to abnormalities associated with the insulin resistance syndrome in other tissues and the development of obesity has also been suggested. Studies are clearly needed to test these hypotheses and to explore the notion that exercise and some pharmacological agents that increase insulin sensitivity act via effects on malonyl-CoA and/or cytosolic LCFA-CoA.

Mice Lacking Adiponectin Show Decreased Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity and Reduced Responsiveness to Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Agonists

The adipose tissue-derived hormone adiponectin improves insulin sensitivity and its circulating levels are decreased in obesity-induced insulin resistance. Here, we report the generation of a mouse line with a genomic disruption of the adiponectin locus. We aimed to identify whether these mice develop insulin resistance and which are the primary target tissues affected in this model. Using euglycemic/insulin clamp studies, we demonstrate that these mice display severe hepatic but not peripheral insulin resistance. Furthermore, we wanted to test whether the lack of adiponectin magnifies the impairments of glucose homeostasis in the context of a dietary challenge. When exposed to high fat diet, adiponectin null mice rapidly develop glucose intolerance. Specific PPARγ agonists such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs) improve insulin sensitivity by mechanisms largely unknown. Circulating adiponectin levels are significantly up-regulated in vivo upon activation of PPARγ. Both TZDs and adiponectin have been shown to activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the same target tissues. We wanted to address whether the ability of TZDs to improve glucose tolerance is dependent on adiponectin and whether this improvement involved AMPK activation. We demonstrate that the ability of PPARγ agonists to improve glucose tolerance in ob/ob mice lacking adiponectin is diminished. Adiponectin is required for the activation of AMPK upon TZD administration in both liver and muscle. In summary, adiponectin is an important contributor to PPARγ-mediated improvements in glucose tolerance through mechanisms that involve the activation of the AMPK pathway.

SIRT1 Modulation of the Acetylation Status, Cytosolic Localization, and Activity of LKB1 POSSIBLE ROLE IN AMP-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE ACTIVATION

SIRT1, a histone/protein deacetylase, and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) are key enzymes responsible for longevity and energy homeostasis. We examined whether a mechanistic connection exists between these molecules that involves the major AMPK kinase LKB1. Initial studies demonstrated that LKB1 is acetylated in cultured (HEK293T) cells, mouse white adipose tissue, and rat liver. In the 293T cells, SIRT1 overexpression diminished lysine acetylation of LKB1 and concurrently increased its activity, cytoplasmic/nuclear ratio, and association with the LKB1 activator STRAD. In contrast, short hairpin RNA for SIRT1, where studied, had opposite effects on these parameters. Mass spectrometric analysis established that acetylation of LKB1 occurs on multiple, but specific, lysine residues; however, only mutation of lysine 48 to arginine, which mimics deacetylation, reproduced all of the effects of activated SIRT1. SIRT1 also affected downstream targets of LKB1. Thus its overexpression increased AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation, and conversely, RNA interference-mediated SIRT1 knockdown reduced AMPK phosphorylation and that of another LKB1 target MARK1. Consistent with the results in cultured cells, total LKB1 lysine acetylation was decreased by 60% in the liver of 48-h starved rats compared with starved-refed rats, and this was associated with modest but significant increases in both LKB1 and AMPK activities. These results suggest that LKB1 deacetylation is regulated by SIRT1 and that this in turn influences its intracellular localization, association with STRAD, kinase activity, and ability to activate AMPK.

Role of disulfide bonds in Acrp30/adiponectin structure and signaling specificity. Different oligomers activate different signal transduction pathways.

Acrp30/adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived serum protein with important roles in regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, but which of its isoforms are biologically active remains controversial. We addressed this issue by first characterizing the structure of each individual Acrp30 oligomer and the determinants responsible for multimer formation. Freeze etch electron microscopy showed the trimer to exhibit a ball-and- stick-like structure containing a large globular sphere, an extended collagen stalk, and a smaller sphere on the opposite end of the stalk. The hexamer consists of two adjacent trimeric globular domains and a single stalk composed of collagen domains from two trimers. Although not necessary for trimer formation or stability, two of the three monomers in an Acrp30 trimer are covalently linked by a disulfide bond between cysteine residues at position 22. In contrast, assembly of hexameric and higher molecular weight (HMW) forms of Acrp30 depends upon formation of Cys22-mediated disulfide bonds because their reduction with dithiothreitol or substitution of Cys22 with alanine led exclusively to trimers. HMW and hexamer isoforms of Acrp30 activated NF-κB in C2C12 cells, but trimers, either natural, formed by reduction of Acrp30 hexamer, or formed by the C22A mutant, did not. In contrast, incubation of isolated rat extensor digitorum longus with naturally formed Acrp30 trimers or trimeric C22A Acrp30 led to increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase-α at Thr172 and its activation. Hexameric and HMW Acrp30 could not activate AMP-activated protein kinase. Thus, trimeric and HMW/hexameric Acrp30 activate different signal transduction pathways, and Acrp30 represents a novel example of the control of ligand signaling via changes in its oligomerization state.

Muscle Glucose Metabolism following Exercise in the Rat: INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO INSULIN

Muscle glycogen stores are depleted during exercise and are rapidly repleted during the recovery period. To investigate the mechanism for this phenomenon, untrained male rats were run for 45 min on a motor-driven treadmill and the ability of their muscles to utilize glucose was then assessed during perfusion of their isolated hindquarters. Glucose utilization by the hindquarter was the same in exercised and control rats perfused in the absence of added insulin; however, when insulin (30-40,000 muU/ml) was added to the perfusate, glucose utilization was greater after exercise. Prior exercise lowered both, the concentration of insulin that half-maximally stimulated glucose utilization (exercise, 150 muU/ml; control, 480 muU/ml) and modestly increased its maximum effect. The increase in insulin sensitivity persisted for 4 h following exercise, but was not present after 24 h. The rate-limiting step in glucose utilization enhanced by prior exercise appeared to be glucose transport across the cell membrane, as in neither control nor exercised rats did free glucose accumulate in the muscle cell. Following exercise, the ability of insulin to stimulate the release of lactate into the perfusate was unaltered; however its ability to stimulate the incorporation of [(14)C]glucose into glycogen in certain muscles was enhanced. Thus at a concentration of 75 muU/ml insulin stimulated glycogen synthesis eightfold more in the fast-twitch red fibers of the red gastrocnemius than it did in the same muscle of nonexercised rats. In contrast, insulin only minimally increased glycogen synthesis in the fast-twitch white fibers of the gastrocnemius, which were not glycogen-depleted. The uptake of 2-deoxyglucose by these muscles followed a similar pattern suggesting that glucose transport was also differentially enhanced. Prior exercise did not enhance the ability of insulin to convert glycogen synthase from its glucose-6-phosphate-dependent (D) to its glucose-6-phosphate-independent (1) form. On the other hand, following exercise, insulin prevented a marked decrease in muscle glucose-6-phosphate, which could have diminished synthase activity in situ. The possibility that exercise enhanced the ability of insulin to convert glycogen synthase D to an intermediate form of the enzyme, more sensitive to glucose-6-phosphate, remains to be explored. These results suggest that following exercise, glucose transport and glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle are enhanced due at least in part to an increase in insulin sensitivity. They also suggest that this increase in insulin sensitivity occurs predominantly in muscle fibers that are deglycogenated during exercise.

AMPK and SIRT1: a long-standing partnership?

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the histone/protein deacetylase SIRT1 are fuel-sensing molecules that have coexisted in cells throughout evolution. When a cells energy state is diminished, AMPK activation restores energy balance by stimulating catabolic processes that generate ATP and downregulating anabolic processes that consume ATP but are not acutely needed for survival. SIRT1 in turn is best known historically for producing genetic changes that mediate the increase in longevity caused by calorie restriction. Although the two molecules have been studied intensively for many years, only recently has it become apparent that they have similar effects on diverse processes such as cellular fuel metabolism, inflammation, and mitochondrial function. In this review we will examine the evidence that these similarities occur because AMPK and SIRT1 both regulate each other and share many common target molecules. In addition, we will discuss the clinical relevance of these interactions and in particular the possibility that their dysregulation predisposes to disorders such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and is a target for their therapy.

Contraction-induced changes in acetyl-CoA carboxylase and 5'-AMP-activated kinase in skeletal muscle

The concentration of malonyl-CoA, a negative regulator of fatty acid oxidation, diminishes acutely in contracting skeletal muscle. To determine how this occurs, the activity and properties of acetyl-CoA carboxylase β (ACC-β), the skeletal muscle isozyme that catalyzes malonyl-CoA formation, were examined in rat gastrocnemius-soleus muscles at rest and during contractions induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve. To avoid the problem of contamination of the muscle extract by mitochondrial carboxylases, an assay was developed in which ACC-β was first purified by immunoprecipitation with a monoclonal antibody. ACC-β was quantitatively recovered in the immunopellet and exhibited a high sensitivity to citrate (12-fold activation) and aK m for acetyl-CoA (120 μm) similar to that reported for ACC-β purified by other means. After 5 min of contraction, ACC-β activity was decreased by 90% despite an apparent increase in the cytosolic concentration of citrate, a positive regulator of ACC. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of both homogenates and immunopellets from these muscles showed a decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of ACC, suggesting that phosphorylation could account for the decrease in ACC activity. In keeping with this notion, citrate activation of ACC purified from contracting muscle was markedly depressed. In addition, homogenization of the muscles in a buffer free of phosphatase inhibitors and containing the phosphatase activators glutamate and MgCl2 or treatment of immunoprecipitated ACC-β with purified protein phosphatase 2A abolished the decreases in both ACC-β activity and electrophoretic mobility caused by contraction. The rapid decrease in ACC-β activity after the onset of contractions (50% by 20 s) and its slow restoration to initial values during recovery (60–90 min) were paralleled temporally by reciprocal changes in the activity of the α2 but not the α1 isoform of 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In conclusion, the results suggest that the decrease in ACC activity during muscle contraction is caused by an increase in its phosphorylation, most probably due, at least in part, to activation of the α2 isoform of AMPK. They also suggest a dual mechanism for ACC regulation in muscle in which inhibition by phosphorylation takes precedence over activation by citrate. These alterations in ACC and AMPK activity, by diminishing the concentration of malonyl-CoA, could be responsible for the increase in fatty acid oxidation observed in skeletal muscle during exercise.

AMP kinase and malonyl-CoA: targets for therapy of the metabolic syndrome.

Patients with the metabolic syndrome are characterized by insulin resistance, obesity and a predisposition to hypertension, dyslipidaemia, pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, type 2 diabetes and premature atherosclerosis. Here we review the hypothesis that a common feature linking these multiple abnormalities is dysregulation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/malonyl-CoA fuel-sensing and signalling network. It is proposed that such dysregulation leads to alterations in cellular fatty-acid metabolism that in turn cause ectopic lipid accumulation, cellular dysfunction and ultimately disease. Evidence is also presented that factors that activate AMP kinase and/or reduce malonyl-CoA levels might reverse these abnormalities or prevent them from occurring.