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Arteriovenous Metabolomics to Measure <em>In Vivo</em> Metabolite Exchange in Brown Adipose Tissue

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a crucial role in regulating metabolic homeostasis through a unique energy expenditure process known as non-shivering ...

Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)

We have previously reported that Smad6, one of the inhibitory Smads of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, inhibits Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 signaling by disrupting the Pellino-1-mediated TLR4 signaling complex. Here, we developed Smaducin-6, a novel membrane-tethered palmitic acid-conjugated Smad6-derived peptide composed of amino acids 422-441 of Smad6. Smaducin-6 interacted with Pellino-1, located in the inner membrane, thereby disrupting the formation of IRAK1-, RIP1-, IKKε-mediated TLR4 signaling complexes. Systemic administration of Smaducin-6 showed a significant therapeutic effect on mouse TLR4-mediated inflammatory disease models, cecal-ligation-puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis, and lipopolysaccharide-induced endotoxemia, by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine production and apoptosis while enhancing neutrophil migration and bacterial clearance. Our findings provide clues to develop new peptide-based drugs to target Pellino-1 protein in TLR4 signaling pathway for the treatment of sepsis.

Inhibition of lethal inflammatory responses through the targeting of membrane-associated Toll-like receptor 4 signaling complexes with a Smad6-derived peptide.

Autophagy begins with the formation of autophagosomes, a process that depends on the activity of the serine/threonine kinase ULK1 (hATG1). Although earlier studies indicated that ULK1 activity is regulated by dynamic polyubiquitination, the deubiquitinase involved in the regulation of ULK1 remained unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) acts as a positive regulator of autophagy initiation through stabilizing ULK1. At basal state, USP20 binds to and stabilizes ULK1 by removing the ubiquitin moiety, thereby interfering with the lysosomal degradation of ULK1. The stabilization of basal ULK1 protein levels is required for the initiation of starvation-induced autophagy, since the depletion of USP20 by RNA interference inhibits LC3 puncta formation, a marker of autophagic flux. At later stages of autophagy, USP20 dissociates from ULK1, resulting in enhanced ULK1 degradation and apoptosis. Taken together, our findings provide the first evidence that USP20 plays a crucial role in autophagy initiation by maintaining the basal expression level of ULK1.

The deubiquitinating enzyme USP20 stabilizes ULK1 and promotes autophagy initiation.

Although bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) signaling pathway has been implicated in many types of cancer, its role of tumorigenesis seems to be controversial and its ubiquitin-modifying mechanisms have not been fully addressed. Our study was designed to investigate how BMP6 signaling pathway is regulated by ubiquitin-modifying systems and to address molecular and clinical significance in colorectal cancers.

The deubiquitinating enzyme PSMD14 facilitates tumor growth and chemoresistance through stabilizing the ALK2 receptor in the initiation of BMP6 signaling pathway.

Site-specific ubiquitination can regulate the functions of Rab proteins in membrane trafficking. Previously we showed that site-specific monoubiquitination on Rab5 downregulates its function. Rab7 acts in the downstream of Rab5. Although site-specific ubiquitination of Rab7 can affect its function, it remains elusive how the ubiquitination is involved in modulation of the function of Rab7 at molecular level. Here, we report molecular basis for the regulation of Rab7 by site-specific monoubiquitination. Rab7 was predominantly monoubiquitinated at multiple sites in the membrane fraction of cultured cells. Two major ubiquitination sites (K191 and K194), identified by mutational analysis with single K mutants, were responsible for membrane localization of monoubiquitinated Rab7. Using small-angle X-ray scattering, we derived structural models of site-specifically monoubiquitinated Rab7 in solution. Structural analysis combined with molecular dynamics simulation corroborated that the ubiquitin moieties on K191 and K194 are key determinants for exclusion of Rab7 from the endosomal membrane. Ubiquitination on the two major sites apparently mitigated colocalization of Rab7 with ORF3a of SARS-CoV-2, potentially deterring the egression of SARS-CoV-2. Our results establish that the regulatory effects of a Rab protein through site-specific monoubiquitination are commonly observed among Rab GTPases while the ubiquitination sites differ in each Rab protein.

Structural mechanism for regulation of Rab7 by site-specific monoubiquitination.

The signaling pathways governing acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury have been extensively studied. However, little is known about the ubiquitin-modifying enzymes needed for the regulation of APAP-induced liver injury. Here, we examined whether the Pellino3 protein, which has E3 ligase activity, is needed for APAP-induced liver injury and subsequently explored its molecular mechanism. Whole-body Peli3 knockout (KO) and adenovirus-mediated Peli3 knockdown (KD) mice showed reduced levels of centrilobular cell death, infiltration of immune cells, and biomarkers of liver injury, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), upon APAP treatment compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Peli3 deficiency in primary hepatocytes decreased mitochondrial and lysosomal damage and reduced the mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. In addition, the levels of phosphorylation at serine 9 in the cytoplasm and mitochondrial translocation of GSK3β were decreased in primary hepatocytes obtained from Peli3 KO mice, and these reductions were accompanied by decreases in JNK phosphorylation and mitochondrial translocation. Pellino3 bound more strongly to GSK3β compared with JNK1 and JNK2 and induced the lysine 63 (K63)-mediated polyubiquitination of GSK3β. In rescue experiments, the ectopic expression of wild-type Pellino3 in Peli3 KO hepatocytes restored the mitochondrial translocation of GSK3β, but this restoration was not obtained with expression of a catalytically inactive mutant of Pellino3. These findings are the first to suggest a mechanistic link between Pellino3 and APAP-induced liver injury through the modulation of GSK3β polyubiquitination.

Peli3 ablation ameliorates acetaminophen-induced liver injury through inhibition of GSK3β phosphorylation and mitochondrial translocation.

Rice bran, a by-product of rice milling, is abundant in bioactive molecules and is highly recognized for its health-promoting properties, particularly in improving metabolic conditions. Building on this knowledge, we aimed to optimize the extraction conditions to maximize the functional efficacy of rice bran extract (RBE) and further validate its impact on lipid metabolism. We found that the optimized RBE (ORBE) significantly suppressed high-fat diet-induced weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and hepatosteatosis in mouse models. ORBE treatment not only suppressed lipid uptake in vivo, but also reduced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. Importantly, we discovered that ORBE administration resulted in activation of AMPK and inhibition of STAT3, which are both crucial players in lipid metabolism in the liver. Collectively, ORBE potentially offers promise as a dietary intervention strategy against hyperlipidemia and hepatosteatosis. This study underlines the value of optimized extraction conditions in enhancing the functional efficacy of rice bran.

Su Myung Jung

Department of Biological Sciences

Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)

Arteriovenous Metabolomics to Measure In Vivo Metabolite Exchange in Brown Adipose Tissue

Su Myung Jung

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Biological Sciences

Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)

Arteriovenous Metabolomics to Measure In Vivo Metabolite Exchange in Brown Adipose Tissue

Department of Biological Sciences