Diabetes Care 30:1179-1186, 2007 DOI: 10.2337/dc06-1962 © 2007 by the American Diabetes Association
The Effect of ß-Adrenergic and Peroxisome ProliferatorActivated Receptor-
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| ABSTRACT |
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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA total of 57 women and men were randomized into four groups: 1) placebo/placebo (PP), 2) ephedrine HCl (25 mg, 3 times daily) plus caffeine (200 mg, 3 times daily)/placebo (ECP), 3) placebo/pioglitazone (45 mg) (PPio), and 4) ephedrine plus caffeine/pioglitazone (ECPio) for 16 weeks. Adipose tissue samples were obtained after 12 weeks of treatment to determine gene expression.
RESULTSBody fat decreased by 6.0 and 4.6% in the ECP and ECPio groups, respectively, while remaining unchanged in the PPio and PP groups. Triglyceride levels decreased by 7.7, 24, 15.2, and 41 mg/dl after 16 weeks treatment in the PP, PPio, ECP, and ECPio groups, respectively. This indicates that pioglitazone groups with or without EC (ephedrine HCl plus caffeine) decreased triglycerides, and EC groups with or without pioglitazone decreased body weight. The mRNA for sirtuin 1 and CD36 increased only in the ECPio group. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1, medium-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase, and malonyl-CoA decarboxylase increased with PPio and ECPio. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase decreased with ECP.
CONCLUSIONSCombined activation of peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor-
and ß-adrenergic receptors has beneficial effects on body weight, plasma triglycerides, and lipid metabolism in subcutaneous fat by increasing the expression of genes required for fatty acid catabolism.
Abbreviations: CPT-1, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 CT, computed tomography EC, ephedrine HC1 plus caffeine FATP/CD36, fatty acid transporter LPL, lipoprotein lipase MCAD; medium-chain acyl CoAdehydrogenase MLYCD, malonyl-CoA decarboxylase PGC-1
, peroxisome proliferatoractivated coactivator 1
PPAR, peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue SCD-1, stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 UCP-1, uncoupling protein-1 VAT; visceral adipose tissue WAT, white adipose tissue
| INTRODUCTION |
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(PGC-1
) (12,13) and PPAR-
are key factors driving these two processes (14). Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) is considered a marker of the brown fat thermogenic phenotype. ß-Adrenergic stimulation increases PGC-1
as well as UCP-1 mRNA and protein levels in WAT (11,15).
The sympathetic nervous system, via the intracellular messenger cAMP and/or the mitogen-activated protein kinase activation by PPAR-
, controls lipid metabolism and body weight. PPAR-
activation results in the remodeling of adipocytes, and combined therapy with ß-adrenergic stimulators exerts a synergistic effect to produce a negative energy balance in rodents (16). This was accompanied by an increase in the number of small, insulin-sensitive adipocytes, mitochondrial biogenesis, and increased expression of UCP-1. The above observations suggest the existence of cross-talk between two distinct signal transduction pathways (cAMP and PPAR-
) in adipose tissue (16). Indeed, both systems drive the expression of important genes necessary for lipid uptake and oxidation. For example, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was upregulated after cAMP (17) and PPAR-
(18,19) activation. Combined therapy with ephedrine plus caffeine/pioglitazone (ECPio) significantly reduced plasma triglycerides (triglycerides), VLDL, and LDL levels while it increased HDL total mass (20). Our and several previous results demonstrated that PPAR-
activation increases body weight and the expression of several genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and lipid metabolism in subcutaneous fat obtained from subjects with type 2 diabetes (18,2022).
Taken together, the above results suggest that activation of the two described signaling systems might synergize to exert beneficial effects on body weight, body fat, and blood lipids via the regulation of key genes involved in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis in subcutaneous fat.
| RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS |
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Adipose tissue was obtained by Bergstrom needle biopsies from subcutaneous depots 610 cm lateral to the umbilicus at baseline (0 week) and after 12 weeks of treatment following an overnight fast. Fat samples were cleaned of visible connective tissue and blood vessels, immediately frozen, and stored at 70°C until assays.
Body composition
Body fat mass and lean mass were measured on a Hologic Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometer (QDR 4500A; Hologic, Waltham, MA). Visceral adiposity was determined by multislice computed tomography (CT) scanning using a General Electric High-Speed Computed Tomography scanner under an established protocol (21).
RNA and DNA extraction
Total RNA from 50 to 100 mg adipose tissue was isolated with Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and purified with RNeasy columns (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA) according to manufacturers procedure. The quantity and quality of the RNA were confirmed by Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA). TNA (total nucleic acid) was extracted from a separate sample of adipose tissue (20 mg) by isopropanol precipitation using MasterPure Complete DNA and RNA Pruification kit (EPICENTRE, Madison, WI). The total DNA recovered was determined by spectrophotometry.
Real-time RT-PCR for RNA
Real-time RT-PCR was performed using a Taqman 100Rxn PCR Core Reagent Kit (Applied Biosystems, Roche, Branchburg, NJ) as previously described (15,18,22). Real-time RT-PCR was carried out in an ABI PRISM 7900 sequence detector (Applied Biosystems, Branchburg, NJ) using the following parameters: 1 cycle of 48° C for 30 min and 95° C for 10 min followed by 40 cycles at 95° C for 15 s and 60° C for 1 min. A standard curve was prepared by serial dilution of pooled total RNA and each gene/sample was compared with this standard curve. All expression data were normalized by dividing the amount of target gene by the amount of cyclophilin B applied as an internal control. To determine the tissue content of mitochondria per cell, real-time PCR for mitochondrial DNA was applied as described previously (22).
Statistical analysis
All values are presented in figures and tables as raw means ± SE unless otherwise noted as SD. Significant differences were assumed for P < 0.05. Gene expression data were analyzed by paired t test within treatment group using GraphPad Prism version 4.0 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA). Serial lipid data was analyzed using a mixed model (PROC MIXED) in SAS (Cary, NC). Pearson's correlations were performed in JMP version 3.0 (SAS, Cary, NC).
| RESULTS |
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Treatment effects on the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism
Pioglitazone treatment markedly increased mRNA expression for PEPCK1 (P = 0.01) (Fig. 2) but did not affect LPL (Fig. 2A), fatty acid transporter (FATP/CD36) (Fig. 2B), fatty acid synthase (data not shown), or stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) (Fig. 2D) mRNA levels when compared with the placebo-treated subjects. Pioglitazone treatment also increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1, P < 0.01) (Fig. 3A), medium-chain acyl CoAdehydrogenase (MCAD, P < 0.05) (Fig. 3B), and malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MLYCD) (P < 0.01) (Fig. 3C) but did not change PPAR-
(Fig. 3D) or cytochrome C (data not shown) mRNA levels. Treatment with pioglitazone alone did not change the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis including PGC-1
, mtTFA, NRF-1, ERR
, AMPK
, or SIRTs 13 (data not shown). The upregulation of these three lipid oxidation genes (CPT01, MCAD, and MYLCD) suggests that the adipocytes might be reprogrammed for greater fat oxidation when stimulated by ß-agonists.
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The combined administration of these three drugs (ECPio) resulted in a higher mRNA expression for FATP/CD36 (P = 0.03) (Fig. 2B). Interestingly, only the combined treatments (ECPio) increased expression of SIRT1 and CD36 (both P = 0.03) (Figs. 2B and E). SIRT1 has been implicated in energy homeostasis and was recently described as a regulator of fat oxidation in adipocytes (23). The administration of pioglitazone or EC alone did not change SIRT1 mRNA expression (Fig. 2E). Importantly, the effect of pioglitazone to increase CPT-1, MCAD, and MYLCD was maintained in the combination (CPT-1 [P < 0.05, Fig. 3A], MCAD [P < 0.05, Fig. 3B], and MLYCD [P < 0.05, Fig. 3C]). The decrease of SCD-1 produced by EC was slightly blunted by the combination (P = 0.0004 for EC, P = 0.07 for ECP), suggesting one potential opposing action of the combination. Additionally, we did not observe any changes in mitochondrial copy number (mtDNA) between groups (Fig. 3D). There was no significant relationship between baseline mRNA for SIRT and fasting triglycerides. Similarly, the correlation between the change in SIRT1 and the change in triglycerides was not significant.
Correlations with the expression of SIRTs
Given that the SIRT gene family has been implicated in the regulation of genes involved in fat oxidation, we explored the relationships between the expression of genes in the fat oxidation pathway and SIRT1 expression. Baseline mRNA for SIRT1 was positively correlated with PPAR-
(r = 0.65, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4A), MCAD (r = 0.61, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4B), LPL (r = 0.69, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4C), CD36 (r = 0.58, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4D), TFAM (r = 0.77, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4E), PGC-1
(r = 0.36, P < 0.001) (Fig. 4F), and ERR
(r = 0.35, P < 0.01) (data not shown) but not with cytochrome C (r = 0.22, data not shown), CPT-1 (r = 0.21, data not shown), or CAP (r = 0.25, data not shown). The mRNA expression for the mitochondrial SIRTs (SIRT3 and SIRT5) showed much lower correlations with TFAM (r = 0.32 and 0.54, respectively, P < 0.01; data not shown), LPL (r = 0.31 and 0.48, P < 0.01; data not shown), PPAR-
(r = 0.51 and 0.58, P < 0.01; data not shown), and MCAD (r = 0.43 and 0.44, P < 0.01; data not shown) (supplemental Table 2 of the online-only appendix).
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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and ß-adrenergic therapy synergize to increase oxidative capacity in adipose tissue. This study was performed to determine whether the combined pharmacological intervention with pioglitazone (PPAR-
) and EC (ß-adrenergic) would have a beneficial effect on body weight, lipids, and the expression of genes involved in lipolysis/lipogenesis, mitochondrial biogenesis, and oxidative metabolism in subcutaneous fat. It has been previously suggested that the existence of cross-talk between these two distinct pathways in the WAT in rodents produced weight loss beyond that seen with either agent alone (16). In the present study, the addition of pioglitazone to EC (ECPio group) had no additional effect on the loss of body weight. It should be noted that treatment pioglitazone alone did not change body weight. This is slightly surprising and contrasts with the commonly held view that activation of the PPAR-
system will cause obligatory fat gain (21). In obese hypertensive subjects without diabetes, pioglitazone did not increase body weight (24).
Several previous studies have observed a decrease in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) with no changes in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in pioglitazone-treated patients, consistent with our results in the PP-treated patients. The reason total fat did not decrease could be due to one of two explanations. First, VAT could change without a change in whole-body SAT. A change in VAT of 13% for a depot that is only
4 kg represents only a 500-g change. One possibility is that dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry is not sensitive enough to detect this change. Second, VAT could decrease and SAT could increase by an equivalent amount. Note that the SAT measure by CT represents only abdominal SAT and VAT. An increase in gluteal femoral SAT or arm/leg SAT that matched the decrease in VAT would result in a "no change" result for SAT.
It has been proposed that the beneficial effect of thiazolidinediones on plasma lipids and glucose concentration in type 2 diabetic subjects is due to several mechanisms within white adipocytes and involves higher LPL leading to increased fatty acid transport into the adipocyte, increased fat catabolism in the cell, increased lipogenesis, and mitochondrial biogenesis (18,22,25). The unexpected finding of unchanged body weight after PPAR-
activation in the present study could be partly explained by the fact that our subjects were healthy and did not have diabetes. Activation of PPAR-
receptors may exert different effects on lipid metabolism in subcutaneous fat depots, depending on the diabetes status. Our subjects did not change body weight after pioglitazone treatment but significantly reduced their blood triglyceride levels without an increase in mRNA for LPL or FATP/CD36. The increased expression of several genes involved in ß-oxidation (CPT-1, MCAD, and MLYCD) is consistent with our previous experiments in vivo and in vitro (18,22) and suggests that increased lipid oxidation and not sequestration/storage might be important for the improved triglycerides. Taken together, these results suggest that the benefit of ECP combination treatment is that weight loss effects of EC treatment are retained along with the hypotriglyceridemic actions of pioglitazone and a suggestion of a somewhat greater effect of the combination on triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Pioglitazone increased CPT-I, MCAD, and MYLCD, whereas EC, a ß-agonist, is a known activator of lipolysis in adipocytes. This suggests a potential for synergy between EC and pioglitazone for lipid oxidation: reprogramming of adipocytes toward oxidation by pioglitazone and activation of lipolysis by EC providing fatty acids substrate toward oxidation. One unexpected finding was the increase in SIRT1. Furthermore, since this was unique to the ECPio group, there may be signaling or transcriptional synergy underlying this result. We speculate that the ability of pioglitazone to activate the transcription of lipid-oxidizing genes, which we have previously shown are increased in diabetic subjects in vivo and confirmed in vitro, combined with the known effects of the ß-adrenergic system to activate fat oxidation might work together to lower triglycerides. Larger studies of this combination in subjects with elevated triglycerides and low HDL are clearly warranted.
One unique feature of the combination treatment is the increase in CD36 and SIRT1 mRNA. This is in contrast to ECP alone or pioglitazone alone, which had no effect on the expression of these two genes. It is possible that these genes represent a larger set of genes that are specifically upregulated by the combination of PPAR-
activation and cAMP activation. In contrast to the preclinical rodent models, this synergistic effect on gene expression did not translate into differences in weight loss. No other candidate genes measured in this study were uniquely regulated by the combination treatment.
In the present study, the activation of ß-adrenergic receptors reduced body weight and blood triglycerides, but surprisingly did not change mRNA expression of several tested genes involved in lipid catabolism or mitochondrial biogenesis, as previously demonstrated in numerous rodent or in vitro studies (11,12,15). Activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase pathway increases LPL expression during the differentiation of adipocytes but may decrease LPL activity through posttranscriptional modifications. Therefore, the lack of changes in LPL mRNA levels in our study may suggest that LPL activity was not changed; however, LPL activity was not measured. Furthermore, in the present study we did not note alterations in CPT-1 and CD36 mRNA expression. Regulation of lipid oxidation is certainly more complicated than simply changes in gene expression, as posttranslational mechanisms, such as allosteric regulation and translocation to the cell surface, play a critical role in determining final activities (26,27); thus, this result must be interpreted with caution. EC (ECP) reduced mRNA expression of SCD-1, whereas pioglitazone did not. Combined therapy with pioglitazone and ß-adrenergic stimulation (ECPio group) tended to decrease SCD-1 mRNA expression. This effect was predominant with EC treatment but was not seen with pioglitazone treatment. SCD-1 is the rate-limiting enzyme in the desaturation of saturated fatty acids to monounsaturated fatty acids and targets lipids to TAG synthesis. We found a significant correlation between mRNAs for SCD-1 and fatty acid synthease at baseline (r = 0.51; P < 0.001; data not shown). Reduced SCD-1 activates pathways promoting fatty acid oxidation and decreases triglyceride synthesis in fat and muscle (28).
Our study showed that combination therapy with pioglitazone and EC significantly increased the expression of SIRT1 transcript level, whereas the administration of these treatments separately did not affect gene expression. SIRT1 is the closest mammalian ortholog of SIR 2 (silencing information regulator 2) that augments lifespan in lower organisms and mammalian cells (2931) in response to caloric restriction. SIRT1 regulates fat mobilization in white adipocytes (23). We noted a strong relationship between baseline mRNAs for SIRT1 and genes involved in lipid uptake/oxidation (LPL, FATP/CD36, PPAR-
, and MCAD) and mitochondrial biogenesis (TFA and PGC-1
).
To summarize, these results indicate that combined therapy with PPAR-
and ß-adrenergic stimulators, representing two distinct intracellular signaling pathways, has a beneficial effect on body weight, plasma triglycerides, and lipid metabolism in subcutaneous fat depots through the downregulation of genes triggering fat accumulation (SCD-1) and upregulating genes required for fatty acid catabolism (SIRT1, CPT-1, MCAD, and MLYCD).
| Acknowledgments |
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The authors acknowledge Matt Hulver, Michele McNeil, David Hymel, Heather Loggins, and Leisel Hurder for advice and technical assistance and the volunteers who participated in this study.
| Footnotes |
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S.R.S. has served as a member of an advisory board for and received grant funding from Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
Additional information for this article can be found in an online appendix at http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc06-1962.
A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received for publication September 20, 2006. Accepted for publication February 13, 2007.
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target genes related to lipid storage in vivo. Diabetes Care 27:16601667, 2004
activation mediates adipose depot-specific effects on gene expression and lipoprotein lipase activity: mechanisms for modulation of postprandial lipemia and differential adipose accretion. Diabetes 52:291299, 2003
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