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Biomedical subjects

G Ailhaud

Publications and source records attributed to G Ailhaud.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Differential expression of prostaglandin receptor mRNAs during adipose cell differentiation.

To clarify the molecular basis for the prostaglandin (PG) mediated effects in adipose cells at various stages of their development, expression of mRNAs encoding receptors specific for prostaglandin E2, F2alpha and I2 (i.e. EP, FP, and IP receptors) was investigated in differentiating clonal Ob1771 pre-adipocytes, as well as in mouse primary adipose precursor cells and mature adipocytes. We have further characterized the differential expression of mRNAs encoding three subtypes of the EP receptor, i.e. EP1, EP3, and EP4, and examined the expression of mRNAs encoding the three isoforms (alpha, beta, and gamma) of the EP3 receptor. Altogether the results show that the expression of IP, FP, EP1, and EP4 receptor mRNAs was considerably more pronounced in pre-adipose cells than in adipose cells, mRNAs encoding the alpha, beta, and gamma isoforms of the EP3 receptor were all exclusively expressed in freshly isolated mature adipocytes. These data may indicate that PGI2, PGF2alpha, and PGE2 may interact directly with specific receptors in pre-adipose cells, whose transduction mechanisms are known to affect maturation related changes. In mature adipocytes, however, the equipment of mRNAs encoding the EP3 receptor isoforms is in agreement with the well known effect of PGE2 on adenylate cyclase and lipolysis in mature adipocytes.

Adipocytes↗

Insulin down-regulates angiotensinogen gene expression and angiotensinogen secretion in cultured adipose cells.

Adipose tissue is an important source of angiotensinogen (AT) after liver. Since an association exists between body mass index, hypertension, and insulin-resistance, the role of insulin on the regulation of AT gene expression and AT secretion was examined in cultured Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A adipose cells. Within a physiological range of concentrations (1-17 nM), insulin exerted a negative effect on the abundance of AT mRNA and the secretion of AT. Alterations of insulin-resistance by treatment of adipose cells with TNF-alpha or the thiazolidinedione BRL49653 led respectively to a decrease or an increase in the potency of insulin to down-regulate AT gene expression, whereas maximal inhibition by insulin increased from 30% in TNFalpha-treated cells to 60% in BRL49653-treated cells. These results suggest that a potential link between insulin resistance and high blood pressure may exist by means of increased AT secretion from adipose tissue, especially in obese subjects.

3T3 Cells↗

Differential expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subtypes during the differentiation of human keratinocytes.

The expression of mRNA encoding peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) subtypes in human keratinocytes was determined by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. When normal human keratinocytes were induced to differentiate by shifting the culture medium to high Ca2+ concentration, the expression of PPAR-alpha and -gamma mRNA was increased, whereas that of PPAR-delta remained unchanged. At the protein level, the expression of PPAR in cultured human keratinocytes was demonstrated by a DNA mobility shift assay and the functionality of the receptor subtypes was assessed by transactivation experiments. In epidermis reconstructed in vitro, the level of PPAR-alpha and -gamma mRNA was also associated with keratinocyte differentiation. In lesional compared with nonlesional psoriatic epidermis, the expression of PPAR-alpha and -gamma mRNA was reduced, indicating that these two subtypes are tightly linked to the epidermal differentiation process.

Cell Differentiation↗

Regulation by glucocorticoids of angiotensinogen gene expression and secretion in adipose cells.

Adipose cells are an important source of angiotensinogen (AT). Its activation product, angiotensin II, stimulates in vitro and in vivo the production and release of prostacyclin which acts as a potent adipogenic signal in promoting the terminal differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes. Since glucocorticoids are known to promote adipose cell differentiation in vitro as well as in vivo, their role in the regulation of AT gene expression and secretion has been investigated in cultured Ob1771 mouse adipose cells. In contrast with liver cells, which are the major source of AT and the target of several hormones for the regulation of its expression, adipose cells are only responsive to glucocorticoids, which are able to up-regulate AT gene expression and AT secretion rapidly and dose-dependently. On exposure to glucocorticoids, accumulation of AT mRNA appears primarily to be due to transcriptional activation of the gene and is parallelled by secretion of the protein. Similar results on AT mRNA expression and AT secretion were obtained using explants of rat adipose tissue ex vivo demonstrating a major if not exclusive mechanism of regulation of AT production by glucocorticoids in mature adipose cells. Together these results provide a potential link between glucocorticoids, AT, the growth of adipose tissue and increased blood pressure.

Adipocytes↗

Up-regulation of UCP-2 gene expression by PPAR agonists in preadipose and adipose cells.

UCP-2 is a member of the emerging family of UCP homologues. Upon high-fat feeding, UCP-2 mRNA levels are increased in epididymal fat pads of A/J mice, suggesting that the flux of fatty acids entering adipose tissue may regulate UCP-2 gene expression. Since fatty acids act as positive transcriptional regulators of lipid-related genes by means of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), the regulation of UCP-2 gene expression by PPAR agonists (carbacyclin, alpha-bromopalmitate, BRL49653) has been examined in mouse preadipose and adipose cells in primary cultures or from clonal lines (Ob1771, 3T3-F442A, 1B8). In preadipose cells, carbacyclin and alpha-bromopalmitate are active and BRL49653 shows no effect, whereas all these ligands are active in adipose cells. The stimulatory effect of PPAR agonists is potentiated by RXR agonists in adipose cells. In contrast to the UCP-1 gene, norepinephrine as a cAMP-elevating agent does not enhance the expression of UCP-2 gene. Altogether, the data favor a predominant role of PPARdelta in preadipose cells and the involvement of PPARgamma2 in adipose cells in up-regulating UCP-2 gene expression. Thus, a potential link between fatty acid metabolism and thermogenesis may exist in PPAR-expressing tissues.

Adipocytes↗

Regulation by fatty acids of angiotensinogen gene expression in preadipose cells.

Adipocytes represent an important source of angiotensiongen (AT). Angiotensin II (A-II) stimulates in vitro and in vivo the formation and release of prostacyclin which acts as a potent adipogenic signal in triggering the terminal differentiation of preadipocytes into adipocytes [Darimont, Vassaux, Gaillard. Ailhaud and Négrel (1994) Int. J. Obes. 18, 783-788]. Since fatty acids have been reported to activate in preadipose cells the expression of various differentiation-dependent genes, the role of fatty acids in the regulation of AT gene expression was investigated. Long-chain natural and non-metabolized fatty acids as well as peroxisome proliferators behave as activators of AT gene expression. Accumulation of AT mRNA parallels that of the adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein gene and is primarily due to transcriptional activation of the AT gene. AT mRNA decreases after fatty acid removal (half-life approx. 8 h). Secretion of AT is also observed but appears mainly as a late differentiation-dependent phenomenon. Thus the AT gene appears to be a fatty acid-responsive gene; this regulation provides a potential link between the flux of fatty acids and the potential of adipose tissue to produce AT and possibly A-II.

Adipocytes↗

Leptin gene is expressed in rat brown adipose tissue at birth.

The ob gene product leptin is secreted from adipose tissue. Leptin has dramatic effects on food intake and energy expenditure in rodents. Brown adipose tissue is the first form of adipose tissue to appear during development, and is present at birth in most species. The development of a leptin feedback system in early life and the relative role of the brown and white adipose tissues have not yet been revealed. We have investigated the expression of ob/leptin mRNA in brown adipose tissue around birth and with respect to feeding. Northern blotting analysis and in situ hybridization experiments demonstrated the presence of leptin mRNA in brown adipose tissue at 0, 18, and 24 h after birth. The leptin mRNA level was decreased at 8 h postpartum in fed animals and at 18 or 24 h in the absence of feeding. In addition, circulating leptin was detected in the plasma of newborn rats at 0, 10, or 24 h after birth, whereas it was not detectable in 10 h-old animals that did not suckle at their mother. The presence at birth of ob mRNA and circulating leptin, as well as the early effect of suckling on ob mRNA levels, suggests the precocious involvement of leptin in the control of food intake.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗

Influence of estrogenic status on the lipolytic activity of parametrial adipose tissue in vivo: an in situ microdialysis study.

Ovarian hormones have been shown to modulate the metabolism of adipose cells obtained from adipose tissue of different animals. The aim of this study was to better understand the short- and long-term influences of estrogens on the in vivo lipolytic response of rat parametrial fat pads, determined by measurement of extracellular glycerol concentrations using in situ microdialysis. Possible direct effects of estrogens on lipolysis were studied by perfusion of a potent estrogenic analogue such as moxestrol. Moxestrol (10(-6) M) failed to increase glycerol concentrations in estrus, diestrus, or 8-day ovariectomized animals. However, the basal glycerol concentrations and the lipolytic responses stimulated by 10(-6) M isoproterenol were decreased in parametrial fat pads of diestrus, compared with estrus, rats. Greater decreases in basal and stimulated glycerol concentrations were observed in rats that had been ovariectomized for 8, 15, or 30 days. In ovariectomized rats, isoproterenol-induced lipolysis was restored to the levels observed in diestrus animals by a daily injection of 17 beta-estradiol for a period of 7 days. These results implicate estrogens as long-term modulators of in vivo basal and stimulated lipolytic responses of rat parametrial fat pad.

Adipose Tissue↗

Differentiation of embryonic stem cells into adipocytes in vitro.

Embryonic stem cells, derived from the inner cell mass of murine blastocysts, can be maintained in a totipotent state in vitro. In appropriate conditions embryonic stem cells have been shown to differentiate in vitro into various derivatives of all three primary germ layers. We describe in this paper conditions to induce differentiation of embryonic stem cells reliably and at high efficiency into adipocytes. A prerequisite is to treat early developing embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies with retinoic acid for a precise period of time. Retinoic acid could not be substituted by adipogenic hormones nor by potent activators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. Treatment with retinoic acid resulted in the subsequent appearance of large clusters of mature adipocytes in embryoid body outgrowths. Lipogenic and lipolytic activities as well as high level expression of adipocyte specific genes could be detected in these cultures. Analysis of expression of potential adipogenic genes, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma and delta and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta, during differentiation of retinoic acid-treated embryoid bodies has been performed. The temporal pattern of expression of genes encoding these nuclear factors resembled that found during mouse embryogenesis. The differentiation of embryonic stem cells into adipocytes will provide an invaluable model for the characterisation of the role of genes expressed during the adipocyte development programme and for the identification of new adipogenic regulatory genes.

Adipocytes↗

[Hormones and adipocyte development].

Dormant preadipocytes isolated from adipose tissue are able to differentiate into adipocytes in vitro. A few adipogenic hormones (glucocorticoids or prostacyclin, IGF-I and insulin) are sufficient to trigger the differentiation program. In preadipose and adipose cells, glucocorticoids play a cardinal role by regulating the expression of numerous genes and by increasing the production of prostacyclin which acts as an intracrine/autocrine/paracrine effector. Fatty acids and metabolites (including prostacyclin) enhance adipocyte differentiation via the activation of nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). PPARs then modulate positively the expression of various lipid-related genes involved in triacylglycerol accumulation. These in vitro observations emphasize the importance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and provide also a link which may take place in vivo between high-fat diets and the excess of adipose tissue development.

Adipocytes↗

Evidence for a novel regulatory pathway activated by (carba)prostacyclin in preadipose and adipose cells.

Prostacyclin, one of the major prostanoids generated in adipose tissue, has been previously described as an autocrine/paracrine adipogenic effector, acting, in preadipose cells, by means of cAMP and free Ca2+ as cell surface receptor-mediated messengers. The present study presents evidence for the first time that its stable analogue, carbaprostacyclin, is unique among prostanoids in regulating the expression of two differentiation-dependent genes in preadipose and adipose cells in a way distinct from that elicited by its cell surface receptor. This regulation is likely mediated by some member(s) of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor family and suggests that prostacyclin behaves as an intracrine effector of adipose cell differentiation.

3T3 Cells↗

Changes in adenosine A1- and A2-receptor expression during adipose cell differentiation.

Two adenosine receptors A1 and A2 are associated with either stimulation (A2) or inhibition (A1) of adenylate cyclase. Using the clonal cell line Ob1771, we have studied the expression of the two receptors during the process of adipose conversion accelerated by exposure to dexamethasone and 3-isobutyl-l-methylxanthine (IBMX) during the first 3 days post-confluence. The effects mediated by the two receptors on preadipocyte differentiation and adipocyte metabolism were also investigated. The two adenosine agonists NECA and PIA were used as preferential agonists of the A2- and A1-receptor, respectively. In preadipose cells (just confluent), both of the mouse clonal line and human primary culture, NECA dose-dependently stimulated cAMP production with a significant higher potency (P < 0.01) than did PIA. In adipose cells (16-day post-confluent) NECA was found to exert a biphasic effect on forskolin-stimulated cAMP production: i.e., NECA was clearly inhibitory in the femto- to picomolar concentration range whereas this effect gradually diminished at higher concentrations. The effect of PIA in 16-day post-confluent adipose cells however, was purely inhibitory on both cAMP production (IC50: 33.52 +/- 0.44 fM) and lipolysis (64% +/- 7%; P < 0.01). These findings were corroborated by Northern blot analysis which revealed A1-receptor mRNA to be exclusively expressed in the mature adipocytes, whereas A2-receptor mRNA gradually declined during the differentiation process except in 16-day post-confluent cells. In addition, NECA significantly enhanced the effect of corticosterone-induced differentiation by 46.8% (P < 0.05) but failed to have any adipogenic potency acting either alone or in concert with carbaprostacyclin (cPGI2). Thus, endogenous adenosine may have a bimodal action on adipose tissue metabolism mediated through stimulatory A2- and inhibitory A1-receptors, respectively, as a function of adipose conversion.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Fatty acids regulate the expression of lipoprotein lipase gene and activity in preadipose and adipose cells.

During fasting, a reduction in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity has been observed in rat fat pad with no change in enzyme mass, whereas LPL mRNA and synthesis are increased, suggesting that insulin and/or fatty acids (FA) regulate LPL activity post-translationaly [Doolittle, Ben-Zeev, Elovson, Martin and Kirchgessner (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 4570-4577]. To examine the role of FA, either preadipose Ob1771 cells or Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A adipose cells were exposed to long-chain FA and to 2-bromopalmitate, a non-metabolized FA. A rapid (2-8 h) and dose-dependent increase (up to 6-fold) in LPL mRNA occurred, primarily due to increased transcription, which is accompanied by a decrease (down to 4-fold) in LPL cellular activity. Under these conditions, secretion of active LPL was nearly abolished. Removal of FA led to full recovery of LPL activity. LPL gene expression in 3T3-C2 fibroblasts was not affected by FA treatment. However fatty acid-activated receptor transfected-3T3-C2 cells, which show FA responsiveness, had increased LPL gene expression upon FA addition. LPL synthesis and cellular content appeared unaffected by FA treatment, whereas secretion of LPL was inhibited. These results indicate that FA regulate the post-translational processing of LPL. It is proposed that the regulation of LPL activity by FA is important with regard to the fine-tuning of FA entry into adipocytes during fasting/feeding periods.

3T3 Cells↗

Expression of ob gene in adipose cells. Regulation by insulin.

The product of the recently cloned mouse obese (ob) gene is likely to play an important role in a loop regulating the size of the adipose tissue mass. The hormonal regulation of the ob gene could affect adiposity. To investigate this point, the effect of insulin on ob gene expression was examined in cells of the 3T3-F442A preadipocyte clonal line. ob mRNA is absent from exponentially growing, undifferentiated cells as well as from confluent preadipose cells. Terminal differentiation of preadipose to adipose cells leads to the expression of ob mRNA detected by a sensitive and quantitative ribonuclease protection assay. In adipose cells, the level of ob mRNA is sensitive to insulin in the nanomolar range of concentrations with an increase from an average of 1 copy to 5-10 copies/cell. The effect of insulin was fully reversible and takes place primarily at a transcriptional level. The ob mRNA shows a rapid turnover, with a half-life of approximately 2 h in the absence or presence of insulin. The level of secreted Ob protein is also regulated by insulin. These results indicate that the ob gene is expressed in mature fat cells only and support the possibility that insulin is an important regulator of ob gene expression.

3T3 Cells↗