👤 Kenneth Cain

Leptin resistance limits anti-obesity efficacy. We identified a leptin-sensitizing mechanism through tirzepatide (TZP), a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) dual-agonist. Our tirzepatide clinical trial revealed that circulating leptin levels at baseline correlated with weight loss efficacy in patients with obesity, suggesting leptin and tirzepatide could interact to achieve stronger effects on weight loss. Next, we utilized the diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice and demonstrated the synergistic effects of tirzepatide and leptin combination (TZP+Lep) on weight loss. TZP+Lep treatment further improved hepatic insulin sensitivity and upregulated thermogenetic gene expression in brown adipose tissue. Metabolic profiling under thermoneutrality revealed TZP+Lep treatment further reduced food intake and increased energy expenditure. Tirzepatide sensitized leptin signaling in hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and GLP-1R expressing neurons. TZP+Lep synergistically increased POMC neuronal firing by decreasing the inhibitory postsynaptic input. Together, our work showed combining tirzepatide and leptin as a potential way for better maintenance of metabolic homeostasis in obesity management. Show less

CLN3 Batten disease is a rare pediatric neurodegenerative lysosomal disorder caused by biallelic disease-associated variants in We performed an exhaustive metabolomic screen using serum samples from a novel minipig model of CLN3 Batten disease and validated findings in CLN3 pig serum samples from 4 ages exhibited large elevations in 4 glycerophosphodiester species: glycerophosphoinositol (GPI), glycerophosphoethanolamine (GPE), glycerophosphocholine (GPC), and glycerophosphoserine (GPS). GPI and GPE exhibited the largest elevations, with similar elevations found in GPE and GPI could have utility as biomarkers of CLN3 disease status. GPI, in particular, shows consistent elevations across a diverse cohort of individuals with CLN3. This raises the potential to use these biomarkers as a blood-based diagnostic test or as an efficacy measure for disease-modifying therapies. Show less

Batten disease is unique among lysosomal storage disorders for the early and profound manifestation in the central nervous system, but little is known regarding potential neuron-specific roles for the disease-associated proteins. We demonstrate substantial overlap in the protein interactomes of three transmembrane Batten proteins (CLN3, CLN6, and CLN8), and that their absence leads to synaptic depletion of key partners (i.e., SNAREs and tethers) and altered synaptic SNARE complexing Show less

The CCR4-NOT complex plays an important role in the translational repression and deadenylation of mRNAs. However, little is known about the specific roles of interacting factors. We demonstrate that the DEAD-box helicases eIF4A2 and DDX6 interact directly with the MA3 and MIF domains of CNOT1 and compete for binding. Furthermore, we now show that incorporation of eIF4A2 into the CCR4-NOT complex inhibits CNOT7 deadenylation activity in contrast to DDX6 which enhances CNOT7 activity. Polyadenylation tests (PAT) on endogenous mRNAs determined that eIF4A2 bound mRNAs have longer poly(A) tails than DDX6 bound mRNAs. Immunoprecipitation experiments show that eIF4A2 does not inhibit CNOT7 association with the CCR4-NOT complex but instead inhibits CNOT7 activity. We identified a CCR4-NOT interacting factor, TAB182, that modulates helicase recruitment into the CCR4-NOT complex, potentially affecting the outcome for the targeted mRNA. Together, these data show that the fate of an mRNA is dependent on the specific recruitment of either eIF4A2 or DDX6 to the CCR4-NOT complex which results in different pathways for translational repression and mRNA deadenylation. Show less

CLN3-Batten disease is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder involving seizures, visual, motor and cognitive decline, and premature death. The Cln3Δex7/8 mouse model recapitulates several phenotypic characteristics of the most common 1.02kb disease-associated deletion. Identification of reproducible biomarker(s) to facilitate longitudinal monitoring of disease progression and provide readouts for therapeutic response has remained elusive. One factor that has complicated the identification of suitable biomarkers in this mouse model has been that variations in animal husbandry appear to significantly influence readouts. In the current study, we cross-compared a number of biological parameters in blood from Cln3Δex7/8 mice and control, non-disease mice on the same genetic background from multiple animal facilities in an attempt to better define a surrogate marker of CLN3-Batten disease. Interestingly, we found that significant differences between Batten and non-disease mice found at one site were generally not maintained across different facilities. Our results suggest that colony variation in the Cln3Δex7/8 mouse model of CLN3-Batten disease can influence potential biomarkers of the disease. Show less

A study was conducted to test whether an anthocyanidin mixture (peonidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin chloride) modulates myogenesis in both induced and non-induced myogenic cells from juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We evaluated three different anthocyanidin concentrations (1×, 2.5× and 10×) at two sampling times (24 and 36h). To test for treatment effects, we analyzed the expression of myoD and pax7 as well as two target genes of the Notch signaling pathway, hey2 and her6. In induced myogenic cells, the lowest and middle anthocyanidin doses caused significantly greater expression of myoD after 24h of treatment compared to control. A significantly higher expression of pax7 in cells exposed to either anthocyanidin treatment during 36h compared was observed. Similarly, the pax7/myoD ratio was significantly lower in cells exposed to the lowest anthocyanidin doses during 24h compared to control. No significant effect of anthocyanidin treatments on the expression of hey2 and her6 at either sampling point was detected. In non-induced cells, we observed no effect of anthocyanidins on myoD expression and significant down-regulation on pax7 expression in cells exposed to either anthocyanidin mixture concentrations after 24 and 36h of treatment compared to control. Further, the pax7/myoD ratio was significantly lower in cells exposed to either anthocyanidin doses at both sampling time. In non-induced cells, the highest anthocyanidin dose provoked significantly greater expression of hey2 after 24h of treatment compared to control. We detected no such effect in non-induced cells exposed to the lowest and middle anthocyanidin doses during 24h of treatment. The expression of her6 was unaffected by anthocyanidin treatments at either sampling time or doses compared to control. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that anthocyanidins modulate specific components of the myogenic programming in fish, thereby potentially affecting somatic growth in fish fed plant-derived extracts rich in this type of polyphenols. Moreover, in early differentiating myogenic cells, the anthocyanidin effect on myogenic programming appears to differ based upon the exposure time and the differentiation stage of the myogenic cells by boosting myogenic differentiation signaling after 24h treatment while pausing differentiation, potentially favoring cell survival after 36h treatment. Further research to determine whether plant-derived secondary metabolites including alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, flavonoids, phenolics, steroids and essential oils can modulate myogenic programming in myogenic cells isolated from finfish species is warranted. Show less