Project description:Chronic inflammation plays a critical role in the initiation and development of various human illnesses. The use of steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (SAIDs) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is now much more frequent and presents a number of unwanted side effects. For example long- or short-term usage of SAIDs presents multiple negative side effects such as stomach irritation, thinning of the skin, immune defence regression, weight gain and even sometimes a cortico-dependence, and NSAIDs have been linked to a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks, and heart-related deaths. In parallel, there has been renewed interest in alternative medicines and natural therapies and thousands of potential medicinal plants, including sage and chamomile. This study assesses the gene expression responses of human mature adipopcytes (differentiated from fibroblastic pre-adipocytes [PromoCell, Germany; Catalogue #C-12730]), pre-treated with aqueous ethanol extract of sage (Salvia officinalis) or Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), following 4h or 24h treatment with IL-1B versus control conditions.
Project description:Insulin binds the insulin receptor (IR), which in turn has showed to form nanoclusters at the cell membrane. Trying to exploit the nanoscale spatial organization of IR, we developed rod-like insulin-DNA-origami nanostructures carrying different numbers of insulin molecules. These structures (referred to as NanoRods, or NR) were then utilized to investigate receptor activity to spatial distribution of insulin molecules. One part of this investigation was to study the transcriptional response of brown adipocytes treated with NR bound to one insulin (NR-1) and NR bound to seven insulin (NR-7), and compare to untreated controls. Furthermore, free insulin was also used to ensure that similar pathways were activated when using NR-bound insulin.
Project description:Influenza A viruses cause epidemics and pandemics with damaging health and economic impacts. Alike any obligate intracellular pathogen, IAVs hijack host cell machinery and energetic resources to multiply within, and eventually exit, the host. Increased fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, as well as increased glucose metabolism have been identified as the major metabolic changes induced by infection. Besides these effects on metabolism, IAV infection also triggers a variety of innate defense mechanisms within the host cell. Although mainly defined as a virus of the respiratory tract, with airway epithelial cells being its prime cellular habitat, complications outside the site of infection have also been reported. However, whether influenza on its own may impact on endocrine tissues and, thereby, lead to metabolic complications, has never been investigated. Here, we compared the response of preadipocytes and adipocytes to IAV infection, in terms of transcriptomic profiles and bioenergetics. The results showed that IAV triggers a browning adipogenesis process, leading to metabolic reprogramming of the adipose tissue resulting in long-lasting alterations of body metabolism. We conclude that the adipose tissue might be an undervalued organ in influenza pathophysiology.
Project description:Rationale: Low B12 has been shown to play an important role in the prediction of metabolic risk, but its significance and mechanism in the development of adiposity and adipose tissue dysfunction is largely unknown. Objective: To investigate the role of B12 and folic acid in the development of adipocyte dysfunction. Methods and Results: Microarray analysis of human adipocytes (CHUB-S7 cell line) cultured and differentiated in customised media with varying concentrations of B12 and folic acid led to the identification of two important pathways: cholesterol synthesis and unfolded protein response (UPR). Adipocytes cultured in media with low B12 (150 pmol/L) or no B12 had increased intracellular total cholesterol, higher secreted homocysteine levels, induced UPR and reduced glucose uptake capacity compared to adipocytes cultured in normal media with higher B12. The folate concentrations had either no or little effect on the measured functions. Further analysis of these adipocytes for overall DNA methylation showed that the promoter regions of sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) and low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) were hypomethylated in the low and no B12 conditions. The SREB proteins (SREBP1 and 2) and mRNA expressions (SREBF1 and LDLR) were also increased in the same conditions. Conclusion: The data suggest that low B12 can lead to adipocyte dysfunction by inducing excess cholesterol biosynthesis, homocysteine production and induction of UPR and overall adipocyte dysfunction. Both of these pathways and adipocyte dysfunction play a significant role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Independent replicate samples of the human adipocyte cell line CHUB-S7 were treated with four different concentrations of B12 and folate.
Project description:Here, we identified temporal dynamics in the proteome during adipocyte differentiation of the human SGBS cells, applying untargeted proteomics. Samples were taken at initiation of differentiation, at an intermediate and terminal time point.
Project description:Here, we identified temporal dynamics of the acetylome during adipocyte differentiation in human SGBS cells, applying untargeted proteomics in combination with immunoaffinity purification of acetylated peptides. Samples were taken at initiation of differentiation, at an intermediate and terminal time point.
Project description:Here, we identified temporal dynamics of the phosphoproteome during adipocyte differentiation in the human SGBS cells, applying untargeted proteomics in combination with enrichment strategies for phosphorylated peptides. Samples were taken at initiation of differentiation, at an intermediate and terminal time point.
Project description:Analysis of the transcriptome of zebrafish mononuclear myogenic cells (zMNCs) during myogenic differentiation. The main goal is to identify the similarities of zMNC myogenic differentiation with that of mammalian myoblast differentiation. Critical time points were used to identify a switch from the activity of cell proliferation genes to myogenic structural genes. 15-20 adult zebrafish dorsal skeletal muscles were isolated at each of 6 distinct time points (day 0, day 1, day 4, day 7, day 10, day 14) in replicates.
Project description:We overexpressed the spliced form of transcription factor XBP1 in mature F442A adipocytes by adenoviral infection. Control virus expressed GFP alone. mouse sXBP1 overexpressed in mouse F442A adipocytes compared to control (GFP alone). Four replicates of each treatment were analyzed.