Pomegranate peel polyphenols alleviate insulin resistance through the promotion of insulin signaling pathway in skeletal muscle of metabolic syndrome rats

Insulin resistance(IR) has been considered to be an important causative factor of metabolic syndrome(Met S). The present study investigated whether pomegranate peel polyphenols(PPPs) could prevent the development of Met S by improving IR in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were fed high fat diet(HFD) to induce Met S and supplemented with different dosages of PPPs for 12 weeks. The results showed that HFD-induced insulin resistant rats had disordered metabolism of blood glucose, blood lipid, and terrible muscle fiber morphology when compared with normal diet-fed rats, but PPPs treatment at a dosage of 300 mg/kg·day significantly reversed these negative effects. Moreover, in skeletal muscle tissue of insulin resistant rats, PPPs treatments significantly increased the protein expressions of insulin receptor(Ins R) and phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1(IRS-1), stimulated peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma(PPARγ) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(AKT/PKB) signaling pathway, and aggrandized the protein levels of phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK-3β) and glucose transporter 4(GLUT4). Our results suggest that PPPs possess of the beneficial effects on alleviating IR by enhancing insulin sensitivity and regulating glucose metabolism.

Upregulation of the PPAR signaling pathway and accumulation of lipids are related to the morphological and structural transformation of the dragon-eye goldfish eye

Goldfish comprise around 300 different strains with drastically altered and aesthetical morphologies making them suitable models for evolutionary developmental biology.The dragon-eye strain is characterized by protruding eyes(analogous to those of Chinese dragons).Although the strain has been selected for about 400 years,the mechanism of its eye development remains unclear.In this study,a stable dragon-eye goldfish strain with a clear genetic background was rapidly established and studied.We found that upregulation of the PPAR signaling pathway accompanied by an increase in lipid accumulation might trigger the morphological and structural transformation of the eye in dragon-eye goldfish.At the developmental stage of proptosis(eye protrusion),downregulation of the phototransduction pathway was consistent with the structural defects and myopia of the dragon-eye strain.With the impairment of retinal development,cytokine-induced inflammation was activated,especially after proptosis,similar to the pathologic symptoms of many human ocular diseases.In addition,differentially expressed transcription factors were significantly enriched in the PAX and homeobox families,two well-known transcription factor families involved in eye development.Therefore,our findings reveal the dynamic changes in key pathways during eye development in dragon-eye goldfish,and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying drastically altered eyes in goldfish and human ocular disease.

基于PPARγ/c-Ski信号通路探究黄芩苷对乙型病毒性肝炎大鼠肝功能损伤的机制

目的 基于PPAR-γ/cSki信号通路探究黄芩苷对乙型病毒性肝炎大鼠肝功能损伤的影响。方法 将大鼠随机分为sham组、HBV组、HQL组、HQM组、HQH组、PT组,每组10只。使用全自动生化检测仪检测血清中丙氨酸转氨酶(ALT)和天冬氨酸转氨酶(AST)含量,肝脂质代谢指标总胆固醇(TC)、三酰甘油(TG)、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(HDL)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL)含量及肝纤维化指标透明质酸(HA)和层黏连蛋白(LN)含量;ELISA检测血清中一氧化碳合酶iNOS、IL-6、IL-10、IL-4水平;苏木精-伊红(HE)染色检测肝组织病理学变化;染色质免疫共沉淀法分析肝组织中病毒载量;蛋白质印迹检测肝组织中PPAR-γ和c-Ski蛋白表达。结果 和sham组相比,HBV组大鼠血清中ALT、AST、TC、TG、LDL、HA、LN、iNOS和IL-6含量均明显升高,HDL、IL-10和IL-4含量明显减少(P<0.05);和HBV组相比,HQL组、HQM组、HQH组和PT组大鼠血清中ALT、AST、TC、TG、LDL、HA、LN、iNOS和IL-6含量明显降低,HDL、IL-10和IL-4含量升高(P<0.05)。HBV组大鼠肝组织中HBV DNA及PPAR-γ、c-Ski蛋白表达高于sham组(P<0.05);和HBV组相比,HQL组、HQM组、HQH组和PT组大鼠肝组织中HBV DNA表达及PPAR-γ和c-Ski蛋白明显降低,且HQH组和PT组大鼠肝组织中的HBV DNA表达最低(P<0.05)。结论 黄芩苷能通过激活PPAR-γ/c-Ski信号抑制乙型病毒性肝炎大鼠的肝纤维化,对肝组织发挥保护作用。

Parboiled rice supplementation alleviates high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia by regulating genes and gut microbiota in mice

Dietary parboiled rice(PR)has a low risk of disease,but little is known about the contribution of PR to the prevention of hyperlipidemia.The potential role and underlying mechanisms of PR in hyperlipidemia were evaluated in this study.Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a normal diet,high-fat diet(HFD)containing refined rice(HFDRR)or PR(HFDPR).It was found that PR intervention improved lipid accumulation in mice.Transcriptomic data analysis revealed that 27 genes were up-regulated(mostly involved in lipid breakdown)and 86 genes were down-regulated(mostly involved in inflammatory responses)in the HFDPR group compared to the HFDRR group.And 15 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were validated by quantitative real-time PCR(RT-qPCR),while protein interaction network showed that protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C(PTPRC)has a central role.The gut microbiota of mice was also altered after different dietary treatments,with higher ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes,increased abundances of Ruminococcaceae,Lachnospiraceae,Christensenellaceae,Porphyromonadaceae,Rikenellaceae and Prevotellaceae,and decreased abundances of Lactobacillaceae,Peptostreptococcaceae,Erysipelotrichaceae and Actinobacteria in the HFDRR group.In addition,it was observed that PPAR signaling pathway may act as a bridge between DEGs and differential gut microbiota.These results suggested that PR can prevent hyperlipidemia by modulating liver genes and gut microbiota.

Silencing of DsbA-L gene impairs the PPARγagonist function of improving insulin resistance in a high-glucose cell model

Disulfide-bond A oxidoreductase-like protein(DsbA-L)is a molecular chaperone involved in the multimeri-zation of adiponectin.Recent studies have found that DsbA-L is related to metabolic diseases including gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM),and can be regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ(PPARγ)agonists;the specific mechanism,however,is uncertain.Furthermore,the relationship between DsbA-L and the novel adipokine chemerin is also unclear.This article aims to investigate the role of DsbA-L in the improvement of insulin resistance by PPARγagonists in trophoblast cells cultured by the high-glucose simulation of GDM placenta.Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to detect differences between GDM patients and normal pregnant women in DsbA-L expression in the adipose tissue.The western blot technique was performed to verify the relationship between PPARγagonists and DsbA-L,and to explore changes in key molecules of the insulin signaling pathway,as well as the effect of chemerin on DsbA-L.Results showed that DsbA-L was significantly downregulated in the adipose tissue of GDM patients.Both PPARγagonists and chemerin could upregulate the level of DsbA-L.Silencing DsbA-L affected the function of rosiglitazone to promote the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)-protein kinase B(PKB)/AKT pathway.Therefore,it is plausible to speculate that DsbA-L is essential in the environment of PPARγagonists for raising insulin sensitivity.Overall,we further clarified the mechanism by which PPARγagonists improve insulin resistance.

Black phosphorus quantum dots induce myocardial inflammatory responses and metabolic disorders in mice

As an ultrasmall derivative of black phosphorus(BP)sheets,BP quantum dots(BP-QDs)have been effectively used in many fields.Currently,information on the cardiotoxicity induced by BP-QDs remains limited.We aimed to evaluate BP-QD-induced cardiac toxicity in mice.Histopathological examination of heart tissue sections was performed.Transcriptome sequencing,real-time quantitative PCR(RT–qPCR),western blotting,and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)assays were used to detect the m RNA and/or protein expression of proinfammatory cytokines,nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB),phosphatidylinositol3 kinase-protein kinase B(PI3K-AKT),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARγ),and glucose/lipid metabolism pathway-related genes.We found that heart weight and heart/body weight index(HBI)were significantly reduced in mice after intragastric administration of 0.1 or 1 mg/kg BP-QDs for 28 days.In addition,obvious infammatory cell infiltration and increased cardiomyocyte diameter were observed in the BP-QD-treated groups.Altered expression of proinfammatory cytokines and genes related to the NF-κB signaling pathway further confirmed that BP-QD exposure induced infammatory responses.In addition,BP-QD treatment also affected the PI3K-AKT,PPARγ,thermogenesis,oxidative phosphorylation,and cardiac muscle contraction signaling pathways.The expression of genes related to glucose/lipid metabolism signaling pathways was dramatically affected by BP-QD exposure,and the effect was primarily mediated by the PPAR signaling pathway.Our study provides new insights into the toxicity of BP-QDs to human health.