Acetyl-CoA carboxylase in reuber hepatoma cells: Variation in enzyme activity, insulin regulation, and cellular lipid content

Lipogenesis inhibitors: therapeutic opportunities and challenges

Fatty acids are essential for survival, acting as bioenergetic substrates, structural components and signalling molecules. Given their vital role, cells have evolved mechanisms to generate fatty acids from alternative carbon sources, through a process known as de novo lipogenesis (DNL). Despite the importance of DNL, aberrant upregulation is associated with a wide variety of pathologies. Inhibiting core enzymes of DNL, including citrate/isocitrate carrier (CIC), ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), represents an attractive therapeutic strategy. Despite challenges related to efficacy, selectivity and safety, several new classes of synthetic DNL inhibitors have entered clinical-stage development and may become the foundation for a new class of therapeutics.

De novo lipogenesis (DNL) is vital for the maintenance of whole-body and cellular homeostasis, but aberrant upregulation of the pathway is associated with a broad range of conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders and cancers. Here, Steinberg and colleagues provide an overview of the physiological and pathological roles of the core DNL enzymes and assess strategies and agents currently in development to therapeutically target them.

Energy-stress-mediated AMPK activation inhibits ferroptosis

Energy stress depletes ATP and induces cell death. Here, we identify an unexpected inhibitory role of energy stress on ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death induced by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. We found that ferroptotic cell death and lipid peroxidation can be inhibited by treatments that induce or mimic energy stress. Inactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a sensor of cellular energy status, largely abolishes the protective effects of energy stress on ferroptosis in vitro and on ferroptosis-associated renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo. Cancer cells with high basal AMPK activation are resistant to ferroptosis, and AMPK inactivation sensitizes these cells to ferroptosis. Functional and lipidomic analyses further link AMPK regulation of ferroptosis to AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis. Together, our study demonstrates that energy stress inhibits ferroptosis partly through AMPK, and reveals an unexpected coupling between ferroptosis and AMPK-mediated energy stress signaling.

Metabolic genes in cancer: their roles in tumor progression and clinical implications

Re-programming of metabolic pathways is a hallmark of physiological changes in cancer cells. The expression of certain genes that directly control the rate of key metabolic pathways including glycolysis, lipogenesis and nucleotide synthesis are drastically altered at different stages of tumor progression. These alterations are generally considered as an adaptation of tumor cells; however, they also contribute to the progression of tumor cells to become more aggressive phenotypes. This review summarizes the recent information about the mechanistic link of these genes to oncogenesis and their potential utility as diagnostic markers as well as for therapeutic targets. We particularly focus on three groups of genes; GLUT1, G6PD, TKTL1 and PGI/AMF in glycolytic pathway, ACLY, ACC1 and FAS in lipogenesis and RRM2, p53R2 and TYMS for nucleotide synthesis. All these genes are highly up-regulated in a variety of tumor cells in cancer patients, and they play active roles in tumor progression rather than expressing merely as a consequence of phenotypic change of the cancer cells. Molecular dissection of their orchestrated networks and understanding the exact mechanism of their expression will provide a window of opportunity to target these genes for specific cancer therapy. We also reviewed existing database of gene microarray to validate the utility of these genes for cancer diagnosis.

Transplantation of adrenal cortical progenitor cells enriched by Nile red

BACKGROUND

The adrenal cortex may contain progenitor cells useful for tissue regeneration. Currently there are no established methods to isolate these cells.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Murine adrenal cells were sorted into a Nile-red-bright (NR(bright)) and a Nile-red-dim (NR(dim)) population of cells according to their degree of cholesterol content revealed by Nile red fluorescence. The cells were transplanted under the renal capsule to determine their ability for regeneration.

RESULTS

The NR(bright) cells contained an abundance of lipid droplets, whereas the NR(dim) cells contained little. The NR(bright) cells expressed Sf1 and the more differentiated adrenal cortical genes, including Cyp11a1, Cyp11b1, and Cyp11b2, whereas the NR(dim) cells expressed Sf1 but not the more differentiated adrenal cortical genes. After 56 d of implantation in unilateral adrenalectomized mice, the NR(dim) cells expressed Sf1 and the more differentiated adrenal cortical genes, whereas the NR(bright) cells ceased to express Sf1 as well as the more differentiated adrenal cortical genes. NR(dim) cells also proliferated in the presence of basic fibroblast growth factor.

CONCLUSIONS

The population of NR(dim) cells contained adrenal cortical progenitor cells that can proliferate and give rise to differentiated daughter cells. These cells may be useful for adrenal cortical regeneration.

A comparative study of cytoplasmic granules imaged by the real-time microscope, Nile Red and Filipin in fibroblasts from patients with lipid storage diseases

Cytoplasmic granules in fibroblasts, visualized without stains, or labelled with Nile red, Filipin, or anti-LAMP-1 (lysosome-associated membrane protein 1), were imaged using the real-time microscope (RTM). New advances in light microscope technology were applied to detect cytoplasmic granules (RTM-visible granules) and characterize them by imaging contrast, size, shape, cellular distribution, composition, motion dynamics and quantity. Appearing as solid spheroids or ring structures, the majority of the RTM-visible granules contained Nile-red labelled neutral lipids. A smaller subpopulation, appearing dimmer, with less imaging contrast, contained Filipin-labelled free cholesterol. Most lipid storage granules have a diameter ranging from 0.3 mum to 0.6 mum, with a small population measuring up to 1 mum. They typically clustered in the perinuclear region and displayed relatively small oscillatory motion. Immunofluorescence based on LAMP-1 labelling highlighted granular structures that were distinct and separate from RTM-visible granules and other structures in the light modality of the microscope. RTM-visible granules were associated with disease phenotypes that have increased cellular neutral lipid stores corresponding to the Nile red-labelled droplets (e.g. triacylglycerides, cholesterol esters). As predicted, the fibroblast strains with a defect resulting in Wolman disease, when compared to control samples, consistently had RTM-visible granules, higher in imaging contrast and with larger diameters, that were labelled with Nile red, and also an increased frequency of Filipin-cholesterol complexes. By comparison, in fibroblasts where the lipid storage is less evident (Gaucher and Farber diseases) or from GM(1) gangliosidosis, where the primary storage substances are oligosaccharides, fewer and smaller RTM-visible granules were observed. In some cases, changes in contrast and morphology in the unstained cytoplasmic compartments were more evident than in the labelled structures. In summary, applying the RTM imaging system to fibroblasts enables differences between the various disease types to be seen and, in specific examples, a unique phenotype can be readily discerned.

Nile Red binding to HepG2 cells: an improved assay for in vitro studies of hepatosteatosis

Nile Red is a fluorescent dye used extensively to study fat accumulation in many types of cells; unfortunately protocols that work well for most cells are not effective for studying drug-induced lipid accumulation in cultured liver cells and hepatocyte-derived cell lines. Using human hepatoma (HepG2) cells, we have developed a simple Nile Red binding assay as a screen for steatosis-inducing compounds. Increases in Nile Red binding in response to known hepatotoxic compounds were observed after incubating treated cells with 1 microM Nile Red for several hours, washing away free Nile Red, and then allowing redistribution, and/or clearance of the lipid-indicator dye. Several compounds known to cause hepatic fat accumulation in vivo were examined and most robustly increased Nile Red binding in HepG2 cells. These include estrogen and other steroids, ethionine, cyclosporin A, and valproic acid. Required concentrations for increased Nile Red binding were generally three-fold or more lower than the cytotoxic concentration determined by a resazurin reduction assay in the same cells. Qualitatively similar Nile Red binding results were obtained when primary canine or rat hepatocytes were used. Morphological differences in Nile Red staining were observed by confocal fluorescence microscopy in HepG2 cells after treatment with different compounds and likely reflect distinct toxicological mechanisms.

Contraction-induced changes in acetyl-CoA carboxylase and 5'-AMP-activated kinase in skeletal muscle

The concentration of malonyl-CoA, a negative regulator of fatty acid oxidation, diminishes acutely in contracting skeletal muscle. To determine how this occurs, the activity and properties of acetyl-CoA carboxylase beta (ACC-beta), the skeletal muscle isozyme that catalyzes malonyl-CoA formation, were examined in rat gastrocnemius-soleus muscles at rest and during contractions induced by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve. To avoid the problem of contamination of the muscle extract by mitochondrial carboxylases, an assay was developed in which ACC-beta was first purified by immunoprecipitation with a monoclonal antibody. ACC-beta was quantitatively recovered in the immunopellet and exhibited a high sensitivity to citrate (12-fold activation) and a Km for acetyl-CoA (120 microM) similar to that reported for ACC-beta purified by other means. After 5 min of contraction, ACC-beta activity was decreased by 90% despite an apparent increase in the cytosolic concentration of citrate, a positive regulator of ACC. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of both homogenates and immunopellets from these muscles showed a decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of ACC, suggesting that phosphorylation could account for the decrease in ACC activity. In keeping with this notion, citrate activation of ACC purified from contracting muscle was markedly depressed. In addition, homogenization of the muscles in a buffer free of phosphatase inhibitors and containing the phosphatase activators glutamate and MgCl2 or treatment of immunoprecipitated ACC-beta with purified protein phosphatase 2A abolished the decreases in both ACC-beta activity and electrophoretic mobility caused by contraction. The rapid decrease in ACC-beta activity after the onset of contractions (50% by 20 s) and its slow restoration to initial values during recovery (60-90 min) were paralleled temporally by reciprocal changes in the activity of the alpha2 but not the alpha1 isoform of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In conclusion, the results suggest that the decrease in ACC activity during muscle contraction is caused by an increase in its phosphorylation, most probably due, at least in part, to activation of the alpha2 isoform of AMPK. They also suggest a dual mechanism for ACC regulation in muscle in which inhibition by phosphorylation takes precedence over activation by citrate. These alterations in ACC and AMPK activity, by diminishing the concentration of malonyl-CoA, could be responsible for the increase in fatty acid oxidation observed in skeletal muscle during exercise.

Identification of a second human acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), an important enzyme in fatty acid biosynthesis and a regulator of fatty acid oxidation, is present in at least two isoenzymic forms in rat and human tissues. Previous work has established the existence of a 265,000 Da enzyme in both the rat and human (RACC265; HACC265) and a higher-molecular-mass species (275,000-280,000 Da) in the same species (RACC280; HACC275). An HACC265 gene has previously been localized to chromosome 17. In the present study, we report cloning of a partial-length human cDNA sequence which appears to correspond to HACC275 and its rat homologue, RACC280, as judged by mRNA tissue distribution and cell-specific regulation of mRNA/protein expression. The gene encoding this isoenzymic form of ACC has been localized to the long arm of human chromosome 12. Thus, ACC is represented in a multigene family in both rodents and humans. The newly discovered human gene and its rat homologue appear to be under different regulatory control to the HACC265 gene, as judged by tissue-specific expression in vivo and by independent modulation in cultured cells in vitro.

Malonyl coenzyme A and adiposity in the Dahl salt-sensitive rat: effects of pioglitazone

These studies were designed to assess the effects of pioglitazone, a new oral antidiabetic agent that acts by improving insulin sensitivity, on blood pressure, plasma and tissue lipids, and insulin resistance in the Dahl salt-sensitive (Dahl-S) rat. Reaven et al had reported that male Dahl-S rats are moderately hyperinsulinemic and insulin-resistant. This was of particular interest since these rats are not obese but are hypertriglyceridemic, and on a high-salt diet they become hypertensive. In the current study, male Sprague-Dawley control and Dahl-S rats were compared when fed standard chow of high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diets with or without pioglitazone (20 mg/kg body weight/d) for 3 weeks. On the standard chow diet, Dahl-S rats were hypertriglyceridemic and had high tissue levels of malonyl coenzyme A ([CoA] Dahl-S 5.0 v control 3.3 nmol/g in muscle, and Dahl-S 15.6 v control 10.7 nmol/g in liver); however, they were not hyperinsulinemic. Pioglitazone therapy decreased both malonyl CoA and plasma triglycerides toward control values, but had no effect on plasma insulin levels. On the HFHS diet, both groups became glucose-intolerant and hyperinsulinemic; however, the hyperinsulinemia was greater and more sustained in Dahl-S rats. In addition, the HFHS diet appeared to increase the mass of retroperitoneal fat in the Dahl-S but not in the control group. Treatment with pioglitazone decreased retroperitoneal fat, but as reported previously, it increased the mass of the epididymal fat pad. The results suggest that the hypertriglyceridemia of the Dahl-S rat is associated with an increase in the concentration of malonyl CoA in both liver and muscle. They also show that pioglitazone reverses both of these abnormalities independently of its effect on plasma insulin. Whether these high levels of malonyl CoA predispose the Dahl-S rat to hyperinsulinemia and possibly obesity when placed on a HFHS diet remains to be determined.

Identification of human acetyl-CoA carboxylase isozymes in tissue and in breast cancer cells

1. In the rat, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), a rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid metabolism, exists as at least two different isozymes (M(r) 265,000 and 280,000) that display distinct tissue-specific distribution and regulation. 2. Based on the study of human tissue and human-derived breast cancer cell lines by enzyme isolation and protein blotting techniques, we have now identified two human isoforms of M(r) 265,000 (HACC 265) and 275,000 (HACC 275), each of which is homologous to one of the rat isozymes. 3. Human breast carcinoma cell lines show variable expression of these two isoforms, mirrored in the estimation of ACC acetyl-CoA kinetics.