1
|
Wang D, Townsend LK, DesOrmeaux GJ, Frangos SM, Batchuluun B, Dumont L, Kuhre RE, Ahmadi E, Hu S, Rebalka IA, Gautam J, Jabile MJT, Pileggi CA, Rehal S, Desjardins EM, Tsakiridis EE, Lally JSV, Juracic ES, Tupling AR, Gerstein HC, Paré G, Tsakiridis T, Harper ME, Hawke TJ, Speakman JR, Blondin DP, Holloway GP, Jørgensen SB, Steinberg GR. GDF15 promotes weight loss by enhancing energy expenditure in muscle. Nature 2023; 619:143-150. [PMID: 37380764 PMCID: PMC10322716 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06249-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Caloric restriction that promotes weight loss is an effective strategy for treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and improving insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes1. Despite its effectiveness, in most individuals, weight loss is usually not maintained partly due to physiological adaptations that suppress energy expenditure, a process known as adaptive thermogenesis, the mechanistic underpinnings of which are unclear2,3. Treatment of rodents fed a high-fat diet with recombinant growth differentiating factor 15 (GDF15) reduces obesity and improves glycaemic control through glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor α-like (GFRAL)-dependent suppression of food intake4-7. Here we find that, in addition to suppressing appetite, GDF15 counteracts compensatory reductions in energy expenditure, eliciting greater weight loss and reductions in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) compared to caloric restriction alone. This effect of GDF15 to maintain energy expenditure during calorie restriction requires a GFRAL-β-adrenergic-dependent signalling axis that increases fatty acid oxidation and calcium futile cycling in the skeletal muscle of mice. These data indicate that therapeutic targeting of the GDF15-GFRAL pathway may be useful for maintaining energy expenditure in skeletal muscle during caloric restriction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongdong Wang
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Logan K Townsend
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Geneviève J DesOrmeaux
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sara M Frangos
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Battsetseg Batchuluun
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lauralyne Dumont
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rune Ehrenreich Kuhre
- Global Obesity and Liver Disease Research, Global Drug Discovery, Novo Nordisk, Maaloev, Denmark
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elham Ahmadi
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sumei Hu
- Key Laboratory of Geriatric Nutrition and Health, Ministry of Education, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Irena A Rebalka
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jaya Gautam
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Maria Joy Therese Jabile
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chantal A Pileggi
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sonia Rehal
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Eric M Desjardins
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Evangelia E Tsakiridis
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - James S V Lally
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Emma Sara Juracic
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - A Russell Tupling
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hertzel C Gerstein
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Guillaume Paré
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Theodoros Tsakiridis
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mary-Ellen Harper
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Thomas J Hawke
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - John R Speakman
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
- CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics (CCEAEG), Kunming, China
| | - Denis P Blondin
- Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Graham P Holloway
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sebastian Beck Jørgensen
- Global Obesity and Liver Disease Research, Global Drug Discovery, Novo Nordisk, Maaloev, Denmark
- Bio Innovation Hub Transformational Research Unit, Novo Nordisk, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gregory R Steinberg
- Centre for Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) displays the unique capacity to generate heat through uncoupled oxidative phosphorylation that makes it a very attractive therapeutic target for cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we review BAT cellular metabolism, its regulation by the central nervous and endocrine systems and circulating metabolites, the plausible roles of this tissue in human thermoregulation, energy balance, and cardiometabolic disorders, and the current knowledge on its pharmacological stimulation in humans. The current definition and measurement of BAT in human studies relies almost exclusively on BAT glucose uptake from positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxiglucose, which can be dissociated from BAT thermogenic activity, as for example in insulin-resistant states. The most important energy substrate for BAT thermogenesis is its intracellular fatty acid content mobilized from sympathetic stimulation of intracellular triglyceride lipolysis. This lipolytic BAT response is intertwined with that of white adipose (WAT) and other metabolic tissues, and cannot be independently stimulated with the drugs tested thus far. BAT is an interesting and biologically plausible target that has yet to be fully and selectively activated to increase the body's thermogenic response and shift energy balance. The field of human BAT research is in need of methods able to directly, specifically, and reliably measure BAT thermogenic capacity while also tracking the related thermogenic responses in WAT and other tissues. Until this is achieved, uncertainty will remain about the role played by this fascinating tissue in human cardiometabolic diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- André C Carpentier
- Correspondence: André C. Carpentier, MD, Division of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001, 12th Ave N, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1H 5N4, Canada.
| | - Denis P Blondin
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1H 5N4, Canada
| | | | - Denis Richard
- Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, G1V 4G5, Canada
| |
Collapse
|