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Oelkrug R, Mittag J. An improved method for the precise unravelment of non-shivering brown fat thermokinetics. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4799. [PMID: 33637831 PMCID: PMC7910537 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84200-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the discovery of functional brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans, research on BAT gained a new popularity to combat obesity and related comorbidities. To date, however, methods to quantify BAT thermogenesis are often either highly invasive, require advanced equipment, are time consuming or of limited sensitivity. Here we present a simple yet highly effective and minimally invasive protocol for the Precise Unravelment of Non-shivering brown fat thermoKinetics (PUNK) in mice using infrared thermography in combination with Vaseline to brush up the fur between the shoulder blades. We also use physiological and molecular readouts including indirect calorimetry, qPCR and Western Blots to test our protocol. Our study demonstrates that Vaseline before thermography vastly advances the reproducibility and quality of BAT infrared pictures or videos, as it exposes the skin above the BAT for a direct line of sight for the infrared camera and thereby circumvents the well-known problems associated with shaving and anaesthesia. We subsequently validate that this approach does not affect physiological and molecular BAT function, but instead leads to more robust and less variable results when comparing for instance norepinephrine stimulation tests or knockout animals. Taken together, the PUNK protocol for BAT thermography quickly and effectively improves scientific outcomes of this method, and can be easily added to existing paradigms. Consequently, it safes money, time and experimental animals, thereby putting the 3R's principles of animal welfare into practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Oelkrug
- Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes - Molecular Endocrinology, Center of Brain Behavior and Metabolism CBBM, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
| | - Jens Mittag
- Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes - Molecular Endocrinology, Center of Brain Behavior and Metabolism CBBM, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
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Liu Y, Yang C, Feng X, Qi L, Guo J, Zhu D, Thai PN, Zhang Y, Zhang P, Sun M, Lv J, Zhang L, Xu Z, Lu X. Prenatal High-Salt Diet-Induced Metabolic Disorders via Decreasing Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1α in Adult Male Rat Offspring. Mol Nutr Food Res 2020; 64:e2000196. [PMID: 32506826 DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.202000196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
SCOPE Although prenatal high-salt (HS) intake leads to physiological complications in the offspring, little is known regarding its effects on the offspring's glucose metabolism. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to determine the consequences of prenatal HS diet on the offspring's metabolism and to test a potential therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS Pregnant rats are fed either a normal-salt (1% NaCl) or high-salt (8% NaCl) diet during the whole pregnancy. Experiments are conducted in five-month-old male offspring. It is found that the prenatal HS diet reduced the glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity of the offspring. Additionally, there is down-regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a/PPARGC1A) at the transcript and protein level, which leads to decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative respiration in skeletal muscle. Moreover, the down-regulation of Ppargc1a is accompanied by decreases in the expression of glucose transporter type 4 (Glut4). With endurance exercise training, these changes are mitigated, which ultimately resulted in improved insulin resistance. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that prenatal HS intake induces metabolic disorders via the decreased expression of Ppargc1a in the skeletal muscle of adult offspring, providing novel information concerning the mechanisms and early prevention of metabolic diseases of fetal origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanping Liu
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Chunli Yang
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Xueqin Feng
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Linglu Qi
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Jun Guo
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Dan Zhu
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Phung N Thai
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Yingying Zhang
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Pengjie Zhang
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Miao Sun
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Juanxiu Lv
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Lubo Zhang
- Center for Perinatal Biology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Zhice Xu
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
| | - Xiyuan Lu
- Institute for Fetology, First Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, China
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Johann K, Reis MC, Harder L, Herrmann B, Gachkar S, Mittag J, Oelkrug R. Effects of sildenafil treatment on thermogenesis and glucose homeostasis in diet-induced obese mice. Nutr Diabetes 2018; 8:9. [PMID: 29549244 PMCID: PMC5856821 DOI: 10.1038/s41387-018-0026-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Stimulation of thermogenic pathways appears to be a promising approach to find new ways of tackling metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2. Thermogenic, weight reducing and insulin sensitizing effects of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) inhibitors have recently been postulated, suggesting that modulators of endogenous cGMP signaling have the therapeutic potential to treat metabolic disorders. However, most studies have been performed in vitro or in animals that were not glucose intolerant. We, thus, aimed to test the metabolic effects of the PDE 5 inhibitor sildenafil by treating diet-induced obese (DIO) mice orally for 8 days. Surprisingly, our results revealed no changes in body temperature, brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and gene expression in BAT and inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT), thus excluding a thermogenic or 'browning' effect of sildenafil in preexisting obesity. In contrast, sildenafil-treated DIO mice displayed changes in liver metabolism and glucose homeostasis resulting in impaired glucose tolerance (P < 0.05), demonstrating for the first time an unfavorable metabolic effect of increased hepatic cGMP signaling in obesity. As sildenafil is commonly prescribed to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and erectile dysfunction in diabetic and/or obese patients, follow up studies are urgently required to re-evaluate the drug safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kornelia Johann
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Marlen Colleen Reis
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Lisbeth Harder
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Beate Herrmann
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Sogol Gachkar
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jens Mittag
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Rebecca Oelkrug
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Group of Molecular Endocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
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Teperino R. Anti-hypertensive treatment in pregnancy impacts offspring growth and metabolism: Q&A. Mol Metab 2017; 6:1079-1080. [PMID: 29031709 PMCID: PMC5641627 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2017.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Teperino
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
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