On the presence of a putative fourth beta-adrenoceptor in human adipose tissue

β(3) Receptors: Role in Cardiometabolic Disorders

Pharmacological and molecular approaches have shown that an atypical β-adrenoceptor (AR), called β(3)-AR, that is distinct from β(1)-ARs and β(2)-ARs, exists in some tissues in heterogeneous populations such as β(3a)-ARs and β(3b)-ARs. β(3)-ARs belong to a superfamily of receptors linked to guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins). The β(3)-AR gene contains two introns whereas the β(1)-AR and β(2)-AR genes are intronless, leading to splice variants. β(3)-ARs can couple to G(i) and G(s) and they are reported to be present in brown adipose tissue, vasculature, the heart, among other tissues. β(3)-ARs cause vasodilation of microvessels in the islets of Langerhans and may participate in the pathogenesis of cardiac failure, during which modification of β(1)-AR and β(2)-AR expression occurs. The development of β(3)-AR agonists has led to the elaboration of promising new drugs, including antiobesity and antidiabetic drugs. This article reviews the various pharmacological actions of β(3)-ARs and their clinical implications for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Control of fatty acid and glycerol release in adipose tissue lipolysis

Adipose tissue lipolysis is the catabolic process leading to the breakdown of triglycerides stored in fat cells and the release of fatty acids and glycerol. Recent work has revealed that lipolysis is not a simple metabolic pathway stimulated by catecholamines and inhibited by insulin. New discoveries on the regulation of lipolysis by endocrine and paracrine factors and on the proteins involved in triglyceride hydrolysis have led to a reappraisal of the complexity of the various signal transduction pathways. The steps involved in the dysregulation of lipolysis observed in obesity have partly been identified.

Adipose tissue lipolysis as a metabolic pathway to define pharmacological strategies against obesity and the metabolic syndrome

Adipose tissue lipolysis is the catabolic process leading to the breakdown of triglycerides stored in fat cells and release of fatty acids and glycerol. Recent work has revealed that lipolysis is not a simple metabolic pathway stimulated by catecholamines and inhibited by insulin. There have been new discoveries on the endocrine and paracrine regulation of lipolysis and on the molecular mechanisms of triglyceride hydrolysis. Catecholamines modulate lipolysis through lipolytic beta-adrenoceptor and antilipolytic alpha2-adrenoceptor. Recent studies have allowed a better understanding of the relative contribution of the two types of receptors and provided evidence for the in vivo involvement of alpha2-adrenoceptors in the physiological control of subcutaneous adipose tissue lipolysis. A puzzling observation is the characterization of a residual catecholamine-induced lipolysis in mice deficient in beta-adrenoceptors. A novel lipolytic system has been characterized in human fat cells. Natriuretic peptides stimulate lipolysis through a cGMP-dependent pathway. There are other lipolytic pathways active in human fat cells which importance is not fully understood. Forty years after the description of the antilipolytic effect of nicotinic acid, the receptors have been identified. Adrenomedullin which is produced by adipocytes exert an antilipolytic effect through an indirect mechanism involving nitric oxide. The molecular details of the lipolytic reaction are not fully understood. The role of the lipases has been re-evaluated with the cloning of adipose triglyceride lipase. Hormone-sensitive lipase appears as the major lipase for catecholamine and natriuretic peptide-stimulated lipolysis whereas adipose triglyceride lipase mediates the hydrolysis of triglycerides during basal lipolysis. Translocation of hormone-sensitive lipase bound to the adipocyte lipid binding protein to the lipid droplet seems to be an important step during lipolytic activation. Re-organization of the lipid droplet coating by perilipins facilitates the access of the enzyme. The role of other lipid-interacting proteins in lipolysis is still unclear. The proteins involved in the lipolytic process constitute drug targets for the treatment of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. The oldest example is nicotinic acid (niacin) used as a hypolipidaemic drug. A first approach consists in molecules stimulating lipolysis and oxidation of the released fatty acids to decrease fat stores. A second approach is a chronic inhibition of lipolysis to diminish plasma fatty acid level which is a central feature of the metabolic syndrome.

Norepinephrine induces lipolysis in beta1/beta2/beta3-adrenoceptor knockout mice

Catecholamines are major stimulants of adipose tissue metabolism. Norepinephrine and epinephrine act through three subtypes of beta-adrenoceptors (beta-AR) expressed in the adipocytes. The aim of this work was to study the mechanisms of lipid mobilization in beta1/beta2/beta3-AR triple-knockout (beta-less) mice. Glycerol and nonesterified fatty acids released from isolated adipocytes were measured as an index of lipolytic activity. There was no difference between the two genotypes for basal lipolysis and lipolytic response to corticotropin or to agents acting at the adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A levels. The lipolytic response to norepinephrine and beta-AR agonists was blunted in beta-less mice. However, a residual low-affinity lipolytic effect was observed in the presence of catecholamines and beta3-AR agonists but not of beta1- or beta2-AR agonists. cAMP levels were increased by a beta-AR agonist in white and brown adipocytes of beta-less mice. The residual lipolytic effect was blocked by beta-AR antagonists. It was mediated neither by alpha1- or alpha2-AR nor dopaminergic, serotonergic, and histaminergic by receptors. Bioinformatic analyses do not provide evidence for a fourth beta-AR. We conclude that the residual lipolytic effect observed in beta-less mice can be attributed to an unknown Gs-protein-coupled receptor with low affinity for catecholamines.

Comparison of the binding affinity of some newly synthesized phenylethanolamine and phenoxypropanolamine compounds at recombinant human beta- and alpha1-adrenoceptor subtypes

We evaluated six new compounds, SWR-0065HA ([4-[2-[3-[[(3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-[1,2,4]-triazino(4,5-a)indol)-lyl]oxy]-2-hydroxypropylamino]ethoxy]phenyl]acetic acid methyl ester hydrochloride), SWR-0098NA ((R*R*-UE)-(E)-[4-[3-[(2-phenyl-2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-1-butenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid sodium salt), SWR-0315NA ((E, Z)-[4[[1-[2-[(3-phenoxy-2-hydroxy propyl)]amino]ethyl]-1-propenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid sodium), SWR-0338SA ((E)-[4-[5-[(2-phenyl-2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-pentene-3-yl]phenoxy] acetic acid ethanedioic acid), SWR-0342SA ((S)-(Z)-[4-[[1-[2-[(2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl)]amino] ethyl]-1-propenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid ethanedioic acid) and SWR-0345HA ((E)-2-methyl-3-[4-[2-(2-phenyl-2-hydroxyethylamino)ethoxy]phenyl]-2-propenoic acid ethyl ester hydrochloride) for their potencies as selective ligands at human beta-adrenoceptors expressed in COS-7 cells and compared the binding affinities for human alpha(1)-adrenoceptors expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using a radioligand-binding assay. Phenoxypropanolamine derivatives SWR-0315NA and SWR-0342SA showed higher binding affinities for beta-adrenoceptor subtypes; SWR-0065HA, however, showed a higher affinity for only beta-adrenoceptors, accounting for 3-fold and 6-fold selectivity against beta(1)- and beta(3)-adrenoceptors. Compounds SWR-0315NA and SWR-0342SA did not show any binding selectivity for any of the subtypes. However, functionally these two compounds are selective for beta(3)-adrenoceptors. Among the phenylethanolamine derivatives, SWR-0338SA and SWR-0345HA showed 9-fold and 16-fold higher binding selectivity for beta(3)-adrenoceptors against beta(1)-adrenoceptors, respectively, whereas they both showed a 7-fold higher binding selectivity for beta(3)-adrenoceptors against beta(2)-adrenoceptors. SWR-0098NA did not show any significant binding affinity for any of the beta-adrenoceptor subtypes. These compounds, except for SWR-0098NA, were not found to possess any significant binding affinity for alpha(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes over that for beta-adrenoceptor subtypes. However, SWR-0098NA has about a 3-fold to 22-fold higher binding selectivity for alpha(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes against beta-adrenoceptor subtypes, making it difficult for use in a beta-adrenoceptor receptor study. Compounds SWR-0315NA and SWR-0342SA have similar binding potency for alpha(1)-adrenoceptors as adrenaline (epinephrine), proving the finding of this manuscript that this phenoxypropanolamine group of beta-adrenoceptor ligands could also be used as alpha(1)-adrenoceptor ligands. Functional assays have to be performed to confirm their agonistic activity.

G protein-coupled receptor microarrays for drug discovery

The dominance of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) as a drug target class, coupled with the increased pace of target identification and expansion of compound libraries, presents a compelling need to develop technologies to screen multiple GPCRs simultaneously. To address this need, GPCR microarrays that require the co-immobilization of lipid molecules and the probe receptors of interest have been fabricated, using conventional robotic printing technologies. Assays to screen compounds for their pharmacological properties (binding affinity, relative potency and selectivity) using GPCR microarrays are discussed.

Beta3-adrenoceptors in the cardiovascular system

beta-Adrenoceptors of the beta1 and beta2 subtypes classically mediate the effects of catecholamines on the contractility of cardiac muscle and the relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Since the molecular characterization of the beta3-adrenoceptor in 1989, most studies of this adrenoceptor subtype have focused on its control of lipolysis in adipose tissues. However, more recent studies have investigated the involvement of beta3-adrenoceptors in the physiological control of cardiac and vascular contractility. In this article, the pharmacological and molecular evidence that supports the functional role of beta3-adrenoceptors in cardiovasculartissues of various species, including humans, will be discussed. These data might provide new insights into our understanding of the abnormal responsiveness of the cardiovascular system to catecholamines in heart failure and its treatment with beta3-adrenoceptor antagonists.

Direct effects of ephedrine isomers on human beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes

Ephedrine and its alkaloids are used for the treatment of asthma, nasal congestion, and obesity. Ephedrine, with two chiral centers, exists as four isomers that exhibit direct and indirect effects on both alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptors (AR). Our main goal was to study the direct effects of the ephedrine isomers on human beta1-, beta2-, and beta3-AR expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Previous work indicated that the ephedrine isomers are inactive as agonists and that 1R,2S-ephedrine is more potent than the 1S,2R-isomer as an antagonist of catecholamine-induced lipolysis in rat adipose tissue (Lee et al., J Pharmacol Exp Ther 190: 249-259, 1974). Stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, associated with cyclic AMP accumulations, was measured by a luciferase reporter gene assay. On human beta1-AR, the rank order of potency (EC50 values, maximal response relative to isoproterenol = 100%) was 1R,2S-ephedrine (0.5 microM, 68%) > 1S,2R-ephedrine (72 microM, 66%) > 1S,2S-pseudoephedrine (309 microM, 53%) = 1R,2R-pseudoephedrine (1122 microM, 53%). On human beta2-AR, the rank order of potency was 1R,2S-ephedrine (0.36 microM, 78%) > 1R,2R-pseudoephedrine (7 microM, 50%) > or = 1S,2S-pseudoephedrine (10 microM, 47%) > 1S,2R-ephedrine (106 microM, 22%). Only 1R,2S-ephedrine showed significant agonist activity on human beta3-AR with an EC50 = 45 betaM and a maximal response of 31%. Our studies demonstrated that (a) stereoselective and rank order differences exist among the direct effects of ephedrine isomers; (b) 1R,2S-ephedrine is the most potent of the four ephedrine isomers on all three human beta-AR; and (c) 1R,2S- ephedrine was nearly equipotent as a beta1-/beta2-AR agonist and the only isomer possessing weak partial agonist activity on beta3-AR.