Polyamines in pancreatic islets of obese-hyperglycemic (ob/ob) mice of different ages

Probiotic induced synthesis of microbiota polyamine as a nutraceutical for metabolic syndrome and obesity-related type 2 diabetes

The gut microbiota regulates multiple facets of host metabolism and immunity through the production of signaling metabolites, such as polyamines which are small organic compounds that are essential to host cell growth and lymphocyte activation. Polyamines are most abundant in the intestinal lumen, where their synthesis by the gut microbiota is influenced by microbiome composition and host diet. Disruption of the host gut microbiome in metabolic syndrome and obesity-related type 2 diabetes (obesity/T2D) results in potential dysregulation of polyamine synthesis. A growing body of evidence suggests that restoration of the dysbiotic gut microbiota and polyamine synthesis is effective in ameliorating metabolic syndrome and strengthening the impaired immune responses of obesity/T2D. In this review, we discuss existing studies on gut microbiome determinants of polyamine synthesis, polyamine production in obesity/T2D, and evidence that demonstrates the potential of polyamines as a nutraceutical in obesity/T2D hosts.

Role of Polyamines and Hypusine in β Cells and Diabetes Pathogenesis

The polyamines—putrescine, spermidine, and spermine—are polycationic, low molecular weight amines with cellular functions primarily related to mRNA translation and cell proliferation. Polyamines partly exert their effects via the hypusine pathway, wherein the polyamine spermidine provides the aminobutyl moiety to allow posttranslational modification of the translation factor eIF5A with the rare amino acid hypusine (hydroxy putrescine lysine). The “hypusinated” eIF5A (eIF5A^hyp) is considered to be the active form of the translation factor necessary for the translation of mRNAs associated with stress and inflammation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that activity of the polyamines-hypusine circuit in insulin-producing islet β cells contributes to diabetes pathogenesis under conditions of inflammation. Elevated levels of polyamines are reported in both exocrine and endocrine cells of the pancreas, which may contribute to endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and autophagy. In this review, we have summarized the existing research on polyamine-hypusine metabolism in the context of β-cell function and diabetes pathogenesis.

Polyamines in mammalian pathophysiology

Polyamines (PAs) are essential organic polycations for cell viability along the whole phylogenetic scale. In mammals, they are involved in the most important physiological processes: cell proliferation and viability, nutrition, fertility, as well as nervous and immune systems. Consequently, altered polyamine metabolism is involved in a series of pathologies. Due to their pathophysiological importance, PA metabolism has evolved to be a very robust metabolic module, interconnected with the other essential metabolic modules for gene expression and cell proliferation/differentiation. Two different PA sources exist for animals: PA coming from diet and endogenous synthesis. In the first section of this work, the molecular characteristics of PAs are presented as determinant of their roles in living organisms. In a second section, the metabolic specificities of mammalian PA metabolism are reviewed, as well as some obscure aspects on it. This second section includes information on mammalian cell/tissue-dependent PA-related gene expression and information on crosstalk with the other mammalian metabolic modules. The third section presents a synthesis of the physiological processes described as modulated by PAs in humans and/or experimental animal models, the molecular bases of these regulatory mechanisms known so far, as well as the most important gaps of information, which explain why knowledge around the specific roles of PAs in human physiology is still considered a "mysterious" subject. In spite of its robustness, PA metabolism can be altered under different exogenous and/or endogenous circumstances so leading to the loss of homeostasis and, therefore, to the promotion of a pathology. The available information will be summarized in the fourth section of this review. The different sections of this review also point out the lesser-known aspects of the topic. Finally, future prospects to advance on these still obscure gaps of knowledge on the roles on PAs on human physiopathology are discussed.

Dietary and Gut Microbiota Polyamines in Obesity- and Age-Related Diseases

The polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are widely distributed polycationic compounds essential for cellular functions. Intracellular polyamine pools are tightly regulated by a complex regulatory mechanism involving de novo biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport across the plasma membrane. In mammals, both the production of polyamines and their uptake from the extracellular space are controlled by a set of proteins named antizymes and antizyme inhibitors. Dysregulation of polyamine levels has been implicated in a variety of human pathologies, especially cancer. Additionally, decreases in the intracellular and circulating polyamine levels during aging have been reported. The differences in the polyamine content existing among tissues are mainly due to the endogenous polyamine metabolism. In addition, a part of the tissue polyamines has its origin in the diet or their production by the intestinal microbiome. Emerging evidence has suggested that exogenous polyamines (either orally administrated or synthetized by the gut microbiota) are able to induce longevity in mice, and that spermidine supplementation exerts cardioprotective effects in animal models. Furthermore, the administration of either spermidine or spermine has been shown to be effective for improving glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity and reducing adiposity and hepatic fat accumulation in diet-induced obesity mouse models. The exogenous addition of agmatine, a cationic molecule produced through arginine decarboxylation by bacteria and plants, also exerts significant effects on glucose metabolism in obese models, as well as cardioprotective effects. In this review, we will discuss some aspects of polyamine metabolism and transport, how diet can affect circulating and local polyamine levels, and how the modulation of either polyamine intake or polyamine production by gut microbiota can be used for potential therapeutic purposes.

Type 2 Diabetes Is Associated with a Different Pattern of Serum Polyamines: A Case⁻Control Study from the PREDIMED-Plus Trial

Objective: Polyamines are naturally occurring cationic molecules present in all living cells. Dysregulation of circulating polyamines has been reported in several conditions, but little is known about the levels of serum polyamines in chronic metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the polyamine-related metabolome in a cohort of metabolic syndrome individuals with and without T2D. Design and methods: This was a nested case–control study within the PREDIMED-Plus trial that included 44 patients with T2D and 70 patients without T2D. We measured serum levels of arginine, ornithine, polyamines, and acetyl polyamines with an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry platform. Results: Our results showed that serum putrescine, directly generated from ornithine by the catalytic action of the biosynthetic enzyme ornithine decarboxylase, was significantly elevated in patients with T2D compared to those without T2D, and that it significantly correlated with the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive association between fasting insulin levels and spermine. Multiple logistic regression analysis (adjusted for age, gender and body weight index) revealed that serum putrescine and spermine levels were associated with a higher risk of T2D. Conclusions: Our study suggests that polyamine metabolism is dysregulated in T2D, and that serum levels of putrescine and spermine are associated with glycemic control and circulating insulin levels, respectively.

Arginase inhibition prevents the development of hypertension and improves insulin resistance in obese rats

This study investigated the temporal activation of arginase in obese Zucker rats (ZR) and determined if arginase inhibition prevents the development of hypertension and improves insulin resistance in these animals. Arginase activity, plasma arginine and nitric oxide (NO) concentration, blood pressure, and insulin resistance were measured in lean and obese animals. There was a chronological increase in vascular and plasma arginase activity in obese ZR beginning at 8 weeks of age. The increase in arginase activity in obese animals was associated with a decrease in insulin sensitivity and circulating levels of arginine and NO. The rise in arginase activity also preceded the increase in blood pressure in obese ZR detected at 12 weeks of age. Chronic treatment of 8-week-old obese animals with an arginase inhibitor or L-arginine for 4 weeks prevented the development of hypertension and improved plasma concentrations of arginine and NO. Arginase inhibition also improved insulin sensitivity in obese ZR while L-arginine supplementation had no effect. In conclusion, arginase inhibition prevents the development of hypertension and improves insulin sensitivity while L-arginine administration only mitigates hypertension in obese animals. Arginase represents a promising therapeutic target in ameliorating obesity-associated vascular and metabolic dysfunction.

Deficiency of the BiP cochaperone ERdj4 causes constitutive endoplasmic reticulum stress and metabolic defects

The BiP cochaperone ERdj4 removes misfolded proteins from the ER lumen by associating with ERAD machinery. Global deficiency of ERdj4 results in widespread constitutive ER stress, decreased survival, and metabolic derangements in mice. These findings indicate that the chaperone activity of ERdj4 is important for ER homeostasis in vivo.

Endoplasmic reticulum–localized DnaJ 4 (ERdj4) is an immunoglobulin-binding protein (BiP) cochaperone and component of the endoplasmic reticulum–associated degradation (ERAD) pathway that functions to remove unfolded/misfolded substrates from the ER lumen under conditions of ER stress. To elucidate the function of ERdj4 in vivo, we disrupted the ERdj4 locus using gene trap (GT) mutagenesis, leading to hypomorphic expression of ERdj4 in mice homozygous for the trapped allele (ERdj4^GT/GT). Approximately half of ERdj4^GT/GT mice died perinatally associated with fetal growth restriction, reduced hepatic glycogen stores, and hypoglycemia. Surviving adult mice exhibited evidence of constitutive ER stress in multiple cells/tissues, including fibroblasts, lung, kidney, salivary gland, and pancreas. Elevated ER stress in pancreatic β cells of ERdj4^GT/GT mice was associated with β cell loss, hypoinsulinemia, and glucose intolerance. Collectively these results suggest an important role for ERdj4 in maintaining ER homeostasis during normal fetal growth and postnatal adaptation to metabolic stress.

Anti-oxidant activity of spermine and spermidine re-evaluated with oxidizing systems involving iron and copper ions

This study was designed to investigate the direction of redox reactions of spermine and spermidine in the presence of iron and copper. The redox activity of spermine and spermidine was assessed using a variety of methods, including their ability to: (1) reduce Fe(3+) to Fe(2+) ions; (2) protect deoxyribose from oxidation by Fe(2+)-ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid, Fe(3+)-ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid systems with and without H(2)O(2); (3) protect DNA from damage caused by Cu(2+)-H(2)O(2), and Fe(2+)-H(2)O(2) with and without ascorbic acid; (4) inhibit H(2)O(2)-peroxidase-induced luminol dependent chemiluminescence; (5) scavenge diphenyl-picryl-hydrazyl radical. Spermine and spermidine at concentration 1mM reduced 1.8+/-0.3 and 2.5+/-0.1 nmol of Fe(3+) ions during 20 min incubation. Both polyamines enhanced deoxyribose oxidation. The highest enhancement of 7.6-fold in deoxyribose degradation was found for combination of spermine with Fe(3+)-ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid. An 10mM spermine and spermidine decreased CuSO(4)-H(2)O(2)-ascorbic acid- and FeSO(4)-H(2)O(2)-ascorbic-induced DNA damage by 73+/-6, 69+/-4% and 90+/-5, 53+/-4%, respectively. They did not protect DNA from CuSO(4)-H(2)O(2) and FeSO(4)-H(2)O(2). Spermine apparently increased the CuSO(4)-H(2)O(2)-dependent injury to DNA. Polyamines attenuated H(2)O(2)-peroxidase-induced luminol dependent chemiluminescence. Total light emission from specimens containing 10mM spermine or spermidine was attenuated by 85.3+/-1.5 and 87+/-3.6%. During 20 min incubation 1mM spermine or spermidine decomposed 8.1+/-1.4 and 9.2+/-1.8% of diphenyl-picryl-hydrazyl radical. These results demonstrate that polyamines of well known anti-oxidant properties may act as pro-oxidants and enhance oxidative damage to DNA components in the presence of free iron ions and H(2)O(2).

Direct oxidative DNA damage, apoptosis and radio sensitivity by spermine oxidase activities in mouse neuroblastoma cells

In mammals, the polyamines affect cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis; their levels are increased in malignant and proliferating cells, thus justifying an interest in a chemotherapeutic approach to cancer. The flavoprotein SMO is the most recently characterized catabolic enzyme, preferentially oxidizing SPM to SPD, 3-aminopropanal and H(2)O(2). In this report, we describe a novel functional characterization of the recently cloned splice variant isoforms from mouse brain, encoding, among others, the nuclear co-localized spermine oxidase mSMOmu. The over-expression of the active isoforms mSMOalpha and mSMOmu, and the inactive mSMOdelta and mSMOgamma in mouse neuroblastoma cells, demonstrated the first evidence of the direct oxidative DNA damage by the SMO activities, either alone or, in a higher extent, when associated with radiation exposure, thus working as radio sensitizer. These effects were reverted by treatment with 50 muM and 100 muM doses of the inhibitor of SMO activity MDL 72,527. The over-expression of all SMO isoforms failed to influence the expression of the regulating enzymes of polyamines metabolism ODC and SSAT. Dealing with the unbalanced tissue specific SMO activities, these results could indicate a new direction to tailor chemotherapy-associated radiotherapy, improving dose-rate protocol and allowing the modulation of deleterious side effects on healthy tissues.

Role of caspases in the regulation of apoptotic pancreatic islet beta-cells death

The homeostatic control of beta-cell mass in normal and pathological conditions is based on the balance of proliferation, differentiation, and death of the insulin-secreting cells. A considerable body of evidence, accumulated during the last decade, has emphasized the significance of the disregulation of the mechanisms regulating the apoptosis of beta-cells in the sequence of events that lead to the development of diabetes. The identification of agents capable of interfering with this process needs to be based on a better understanding of the beta-cell specific pathways that are activated during apoptosis. The aim of this article is fivefold: (1) a review of the evidence for beta-cell apoptosis in Type I diabetes, Type II diabetes, and islet transplantation, (2) to review the common stimuli and their mechanisms in pancreatic beta-cell apoptosis, (3) to review the role of caspases and their activation pathway in beta-cell apoptosis, (4) to review the caspase cascade and morphological cellular changes in apoptotic beta-cells, and (5) to highlight the putative strategies for preventing pancreatic beta-cells from apoptosis.