Deficiency of Adipose Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Protects against Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction through Sexually Dimorphic Mechanisms

The molecular mechanisms underlying diet-induced obesity are complex and remain unclear. The activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a xenobiotic sensor, by obesogens may contribute to diet-induced obesity through influences on lipid metabolism and insulin resistance acting at various sites, including adipose tissue. Thus, our hypothesis was that conditional AhR depletion, specifically from mature adipose tissue (CadKO), would improve high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic dysfunction. CadKO protects mice from HFD-induced weight gain. CadKO females eat fewer calories, leading to increased energy expenditure (EE) and improved glucose tolerance on HFD. Our exploration of adipose tissue biology suggests that the depletion of AhR from adipocytes provides female mice with an increased capacity for adipogenesis and lipolysis, allowing for the maintenance of a healthy adipocyte phenotype. The HFD-induced leptin rise was reduced in CadKO females, but the hypothalamic leptin receptor (LepR) was increased in the energy regulatory regions of the hypothalamus, suggesting an increased sensitivity to leptin. The estrogen receptor α (ERα) was higher in CadKO female adipose tissue and the hypothalamus. CadKO males displayed a delayed progression of obesity and insulin resistance. In males, CadKO ameliorated proinflammatory adipocytokine secretion (such as TNFα, IL1β, IL6) and displayed reduced inflammatory macrophage infiltration into adipose depots. Overall, CadKO improves weight control and systemic glucose homeostasis under HFD challenge but to a more profound extent in females. CadKO facilitates a lean phenotype in females and mediates healthy adipose-hypothalamic crosstalk. In males, adipose-specific AhR depletion delays the development of obesity and insulin resistance through the maintenance of healthy crosstalk between adipocytes and immune cells.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor affects circadian-regulated lipolysis through an E-Box-dependent mechanism

An internal circadian clock regulates timing of systemic energy homeostasis. The central clock in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) directs local clocks in peripheral tissues such as liver, muscle, and adipose tissue to synchronize metabolism with food intake and rest/activity cycles. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) interacts with the molecular circadian clockworks. Activation of AhR dampens rhythmic expression of core clock genes, which may lead to metabolic dysfunction. Given the importance of appropriately-timed adipose tissue function to regulation of energy homeostasis, this study focused on mechanisms by which AhR may influence clock-controlled adipose tissue activity. We hypothesized that AhR activation in adipose tissue would impair lipolysis by dampening adipose rhythms, leading to a decreased lipolysis rate during fasting, and subsequently, altered serum glucose concentrations. Levels of clock gene and lipolysis gene transcripts in mouse mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) differentiated into mature adipocytes were suppressed by the AhR agonist β-napthoflavone (BNF), in an AhR dependent manner. BNF altered rhythms of core clock gene and lipolysis gene transcripts in C57bl6/J mice. BNF reduced serum free fatty acids, glycerol and liver glycogen. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated that BNF increased binding of AhR to E-Box elements in clock gene and lipolysis gene promoters. These data establish a link between AhR activation and impaired lipolysis, specifically by altering adipose tissue rhythmicity. In response to the decreased available energy from impaired lipolysis, the body increases glycogenolysis, thereby degrading more glycogen to provide necessary energy.

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Deficiency Alters Circadian and Metabolic Rhythmicity

PAS domain-containing proteins can act as environmental sensors that capture external stimuli to allow coordination of organismal physiology with the outside world. These proteins permit diverse ligand binding and heterodimeric partnership, allowing for varied combinations of PAS-dependent protein-protein interactions and promoting crosstalk among signaling pathways. Previous studies report crosstalk between circadian clock proteins and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Activated AhR forms a heterodimer with the circadian clock protein Bmal1 and thereby functionally inhibits CLOCK/Bmal1 activity. If physiological activation of AhR through naturally occurring, endogenous ligands inhibits clock function, it seems plausible to hypothesize that decreased AhR expression releases AhR-induced inhibition of circadian rhythms. Because both AhR and the clock are important regulators of glucose metabolism, it follows that decreased AhR will also alter metabolic function. To test this hypothesis, rhythms of behavior, metabolic outputs, and circadian and metabolic gene expression were measured in AhR-deficient mice. Genetic depletion of AhR enhanced behavioral responses to changes in the light-dark cycle, increased rhythmic amplitude of circadian clock genes in the liver, and altered rhythms of glucose and insulin. This study provides evidence of AhR-induced inhibition that influences circadian rhythm amplitude.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation attenuates Per1 gene induction and influences circadian clock resetting

Light-stimulated adjustment of the circadian clock is an important adaptive physiological response that allows maintenance of behavioral synchrony with solar time. Our previous studies indicate that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin attenuates light-induced phase resetting in early night. However, the mechanism of inhibition remains unclear. In this study, we showed that another potent AhR agonist-β-naphthoflavone (BNF)-significantly decreased light-induced phase shifts in wild-type (WT) mice, whereas AhR knockout mice had an enhanced response to light that was unaffected by BNF. Mechanistically, BNF blocked light induction of the Per1 transcript in suprachiasmatic nucleus and liver in WT mice, and BNF blocked forskolin (FSK)-induced Per1 transcripts in Hepa-1c1c7 (c7) cells. An E-box decoy did not affect BNF inhibition of FSK-induced Per1 transcripts in c7 cells. cAMP-response element (CRE)-dependent induction of Per1 promoter activity in response to FSK in combination with phorbol 12-tetradecanoate 13-acetate was suppressed in cells that expressed high levels of AhR (c7) compared with cells lacking functional AhR activity (c12). In addition, the inhibitory effect of BNF on FSK-induced Per1 was dependent on phosphorylation of JNK. Together, these results suggest that AhR activation inhibits light-induced phase resetting through the activation of JNK, negative regulation of CREs in the Per1 promoter, and suppression of Per1.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor deficiency enhances insulin sensitivity and reduces PPAR-α pathway activity in mice

BACKGROUND

Numerous man-made pollutants activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. AhR signaling also affects molecular clock genes to influence glucose metabolism.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated mechanisms by which AhR activation affects glucose metabolism.

METHODS

Glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) and genes affecting glucose metabolism or fatty acid oxidation and clock gene rhythms were investigated in wild-type (WT) and AhR-deficient [knockout (KO)] mice. AhR agonists and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were used to examine the effect of AhR on PPAR-α expression and glycolysis in the liver cell line Hepa-1c1c7 (c7) and its c12 and c4 derivatives. Brain, muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (Bmal1) siRNA and Ahr or Bmal1 expression plasmids were used to analyze the effect of BMAL1 on PPAR-α expression in c7 cells.

RESULTS

KO mice displayed enhanced insulin sensitivity and improved glucose tolerance, accompanied by decreased PPAR-α and key gluconeogenic and fatty acid oxidation enzymes. AhR agonists increased PPAR-α expression in c7 cells. Both Ahr and Bmal1 siRNA reduced PPAR-α and metabolism genes. Moreover, rhythms of BMAL1 and blood glucose were altered in KO mice.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate a link between AhR signaling, circadian rhythms, and glucose metabolism. Furthermore, hepatic activation of the PPAR-α pathway provides a mechanism underlying AhR-mediated insulin resistance.

ERK/MAPK is essential for endogenous neuroprotection in SCN2.2 cells

Background

Glutamate (Glu) is essential to central nervous system function; however excessive Glu release leads to neurodegenerative disease. Strategies to protect neurons are underdeveloped, in part due to a limited understanding of natural neuroprotective mechanisms, such as those present in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). This study tests the hypothesis that activation of ERK/MAPK provides essential protection to the SCN after exposure to excessive Glu using the SCN2.2 cells as a model.

Methodology

Immortalized SCN2.2 cells (derived from SCN) and GT1-7 cells (neurons from the neighboring hypothalamus) were treated with 10 mM Glu in the presence or absence of the ERK/MAPK inhibitor PD98059. Cell death was assessed by Live/Dead assay, MTS assay and TUNEL. Caspase 3 activity was also measured. Activation of MAPK family members was determined by immunoblot. Bcl2, neuritin and Bid mRNA (by quantitative-PCR) and protein levels (by immunoblot) were also measured.

Principal Findings

As expected Glu treatment increased caspase 3 activity and cell death in the GT1-7 cells, but Glu alone did not induce cell death or affect caspase 3 activity in the SCN2.2 cells. However, pretreatment with PD98059 increased caspase 3 activity and resulted in cell death after Glu treatment in SCN2.2 cells. This effect was dependent on NMDA receptor activation. Glu treatment in the SCN2.2 cells resulted in sustained activation of the anti-apoptotic pERK/MAPK, without affecting the pro-apoptotic p-p38/MAPK. In contrast, Glu exposure in GT1-7 cells caused an increase in p-p38/MAPK and a decrease in pERK/MAPK. Bcl2-protein increased in SCN2.2 cells following Glu treatment, but not in GT1-7 cells; bid mRNA and cleaved-Bid protein increased in GT1-7, but not SCN2.2 cells.

Conclusions

Facilitation of ERK activation and inhibition of caspase activation promotes resistance to Glu excitotoxicity in SCN2.2 cells.

Significance

Further research will explore ERK/MAPK as a key molecule in the prevention of neurodegenerative processes.

Circadian clock disruption in the mouse ovary in response to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by the highly toxic, prototypical ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or other dioxin-like compounds compromises ovarian function by altering follicle maturation and steroid synthesis. Although alteration of transcription after nuclear translocation and heterodimerization of AhR with its binding partner, aryl hydrocarbon nuclear transporter (ARNT), is often cited as a primary mechanism for mediating the toxic effects of dioxins, recent evidence indicates that crosstalk between AhR and several other signaling pathways also occurs. Like the circadian clock genes, AhR is a member of the basic helix-loop-helix, Per-ARNT-SIM (bHLH-PAS) domain family of proteins. Thus, these studies tested the hypothesis that TCDD can act to alter circadian clock regulation in the ovary. Adult female c57bl6/J mice entrained to a typical 12h light/12h dark cycle were exposed to a single 1 μg/kg dose of TCDD by gavage. Six days after exposure, animals were released into constant darkness and ovaries were collected every 4h over a 24h period. Quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblot analysis demonstrated that TCDD exposure alters expression of the canonical clock genes, Bmal1 and Per2 in the ovary. AhR transcript and protein, which displayed a circadian pattern of expression in the ovaries of control mice, were also altered after TCDD treatment. Immunohistochemistry studies revealed co-localization of AhR with BMAL1 in various ovarian cell types. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated time-of-day dependent interactions of AhR with BMAL1 that were enhanced after TCDD treatment. Collectively these studies suggest that crosstalk between classical AhR signaling and the molecular circadian clockworks may be responsible for altered ovarian function after TCDD exposure.

Disruption of CLOCK-BMAL1 transcriptional activity is responsible for aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated regulation of Period1 gene

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a period-aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear transporter-simple minded domain transcription factor that shares structural similarity with circadian clock genes and readily interacts with components of the molecular clock. Activation of AhR by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) alters behavioral circadian rhythms and represses the Period1 (Per1) gene in murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Per1 expression is driven by circadian locomotor activity cycles kaput-brain muscle ARNT-like (CLOCK-BMAL1)-dependent activation of Eboxes in the Per1 promoter. We hypothesized that the effects of AhR activation on the circadian clock are mediated by disruption of CLOCK-BMAL1 function and subsequent Per1 gene suppression. Effects of AhR activation on rhythmic Per1 transcripts were examined in livers of mice after treatment with the AhR agonist, TCDD; the molecular mechanisms of Per1 repression by AhR were determined in hepatoma cells using TCDD and beta-napthoflavone as AhR activators. This study reports, for the first time, that AhR activation by TCDD alters the Per1 rhythm in the mouse liver and that Per1 gene suppression depends upon the presence of AhR. Furthermore, AhR interaction with BMAL1 attenuates CLOCK-BMAL1 activity and decreases CLOCK binding at Ebox1 and Ebox3 in the Per1 promoter. Taken together, these data suggest that AhR activation represses Per1 through disrupting CLOCK-BMAL1 activity, producing dysregulation of rhythmic Per1 gene expression. These data define alteration of the Per1 rhythm as novel signaling events downstream of AhR activation. Downregulation of Per1 could contribute to metabolic disease, cancer, and other detrimental effects resulting from exposure to certain environmental pollutants.