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ObjectiveGut microbial products are involved in regulation of host metabolism. In human and experimental studies, we explored the potential role of hippurate, a hepatic phase 2 conjugation product of microbial benzoate, as a marker and mediator of metabolic health.DesignIn 271 middle-aged non-diabetic Danish individuals, who were stratified on habitual dietary intake, we applied 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of urine samples and shotgun-sequencing-based metagenomics of the gut microbiome to explore links between the urine level of hippurate, measures of the gut microbiome, dietary fat and markers of metabolic health. In mechanistic experiments with chronic subcutaneous infusion of hippurate to high-fat-diet-fed obese mice, we tested for causality between hippurate and metabolic phenotypes.ResultsIn the human study, we showed that urine hippurate positively associates with microbial gene richness and functional modules for microbial benzoate biosynthetic pathways, one of which is less prevalent in the Bacteroides 2 enterotype compared with Ruminococcaceae or Prevotella enterotypes. Through dietary stratification, we identify a subset of study participants consuming a diet rich in saturated fat in which urine hippurate concentration, independently of gene richness, accounts for links with metabolic health. In the high-fat-fed mice experiments, we demonstrate causality through chronic infusion of hippurate (20 nmol/day) resulting in improved glucose tolerance and enhanced insulin secretion.ConclusionOur human and experimental studies show that a high urine hippurate concentration is a general marker of metabolic health, and in the context of obesity induced by high-fat diets, hippurate contributes to metabolic improvements, highlighting its potential as a mediator of metabolic health.

Exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been linked to multiple undesirable health outcomes across a full lifespan, both in animal models as well as in human epidemiological studies. Immunosuppressive effects of PFAS have been reported, including increased risk of infections and suppressed vaccination responses in early childhood, as well as association with immunotoxicity and diabetes. On a mechanistic level, PFAS exposure has been linked with metabolic disturbances, particularly in lipid metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly characterized. Herein we explore lipidomic signatures of prenatal and early-life exposure to perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice; an experimental model of autoimmune diabetes. Female NOD mice were exposed to four levels of PFUnDA in drinking water at mating, during gestation and lactation, and during the first weeks of life of female offspring. At offspring age of 11–12 weeks, insulitis and immunological endpoints were assessed, and serum samples were collected for comprehensive lipidomic analyses. We investigated the associations between exposure, lipidomic profile, insulitis grade, number of macrophages and apoptotic, active-caspase-3-positive cells in pancreatic islets. Dose-dependent changes in lipidomic profiles in mice exposed to PFUnDA were observed, with most profound changes seen at the highest exposure levels. Overall, PFUnDA exposure caused downregulation of phospholipids and triacylglycerols containing polyunsaturated fatty acids. Our results show that PFUnDA exposure in NOD mice alters lipid metabolism and is associated with pancreatic insulitis grade. Moreover, the results are in line with those reported in human studies, thus suggesting NOD mice as a suitable model to study the impacts of environmental chemicals on T1D.

Previous studies suggest that the human gut microbiome is dysregulated in islet autoimmunity, preceding the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The microbiota of the gut plays an important role in the regulation of bile acid (BA) metabolism. However, not much is known about the regulation of BAs during progression to T1D. Here, we analyzed BAs in a longitudinal series of serum (n= 333) and stool (n= 304) samples, collected at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months of age, from children who developed a single islet autoantibody (P1Ab), multiple islet autoantibodies (P2Ab), and controls (CTRs) who remained autoantibody (AAb) negative during the follow-up. In addition, we analyzed the stool microbiome by shotgun metagenomics in a subgroup of these children (n=111). Factor analysis showed that age had the strongest impact on BA and microbiome profiles. We found that, at an early age, the systemic BA (including taurine and glycine conjugates) and microbial secondary BA pathways were altered in the P2Ab group as compared to the P1Ab or CTR groups. Our findings thus suggest that dysregulated BA metabolism in early life may contribute to the risk and pathogenesis of T1D.

International audience; Knowledge about in vivo effects of human circulating C-6 hydroxylated bile acids (BAs), also called muricholic acids, is sparse. It is unsettled if the gut microbiome might contribute to their biosynthesis. Here, we measured a range of serum BAs and related them to markers of human metabolic health and the gut microbiome. We examined 283 non-obese and obese Danish adults from the MetaHit study. Fasting concentrations of serum BAs were quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatographytandem mass-spectrometry. The gut microbiome was characterized with shotgun metagenomic sequencing and genome-scale metabolic modeling. We find that tauro-and glycohyocholic acid correlated inversely with body mass index (P = 4.1e-03, P = 1.9e-05, respectively), waist circumference (P = 0.017, P = 1.1e-04, respectively), body fat percentage (P = 2.5e-03, P = 2.3e-06, respectively), insulin resistance (P = 0.051, P = 4.6e-4, respectively), fasting concentrations of triglycerides (P = 0.06, P = 9.2e-4, respectively) and leptin (P = 0.067, P = 9.2e-4). Tauro-and glycohyocholic acids, and tauroa-muricholic acid were directly linked with a distinct gut microbial community primarily composed of Clostridia species (P = 0.037, P = 0.013, P = 0.027, respectively). We conclude that serum conjugated C-6-hydroxylated BAs associate with measures of human metabolic health and gut communities of Clostridia species. The findings merit preclinical interventions and human feasibility studies to explore the therapeutic potential of these BAs in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Bile acids (BAs) are a class of steroids produced from cholesterol in the liver where they are conjugated with either glycine or taurine and released into the bile. These primary BAs, which in humans predominantly comprise of cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) are absorbed by different intestinal bacteria, and conjugates of glycine or taurine are removed with subsequent alteration of hydroxyl groups to form secondary BAs 1. BAs emulsify dietary fats in the small intestine and facilitate their absorption 1,2. At the terminal ileum, the majority of BAs are absorbed by the apical sodium dependent BA transporters and enter the hepatic portal circulation. In total, about 95% of BAs are reabsorbed into intestinal enterocytes, whilst > 5% of BAs enter the systemic circulation and act on multiple organs throughout the body via several types of receptors 3. The most prominent of these are the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and the Takeda G protein-coupled membrane receptor 5 (TGR5) which are expressed in a variety of peripheral tissues 4-7. Through these receptors, BAs regulate biological processes such as immunity, neuroprotection, metabolism, and energy expenditure 8-12 .

BackgroundDNA methylation patterns are largely established in-utero and might mediate the impacts of in-utero conditions on later health outcomes. Associations between perinatal DNA methylation marks and pregnancy-related variables, such as maternal age and gestational weight gain, have been earlier studied with methylation microarrays, which typically cover less than 2 % of human CpG sites. To detect such associations outside these regions, we chose the bisulfite sequencing approach.MethodsWe collected and curated all available clinical data on 200 newborn infants; whose umbilical cord blood samples were analyzed with the reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) method. A generalized linear mixed effects model was fit for each high coverage CpG site, followed by spatial and multiple testing adjustment of P values to identify differentially methylated cytosines (DMCs) and regions (DMRs) associated with clinical variables such as maternal age, mode of delivery, and birth weight. Type 1 error rate was then evaluated with a permutation analysis.ResultsWe discovered a strong inflation of spatially adjusted P values through the permutation analysis, which we then applied for empirical type 1 error control. Based on empirically estimated significance thresholds, very little differential methylation was associated with any of the studied clinical variables, other than sex. With this analysis workflow, the sex-associated differentially methylated regions were highly reproducible across studies, technologies, and statistical models.ConclusionsThe inflation of P values was caused by a common method for spatial adjustment and DMR detection, implemented in tools comb-p and RADMeth. With standard significance thresholds, type 1 error rates were high with both these implementations, across alternative parameter settings and analysis strategies. We conclude that comb-p and RADMeth are convenient methods for the detection of differentially methylated regions, but the statistical significance should either be determined empirically or before the spatial adjustment. Our RRBS data analysis workflow is available inhttps://github.com/EssiLaajala/RRBS_workflow.

T-cells are sentinels of adaptive cell-mediated immune responses. T-cell activation, proliferation and differentiation involves metabolic reprogramming involving the interplay of genes, proteins and metabolites. Here, we aim to understand the metabolic pathways involved in the activation and functional differentiation of human CD4+ T-cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th17 and iTregs). We combined genome-scale metabolic modeling, gene expression data, targeted and non-targeted lipidomics experiments, together with in vitro gene knockdown experiments and showed that human CD4+ T-cells undergo specific metabolic changes during activation and functional differentiation. In addition, we identified and confirmed the importance of ceramide and glycosphingolipid synthesis pathways in Th17 differentiation and effector functions. Finally, through in vitro gene knockdown experiments, we substantiated the requirement of serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT), a de novo sphingolipid pathway in the expression of proinflammatory cytokine (IL17A and IL17F) by Th17 cells. Our findings may provide a comprehensive resource for identifying CD4+ T-cell-specific targets for their selective manipulation under disease conditions, particularly, diseases characterized by an imbalance of Treg / Th17 cells. Our data also suggest a role for elevated levels of ceramides in conditions comorbid with these diseases, e.g., obesity and insulin resistance.

Aging, obesity, and insulin resistance are associated with low levels of PGC1 alpha and PGC1 beta coactivators and defective mitochondrial function. We studied mice deficient for PGC1 alpha and PGC1 beta [double heterozygous (DH)] to investigate their combined pathogenic contribution. Contrary to our hypothesis, DH mice were leaner, had increased energy dissipation, a pro-thermogenic profile in BAT and WAT, and improved carbohydrate metabolism compared to wild types. WAT showed upregulation of mitochondriogenesis/oxphos machinery upon allelic compensation of PGC1 alpha 4 from the remaining allele. However, DH mice had decreased mitochondrial OXPHOS and biogenesis transcriptomes in mitochondria-rich organs. Despite being metabolically healthy, mitochondrial defects in DH mice impaired muscle fiber remodeling and caused qualitative changes in the hepatic lipidome. Our data evidence first the existence of organ-specific compensatory allostatic mechanisms are robust enough to drive an unexpected phenotype. Second, optimization of adipose tissue bioenergetics is sufficient to maintain a healthy metabolic phenotype despite a broad severe mitochondrial dysfunction in other relevant metabolic organs. Third, the decrease in PGC1s in adipose tissue of obese and diabetic patients is in contrast with the robustness of the compensatory upregulation in the adipose of the DH mice. EC | FP7 | FP7 Health (HEALTH), Grant/Award Number: [HEALTH-F4-2008-223450; RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC), Grant/Award Number: MC_UU_12012/2 and MC_UU_00014/5; European Commission (EC), Grant/ Award Number: MEIF-CT-2005-023061; Wellcome Trust (Wellcome), Grant/Award Number: 208363/Z/17/Z

Human gut is colonized by a vast number of microbes known as gut microbiota. The microbiota plays a significant role in the maintenance of health and well-being. A dysbiosis in the microbiota has b ...

International audience; The mechanisms that drive nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain incompletely understood. This large multicenter study characterized the transcriptional changes that occur in liver tissue across the NAFLD spectrum as disease progresses to cirrhosis to identify potential circulating markers. We performed high-throughput RNA sequencing on a discovery cohort comprising histologically characterized NAFLD samples from 206 patients. Unsupervised clustering stratified NAFLD on the basis of disease activity and fibrosis stage with differences in age, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), type 2 diabetes mellitus, and carriage of PNPLA3 rs738409 , a genetic variant associated with NAFLD. Relative to early disease, we consistently identified 25 differentially expressed genes as fibrosing steatohepatitis progressed through stages F2 to F4. This 25-gene signature was independently validated by logistic modeling in a separate replication cohort ( n = 175), and an integrative analysis with publicly available single-cell RNA sequencing data elucidated the likely relative contribution of specific intrahepatic cell populations. Translating these findings to the protein level, SomaScan analysis in more than 300 NAFLD serum samples confirmed that circulating concentrations of proteins AKR1B10 and GDF15 were strongly associated with disease activity and fibrosis stage. Supporting the biological plausibility of these data, in vitro functional studies determined that endoplasmic reticulum stress up-regulated expression of AKR1B10 , GDF15 , and PDGFA , whereas GDF15 supplementation tempered the inflammatory response in macrophages upon lipid loading and lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This study provides insights into the pathophysiology of progressive fibrosing steatohepatitis, and proof of principle that transcriptomic changes represent potentially tractable and clinically relevant markers of disease progression.

Activation of pregnane X receptor (PXR) elevates circulating 4β-hydroxycholesterol (4βHC), an agonist of liver X receptor (LXR). PXR may also regulate 25-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol. Our aim was to elucidate the roles of PXR and oxysterols in the regulation of cholesterol transporters. We measured oxysterols in serum of volunteers dosed with PXR agonist rifampicin 600 mg/day versus placebo for a week and analyzed the expression of cholesterol transporters in mononuclear cells. The effect of 4βHC on the transport of cholesterol and the expression of cholesterol transporters was studied in human primary monocyte-derived macrophages and foam cells in vitro. The expression of cholesterol transporters was measured also in rat tissues after dosing with a PXR agonist. The levels of 4βHC were elevated, while 25-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol remained unchanged in volunteers dosed with rifampicin. The expression of ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) was induced in human mononuclear cells in vivo. The influx of cholesterol was repressed by 4βHC, as was the expression of influx transporter lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 in vitro. The cholesterol efflux and the expression of efflux transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 were induced. The expression of inducible degrader of the LDL receptor was induced. In rats, PXR agonist increased circulating 4βHC and expression of LXR targets in peripheral tissues, especially ABCA1 and ABCG1 in heart. In conclusion, PXR activation-elevated 4βHC is a signaling molecule that represses cholesterol influx and induces efflux. The PXR-4βHC-LXR pathway could link the hepatic xenobiotic exposure and the regulation of cholesterol transport in peripheral tissues.

The effects of gut microbiota on the central nervous system, along its possible role in mental disorders, have received increasing attention. Here we investigated differences in fecal microbiota between 28 patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and 16 healthy matched controls and explored whether such differences were associated with response after up to 12 months of treatment. Numbers of Lactobacillus group bacteria were elevated in FEP-patients and significantly correlated with severity along different symptom domains. A subgroup of FEP patients with the strongest microbiota differences also showed poorer response after up to 12 months of treatment. The present findings support the involvement of microbiota alterations in psychotic illness and may provide the basis for exploring the benefit of their modulation on treatment response and remission. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Summary T cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation involve metabolic reprogramming resulting from the interplay of genes, proteins, and metabolites. Here, we aim to understand the metabolic pathways involved in the activation and functional differentiation of human CD4+ T cell subsets (T helper [Th]1, Th2, Th17, and induced regulatory T [iTreg] cells). Here, we combine genome-scale metabolic modeling, gene expression data, and targeted and non-targeted lipidomics experiments, together with in vitro gene knockdown experiments, and show that human CD4+ T cells undergo specific metabolic changes during activation and functional differentiation. In addition, we confirm the importance of ceramide and glycosphingolipid biosynthesis pathways in Th17 differentiation and effector functions. Through in vitro gene knockdown experiments, we substantiate the requirement of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), a de novo sphingolipid pathway in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-17A and IL17F) by Th17 cells. Our findings provide a comprehensive resource for selective manipulation of CD4+ T cells under disease conditions characterized by an imbalance of Th17/natural Treg (nTreg) cells.

Background: Carriers of the transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 E167K gene variant (TM6SF2(EK/KK)) have decreased expression of the TM6SF2 gene and increased risk of NAFLD and NASH. Unlike common 'obese/metabolic' NAFLD, these subjects lack hypertriglyceridemia and have lower risk of cardiovascular disease. In animals, phosphatidylcholine (PC) deficiency results in a similar phenotype. PCs surround the core of VLDL consisting of triglycerides (TGs) and cholesteryl-esters (CEs). We determined the effect of the TM6SF2 E167K on these lipids in the human liver and serum and on hepatic gene expression and studied the effect of TM6SF2 knockdown on hepatocyte handling of these lipids. Methods: Liver biopsies were taken from subjects characterized with respect to the TM6SF2 genotype, serum and liver lipidome, gene expression and histology. In vitro, after TM6SF2 knockdown in HuH-7 cells, we compared incorporation of different fatty acids into TGs, CEs, and PCs. Results: The TM6SF2(EK/KK) and TM6SF2EE groups had similar age, gender, BMI and HOMA-IR. Liver TGs and CEs were higher and liver PCs lower in the TM6SF2(EK/KK) than the TM6SF2EE group (p Conclusions: Hepatic lipid synthesis from PUFAs is impaired and could contribute to deficiency in PCs and increased intrahepatic TG in TM6SF2 E167K variant carriers. (C) 2017 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sphingolipids in general and ceramides in particular, contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms by modifying signalling and metabolic pathways. Here, we present the available evidence for a bidirectional homeostatic crosstalk between sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids, whose dysregulation contributes to lipotoxicity induced metabolic stress. The initial evidence for this crosstalk originates from simulated models designed to investigate the biophysical properties of sphingolipids in plasma membrane representations. In this review, we reinterpret some of the original findings and conceptualise them as a sort of "ying/yang" interaction model of opposed/complementary forces, which is consistent with the current knowledge of lipid homeostasis and pathophysiology. We also propose that the dysregulation of the balance between sphingolipids and glycerophospholipids results in a lipotoxic insult relevant in the pathophysiology of common metabolic diseases, typically characterised by their increased ceramide/sphingosine pools.

There is growing interest in the metabolic interplay between the gut microbiome and host metabolism. Taxonomic and functional profiling of the gut microbiome by next-generation sequencing (NGS) has unveiled substantial richness and diversity. However, the mechanisms underlying interactions between diet, gut microbiome and host metabolism are still poorly understood. Genome-scale metabolic modeling (GSMM) is an emerging approach that has been increasingly applied to infer diet⁻microbiome, microbe⁻microbe and host⁻microbe interactions under physiological conditions. GSMM can, for example, be applied to estimate the metabolic capabilities of microbes in the gut. Here, we discuss how meta-omics datasets such as shotgun metagenomics, can be processed and integrated to develop large-scale, condition-specific, personalized microbiota models in healthy and disease states. Furthermore, we summarize various tools and resources available for metagenomic data processing and GSMM, highlighting the experimental approaches needed to validate the model predictions.

Lipids have many important biological roles, such as energy storage sources, structural components of plasma membranes and as intermediates in metabolic and signaling pathways. Lipid metabolism is under tight homeostatic control, exhibiting spatial and dynamic complexity at multiple levels. Consequently, lipid-related disturbances play important roles in the pathogenesis of most of the common diseases. Lipidomics, defined as the study of lipidomes in biological systems, has emerged as a rapidly-growing field. Due to the chemical and functional diversity of lipids, the application of a systems biology approach is essential if one is to address lipid functionality at different physiological levels. In parallel with analytical advances to measure lipids in biological matrices, the field of computational lipidomics has been rapidly advancing, enabling modeling of lipidomes in their pathway, spatial and dynamic contexts. This review focuses on recent progress in systems biology approaches to study lipids in health and disease, with specific emphasis on methodological advances and biomedical applications.

Background & Aims: Recent data in mice have identified de novo ceramide synthesis as the key mediator of hepatic insulin resistance (IR) that in humans characterizes increases in liver fat due to IR ('Metabolic NAFLD' but not that due to the I148M gene variant in PNPLA3 ('PNPLA3 NAFLD'). We determined which bioactive lipids co-segregate with IR in the human liver. Methods: Liver lipidome was profiled in liver biopsies from 125 subjects that were divided into equally sized groups based on median HOMA-IR ('High and Low HOMA-IR', n = 62 and n = 63) or PNPLA3 genotype (PNPIA3(148MM/MI), n = 61 vs. PNPLA3(148II), n = 64). The subjects were also divided into 4 groups who had either IR, the I148M gene variant, both of the risk factors or neither. Results: Steatosis and NASH prevalence were similarly increased in 'High HOMA-IR' and PNPLA3(148MM/MI) groups compared to their respective control groups. The 'High HOMA-IR' but not the PNPLA3(148MM/MI) group had features of IR. The liver in 'High HOMA-IR' vs. low HOMA-IR' was markedly enriched in saturated and monounsaturated triacylglycerols and free fatty acids, dihydroceramides (markers of de novo ceramide synthesis) and ceramides. Markers of other ceramide synthetic pathways were unchanged. In PNPLA3(148MM/MI) vs. PNPLA3(148II), the increase in liver fat was due to polyunsaturated triacylglycerols while other lipids were unchanged. Similar changes were observed when data were analyzed using the 4 subgroups. Conclusions: Similar increases in liver fat and NASH are associated with a metabolically harmful saturated, ceramide-enriched liver lipidome in 'Metabolic NAFLD' but not in 'PNPLA3 NAFLD'. This difference may explain why metabolic but not PNPLA3 NAFLD increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. (C) 2016 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lipidomic analysis aims at comprehensive characterization of molecular lipids in biological systems. Due to the central role of lipid metabolism in many devastating diseases, lipidomics is being increasingly applied in biomedical research. Over the past years, advances in analytical techniques and bioinformatics enabled increasingly comprehensive and accurate coverage of lipids both in tissues and biofluids, yet many challenges remain. This review highlights recent progress in the domain of analytical lipidomics, with main emphasis on non-targeted methodologies for large scale clinical applications, as well as discusses some of the key challenges and opportunities in this field.

Seroconversion to islet autoimmunity is preceded by metabolic disturbances in children who later progress to overt type 1 diabetes (T1D). The underlying metabolic pathways and the interaction of metabolic and immune system factors involved in progression to the disease are however poorly understood. There is a clear need for mathematical models which capture the temporal and spatial complexity of early pathogenesis of T1D. Here we review the early attempts to model the development of islet autoimmunity and T1D, including the models which emphasize the potential beneficial role of autoimmune response in specific circumstances, such as to 'correct' for the early metabolic disturbances. We also highlight the genome-scale metabolic modeling as a promising new avenue to study metabolism and its interactions with the immune system in T1D.

There is a need to rapidly detect patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who require head computed tomography (CT). Given the energy crisis in the brain following TBI, we hypothesized that serum metabolomics would be a useful tool for developing a set of biomarkers to determine the need for CT and to distinguish among different types of injuries observed. Logistical regression models using metabolite data from the discovery cohort (n = 144, Turku, Finland) were used to distinguish between patients with traumatic intracranial findings and those with negative findings on head CT. The resultant models were then tested in the validation cohort (n = 66, Cambridge, United Kingdom). The levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 were also quantified in the serum from the same patients. Despite there being significant differences in the protein biomarkers in patients with TBI, the model that determined the need for a CT scan validated poorly (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.64: Cambridge patients). However, using a combination of six metabolites (two amino acids, three sugar derivatives, and one ketoacid) it was possible to discriminate patients with intracranial abnormalities on CT and patients with a normal CT (AUC = 0.77 in Turku patients and AUC = 0.73 in Cambridge patients). Further, a combination of three metabolites could distinguish between diffuse brain injuries and mass lesions (AUC = 0.87 in Turku patients and AUC = 0.68 in Cambridge patients). This study identifies a set of validated serum polar metabolites, which associate with the need for a CT scan. Additionally, serum metabolites can also predict the nature of the brain injury. These metabolite markers may prevent unnecessary CT scans, thus reducing the cost of diagnostics and radiation load.

It is well established that gut microbes and their metabolic products regulate host metabolism. The interactions between the host and its gut microbiota are highly dynamic and complex. In this review we present and discuss the metabolomic strategies to study the gut microbial ecosystem. We highlight the metabolic profiling approaches to study faecal samples aimed at deciphering the metabolic product derived from gut microbiota. We also discuss how metabolomics data can be integrated with metagenomics data derived from gut microbiota and how such approaches may lead to better understanding of the microbial functions. Finally, the emerging approaches of genome-scale metabolic modelling to study microbial co-metabolism and host–microbe interactions are highlighted.

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are the key drivers of the immune responses. These cells undergo activation, proliferation and differentiation into various subsets. During these processes they initiate metabolic reprogramming, which is coordinated by specific gene and protein activities. PBMCs as a model system have been widely used to study metabolic and autoimmune diseases. Herein we review various omics and systems-based approaches such as transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics as applied to PBMCs, particularly T helper subsets, that unveiled disease markers and the underlying mechanisms. We also discuss and emphasize several aspects of T cell metabolic modeling in healthy and disease states using genome-scale metabolic models.

Background/Aim Lipidomic and metabolomic techniques become more and more important in human health research. Recent developments in analytical techniques enable the investigation of high amounts of substances. The high numbers of metabolites and lipids that are detected with among others mass spectrometric techniques challenge in most cases the statistical processes to bring out stable and interpretable results. This study targets to use the novel non-established statistical method treelet transform (TT) to investigate high numbers of metabolites and lipids and to compare the results with the established method principal component analysis (PCA). Serum lipid and metabolite profiles are investigated regarding their association to anthropometric parameters associated to obesity. Methods From 226 participants of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition)-Potsdam study blood samples were investigated with an untargeted metabolomics approach regarding serum metabolites and lipids. Additionally, participants were surveyed anthropometrically to assess parameters of obesity, such as body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip-ratio (WHR) and body fat mass. TT and PCA are used to generate treelet components (TCs) and factors summarizing serum metabolites and lipids in new, latent variables without too much loss of information. With partial correlations TCs and factors were associated to anthropometry under the control for relevant parameters, such as sex and age. Results TT with metabolite variables (p = 121) resulted in 5 stable and interpretable TCs explaining 18.9% of the variance within the data. PCA on the same variables generated 4 quite complex, less easily interpretable factors explaining 37.5% of the variance. TT on lipidomic data (p = 353) produced 3 TCs as well as PCA on the same data resulted in 3 factors; the proportion of explained variance was 17.8% for TT and 39.8% for PCA. In both investigations TT ended up with stable components that are easier to interpret than the factors from the PCA. In general, the generated TCs and factors were similar in their structure when the factors are considered regarding the original variables loading high on them. Both TCs and factors showed associations to anthropometric measures. Conclusions TT is a suitable statistical method to generate summarizing, latent variables in data sets with more variables than observations. In the present investigation it resulted in similar latent variables compared to the established method of PCA. Whereby less variance is explained by the summarizing constructs of TT compared to the factors of PCA, TCs are easier to interpret. Additionally the resulting TCs are quite stable in bootstrap samples.

International audience; Nuclear receptor PPARγ affects lipid metabolism in several tissues, but its role in intestinal lipid metabolism has not been explored. As alterations have been observed in the plasma lipid profile of ad libitum fed intestinal epithelium-specific PPARγ knockout mice (iePPARγKO), we submitted these mice to lipid gavage challenges. Within hours after gavage with long chain unsaturated fatty acid (FA)-rich canola oil, the iePPARγKO mice had higher plasma free FA levels and lower gastric inhibitory polypeptide levels than their wild-type (WT) littermates, and altered expression of incretin genes and lipid metabolism-associated genes in the intestinal epithelium. Gavage with the medium chain saturated FA-rich coconut oil did not result in differences between the two genotypes. Furthermore, the iePPARγKO mice did not exhibit defective lipid uptake and stomach emptying; however, their intestinal transit was more rapid than in WT mice. When fed a canola oil-rich diet for 4.5 months, iePPARγKO mice had higher body lean mass than the WT mice. We conclude that intestinal epithelium PPARγ is activated preferentially by long chain unsaturated FAs compared to medium chain saturated FAs. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the iePPARγKO phenotype originates from altered lipid metabolism and release in epithelial cells, as well as changes in intestinal motility.

Summary Thyroid hormones (THs) act in the brain to modulate energy balance. We show that central triiodothyronine (T3) regulates de novo lipogenesis in liver and lipid oxidation in brown adipose tissue (BAT) through the parasympathetic (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS), respectively. Central T3 promotes hepatic lipogenesis with parallel stimulation of the thermogenic program in BAT. The action of T3 depends on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-induced regulation of two signaling pathways in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH): decreased ceramide-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which promotes BAT thermogenesis, and increased c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, which controls hepatic lipid metabolism. Of note, ablation of AMPKα1 in steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) neurons of the VMH fully recapitulated the effect of central T3, pointing to this population in mediating the effect of central THs on metabolism. Overall, these findings uncover the underlying pathways through which central T3 modulates peripheral metabolism., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Central T3 regulates lipogenesis in liver via the parasympathetic nervous system • Central T3 regulates lipid oxidation in BAT via the sympathetic nervous system • Ablation of AMPK in SF1 neurons of the VMH recapitulates the effects of T3 • Hypothalamic JNK1 and ceramides/ER stress mediate T3 actions on liver and BAT, Martínez-Sánchez et al. show that thyroid hormones act in the hypothalamus to regulate hepatic lipogenesis and brown fat lipid oxidation via the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. These peripheral effects are orchestrated by two distinct signaling pathways in the VMH, JNK1 and ceramides/ER stress, which are under AMPK control.

Changes in cellular lipid metabolism are a common feature in most solid tumors, which occur already in early stages of the tumor progression. However, it remains unclear if the tumor-specific lipid changes can be detected at the level of systemic lipid metabolism. The objective of this study was to perform comprehensive analysis of lipids in breast cancer patient serum samples. Lipidomic profiling using an established analytical platform was performed in two cohorts of breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The analyses were performed for 142 patients before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the results before chemotherapy were validated in an independent cohort of 194 patients. The analyses revealed that in general the tumor characteristics are not reflected in the serum samples. However, there was an association of specific triacylglycerols (TGs) in patients' response to chemotherapy. These TGs containing mainly oleic acid (C18:1) were found in lower levels in those patients showing pathologic complete response before receiving chemotherapy. Some of these TGs were also associated with estrogen receptor status and overall or disease-free survival of the patients. The results suggest that the altered serum levels of oleic acid in breast cancer patients are associated with their response to chemotherapy.

The epidemic of obesity imposes unprecedented challenges on human adipose tissue (WAT) storage capacity that may benefit from adaptive mechanisms to maintain adipocyte functionality. Here, we demonstrate that changes in the regulatory feedback set point control of Insig1/SREBP1 represent an adaptive response that preserves WAT lipid homeostasis in obese and insulin-resistant states. In our experiments, we show that Insig1 mRNA expression decreases in WAT from mice with obesity-associated insulin resistance and from morbidly obese humans and in in vitro models of adipocyte insulin resistance. Insig1 downregulation is part of an adaptive response that promotes the maintenance of SREBP1 maturation and facilitates lipogenesis and availability of appropriate levels of fatty acid unsaturation, partially compensating the antilipogenic effect associated with insulin resistance. We describe for the first time the existence of this adaptive mechanism in WAT, which involves Insig1/SREBP1 and preserves the degree of lipid unsaturation under conditions of obesity-induced insulin resistance. These adaptive mechanisms contribute to maintain lipid desaturation through preferential SCD1 regulation and facilitate fat storage in WAT, despite on-going metabolic stress., Funding agencies:MRC Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilEuropean Foundation for the Study of DiabetesIntegrative Pharmacology FundFritz Thyssen Foundation fellowship (Germany)National Institute for Health Research

Objective— Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is associated with cardiometabolic pathologies. In this study, we investigate the biological pathways and individual genes behind low HDL-C by integrating results from 3 high-throughput data sources: adipose tissue transcriptomics, HDL lipidomics, and dense marker genotypes from Finnish individuals with low or high HDL-C (n=450). Approach and Results— In the pathway analysis of genetic data, we demonstrate that genetic variants within inflammatory pathways were enriched among low HDL-C associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and the expression of these pathways upregulated in the adipose tissue of low HDL-C subjects. The lipidomic analysis highlighted the change in HDL particle quality toward putatively more inflammatory and less vasoprotective state in subjects with low HDL-C, as evidenced by their decreased antioxidative plasmalogen contents. We show that the focal point of these inflammatory pathways seems to be the HLA region with its low HDL-associated alleles also associating with more abundant local transcript levels in adipose tissue, increased plasma vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) levels, and decreased HDL particle plasmalogen contents, markers of adipose tissue inflammation, vascular inflammation, and HDL antioxidative potential, respectively. In a population-based look-up of the inflammatory pathway single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a large Finnish cohorts (n=11 211), no association of the HLA region was detected for HDL-C as quantitative trait, but with extreme HDL-C phenotypes, implying the presence of low or high HDL genes in addition to the population-genomewide association studies–identified HDL genes. Conclusions— Our study highlights the role of inflammation with a genetic component in subjects with low HDL-C and identifies novel cis -expression quantitative trait loci ( cis -eQTL) variants in HLA region to be associated with low HDL-C.

Lipids have many central physiological roles including as structural components of cell membranes, energy storage sources and intermediates in signaling pathways. Lipid-related disturbances are known to underlie many diseases and their co-morbidities. The emergence of lipidomics has empowered researchers to study lipid metabolism at the cellular as well as physiological levels at a greater depth than was previously possible. The key challenges ahead in the field of lipidomics in medical research lie in the development of experimental protocols and in silico techniques needed to study lipidomes at the systems level. Clinical questions where lipidomics may have an impact in healthcare settings also need to be identified, both from the health outcomes and health economics perspectives. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: BBALIP_Lipidomics Opinion Articles edited by Sepp Kohlwein.

Article, Sleep loss and insufficient sleep are risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases, but data on how insufficient sleep contributes to these diseases are scarce. These questions were addressed using two approaches: an experimental, partial sleep restriction study (14 cases and 7 control subjects) with objective verification of sleep amount, and two independent epidemiological cohorts (altogether 2739 individuals) with questions of sleep insufficiency. In both approaches, blood transcriptome and serum metabolome were analysed. Sleep loss decreased the expression of genes encoding cholesterol transporters and increased expression in pathways involved in inflammatory responses in both paradigms. Metabolomic analyses revealed lower circulating large HDL in the population cohorts among subjects reporting insufficient sleep, while circulating LDL decreased in the experimental sleep restriction study. These findings suggest that prolonged sleep deprivation modifies inflammatory and cholesterol pathways at the level of gene expression and serum lipoproteins, inducing changes toward potentially higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases., published version, peerReviewed

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major risk factor leading to chronic liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Here we chart liver metabolic activity and functionality in NAFLD by integrating global transcriptomic data, from human liver biopsies, and metabolic flux data, measured across the human splanchnic vascular bed, within a genome-scale model of human metabolism. We show that an increased amount of liver fat induces mitochondrial metabolism, lipolysis, glyceroneogenesis and a switch from lactate to glycerol as substrate for gluconeogenesis, indicating an intricate balance of exacerbated opposite metabolic processes in glycemic regulation. These changes were associated with reduced metabolic adaptability on a network level in the sense that liver fat accumulation puts increasing demands on the liver to adaptively regulate metabolic responses to maintain basic liver functions. We propose that failure to meet excessive metabolic challenges coupled with reduced metabolic adaptability may lead to a vicious pathogenic cycle leading to the co-morbidities of NAFLD., Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for other types of liver diseases. Here, the authors integrate transcriptomic and metabolomic data from patients with NAFLD with a genome-scale metabolic model to paint a comprehensive picture of liver function in NAFLD.

Aims/hypothesisVirally induced inflammatory responses, beta cell destruction and release of beta cell autoantigens may lead to autoimmune reactions culminating in type 1 diabetes. Therefore, viral capability to induce beta cell death and the nature of virus-induced immune responses are among key determinants of diabetogenic viruses. We hypothesised that enterovirus infection induces a specific gene expression pattern that results in islet destruction and that such a host response pattern is not shared among all enterovirus infections but varies between virus strains.MethodsThe changes in global gene expression and secreted cytokine profiles induced by lytic or benign enterovirus infections were studied in primary human pancreatic islet using DNA microarrays and viral strains either isolated at the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes or capable of causing a diabetes-like condition in mice.ResultsThe expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes (IL-1-α, IL-1-β and TNF-α) that also mediate cytokine-induced beta cell dysfunction correlated with the lytic potential of a virus. Temporally increasing gene expression levels of double-stranded RNA recognition receptors, antiviral molecules, cytokines and chemokines were detected for all studied virus strains. Lytic coxsackievirus B5 (CBV-5)-DS infection also downregulated genes involved in glycolysis and insulin secretion.Conclusions/interpretationThe results suggest a distinct, virus-strain-specific, gene expression pattern leading to pancreatic islet destruction and pro-inflammatory effects after enterovirus infection. However, neither viral replication nor cytotoxic cytokine production alone are sufficient to induce necrotic cell death. More likely the combined effect of these and possibly cellular energy depletion lie behind the enterovirus-induced necrosis of islets.

Primary obesity and psychotic disorders are similar with respect to the associated changes in energy balance and co-morbidities, including metabolic syndrome. Such similarities do not necessarily demonstrate causal links, but instead suggest that specific causes of and metabolic disturbances associated with obesity play a pathogenic role in the development of co-morbid disorders, potentially even before obesity develops. Metabolomics - the systematic study of metabolites, which are small molecules generated by the process of metabolism - has been important in elucidating the pathways underlying obesity-associated co-morbidities. This review covers how recent metabolomic studies have advanced biomarker discovery and the elucidation of mechanisms underlying obesity and its co-morbidities, with a specific focus on metabolic syndrome and psychotic disorders. The importance of identifying metabolic markers of disease-associated intermediate phenotypes - traits modulated but not encoded by the DNA sequence - is emphasized. Such markers would be applicable as diagnostic tools in a personalized healthcare setting and might also open up novel therapeutic avenues., Funding agencies:Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Molecular Systems Immunology and Physiology Research (SyMMyS) 250114

Summary Individuals with metabolic syndrome are at high risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) through unclear pathogenic mechanisms. Obesity and diabetes are known to induce glucolipotoxic effects in metabolically relevant organs. However, the pathogenic role of glucolipotoxicity in the aetiology of diabetic nephropathy is debated. We generated a murine model, the POKO mouse, obtained by crossing the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARγ2) knockout (KO) mouse into a genetically obese ob/ob background. We have previously shown that the POKO mice showed: hyperphagia, insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia as early as 4 weeks of age, and developed a complete loss of normal β-cell function by 16 weeks of age. Metabolic phenotyping of the POKO model has led to investigation of the structural and functional changes in the kidney and changes in blood pressure in these mice. Here we demonstrate that the POKO mouse is a model of renal disease that is accelerated by high levels of glucose and lipid accumulation. Similar to ob/ob mice, at 4 weeks of age these animals exhibited glomerulomegaly, an increased urinary albumin:creatinine ratio and significantly increased blood pressure, but in contrast showed a significant increase in the renal hypertrophy index and an associated increase in p27Kip1 expression compared with their obese littermates. Moreover, at 4 weeks of age POKO mice showed insulin resistance, an alteration of lipid metabolism and glomeruli damage associated with significantly increased transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) expression. At this age, levels of proinflammatory molecules, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and fibrotic factors were also increased at the glomerular level compared with levels in ob/ob mice. At 12 weeks of age, renal damage was fully established. These data suggest an accelerated lesion through glucolipotoxic effects in the renal pathogenesis in POKO mice.

Optimal lipid storage and mobilization are essential for efficient adipose tissue. Nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) regulates adipocyte differentiation and lipid deposition, but its role in lipolysis and dysregulation in obesity is not well defined. This investigation aimed to understand the molecular impact of dysfunctional PPARγ on the lipolytic axis and to explore whether these defects are also confirmed in common forms of human obesity. For this purpose, we used the P465L PPARγ mouse as a model of dysfunctional PPARγ that recapitulates the human pparγ mutation (P467L). We demonstrated that defective PPARγ impairs catecholamine-induced lipolysis. This abnormal lipolytic response is exacerbated by a state of positive energy balance in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. We identified the protein kinase A (PKA) network as a PPARγ-dependent regulatory node of the lipolytic response. Specifically, defective PPARγ is associated with decreased basal expression of prkaca (PKAcatα) and d-akap1, the lipase genes Pnplaz (ATGL) and Lipe (HSL), and lipid droplet protein genes fsp27 and adrp in vivo and in vitro. Our data indicate that PPARγ is required for activation of the lipolytic regulatory network, dysregulation of which is an important feature of obesity-induced insulin resistance in humans.

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer and the leading cause of cancer‐related deaths in women worldwide. The prognosis of breast cancer is tightly correlated with the degree of spread beyond the primary tumour. Arachidonic acid (AA) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) are known to regulate tumour metastasis enabling epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the detailed role of 15‐hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (HPGD), the key enzyme degrading prostaglandin E2, remains unclear in breast cancer. Here, we show that HPGD mRNA is overexpressed in a subset of clinical breast cancers compared to normal breast tissue samples and that high HPGD mRNA expression associates with poor prognosis. Immunohistochemical staining of primary breast cancer and lymph node metastasis tissue samples confirmed high HPGD protein expression in 20% of the samples, as well as associated HPGD expression with aggressive characteristics, such as increased risk of disease relapse and shorter disease‐free survival. Results from cultured cells indicated abundant HPGD expression in highly metastatic breast cancer cells, and impairment of HPGD expression using RNA interference led to a significant decrease in transforming growth factor‐β signalling, in cellular arachidonic acid levels as well as in cell migration. Furthermore, gene expression microarray analysis followed by quantitative RT‐PCR validation showed that HPGD silencing decreased aryl hydrocarbon receptor signalling and induced mesenchymal‐epithelial transition. In conclusion, our results indicate that HPGD is highly expressed in metastatic and aggressive breast cancer and promotes EMT and migration in breast cancer cells.

The metabolome is sensitive to genetic and environmental factors contributing to complex diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). Metabolomics is the study of biochemical and physiological processes involving metabolites. It is therefore one of the key platforms for the discovery and study of pathophysiological phenomena leading to T1D and the development of T1D-associated complications. Although the application of metabolomics in T1D research is still rare, metabolomic research has already advanced across the full spectrum, from disease progression to the development of diabetic complications. Metabolomic studies in T1D have contributed to an improved etiopathogenic understanding and demonstrated their potential in the clinic. For example, metabolomic data from recent T1D studies suggest that a specific metabolic profile, or metabotype, precedes islet autoimmunity and the development of overt T1D. These early metabolic changes are attributed to many biochemical pathways, thus suggesting a systemic change in metabolism which may be inborn. Based on this evidence, the role of the metabolome in the progression to T1D is therefore to facilitate specific biochemical processes associated with T1D, and to contribute to the development of a vulnerable state in which disease is more likely to be triggered. This may have important implications for the understanding of T1D pathophysiology and early disease detection and prevention.

Paula Vainio 1 , Laura Lehtinen 1 , Tuomas Mirtti 2,3,4 , Mika Hilvo 5 , Tuulikki Seppanen-Laakso 5 , Johannes Virtanen 1 , Anna Sankila 4 , Stig Nordling 4 , Johan Lundin 3 , Antti Rannikko 6 , Matej Oresic 5 , Olli Kallioniemi 1,3 and Kristiina Iljin 1 1 Medical Biotechnology, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, Finland 2 Haartman Institute, Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Finland 3 Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, Finland 4 HUSLAB, Department of Pathology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland 5 Bio and Process Technology, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland 6 Department of Urology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland Received: December 20, 2011; Accepted: December 22, 2011; Published: December 22, 2011; Keywords: Prostate cancer, PLA2G7, drug target, biomarker, statins Correspondence: Kristiina Iljin, email: // // Abstract Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in men in developed countries. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease, design of novel personalized treatments is required to achieve efficient therapeutic responses. We have recently identified phospholipase 2 group VII ( PLA2G7 ) as a potential drug target especially in ERG oncogene positive prostate cancers. Here, the expression profile of PLA2G7 was studied in 1137 prostate cancer and 409 adjacent non-malignant prostate tissues using immunohistochemistry to validate its biomarker potential and putative association with disease progression. In order to reveal the molecular alterations induced by PLA2G7 impairment, lipidomic and gene expression profiling was performed in response to PLA2G7 silencing in cultured prostate cancer cells. Moreover, the antineoplastic effect of statins combined with PLA2G7 impairment was studied in prostate cancer cells to evaluate the potential of repositioning of in vivo compatible drugs developed for other indications towards anti-cancer purposes. The results indicated that PLA2G7 is a cancer-selective biomarker in 50 % of prostate cancers and associates with aggressive disease. The alterations induced by PLA2G7 silencing highlighted the potential of PLA2G7 inhibition as an anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic and anti-migratorial therapeutic approach in prostate cancer. Moreover, the anti-proliferative effect of PLA2G7 silencing was potentiated by lipid-lowering statins in prostate cancer cells. Taken together, our results support the potential of PLA2G7 as a biomarker and a drug target in prostate cancer and present a rationale for combining PLA2G7 inhibition with the use of statins in prostate cancer management.

Changes in lipid metabolism are an important but not well-characterized hallmark of cancer. On the basis of our recent findings of lipidomic changes in breast cancer, we investigated glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAM), a key enzyme in the lipid biosynthesis of triacylglycerols and phospholipids. GPAM protein expression was evaluated and linked to metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in a cohort of human breast carcinomas. In addition, GPAM mRNA expression was analyzed using the GeneSapiens in silico transcriptiomics database. High cytoplasmic GPAM expression was associated with hormone receptor negative status (p = 0.013). On the protein (p = 0.048) and mRNA (p = 0.001) levels, increased GPAM expression was associated with a better overall survival. Metabolomic analysis by GC-MS showed that sn-glycerol-3-phosphate, the substrate of GPAM, was elevated in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue. LC-MS based lipidomic analysis identified significantly higher levels of phospholipids, especially phosphatidylcholines in GPAM protein positive tumors. In conclusion, our results suggest that GPAM is expressed in human breast cancer with associated changes in the cellular metabolism, in particular an increased synthesis of phospholipids, the major structural component of cellular membranes.

AimsPeroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivators PGC1α and PGC1β modulate mitochondrial biogenesis and energy homeostasis. The function of these transcriptional coactivators is impaired in obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. We searched for transcriptomic, lipidomic, and electrophysiological alterations in PGC1β−/− hearts potentially associated with increased arrhythmic risk in metabolic diseases.Methods and resultsMicroarray analysis in mouse PGC1β−/− hearts confirmed down-regulation of genes related to oxidative phosphorylation and the electron transport chain and up-regulation of hypertrophy- and hypoxia-related genes. Lipidomic analysis showed increased levels of the pro-arrhythmic and pro-inflammatory lipid, lysophosphatidylcholine. PGC1β−/− mouse electrocardiograms showed irregular heartbeats and an increased incidence of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia following isoprenaline infusion. Langendorff-perfused PGC1β−/− hearts showed action potential alternans, early after-depolarizations, and ventricular tachycardia. PGC1β−/− ventricular myocytes showed oscillatory resting potentials, action potentials with early and delayed after-depolarizations, and burst firing during sustained current injection. They showed abnormal diastolic Ca2+ transients, whose amplitude and frequency were increased by isoprenaline, and Ca2+ currents with negatively shifted inactivation characteristics, with increased window currents despite unaltered levels of CACNA1C RNA transcripts. Inwardly and outward rectifying K+ currents were all increased. Quantitiative RT-PCR demonstrated increased SCN5A, KCNA5, RYR2, and Ca2+-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II expression.ConclusionPGC1β−/− hearts showed a lysophospholipid-induced cardiac lipotoxicity and impaired bioenergetics accompanied by an ion channel remodelling and altered Ca2+ homeostasis, converging to produce a ventricular arrhythmic phenotype particularly during adrenergic stress. This could contribute to the increased cardiac mortality associated with both metabolic and cardiac disease attributable to lysophospholipid accumulation.

Infantile cardiomyopathies are devastating fatal disorders of the neonatal period or the first year of life. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a common cause of this group of diseases, but the underlying gene defects have been characterized in only a minority of cases, because tissue specificity of the manifestation hampers functional cloning and the heterogeneity of causative factors hinders collection of informative family materials. We sequenced the exome of a patient who died at the age of 10 months of hypertrophic mitochondrial cardiomyopathy with combined cardiac respiratory chain complex I and IV deficiency. Rigorous data analysis allowed us to identify a homozygous missense mutation in AARS2, which we showed to encode the mitochondrial alanyl-tRNA synthetase (mtAlaRS). Two siblings from another family, both of whom died perinatally of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, had the same mutation, compound heterozygous with another missense mutation. Protein structure modeling of mtAlaRS suggested that one of the mutations affected a unique tRNA recognition site in the editing domain, leading to incorrect tRNA aminoacylation, whereas the second mutation severely disturbed the catalytic function, preventing tRNA aminoacylation. We show here that mutations in AARS2 cause perinatal or infantile cardiomyopathy with near-total combined mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiency in the heart. Our results indicate that exome sequencing is a powerful tool for identifying mutations in single patients and allows recognition of the genetic background in single-gene disorders of variable clinical manifestation and tissue-specific disease. Furthermore, we show that mitochondrial disorders extend to prenatal life and are an important cause of early infantile cardiac failure.

Activation of lipid metabolism is an early event in carcinogenesis and a central hallmark of many cancers. However, the precise molecular composition of lipids in tumors remains generally poorly characterized. The aim of the present study was to analyze the global lipid profiles of breast cancer, integrate the results to protein expression, and validate the findings by functional experiments. Comprehensive lipidomics was conducted in 267 human breast tissues using ultraperformance liquid chromatography/ mass spectrometry. The products of de novo fatty acid synthesis incorporated into membrane phospholipids, such as palmitate-containing phosphatidylcholines, were increased in tumors as compared with normal breast tissues. These lipids were associated with cancer progression and patient survival, as their concentration was highest in estrogen receptor–negative and grade 3 tumors. In silico transcriptomics database was utilized in investigating the expression of lipid metabolism related genes in breast cancer, and on the basis of these results, the expression of specific proteins was studied by immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that several genes regulating lipid metabolism were highly expressed in clinical breast cancer samples and supported also the lipidomics results. Gene silencing experiments with seven genes [ACACA (acetyl-CoA carboxylase α), ELOVL1 (elongation of very long chain fatty acid–like 1), FASN (fatty acid synthase), INSIG1 (insulin-induced gene 1), SCAP (sterol regulatory element–binding protein cleavage–activating protein), SCD (stearoyl-CoA desaturase), and THRSP (thyroid hormone–responsive protein)] indicated that silencing of multiple lipid metabolism–regulating genes reduced the lipidomic profiles and viability of the breast cancer cells. Taken together, our results imply that phospholipids may have diagnostic potential as well as that modulation of their metabolism may provide therapeutic opportunities in breast cancer treatment. Cancer Res; 71(9); 3236–45. ©2011 AACR.

The human colon contains a diverse microbial population which contributes to degradation and metabolism of food components. Drug metabolism in the colon is generally poorly understood. Metabolomics techniques and in vitro colon models are now available which afford detailed characterization of drug metabolites in the context of colon metabolism. The aim of this work was to identify novel drug metabolites of Simvastatin (SV) by using an anaerobic human in vitro colon model at body temperature coupled with systems biology platform, excluding the metabolism of the host liver and intestinal epithelia. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with a time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC*GC-TOFMS) was used for the metabolomic analysis. Metabolites showing the most significant differences in the active faecal suspension were elucidated in reference with SV fragmentation and compared with controls: inactive suspension or buffer with SV, or with active suspension alone. Finally, time courses of selected metabolites were investigated. Our data suggest that SV is degraded by hydrolytic cleavage of methylbutanoic acid from the SV backbone. Metabolism involves demethylation of dimethylbutanoic acid, hydroxylation/dehydroxylation and ß-oxidation resulting in the production of 2-hydroxyisovaleric acid (3-methyl-2-hydroxybutanoic acid), 3-hydroxybutanoic acid and lactic acid (2-hydroxypropanoic acid), and finally re-cyclisation of heptanoic acid (possibly de-esterified and cleaved methylpyranyl arm) to produce cyclohexanecarboxylic acid. Our study elucidates a pathway of colonic microbial metabolism of SV as well as demonstrates the applicability of the in vitro colon model and metabolomics to the discovery of novel drug metabolites from drug response profiles.

Aim:The Wnt/β-catenin signaling network offers potential targets to diagnose and uncouple obesity from its metabolic complications. In this study, we investigate the role of the Wnt antagonist, secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1), in promoting adipogenesis in vitro and adipose tissue expansion in vivo.Methods:We use a combination of human and murine, in vivo and in vitro models of adipogenesis, adipose tissue expansion and obesity-related metabolic syndrome to profile the involvement of SFRP1.Results:SFRP1 is expressed in both murine and human mature adipocytes. The expression of SFRP1 is induced during in vitro adipogenesis, and SFRP1 is preferentially expressed in mature adipocytes in human adipose tissue. Constitutive ectopic expression of SFRP1 is proadipogenic and inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In vivo endogenous levels of adipose SFRP1 are regulated in line with proadipogenic states. However, in longitudinal studies of high-fat-diet-fed mice, we observed a dynamic temporal but biphasic regulation of endogenous SFRP1. In agreement with this profile, we observed that SFRP1 expression in human tissues peaks in patients with mild obesity and gradually falls in morbidly obese subjects.Conclusions:Our results suggest that SFRP1 is an endogenous modulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and participates in the paracrine regulation of human adipogenesis. The reduced adipose expression of SFRP1 in morbid obesity and its knock-on effect to prevent further adipose tissue expansion may contribute to the development of metabolic complications in these individuals.

Background and aims Whole-grain cereals and diets with a low glycemic index may protect against the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. We studied the effect of carbohydrate modification on serum metabolic profiles, including lipids and branched chain amino acids, and dependencies between these and specific gene expression pathways in adipose tissue. Methods and results Twenty subjects with metabolic syndrome were selected from the larger FUNGENUT study population, randomized either to a diet high in oat and wheat bread and potato (OWP) or rye bread and pasta (RP). Serum metabolomics analyses were performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS), gas chromatography (GC) and UPLC. In the OWP group multiple proinflammatory lysophosphatidylcholines increased, while in the RP group docosahexaenoic acid (DHA 22:6n-3) increased and isoleucine decreased. mRNA expression of stress reactions- and adipose tissue differentiation-related genes were up-regulated in adipose tissue in the OWP group. In the RP group, however, pathways related to stress reactions and insulin signaling and energy metabolism were down-regulated. The lipid profiles had the strongest association with the changes in the adipose tissue differentiation pathway when using the elastic net regression model of the lipidomic profiles on selected pathways. Conclusion Our results suggest that the dietary carbohydrate modification alters the serum metabolic profile, especially in lysoPC species, and may, thus, contribute to proinflammatory processes which in turn promote adverse changes in insulin and glucose metabolism.

Overall Abstract: Schizophrenia is associated with a reduced life expectancy of 15–20 years due to a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Unhealthy lifestyles and pharmacological side effects have been suggested to be a major cause of excess mortality rates in patients with psychotic disorders. However, abnormal glucose homeostasis, hyperinsulinemia and accumulation of visceral fat are already detected in drug-naïve first episode psychosis (FEP) patients, independently of obesity. The aim of this symposium is to present the latest research on the theme of metabolic co-morbidities in psychotic disorders. Preliminary and published data from the symposium speakers suggests that FEP is associated with altered composition of gut microbiota, inflammation and lipid dysregulation including changes in the endocannabinoid system in the central nervous system. The studies presented in this symposium may offer new insights into the gut-brain axis in psychotic disorders as well as provide new evidence on the role of lipids as a potential underlying link between the aetiology of psychosis and the associated metabolic disturbances. All four speakers are principal investigators in the European FP7 project METSY, which aims to identify and evaluate multi-modal peripheral and neuroimaging markers that can predict and monitor psychotic and metabolic symptoms, with specific focus on metabolic co-morbidities in psychotic disorders. Oliver Howes will first introduce the topic, based on his recent meta-analysis (JAMA Psychiatry 2017; 74; 261–269) as well as present his recent research on neuroimaging of the endocannabinoid system in FEP. Jaana Suvisaari will present her recent research on gut microbiome and inflammation in FEP. The findings so far suggest that FEP patients have specifically altered gut microbiome composition and increased levels of inflammation. Tuulia Hyötyläinen will introduce the field of metabolomics in psychosis research and discuss the latest findings from at-risk mental state individuals and FEP patients. Recently published findings suggest that FEP patients who later rapidly gain weight are characterised by increased markers of liver fat at the baseline. Jarmo Hietala will present neuroimaging studies of the endocannabinoid system using PET and the [18F]FMPEP-d2 tracer, a CB1R radioligand. These studies suggest a major sex difference in the brain CB1 receptor system as well as clear evidence for a dysregulated endocannabinoid system in first-episode psychosis. Given the endocannabinoid system in the periphery promotes the development of fatty liver, the presented work together suggests that the endocannabinoid system may be the underlying link between the psychosis and the associated metabolic disturbances. This intriguing possibility with potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications will be discussed by the presenters. The discussant Matej Oresic is the coordinator of the METSY project.

Angiotensin II (Ang II) induces mitochondrial dysfunction. We tested whether Ang II alters the “metabolomic” profile. We harvested hearts from 8-week-old double transgenic rats harboring human renin and angiotensinogen genes (dTGRs) and controls (Sprague-Dawley), all with or without Ang II type 1 receptor (valsartan) blockade. We used gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry to detect 247 intermediary metabolites. We used a partial least-squares discriminate analysis and identified 112 metabolites that differed significantly after corrections (false discovery rate q P

The gut microbiota has recently been identified as an environmental factor that may promote metabolic diseases. To investigate the effect of gut microbiota on host energy and lipid metabolism, we compared the serum metabolome and the lipidomes of serum, adipose tissue, and liver of conventionally raised (CONV-R) and germ-free mice. The serum metabolome of CONV-R mice was characterized by increased levels of energy metabolites, e.g., pyruvic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid, while levels of cholesterol and fatty acids were reduced. We also showed that the microbiota modified a number of lipid species in the serum, adipose tissue, and liver, with its greatest effect on triglyceride and phosphatidylcholine species. Triglyceride levels were lower in serum but higher in adipose tissue and liver of CONV-R mice, consistent with increased lipid clearance. Our findings show that the gut microbiota affects both host energy and lipid metabolism and highlights its role in the development of metabolic diseases., Human Frontier of Science Program RGY64/2008 Swedish Research Council K2007-65X-20421-01-04 Lars Hierta's Foundation Nanna Svartz Foundation Fredrik and Ingrid Thurings Foundations Swedish Nutrition Foundation Vastra Gotalandsregionen

Thyroid hormones have widespread cellular effects; however it is unclear whether their effects on the central nervous system (CNS) contribute to global energy balance. Here we demonstrate that either whole-body hyperthyroidism or central administration of triiodothyronine (T3) decreases the activity of hypothalamic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), increases sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and upregulates thermogenic markers in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Inhibition of the lipogenic pathway in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) prevents CNS-mediated activation of BAT by thyroid hormone and reverses the weight loss associated with hyperthyroidism. Similarly, inhibition of thyroid hormone receptors in the VMH reverses the weight loss associated with hyperthyroidism. This regulatory mechanism depends on AMPK inactivation, as genetic inhibition of this enzyme in the VMH of euthyroid rats induces feeding-independent weight loss and increases expression of thermogenic markers in BAT. These effects are reversed by pharmacological blockade of the SNS. Thus, thyroid hormone-induced modulation of AMPK activity and lipid metabolism in the hypothalamus is a major regulator of whole-body energy homeostasis.

BackgroundLittle is known about the effect of fish consumption on gene expression of inflammation-related genes in immune cells in coronary heart disease (CHD).Aim of the studyWe sought to evaluate the effect of a fatty fish (FF) or a lean fish (LF) diet on the modulation of inflammatory and endothelial function-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of subjects with CHD, and its association with serum fatty acid (FA) profile and lipid metabolic compounds.MethodsData from 27 patients randomized into an 8-week FF (n = 10; mean ± SD: 4.3 ± 0.4 portions of fish per week), LF (n = 11; 4.7 ± 1.1 portions of fish per week), or control diet (n = 6; 0.6 ± 0.4 portions of fish per week) were analyzed. The mRNA expression was measured using real-time PCR.ResultsThe effect of the intervention on the mRNA expression of the genes studied did not differ among groups. In the FF group, however, the decrease in arachidonic acid to eicosapentaenoic acid (AA:EPA) ratio in cholesterol ester and phospholipid fractions strongly correlated with the change in IL1B mRNA levels (r s = 0.60, P = 0.06 and r s = 0.86, P = 0.002, respectively). In the LF group, the decrease in palmitic acid and total saturated FAs in cholesterol esters correlated with the change in intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) expression (r s = 0.64, P = 0.04 for both). Circulating levels of soluble ICAM-1 decreased only in the LF group (P ConclusionsThe intake of FF or LF diet did not alter the expression of inflammatory and endothelial function-related genes in PBMCs of patients with CHD. However, the decrease in AA:EPA ratio in serum lipids in the FF group may induce an anti-inflammatory response at mRNA levels in PBMCs. A LF diet might benefit endothelial function, possibly mediated by the changes in serum FA composition.