Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADFP; also known as ADRP or adipophilin), is a lipid droplet (LD) protein found in most cells and tissues. ADFP expression is strongly induced in cells with increased lipid load. We have inactivated the Adfp gene in mice to better understand its role in lipid accumulation. The Adfpdeficient mice have unaltered adipose differentiation or lipolysis in vitro or in vivo. Importantly, they display a 60% reduction in hepatic triglyceride (TG) and are resistant to diet-induced fatty liver. To determine the mechanism for the reduced hepatic TG content, we measured hepatic lipogenesis, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion, and lipid uptake and utilization, all of which parameters were shown to be similar between mutant and wild-type mice. The finding of similar VLDL output in the presence of a reduction in total TG in the Adfp-deficient liver is explained by the retention of TG in the microsomes where VLDL is assembled. Given that lipid droplets are thought to form from the outer leaflet of the microsomal membrane, the reduction of TG in the cytosol with concomitant accumulation of TG in the microsome of Adfp ؊/؊ cells suggests that ADFP may facilitate the formation of new LDs. In the absence of ADFP, impairment of LD formation is associated with the accumulation of microsomal TG but a reduction in TG in other subcellular compartments.Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADFP) was first isolated by differential hybridization screening of 1246 cells during their differentiation to adipocytes (29). Its mRNA is induced 100 fold during the process. Using 3T3L1 cells, Brasaemle et al. (3) showed that Adfp gene expression is induced early, at day 1 of adipocyte differentiation, and that mRNA levels are maintained throughout differentiation. In contrast, ADFP protein levels, initially upregulated, gradually go down after day 4 (3), suggesting that these levels are subject to significant translational or posttranslational regulation. At the same time, upregulation of perilipin (PLIN), another lipid droplet (LD) protein, is observed at day 4 of differentiation; it has been postulated that perilipin and ADFP might compete for LD localization during the differentiation of 3T3L1 cells (3, 36). ADFP protein is localized to the surface of the LD, though it also has been detected in the LD core by freeze fracture electron microscopy (49, 50).ADFP shares sequence homology with other LD proteins including perilipin and Tip47, collectively known as PAT domain-containing proteins (36, 43), as well as with another LD protein, S3-12 (53). S3-12 shares a 11-amino-acid repeat motif with ADFP, in addition to another region of homology to both ADFP and Tip47 at its carboxyl terminus (6,24,36). With the exception of perilipin, which is expressed only in fat and steroidogenic tissues, the other LD proteins are detected in a variety of cells and tissues (22). Perilipin is phosphorylated by protein kinase A during lipolysis, resulting in an altered conformation to allow hormone-sensitive lipase ...

Background-Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration is a strong predictor of atherosclerosis. However, to date, there is no in vivo evidence that CRP is proatherogenic. Methods and Results-We studied the effect of human CRP transgene (tg) expression, under basal and turpentinestimulated conditions, on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein (apo) E Ϫ/Ϫ mice. Aortic atherosclerotic lesions in 29-week-old male mice were 48% larger (PϽ0.02) in turpentine-treated mice and 34% larger (PϽ0.05) in untreated CRPtg

Background-Monocyte activation and migration into the arterial wall are key events in atherogenesis associated with hypercholesterolemia. CD11c/CD18, a ␤ 2 integrin expressed on human monocytes and a subset of mouse monocytes, has been shown to play a distinct role in human monocyte adhesion on endothelial cells, but the regulation of CD11c in hypercholesterolemia and its role in atherogenesis are unknown. Methods and Results-Mice genetically deficient in CD11c were generated and crossbred with apolipoprotein E (apoE) Ϫ/Ϫ mice to generate CD11c Ϫ/Ϫ /apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice. Using flow cytometry, we examined CD11c on blood leukocytes in apoE Ϫ/Ϫ hypercholesterolemic mice and found that compared with wild-type and apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice on a normal diet, apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice on a Western high-fat diet had increased CD11c ϩ monocytes. Circulating CD11c ϩ monocytes from apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice fed a high-fat diet exhibited cytoplasmic lipid vacuoles and expressed higher levels of CD11b and CD29. Deficiency of CD11c decreased firm arrest of mouse monocytes on vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin in a shear flow assay, reduced monocyte/macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic lesions, and decreased atherosclerosis development in apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mice on a high-fat diet. Conclusions-CD11c, which increases on blood monocytes during hypercholesterolemia, plays an important role in monocyte recruitment and atherosclerosis development in an apoE Ϫ/Ϫ mouse model of hypercholesterolemia. Key Words: atherosclerosis Ⅲ cell adhesion molecules Ⅲ leukocytes A therosclerosis associated with hypercholesterolemia is a complex inflammatory process, characterized pathologically by recruitment of monocytic leukocytes in the arterial wall and lipid accumulation in monocytic leukocytes. 1 Monocyte recruitment is a multistep process mediated by adhesion molecules, beginning with rolling, which is mediated by short-lived bonds between E-selectin on endothelial cells (ECs) and sialylated ligands such as P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 on monocytes, followed by firm arrest facilitated through interactions between activated ␤ 1 and ␤ 2 integrins on monocytes with vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on ECs. Firmly arrested monocytes subsequently undergo transmigration through other adhesion molecules. 2,3 Therefore, adhesion molecules participating in monocyte-EC interactions play a critical role in atherogenesis. 4 EC activation induced by hypercholesterolemia increases expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and E-selectin, thereby contributing to atherogenesis. 4 -6 However, the effect of hypercholesterolemia on monocyte activation and its contribution to atherogenesis are less defined. Clinical Perspective on p 2717The ␤ 2 integrins, which include CD11a/CD18, CD11b/ CD18, CD11c/CD18, and CD11d/CD18, 7 contribute to atherogenesis as evidenced by a significant reduction in atherosclerosis development in CD18 Ϫ/Ϫ mice, which lack all 4 CD11/CD18 integrins. 4 CD11b has been used as an activation marker for monocytes/macrophages...

Previous reports showed that recombinant fragments of adiponectin (adipo) displayed pharmacological effects when injected into rodents, but the relevance of these observations to the physiological function of adipo is unclear. We generated Adipo ؊/؊ mice by gene targeting. Adipo ؊/؊ mice are fertile with normal body and fat pad weights. Plasma glucose and insulin levels of Adipo ؊/؊ and Adipo ؉/؉ mice are similar under fasting conditions and during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (GTT). Insulin tolerance test (ITT) also produces similar plasma glucose and insulin levels in the two groups of mice. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp analysis showed that Adipo ؊/؊ and Adipo ؉/؉ mice have similar glucose infusion rates to maintain a similar serum glucose. High-fat diet feeding for 7 months led to similar weight gain and similar GTT and ITT responses. We next measured ␤-oxidation and found it to be significantly increased in muscle and liver of Adipo ؊/؊ mice. In conclusion, our study indicates that absence of adipo causes increased ␤-oxidation but does not cause glucose intolerance or insulin resistance in mice.