Summary While normally dormant, Hair Follicle Stem Cells (HFSCs) quickly become activated to divide during a new hair cycle. The quiescence of HFSCs is known to be regulated by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. Here we provide several lines of evidence to demonstrate that HFSCs utilize glycolytic metabolism and produce significantly more lactate than other cells in the epidermis. Furthermore, lactate generation appears to be critical for the activation of HFSCs as deletion of lactate dehydrogenase (Ldha) prevented their activation. Conversely, genetically promoting lactate production in HFSCs through mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (Mpc1) deletion accelerated their activation and the hair cycle. Finally, we identify small molecules that increase lactate production by stimulating Myc levels or inhibiting Mpc1 carrier activity and can topically induce the hair cycle. These data suggest that HFSCs maintain a metabolic state that allow them to remain dormant and yet quickly respond to appropriate proliferative stimuli.

The metabolic state of a cell is influenced by cell-extrinsic factors, including nutrient availability and growth factor signaling. Here, we present extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling as another fundamental node of cell-extrinsic metabolic regulation. Unbiased analysis of glycolytic drivers identified the hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor as being among the most highly correlated with glycolysis in cancer. Confirming a mechanistic link between the ECM component hyaluronan and metabolism, treatment of cells and xenografts with hyaluronidase triggers a robust increase in glycolysis. This is largely achieved through rapid receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated induction of the mRNA decay factor ZFP36, which targets TXNIP transcripts for degradation. Because TXNIP promotes internalization of the glucose transporter GLUT1, its acute decline enriches GLUT1 at the plasma membrane. Functionally, induction of glycolysis by hyaluronidase is required for concomitant acceleration of cell migration. This interconnection between ECM remodeling and metabolism is exhibited in dynamic tissue states, including tumorigenesis and embryogenesis.

Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) disease is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized clinically by neonatal jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, vertical gaze palsy, ataxia, dystonia, and progressive neurodegeneration. The present study provides basic clinical and health information from the National Niemann-Pick C1 disease database that was obtained using a clinical questionnaire of 83 questions mailed to families affected by NPC1 disease living in the United States. The study was conducted over a 1-year period, during which time parents/caregivers and physicians completed the clinical questionnaire. Sixty-four percent (87/136) of the questionnaires were returned, with 53% and 47% representing male and female NPC1 patients, respectively. The average age of diagnosis for NPC1 disease was 10.4 years, with one-half of patients being diagnosed before the age of 6.9 years. The average age of death for NPC1 disease was 16.2 years, with one-half of patients dying before the age of 12.5 years. A common clinical symptom reported at birth was neonatal jaundice (52%), followed by enlargement of the spleen (36%) and liver (31%); ascites (19%) and neonatal hypotonia (6%) were much less frequent. With respect to developmental difficulties, the most common findings included clumsiness (87%), learning difficulties (87%), ataxia (83%), dysphagia (80%), and vertical gaze palsy (81%). Together, these findings confirm and extend previous reports investigating the clinical features associated with NPC1 disease.

Niemann-Pick type C1 disease (NPC1) is an autosomal recessive lipid storage disorder characterized by clinical manifestations involving primarily the liver and brain ( 1 ). The onset of signs or symptoms can occur at any age and have a variable phenotype. The classic clinical phenotype is also variable and includes mid-to-late childhood onset of gait disturbance followed by progressive neurodegeneration with vertical gaze palsy, seizures, and dementia, resulting in death during the second or third decade ( 2-4 ). The clinical phenotype of NPC1 disease has been categorized according to the age of onset of symptoms ( 5, 6 ), including an early-onset, rapidly progressive form associated with hepatic dysfunction and psychomotor delay during infancy, the classic form, and a late-onset type characterized by a slowly progressive intellectual impairment in adolescence or adulthood.The gene responsible for NPC1 disease, NPC1 , was localized to chromosome 18 using linkage analysis and subsequently identifi ed using positional mapping and Abstract Niemann-Pick type C1 disease (NPC1) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder characterized by neonatal jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, and progressive neurodegeneration. The present study provides the lipid profi les, mutations, and corresponding associations with the biochemical phenotype obtained from NPC1 patients who participated in the National NPC1 Disease Database. Lipid profi les were obtained from 34 patients (39%) in the survey and demonstrated signifi cantly reduced plasma LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased plasma triglycerides in the majority of patients. Reduced plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) was the most consistent lipoprotein abnormality found in male and female NPC1 patients across age groups and occurred independent of changes in plasma triglycerides. A subset of 19 patients for whom the biochemical severity of known NPC1 mutations could be correlated with their lipid profi le showed a strong inverse correlation between plasma HDL-C and severity of the biochemical phenotype. Gene mutations were available for 52 patients (59%) in the survey, including 52 different mutations and fi ve novel mutations (Y628C, P887L, I923V, A1151T, and 3741_ 3744delACTC). Together, these fi ndings provide novel information regarding the plasma lipoprotein changes and mutations in NPC1 disease, and suggest plasma HDL-C represents a potential biomarker of NPC1 disease severity. -Garver, W.

Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) disease is an autosomal-recessive cholesterol-storage disorder characterized by liver dysfunction, hepatosplenomegaly, and progressive neurodegeneration. The NPC1 gene is expressed in every tissue of the body, with liver expressing the highest amounts of NPC1 mRNA and protein. A number of studies have now indicated that the NPC1 protein regulates the transport of cholesterol from late endosomes/lysosomes to other cellular compartments involved in maintaining intracellular cholesterol homeostasis. The present study characterizes liver disease and lipid metabolism in NPC1 mice at 35 days of age before the development of weight loss and neurological symptoms. At this age, homozygous affected (NPC1(-/-)) mice were characterized with mild hepatomegaly, an elevation of liver enzymes, and an accumulation of liver cholesterol approximately four times that measured in normal (NPC1(+/+)) mice. In contrast, heterozygous (NPC1(+/-)) mice were without hepatomegaly and an elevation of liver enzymes, but the livers had a significant accumulation of triacylglycerol. With respect to apolipoprotein and lipoprotein metabolism, the results indicated only minor alterations in NPC1(-/-) mouse serum. Finally, compared to NPC1(+/+) mouse livers, the amount and processing of SREBP-1 and -2 proteins were significantly increased in NPC1(-/-) mouse livers, suggesting a relative deficiency of cholesterol at the metabolically active pool of cholesterol located at the endoplasmic reticulum. The results from this study further support the hypothesis that an accumulation of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol within late endosomes/lysosomes, in addition to altered intracellular cholesterol homeostasis, has a key role in the biochemical and cellular pathophysiology associated with NPC1 liver disease.

Therapeutic drug monitoring is essential for dosing pharmaceuticals with narrow therapeutic windows. Nevertheless, standard methods are imprecise and involve invasive/resource-intensive procedures with long turnaround times. Overcoming these limitations, we present a microneedle-based electrochemical aptamer biosensing patch (μNEAB-patch) that minimally invasively probes the interstitial fluid (ISF) and renders correlated, continuous, and real-time measurements of the circulating drugs’ pharmacokinetics. The μNEAB-patch is created following an introduced low-cost fabrication scheme, which transforms a shortened clinical-grade needle into a high-quality gold nanoparticle-based substrate for robust aptamer immobilization and efficient electrochemical signal retrieval. This enables the reliable in vivo detection of a wide library of ISF analytes—especially those with nonexistent natural recognition elements. Accordingly, we developed μNEABs targeting various drugs, including antibiotics with narrow therapeutic windows (tobramycin and vancomycin). Through in vivo animal studies, we demonstrated the strong correlation between the ISF/circulating drug levels and the device’s potential clinical use for timely prediction of total drug exposure.

A recent population-based genome-wide association study has revealed that the Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) gene is associated with early-onset and morbid adult obesity. Concurrently, our candidate gene-based mouse growth study performed using the BALB/cJ NPC1 mouse model (Npc1) with decreased Npc1 gene dosage independently supported these results by suggesting an Npc1 gene-diet interaction in relation to early-onset weight gain. To further investigate the Npc1 gene in relation to weight gain and metabolic features associated with insulin resistance, we interbred BALB/cJ Npc1(+/-) mice with wild-type C57BL/6J mice, the latter mouse strain commonly used to study aspects of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. This breeding produced a hybrid (BALB/cJ-C57BL/6J) Npc1(+/-) mouse model with increased susceptibility to weight gain and insulin resistance. The results from our study indicated that these Npc1(+/-) mice were susceptible to increased weight gain characterized by increased whole body and abdominal adiposity, adipocyte hypertrophy and hepatic steatosis in the absence of hyperphagia. Moreover, these Npc1(+/-) mice developed abnormal metabolic features characterized by impaired fasting glucose, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, hyperleptinemia and dyslipidemia marked by an increased concentration of cholesterol and triacylglycerol associated with low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein. The overall results are consistent with a unique Npc1 gene-diet interaction that promotes both weight gain and metabolic features associated with insulin resistance. Therefore, the NPC1 gene now represents a previously unrecognized gene involved in maintaining energy and metabolic homeostasis that will contribute to our understanding concerning the current global epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) protein regulates the transport of cholesterol from late endosomes/lysosomes to other compartments responsible for maintaining intracellular cholesterol homeostasis. The present study examined the expression of the NPC1 gene and the distribution of the NPC1 protein that resulted from the transport of LDL-derived cholesterol through normal human fibroblasts. A key finding was that the transport of cholesterol from late endosomes/lysosomes to the sterol-regulatory pool at the endoplasmic reticulum, as determined by feedback inhibition of the sterol-regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) pathway, was associated with the downregulation of the NPC1 gene. Consistent with these results, fibroblasts incubated with LDL had decreased amounts of SREBP protein that interacted with sterol-regulatory element (SRE) sequences positioned within the NPC1 gene promoter region. Finally, partial colocalization of the NPC1 protein with late endosomes/lysosomes and distinct regions of the endoplasmic reticulum suggested that the NPC1 protein may facilitate the transport of cholesterol directly between these two compartments. Together, these results indicate that the transport of LDL-derived cholesterol from late endosomes/lysosomes to the sterol-regulatory pool, known to be regulated by the NPC1 protein, is responsible for promoting feedback inhibition of the SREBP pathway and downregulation of the NPC1 gene.-Garver, W. S.,