The objective was to assess the effect of a new, highly selective beta 3-adrenergic agonist, CL-316,243 (CL) (J. D. Bloom, M. D. Dutia, B. D. Johnson, A. Wissner, M. G. Burns, E. E. Largis, J. A. Dolan, and T. H. Claus., J. Med. Chem. 35: 3081, 1992), on energy balance and brown and white adipose tissues (BAT and WAT, respectively) in young rats eating a high-fat diet to induce obesity. Chronic treatment with CL increased body temperature and 24-h energy expenditure, mainly by increasing resting metabolic rate. Food intake was not altered but carcass fat was reduced. Interscapular BAT was markedly hypertrophied, with three- to fourfold increases in the content of uncoupling protein (UCP) and cytochrome oxidase. Quantitative immunoelectron microscopy of interscapular BAT of CL-treated rats showed smaller mitochondria with an unchanged total amount of UCP per mitochondrion. The relative frequency of the four major cell types in BAT (mature brown adipocytes, preadipocytes, interstitial cells, endothelial cells) was not altered. The CL-induced hypertrophy differed from that induced by chronic stimulation by endogenous norepinephrine (as in cold-adaptation) in absence of hyperplasia (there was a slightly reduced DNA content), absence of an increase in the thyroxine (T4) 5'-deiodinase activity, and absence of a selective increase in UCP concentration. WAT depots weighed less and had fewer cells (lower DNA content) in the CL-treated rats. Some multilocular adipocytes appeared in these normally almost exclusively unilocular WAT depots (mesenteric, inguinal, epididymal, retroperitoneal). We conclude that CL not only promotes BAT mitochondrial proliferation and thermogenesis and overall energy expenditure and leanness, but also retards the development of WAT hyperplasia during the early stage of diet-induced obesity.

No abstract

Atomic force microscopy reveal pit-like structures typically containing three or four, approximately 150 nm in diameter depressions at the apical plasma membrane in live pancreatic acinar cells. Stimulation of secretion causes these depressions to dilate and return to their resting size following completion of the process. Exposure of acinar cells to cytochalasin B results in decreased depression size and a loss in stimulable secretion. It is hypothesized that depressions are the fusion pores, where membrane-bound secretory vesicles dock and fuse to release vesicular contents. Zymogen granules, the membrane-bound secretory vesicles in exocrine pancreas, contain the starch digesting enzyme, amylase. Using amylase-specific immunogold labeling, localization of amylase at depressions following stimulation of secretion is demonstrated. This study confirms depressions to be the fusion pores in pancreatic acinar cells. High-resolution images of the fusion pore in live pancreatic acinar cells reveal the structure in much greater detail than has previously been observed.

Airways display robust NF-κB activation and represent targets for anti-inflammatory asthma therapies, but the functional importance of NF-κB activation in airway epithelium remains enigmatic. Therefore, transgenic mice were created in which NF-κB activation is repressed specifically in airways (CC10-IκBαSR mice). In response to inhaled Ag, transgenic mice demonstrated significantly ameliorated inflammation, reduced levels of chemokines, T cell cytokines, mucus cell metaplasia, and circulating IgE compared with littermate controls. Despite these findings, Ag-driven airways hyperresponsiveness was not attenuated in CC10-IκBαSR mice. This study clearly demonstrates that airway epithelial NF-κB activation orchestrates Ag-induced inflammation and subsequent adaptive immune responses, but does not contribute to airways hyperresponsiveness, the cardinal feature that underlies asthma.

Annexin A5 (AnxA5) is a potent anticoagulant protein that crystallizes over phospholipid bilayers (PLBs), blocking their availability for coagulation reactions. Antiphospholipid antibodies disrupt AnxA5 binding, thereby accelerating coagulation reactions. This disruption may contribute to thrombosis and miscarriages in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). We investigated whether the antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), might affect this prothrombotic mechanism. Binding of AnxA5 to PLBs was measured with labeled AnxA5 and also imaged with atomic force microscopy. Immunoglobulin G levels, AnxA5, and plasma coagulation times were measured on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells and a syncytialized trophoblast cell line. AnxA5 anticoagulant activities of APS patient plasmas were also determined. HCQ reversed the effect of antiphospholipid antibodies on AnxA5 and restored AnxA5 binding to PLBs, an effect corroborated by atomic force microscopy. Similar reversals of antiphospholipid-induced abnormalities were measured on the surfaces of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and syncytialized trophoblast cell lines, wherein HCQ reduced the binding of antiphospholipid antibodies, increased cell-surface AnxA5 concentrations, and prolonged plasma coagulation to control levels. In addition, HCQ increased the AnxA5 anticoagulant activities of APS patient plasmas. In conclusion, HCQ reversed antiphospholipid-mediated disruptions of AnxA5 on PLBs and cultured cells, and in APS patient plasmas. These results support the concept of novel therapeutic approaches that address specific APS disease mechanisms.

Several modes of cell death are now recognized, including necrosis, apoptosis, and autophagy. Oftentimes the distinctions between these various modes may not be apparent, although the precise mode may be physiologically important. Accordingly, it is often desirable to be able to classify the mode of cell death. Apoptosis was originally deWned by structural alterations in cells observable by transmitted light and electron microscopy. Today, a wide variety of imaging and cytochemical techniques are available for the investigation of apoptosis. This review will highlight many of these methods, and provide a critique on the advantages and disadvantages associated with them for the speciWc identiWcation of apoptotic cells in culture and tissues.

e Mitochondria are the main engine that generates ATP through oxidative phosphorylation within the respiratory chain. Mitochondrial respiration is regulated according to the metabolic needs of cells and can be modulated in response to metabolic changes. Little is known about the mechanisms that regulate this process. Here, we identify MCJ/DnaJC15 as a distinct cochaperone that localizes at the mitochondrial inner membrane, where it interacts preferentially with complex I of the electron transfer chain. We show that MCJ impairs the formation of supercomplexes and functions as a negative regulator of the respiratory chain. The loss of MCJ leads to increased complex I activity, mitochondrial membrane potential, and ATP production. Although MCJ is dispensable for mitochondrial function under normal physiological conditions, MCJ deficiency affects the pathophysiology resulting from metabolic alterations. Thus, enhanced mitochondrial respiration in the absence of MCJ prevents the pathological accumulation of lipids in the liver in response to both fasting and a high-cholesterol diet. Impaired expression or loss of MCJ expression may therefore result in a "rapid" metabolism that mitigates the consequences of metabolic disorders.

The antiphospholipid (aPL) syndrome is an autoimmune condition that is marked by recurrent pregnancy losses and/or systemic vascular thrombosis in patients who have antibodies against phospholipid/co-factor complexes. The mechanism(s) for pregnancy losses and thrombosis in this condition is (are) not known. Annexin A5 is a potent anticoagulant protein, expressed by placental trophoblasts and endothelial cells, that crystallizes over anionic phospholipids, shielding them from availability for coagulation reactions. We previously presented data supporting the hypothesis that aPL antibody-mediated disruption of the anticoagulant annexin A5 shield could be a thrombogenic mechanism in the aPL syndrome. However, this has remained a subject of controversy. We therefore used atomic force microscopy, a method previously used to study the crystallization of annexin A5, to image the effects of monoclonal human aPL antibodies on the crystal structure of the protein over phospholipid bilayers. In the presence of the aPL monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and beta(2)-GPI, the major aPL co-factor, structures presumed to be aPL mAb-antigen complexes were associated with varying degrees of disruption to the annexin A5 crystallization pattern over the bilayer. In addition, measurements of prothrombinase activity on the phospholipid bilayers showed that the aPL mAbs reduced the anti-coagulant effect of annexin A5 and promoted thrombin generation. These data provide morphological evidence that support the hypothesis that aPL antibodies can disrupt annexin A5 binding to phospholipid membranes and permit increased generation of thrombin. The aPL antibody-mediated disruption of the annexin A5 anticoagulant shield may be an important prothrombotic mechanism in the aPL syndrome.