(DR) in the sense that MR increases rodent longevity, but without food restriction. We report here that MR also persistently increases total energy expenditure (EE) and limits fat deposition despite increasing weightspecific food consumption. In Fischer 344 (F344) rats consuming control or MR diets for 3, 9, and 20 mo, mean EE was 1.5-fold higher in MR vs. control rats, primarily due to higher EE during the night at all ages. The day-to-night transition produced a twofold higher heat increment of feeding (3.0°C vs. 1.5°C) in MR vs. controls and an exaggerated increase in respiratory quotient (RQ) to values greater than 1, indicative of the interconversion of glucose to lipid by de novo lipogenesis. The simultaneous inhibition of glucose utilization and shift to fat oxidation during the day was also more complete in MR (RQ ϳ0.75) vs. controls (RQ ϳ0.85). Dietary MR produced a rapid and persistent increase in uncoupling protein 1 expression in brown (BAT) and white adipose tissue (WAT) in conjunction with decreased leptin and increased adiponectin levels in serum, suggesting that remodeling of the metabolic and endocrine function of adipose tissue may have an important role in the overall increase in EE. We conclude that the hyperphagic response to dietary MR is matched to a coordinated increase in uncoupled respiration, suggesting the engagement of a nutrient-sensing mechanism, which compensates for limited methionine through integrated effects on energy homeostasis. energy expenditure; metabolic efficiency; oxidative metabolism; futile cycles; adipose tissue; dietary restriction DIETARY METHIONINE RESTRICTION (MR) extends lifespan by 30 -35% in rats (28, 31) and mice (27) by delaying all causes of death. The increase in lifespan is accompanied by a reduction in adiposity that occurs despite a paradoxical increase in weight-specific food consumption (25,28,46). Pair-feeding studies comparing rats fed the control diet to the amount of MR diet consumed by the MR group clearly show that dietary MR decreases metabolic efficiency (25, 46), but the underlying basis for the metabolic responses to dietary MR remains poorly understood. Short-(12 wk) and long-term (80 wk) consumption of the MR diet after weaning also reduced circulating triglyceride, insulin, and leptin while increasing plasma adiponectin (25, 29). Collectively, work to date makes a compelling case that limitation of fat deposition by dietary MR is associated with preservation of insulin sensitivity and significant improvements in metabolic markers of lipid metabolism. Using the tools of metabolic phenotyping to examine energy homeostasis and peripheral substrate utilization, we found that dietary MR produced a significant long-term increase in EE that was temporally linked to exaggerated thermogenic responses to feeding and modest increases in resting EE. These physiological responses to MR limited fat deposition and were associated with significant changes in the metabolic and endocrine function of brown and white adipose tissue. MR effectively increas...

The transcriptional co-activator PGC-1␣ regulates functional plasticity in adipose tissue by linking sympathetic input to the transcriptional program of adaptive thermogenesis. We report here a novel truncated form of PGC-1␣ (NT-PGC-1␣) produced by alternative 3 splicing that introduces an in-frame stop codon into PGC-1␣ mRNA. The expressed protein includes the first 267 amino acids of PGC-1␣ and 3 additional amino acids from the splicing insert. NT-PGC-1␣ contains the transactivation and nuclear receptor interaction domains but is missing key domains involved in nuclear localization, interaction with other transcription factors, and protein degradation. Expression and subcellular localization of NT-PGC-1␣ are dynamically regulated in the context of physiological signals that regulate fulllength PGC-1␣, but the truncated domain structure conveys unique properties with respect to protein-protein interactions, protein stability, and recruitment to target gene promoters. Therefore, NT-PGC-1␣ is a co-expressed, previously unrecognized form of PGC-1␣ with functions that are both unique from and complementary to PGC-1␣.

A novel approach for nanoscale imaging and characterization of the orientation dependence of electromechanical properties-vector piezoresponse force microscopy~Vector PFM!-is described. The relationship between local electromechanical response, polarization, piezoelectric constants, and crystallographic orientation is analyzed in detail. The image formation mechanism in vector PFM is discussed. Conditions for complete three-dimensional~3D! reconstruction of the electromechanical response vector and evaluation of the piezoelectric constants from PFM data are set forth. The developed approach can be applied to crystallographic orientation imaging in piezoelectric materials with a spatial resolution below 10 nm. Several approaches for data representation in 2D-PFM and 3D-PFM are presented. The potential of vector PFM for molecular orientation imaging in macroscopically disordered piezoelectric polymers and biological systems is discussed.

Whereas functional, metabolic, neurotrophic, and morphological abnormalities of peripheral diabetic neuropathy (PDN) have been extensively explored in streptozotocininduced diabetic rats and mice (models of type 1 diabetes), insufficient information is available on manifestations and pathogenetic mechanisms of PDN in type 2 diabetic models. The latter could constitute a problem for clinical trial design because the vast majority of subjects with diabetes have type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes. This study was aimed at characterization of PDN in leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice, a model of type 2 diabetes with relatively mild hyperglycemia and obesity. ob/ob mice (ϳ11 weeks old) clearly developed manifest sciatic motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) and hind-limb digital sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) deficits, thermal hypoalgesia, tactile allodynia, and a remarkable (ϳ78%) loss of intraepidermal nerve fibers. They also had increased sorbitol pathway activity in the sciatic nerve and increased nitrotyrosine and poly(ADP-ribose) immunofluorescence in the sciatic nerve, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Aldose reductase inhibition with fidarestat (16 mg ⅐ kg ؊1 ⅐ d ؊1 ), administered to ob/ob mice for 6 weeks starting from 5 weeks of age, was associated with preservation of normal MNCV and SNCV and alleviation of thermal hypoalgesia and intraepidermal nerve fiber loss but not tactile allodynia. Sciatic nerve nitrotyrosine immunofluorescence and the number of poly(ADP-ribose)-positive nuclei in sciatic nerve, spinal cord, and DRGs of fidarestattreated ob/ob mice did not differ from those in nondiabetic controls. In conclusion, the leptin-deficient ob/ob mouse is a new animal model that develops both large motor and sensory fiber and small sensory fiber PDN and responds to pathogenetic treatment. The results support the role for increased aldose reductase activity in functional and structural changes of PDN in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 55: 3335-3343, 2006 P eripheral diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a devastating complication of diabetes and a leading cause of foot amputation (1,2). Clinical indications of PDN include increased vibration and thermal perception thresholds that progress to sensory loss, occurring in conjunction with degeneration of all fiber types in the peripheral nerve. A proportion of patients with PDN also describe abnormal sensations such as paresthesias, allodynia, hyperalgesia, and spontaneous pain that sometimes coexist with loss of normal sensory function (3). Functional, metabolic, neurotrophic, and morphological abnormalities of PDN have extensively been explored in animal models of type 1 diabetes and, in particular, in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (4 -8) and mice (9,10). In contrast, manifestations and pathogenetic mechanisms of PDN in type 2 diabetic models remain remarkably understudied despite the fact that the vast majority of subjects with diabetes have type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes.The epidemic of obesity in the developed countries is driving a ...

Dietary methionine restriction (MR) produces an integrated series of biochemical and physiological responses that improve biomarkers of metabolic health, limit fat accretion, and enhance insulin sensitivity. Using transcriptional profiling to guide tissue-specific evaluations of molecular responses to MR, we report that liver and adipose tissue are the primary targets of a transcriptional program that remodeled lipid metabolism in each tissue. The MR diet produced a coordinated downregulation of lipogenic genes in the liver, resulting in a corresponding reduction in the capacity of the liver to synthesize and export lipid. In contrast, the transcriptional response in white adipose tissue (WAT) involved a depot-specific induction of lipogenic and oxidative genes and a commensurate increase in capacity to synthesize and oxidize fatty acids. These responses were accompanied by a significant change in adipocyte morphology, with the MR diet reducing cell size and increasing mitochondrial density across all depots. The coordinated transcriptional remodeling of lipid metabolism between liver and WAT by dietary MR produced an overall reduction in circulating and tissue lipids and provides a potential mechanism for the increase in metabolic flexibility and enhanced insulin sensitivity produced by the diet.

Linear defects in crystalline materials, known as dislocations, are central to the understanding of plastic deformation and mechanical strength, as well as control of performance in a variety of electronic and photonic materials. Despite nearly a century of research on dislocation structure and interactions, measurements of the energetics and kinetics of dislocation nucleation have not been possible, as synthesizing and testing pristine crystals absent of defects has been prohibitively challenging. Here, we report experiments that directly measure the surface dislocation nucleation strengths in high-quality 〈110〉 Pd nanowhiskers subjected to uniaxial tension. We find that, whereas nucleation strengths are weakly size- and strain-rate-dependent, a strong temperature dependence is uncovered, corroborating predictions that nucleation is assisted by thermal fluctuations. We measure atomic-scale activation volumes, which explain both the ultrahigh athermal strength as well as the temperature-dependent scatter, evident in our experiments and well captured by a thermal activation model.

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The polarization screening mechanism and ferroelectric phase stability of ultrathin BaTiO(3) films exposed to water molecules is determined by first principles theory and in situ experiment. Surface crystallography data from electron diffraction combined with density functional theory calculations demonstrate that small water vapor exposures do not affect surface structure or polarization. Large exposures result in surface hydroxylation and rippling, formation of surface oxygen vacancies, and reversal of the polarization direction. Understanding interplay between ferroelectric phase stability, screening, and atomistic processes at surfaces is a key to control low-dimensional ferroelectricity.