BackgroundWound healing is impaired in diabetes mellitus, but the mechanisms involved in this process are virtually unknown. Proteins belonging to the insulin signaling pathway respond to insulin in the skin of rats.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the regulation of the insulin signaling pathway in wound healing and skin repair of normal and diabetic rats, and, in parallel, the effect of a topical insulin cream on wound healing and on the activation of this pathway.Research Design and MethodsWe investigated insulin signaling by immunoblotting during wound healing of control and diabetic animals with or without topical insulin. Diabetic patients with ulcers were randomized to receive topical insulin or placebo in a prospective, double-blind and placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial (NCT 01295177) of wound healing.Results and ConclusionsExpression of IR, IRS-1, IRS-2, SHC, ERK, and AKT are increased in the tissue of healing wounds compared to intact skin, suggesting that the insulin signaling pathway may have an important role in this process. These pathways were attenuated in the wounded skin of diabetic rats, in parallel with an increase in the time of complete wound healing. Upon topical application of insulin cream, the wound healing time of diabetic animals was normalized, followed by a reversal of defective insulin signal transduction. In addition, the treatment also increased expression of other proteins, such as eNOS (also in bone marrow), VEGF, and SDF-1α in wounded skin. In diabetic patients, topical insulin cream markedly improved wound healing, representing an attractive and cost-free method for treating this devastating complication of diabetes.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01295177

The Rho family of small GTP-binding proteins plays important roles in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton organization and cell growth. Activation of these GTPases involves the replacement of bound GDP with GTP, a process catalyzed by the Dbl-like guanine-nucleotide exchange factors, all of which seem to share a putative catalytic motif termed the Dbl homology (DH) domain, followed by a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Here we have examined the role of a Dbl-like molecule, the faciogenital dysplasia gene product (FGD1), which when mutated in its Dbl homology domain, cosegregates with the developmental disease Aarskog-Scott syndrome. We report that a polypeptide of FGD1 encompassing the DH and PH domains can bind specifically to the Rho family GTPase Cdc42Hs and stimulates the GDP-GTP exchange of the isoprenylated form of Cdc42Hs. Microinjection of this FGD1 polypeptide into Swiss 3T3 fibroblast cells induces the formation of peripheral actin microspikes, similar to that previously observed when cells were injected with a constitutively active form of Cdc42Hs. This effect of FGD1 on actin organization is readily inhibited by coinjection of a dominant-negative mutant of Cdc42Hs. Examination of NIH 3T3 cells expressing the FGD1 fragment revealed that similar to cells expressing Dbl, two independent elements downstream of Cdc42Hs, the Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase and the p70 S6 kinase, became activated. Hence, our results indicate that FGD1, through its DH and PH domains, acts as a Cdc42Hs-specific guanine-nucleotide exchange factor and suggest that the Cdc42Hs GTPase may have a role in mammalian development.The Rho family of small GTP-binding proteins have been implicated in multiple signaling pathways leading to cytoskeleton reorganization (1) and cell growth (2). RhoA has been shown to be involved in actin stress fiber and focal adhesion formation (3); Rac1 is required for membrane ruffling and lamellipodia formation induced by growth factors (4); and Cdc42Hs has been demonstrated to mediate the induction of peripheral actin microspikes (PAM) 1 and filopodia by bradykinin (5). In fibroblast cells, Cdc42Hs/Rac1/RhoA have been suggested to work in a hierarchical cascade mediating these changes in the actin cytoskeleton (6). In addition, Rho, Rac, and Cdc42Hs all seem to be involved in the transcriptional regulation by serum response factor (7) and in the regulation of cell cycle progression (8). Particularly, Cdc42Hs and Rac participate in the p21-activated kinase-mediated Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation (9, 10) and, through an independent pathway, in the regulation of p70 S6 kinase (S6K) (11).The activation of Rho proteins requires the exchange of bound GDP for GTP (12), a process catalyzed by a growing family of guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for which the Dbl oncoprotein is a prototype (13). These putative GEFs share the structural arrangement of an ϳ200-amino acid motif, the Dbl homology (DH) domain, followed by a second putative signaling motif, the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain (13). The ...

In the intestine, several growth factors stimulate migration of epithelial cells, contributing to the maintenance of tissue integrity. The Ras-like GTPase Rho regulates a signal transduction pathway linking growth factor receptors to the formation of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions, presumed to be important for motility.

Deficient wound healing in diabetic patients is very frequent, but the cellular and molecular causes are poorly defined. In this study, we evaluate the hypothesis that high glucose concentrations inhibit cell migration. Using CHO.K1 cells, NIH-3T3 fibroblasts, mouse embryonic fibroblasts and primary skin fibroblasts from control and diabetic rats cultured in 5 mM D-glucose (low glucose, LG), 25 mM D-glucose (high glucose, HG) or 25 mM L-glucose medium (osmotic control - OC), we analyzed the migration speed, protrusion stability, cell polarity, adhesion maturation and the activity of the small Rho GTPase Rac1. We also analyzed the effects of reactive oxygen species by incubating cells with the antioxidant N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC). We observed that HG conditions inhibited cell migration when compared to LG or OC. This inhibition resulted from impaired cell polarity, protrusion destabilization and inhibition of adhesion maturation. Conversely, Rac1 activity, which promotes protrusion and blocks adhesion maturation, was increased in HG conditions, thus providing a mechanistic basis for the HG phenotype. Most of the HG effects were partially or completely rescued by treatment with NAC. These findings demonstrate that HG impairs cell migration due to an increase in oxidative stress that causes polarity loss, deficient adhesion and protrusion. These alterations arise, in large part, from increased Rac1 activity and may contribute to the poor wound healing observed in diabetic patients.

-The aim of this study was to investigate whether treatment with tributyrin (Tb; a butyrate prodrug) results in protection against diet-induced obesity and associated insulin resistance. C57BL/6 male mice fed a standard chow or high-fat diet were treated with Tb (2 g/kg body wt, 10 wk) and evaluated for glucose homeostasis, plasma lipid profile, and inflammatory status. Tb protected mice against obesity and obesityassociated insulin resistance and dyslipidemia without food consumption being affected. Tb attenuated the production of TNF␣ and IL-1␤ by peritoneal macrophages and their expression in adipose tissue. Furthermore, in the adipose tissue, Tb reduced the expression of MCP-1 and infiltration by leukocytes and restored the production of adiponectin. These effects were associated with a partial reversion of hepatic steatosis, reduction in liver and skeletal muscle content of phosphorylated JNK, and an improvement in muscle insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and Akt signaling. Although part of the beneficial effects of Tb are likely to be secondary to the reduction in body weight, we also found direct protective actions of butyrate reducing TNF␣ production after LPS injection and in vitro by LPS-or palmitic acid-stimulated macrophages and attenuating lipolysis in vitro and in vivo. The results, reported herein, suggest that Tb may be useful for the treatment and prevention of obesity-related metabolic disorders.butyrate; macrophages; diabetes; cytokines; white adipose tissue THE CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION associated with obesity plays a central role as a link between excessive fat accumulation and the development of pathologies (20). In obesity, adipose tissue is markedly infiltrated by proinflammatory macrophages and other leukocytes that secrete proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (20,41,50). The overproduction of these inflammatory mediators together with changes in adipokine production and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels leads to the development of insulin resistance. In addition to adipose tissue, several organs, including the liver (1) and hypothalamus (28), develop a proinflammatory profile in response to the excessive nutrient supply. This systemic inflammatory state is associated with the activation of intracellular signaling pathways such as JUN NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK) and IB kinase-␤ (IKK␤) that in turn phosphorylate serine residues in the insulin receptor substrate, inhibiting tyrosine phosphorylation and the interaction with phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (19,21).In accord with an important role of inflammation in the development of obesity-associated diseases, whole body deletion of intracellular kinases activated upon inflammation, namely JNK (18) and IKK␤ (1), and pharmacological treatment with anti-inflammatory agents such as -3 fatty acids and salsalate, a salicylate derivate, were demonstrated to protect mice from the deleterious effects of high-fat feeding and obesity on insulin sensitivity (16,32).Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced during fermentation o...

Abstract:The goal of the present study was to characterize the effects of RhoA at different stages of nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neuronal differentiation in the PC12 model. This comparative analysis was prompted by previous studies that reported apparently opposite effects for Rho in different models of neuronal differentiation and regeneration. PC12 cells were transfected with activated V14RhoA or dominant negative N19RhoA under the control of either a constitutive or a steroid-regulated promoter. Upon exposure to NGF, V14RhoA cells continued to proliferate and did not extend neurites; however, they remained responsive to NGF, as indicated by the activation of extracellular signalregulated kinases. This inability to differentiate was reversed by C3 toxin and activation of cyclic AMP signaling, which inactivate RhoA. N19RhoA expression led to an increase in neurite initiation and branching. In contrast, when the RhoA mutants were expressed after NGF priming, only the rate of neurite extension was altered; V14RhoA clones had neurites approximately twice as long, whereas neurites of N19RhoA cells were ϳ50% shorter than those of appropriate controls. The effects of Rho in neurite regeneration mimicked those observed during the initial stages of morphogenesis; activation inhibited, whereas inactivation promoted, neurite outgrowth. Our results indicate that RhoA function changes at different stages of NGF-induced neuronal differentiation and neurite regeneration.

The effects of oral ingestion of oleic (OLA) and linoleic (LNA) acids on wound healing in rats were investigated. LNA increased the influx of inflammatory cells, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-2αβ (CINC-2αβ), and the activation of the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1) in the wound at 1  hour post wounding. LNA decreased the number of inflammatory cells and IL-1, IL-6, and macrophage inflammatory protein-3 (MIP-3) concentrations, as well as NF-κB activation in the wound at 24  hours post wounding. LNA accelerated wound closure over a period of 7 days. OLA increased TNF-α concentration and NF-κB activation at 1  hour post wounding. A reduction of IL-1, IL-6, and MIP-3α concentrations, as well as NF-κB activation, was observed 24  hours post wounding in the OLA group. These data suggest that OLA and LNA accelerate the inflammatory phase of wound healing, but that they achieve this through different mechanisms.

Epithelial invagination in many model systems is driven by apical cell constriction, mediated by actin and myosin II contraction regulated by GTPase activity. Here we investigate apical constriction during chick lens placode invagination. Inhibition of actin polymerization and myosin II activity by cytochalasin D or blebbistatin prevents lens invagination. To further verify if lens placode invaginate through apical constriction, we analyzed the role of Rho-ROCK pathway. Rho GTPases expression at the apical portion of the lens placode occurs with the same dynamics as that of the cytoskeleton. Overexpression of the pan-Rho inhibitor C3 exotoxin abolished invagination and had a strong effect on apical myosin II enrichment and a mild effect on apical actin localization. In contrast, pharmacological inhibition of ROCK activity interfered significantly with apical enrichment of both actin and myosin. These results suggest that apical constriction in lens invagination involves ROCK but apical concentration of actin and myosin are regulated through different pathways upstream of ROCK. genesis 49:368-379, 2011.