strate that transcriptional activation in response to mechanical stimuli is attenuated in Lmna -/-cells, impairing viability of mechanically strained cells. These data suggest that the structural and gene regulation hypotheses of the laminopathies are in fact closely related, and different mutations may cause specific phenotypes by differentially affecting these processes.

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BackgroundType 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by defects in insulin secretion and action. Impaired glucose uptake in skeletal muscle is believed to be one of the earliest features in the natural history of T2DM, although underlying mechanisms remain obscure.Methods and FindingsWe combined human insulin/glucose clamp physiological studies with genome-wide expression profiling to identify thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) as a gene whose expression is powerfully suppressed by insulin yet stimulated by glucose. In healthy individuals, its expression was inversely correlated to total body measures of glucose uptake. Forced expression of TXNIP in cultured adipocytes significantly reduced glucose uptake, while silencing with RNA interference in adipocytes and in skeletal muscle enhanced glucose uptake, confirming that the gene product is also a regulator of glucose uptake. TXNIP expression is consistently elevated in the muscle of prediabetics and diabetics, although in a panel of 4,450 Scandinavian individuals, we found no evidence for association between common genetic variation in the TXNIP gene and T2DM.ConclusionsTXNIP regulates both insulin-dependent and insulin-independent pathways of glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Combined with recent studies that have implicated TXNIP in pancreatic β-cell glucose toxicity, our data suggest that TXNIP might play a key role in defective glucose homeostasis preceding overt T2DM.

Background Although metabolic reprogramming is critical in the pathogenesis of heart failure, studies to date have focused principally on fatty acid and glucose metabolism. Contribution of amino acid metabolic regulation in the disease remains understudied. Methods and Results Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed in mouse failing heart induced by pressure-overload. Suppression of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) catabolic gene expression along with concomitant tissue accumulation of branched-chain α-keto acids (BCKAs) was identified as a significant signature of metabolic reprogramming in mouse failing hearts, and validated to be shared in human cardiomyopathy hearts. Molecular and genetic evidence identified the transcription factor KLF15 as a key upstream regulator of the BCAA catabolic regulation in the heart. Studies using a genetic mouse model revealed that BCAA catabolic defect promoted heart failure associated with induced oxidative stress and metabolic disturbance in response to mechanical overload. Mechanistically, elevated BCKA directly suppressed respiration and induced superoxide production in isolated mitochondria. Finally, pharmacological enhancement of branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase activity significantly blunted cardiac dysfunction following pressure-overload. Conclusions BCAA catabolic defect is a metabolic hallmark of failing heart resulted from KLF15 mediated transcriptional reprogramming. BCAA catabolic defect imposes a previously unappreciated significant contribution to heart failure.