To understand the health impact of long-duration spaceflight, one identical twin astronaut was monitored before, during, and after a 1-year mission onboard the International Space Station; his twin served as a genetically matched ground control. Longitudinal assessments identified spaceflight-specific changes, including decreased body mass, telomere elongation, genome instability, carotid artery distension and increased intima-media thickness, altered ocular structure, transcriptional and metabolic changes, DNA methylation changes in immune and oxidative stress–related pathways, gastrointestinal microbiota alterations, and some cognitive decline postflight. Although average telomere length, global gene expression, and microbiome changes returned to near preflight levels within 6 months after return to Earth, increased numbers of short telomeres were observed and expression of some genes was still disrupted. These multiomic, molecular, physiological, and behavioral datasets provide a valuable roadmap of the putative health risks for future human spaceflight.
Insulin resistance is a fundamental pathogenic factor present in various metabolic disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although skeletal muscle accounts for 70-90% of insulin-stimulated glucose disposal, the mechanism underlying muscle insulin resistance is poorly understood. Here we show in mice that muscle-specific mitsugumin 53 (MG53; also called TRIM72) mediates the degradation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), and when upregulated, causes metabolic syndrome featuring insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. MG53 expression is markedly elevated in models of insulin resistance, and MG53 overexpression suffices to trigger muscle insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome sequentially. Conversely, ablation of MG53 prevents diet-induced metabolic syndrome by preserving the insulin receptor, IRS1 and insulin signalling integrity. Mechanistically, MG53 acts as an E3 ligase targeting the insulin receptor and IRS1 for ubiquitin-dependent degradation, comprising a central mechanism controlling insulin signal strength in skeletal muscle. These findings define MG53 as a novel therapeutic target for treating metabolic disorders and associated cardiovascular complications.
Production of functional proteins requires multiple steps, including gene transcription and posttranslational processing. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate individual stages of these processes. Despite the importance of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel for epithelial anion transport, how its expression is regulated remains uncertain. We discovered that miRNA-138 regulates CFTR expression through its interactions with the transcriptional regulatory protein SIN3A. Treating airway epithelia with an miR-138 mimic increased CFTR mRNA and also enhanced CFTR abundance and transepithelial Cl − permeability independent of elevated mRNA levels. An miR-138 anti-miR had the opposite effects. Importantly, miR-138 altered the expression of many genes encoding proteins that associate with CFTR and may influence its biosynthesis. The most common CFTR mutation, ΔF508, causes protein misfolding, protein degradation, and cystic fibrosis. Remarkably, manipulating the miR-138 regulatory network also improved biosynthesis of CFTR-ΔF508 and restored Cl − transport to cystic fibrosis airway epithelia. This miRNA-regulated network directs gene expression from the chromosome to the cell membrane, indicating that an individual miRNA can control a cellular process more broadly than recognized previously. This discovery also provides therapeutic avenues for restoring CFTR function to cells affected by the most common cystic fibrosis mutation.
Background: Mitsugumin 53 (MG53 or TRIM72), a striated muscle-specific E3 ligase, promotes ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 and subsequently induces insulin resistance, resulting in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, it is unknown how MG53 from muscle regulates systemic insulin response and energy metabolism. Increasing evidence demonstrates that muscle secretes proteins as myokines or cardiokines that regulate systemic metabolic processes. We hypothesize that MG53 may act as a myokine/cardiokine, contributing to interorgan regulation of insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis. Methods: Using perfused rodent hearts or skeletal muscle, we investigated whether high glucose, high insulin, or their combination (conditions mimicking metabolic syndrome or T2DM) alters MG53 protein concentration in the perfusate. We also measured serum MG53 levels in rodents and humans in the presence or absence of metabolic diseases, particularly T2DM. The effects of circulating MG53 on multiorgan insulin response were evaluated by systemic delivery of recombinant MG53 protein to mice. Furthermore, the potential involvement of circulating MG53 in the pathogenesis of T2DM was assessed by neutralizing blood MG53 with monoclonal antibodies in diabetic db/db mice. Finally, to delineate the mechanism underlying the action of extracellular MG53 on insulin signaling, we analyzed the potential interaction of MG53 with extracellular domain of insulin receptor using coimmunoprecipitation and surface plasmon resonance assays. Results: Here, we demonstrate that MG53 is a glucose-sensitive myokine/cardiokine that governs the interorgan regulation of insulin sensitivity. First, high glucose or high insulin induces MG53 secretion from isolated rodent hearts and skeletal muscle. Second, hyperglycemia is accompanied by increased circulating MG53 in humans and rodents with diabetes mellitus. Third, systemic delivery of recombinant MG53 or cardiac-specific overexpression of MG53 causes systemic insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in mice, whereas neutralizing circulating MG53 with monoclonal antibodies has therapeutic effects in T2DM db/db mice. Mechanistically, MG53 binds to the extracellular domain of the insulin receptor and acts as an allosteric blocker. Conclusions: Thus, MG53 has dual actions as a myokine/cardiokine and an E3 ligase, synergistically inhibiting the insulin signaling pathway. Targeting circulating MG53 opens a new therapeutic avenue for T2DM and its complications.
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