SUMMARY The lipolytic processing of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins by lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is the central event in plasma lipid metabolism, providing lipids for storage in adipose tissue and fuel for vital organs such as the heart. LPL is synthesized and secreted by myocytes and adipocytes but then finds its way into the lumen of capillaries, where it hydrolyzes lipoprotein triglycerides. The mechanism by which LPL reaches the lumen of capillaries represents one of the most persistent mysteries of plasma lipid metabolism. Here, we show that GPIHBP1 is responsible for the transport of LPL into capillaries. In Gpihbp1-deficient mice, LPL is mislocalized to the interstitial spaces surrounding myocytes and adipocytes. Also, we show that GPIHBP1 is located at the basolateral surface of capillary endothelial cells and actively transports LPL across endothelial cells. Our experiments define the function of GPIHBP1 in triglyceride metabolism and provide a mechanism for the transport of LPL into capillaries.

Lamin B1 is essential for neuronal migration and progenitor proliferation during the development of the cerebral cortex. The observation of distinct phenotypes of Lmnb1- and Lmnb2-knockout mice and the differences in the nuclear morphology of cortical neurons in vivo suggest that lamin B1 and lamin B2 play distinct functions in the developing brain.

Lamins A and C, alternatively spliced products of the LMNA gene, are key components of the nuclear lamina. The two isoforms are found in similar amounts in most tissues, but we observed an unexpected pattern of expression in the brain. Western blot and immunohistochemistry studies showed that lamin C is abundant in the mouse brain, whereas lamin A and its precursor prelamin A are restricted to endothelial cells and meningeal cells and are absent in neurons and glia. Prelamin A transcript levels were low in the brain, but this finding could not be explained by alternative splicing. In lamin Aonly knockin mice, where alternative splicing is absent and all the output of the gene is channeled into prelamin A transcripts, large amounts of lamin A were found in peripheral tissues, but there was very little lamin A in the brain. Also, in knockin mice expressing exclusively progerin (a toxic form of prelamin A found in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome), the levels of progerin in the brain were extremely low. Further studies showed that prelamin A expression, but not lamin C expression, is down-regulated by a brain-specific microRNA, miR-9. Expression of miR-9 in cultured cells reduced lamin A expression, and this effect was abolished when the miR-9-binding site in the prelamin A 3′ UTR was mutated. The down-regulation of prelamin A expression in the brain could explain why mouse models of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome are free of central nervous system pathology.

Lamin A is formed from prelamin A by four post-translational processing steps-farnesylation, release of the last three amino acids of the protein, methylation of the farnesylcysteine and the endoproteolytic release of the C-terminal 15 amino acids (including the farnesylcysteine methyl ester). When the final processing step does not occur, a farnesylated and methylated prelamin A accumulates in cells, causing a severe progeroid disease, restrictive dermopathy (RD). Whether RD is caused by the retention of farnesyl lipid on prelamin A, or by the retention of the last 15 amino acids of the protein, is unknown. To address this issue, we created knock-in mice harboring a mutant Lmna allele (LmnanPLAO) that yields exclusively non-farnesylated prelamin A (and no lamin C). These mice had no evidence of progeria but succumbed to cardiomyopathy. We suspected that the non-farnesylated prelamin A in the tissues of these mice would be strikingly mislocalized to the nucleoplasm, but this was not the case; most was at the nuclear rim (indistinguishable from the lamin A in wild-type mice). The cardiomyopathy could not be ascribed to an absence of lamin C because mice expressing an otherwise identical knock-in allele yielding only wild-type prelamin A appeared normal. We conclude that lamin C synthesis is dispensable in mice and that the failure to convert prelamin A to mature lamin A causes cardiomyopathy (at least in the absence of lamin C). The latter finding is potentially relevant to the long-term use of protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors, which lead to an accumulation of non-farnesylated prelamin A.

The behavioral effects of early malnutrition and early environmental isolation were observed in male rats. Dietary and environmental manipulations occurred during the first 7 weeks of life, after which followed a 10-week recovery period. On the basis of several different responses, it was found that the behavioral effects of early malnutrition were exaggerated by the environmental isolation. In most cases, the behavioral effects of early malnutrition were completely eliminated by supplying "additional stimulation" early in life. Two theoretical mechanisms are proposed to explain these findings.

The lipolytic processing of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (e.g., chylomicrons, very low density lipoproteins) by lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is the central event in plasma triglyceride metabolism and plays a crucial role in the delivery of lipid nutrients to parenchymal cells (e.g., adipocytes, myocytes) ( 1-4 ). LPL is synthesized by parenchymal cells and secreted into the interstitial spaces, but it needs to reach the capillary lumen in order to hydrolyze the triglycerides in plasma lipoproteins. Recent studies showed that GPIHBP1, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein of capillary endothelial cells, binds LPL avidly ( 5 ) and is required for the transport of LPL to the capillary lumen ( 6 ). In the absence of GPIHBP1, LPL accumulates in the interstitial spaces around parenchymal cells and is unable to process triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the bloodstream, resulting in markedly elevated plasma triglyceride levels and interfering with the delivery of lipid nutrients to parenchymal cells ( 5-7 ).Although GPIHBP1 is essential for the delivery of LPL to the luminal face of capillaries, the cellular mechanisms for moving GPIHBP1 and LPL across endothelial cells are poorly defi ned. It is unclear whether GPIHBP1 and LPL move unidirectionally from the basolateral face of endothelial cells to LPL's site of action along the capillary lumen or whether "backwards traffi cking" also occurs (i.e., movement of GPIHBP1 and LPL from the lumen to the basolateral face of cells). A second issue is whether GPIHBP1 Abstract Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is secreted into the interstitial spaces by adipocytes and myocytes but then must be transported to the capillary lumen by GPIHBP1, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein of capillary endothelial cells. The mechanism by which GPIHBP1 and LPL move across endothelial cells remains unclear. We asked whether the transport of GPIHBP1 and LPL across endothelial cells was uni-or bidirectional. We also asked whether GPIHBP1

Thrombospondin 1 (THBS1 or TSP-1) is a circulating glycoprotein highly expressed in hypertrophic visceral adipose tissues of humans and mice. High-fat diet (HFD) feeding induces the robust increase of circulating THBS1 in the early stages of HFD challenge. The loss of Thbs1 protects male mice from diet-induced weight gain and adipocyte hypertrophy. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp study has demonstrated that Thbs1-null mice are protected from HFD-induced insulin resistance. Tissue-specific glucose uptake study has revealed that the insulin-sensitive phenotype of Thbs1-null mice is mostly mediated by skeletal muscles. Further assessments of the muscle phenotype using RNA sequencing, quantitative PCR, and histological studies have demonstrated that Thbs1-null skeletal muscles are protected from the HFD-dependent induction of Col3a1 and Col6a1, coupled with a new collagen deposition. At the same time, the Thbs1-null mice display a better circadian rhythm and higher amplitude of energy expenditure with a browning phenotype in sc adipose tissues. These results suggest that THBS1, which circulates in response to a HFD, may induce insulin resistance and fibrotic tissue damage in skeletal muscles as well as the de-browning of sc adipose tissues in the early stages of a HFD challenge. Our study may shed new light on the pathogenic role played by a circulating extracellular matrix protein in the cross talk between adipose tissues and skeletal muscles during obesity progression.

Five hundred protein kinases phosphorylate 10 000 proteins in human cells. Frequently, more than one site in a protein is phosphorylated, and often by more than one protein kinase. The mechanistic basis underlying the overlapping specificity of the phospho-proteome is not well understood. We are interested in understanding why ERK2, a proline-directed protein kinase, phosphorylates only a fraction of the (S/T-P) sites found in the surface loops of proteins, at an appreciable rate. To address this fundamental question, we utilized a well-established protein substrate EtsDelta138, which comprises a globular ERK2-recognition domain (pnt domain) and an unstructured peptide-like N-terminal tail. This tail contains T38, the sole ERK2 phosphorylation site. We mutated the TP motif, which is recognized by the active site and found that mutagenesis of the T-38/P-39 motif to TD, TR, TA, TG, and TV has no effect on the stability of the ternary complex but does decrease kcat. We also investigated the effect of perturbing the binding between ERK2 and the pnt domain, which occurs outside the active site, to find that mutation of the pnt domain (F120A) leads to a 10-fold decrease in binding but the kcat remains the same. The data support a mechanism of proximity-mediated catalysis, where the docking of the pnt domain, outside the active site, increases the effective concentration of the TP motif near the active site. The data are consistent with the notion that the interaction between ERK2 and the pnt domain provides uniform binding energy and stabilizes each enzyme intermediate and transition state to an equal extent. While other steps on the reaction pathway contribute towards the specificity of the ERK2 reaction, a docking interaction provides the initial basis for substrate recognition. Those residues within the docked complex, which have the ability to access the active site with an appropriate geometry, can be phosphorylated at an efficient rate if followed by a proline or small hydrophobic amino acid.