SUMMARY CD4 T cell activation leads to rapid proliferation and differentiation into effector (Teff) or regulatory (Treg) cells that mediate or control immunity. While Teff and Treg prefer distinct glycolytic or oxidative metabolic programs in vitro, requirements and mechanisms that control T cell glucose uptake and metabolism in vivo are poorly understood. Despite expression of multiple glucose transporters, Glut1-deficiency selectively impaired metabolism and function of thymocytes and Teff. Resting T cells were normal until activated, when Glut1-deficiency prevented increased glucose uptake and glycolysis, growth, proliferation, and decreased cell survival and Teff differentiation. Importantly, Glut1-deficiency decreased Teff expansion and ability to induce inflammatory disease in vivo. Treg, in contrast, were enriched in vivo and appeared functionally unaffected by Glut1-deficiency and able to suppress Teff irrespective of Glut1 expression. These data show a selective in vivo requirement for Glut1 in metabolic reprogramming of CD4 T cell activation and Teff expansion and survival.

Steroid hormones have rapid nongenomic effects on cell-signaling pathways, but the receptor mechanisms responsible for this are not understood. We have identified a specific polyproline motif in the amino-terminal domain of conventional progesterone receptor (PR) that mediates direct progestin-dependent interaction of PR with SH3 domains of various cytoplasmic signaling molecules, including c-Src tyrosine kinases. Through this interaction, PR is a potent activator of Src kinases working by an SH3 domain displacement mechanism. By mutagenesis, we also show that rapid progestin-induced activation of Src and downstream MAP kinase in mammalian cells is dependent on PR-SH3 domain interaction, but not on the transcriptional activity of PR. Preliminary evidence for the biological significance of this PR signaling pathway through regulatory SH3 domains was shown with respect to an influence on progestin-induced growth arrest of breast epithelial cells and induction of Xenopus oocyte maturation.

We have previously shown that parotid C5 salivary acinar cells undergo apoptosis in response to etoposide treatment as indicated by alterations in cell morphology, caspase-3 activation, DNA fragmentation, sustained activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and inactivation of extracellular regulated kinases 1 and 2. Here we report that apoptosis results in the caspase-dependent cleavage of protein kinase C-␦ (PKC␦) to a 40-kDa fragment, the appearance of which correlates with a 9-fold increase in PKC␦ activity. To understand the function of activated PKC␦ in apoptosis, we have used the PKC␦-specific inhibitor, rottlerin. Pretreatment of parotid C5 cells with rottlerin prior to the addition of etoposide blocks the appearance of the apoptotic morphology, the sustained activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and inactivation of extracellular regulated kinases 1 and 2. Inhibition of PKC␦ also partially inhibits caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation. Immunoblot analysis shows that the PKC␦ cleavage product does not accumulate in parotid C5 cells treated with rottlerin and etoposide together, suggesting that the catalytic activity of PKC␦ may be required for cleavage. PKC␣ and PKC␤1 activities also increase during etoposide-induced apoptosis. Inhibition of these two isoforms with Gö 6976 slightly suppresses the apoptotic morphology, caspase-3 activation, and DNA fragmentation, but has no effect on the sustained activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase or inactivation of extracellular regulated kinase 1 and 2. These data demonstrate that activation of PKC␦ is an integral and essential part of the apoptotic program in parotid C5 cells and that specific activated isoforms of PKC may have distinct functions in cell death.

The mammary gland of the lactating mouse synthesizes and secretes milk lipid equivalent to its entire body weight in a single 20-day lactation cycle, making it one of the most active lipid synthetic organs known. We test the hypothesis that multiple control points and potential regulatory mechanisms regulate milk lipid synthesis at the level of gene expression. The mammary transcriptome of 130 genes involved in glucose metabolism was examined at late pregnancy and early lactation, utilizing data obtained from microarray analysis of mammary glands from quadruplicate FVB mice at pregnancy day 17 and lactation day 2. To correlate changes with physiological parameters, the metabolome obtained from magnetic resonance spectroscopy of flash-frozen glands at day 17 of pregnancy was compared with that at day 2 of lactation. A significant increase in carbohydrates (glucose, lactose, sialic acid) and amino acids (alanine, aspartate, arginine, glutamate) with a moderate increase in important osmolytes (myoinositol, betaine, choline derivatives) were observed in the lactating gland. In addition, diets containing 8% or 40% lipid were fed from lactation days 5-10 and mammary glands and livers of triplicate FVB mice prepared for microarray analysis. The results show that substantial regulation of lipid synthesis occurs at the level of mRNA expression and that some of the regulation points differ substantially from the liver. They also implicate the transcription factor SREBP-1c in regulation of part of the pathway. lipid synthesis; microarray; metabolomics; dietary lipid; magnetic resonance spectroscopy THE MOUSE MAMMARY GLAND OFFERS an outstanding model system for examining developmental regulation of metabolic processes. Pregnancy in this species lasts ϳ19 days including an intensive proliferative phase followed by a differentiation phase marked by an increase in milk protein gene expression, lipid droplet formation, and stromal adaptations (42,43). A fall in progesterone ϳday 18 initiates secretory activation, a programmed series of changes in the epithelium that leads to the copious secretion of very rich milk consisting of ϳ12% protein, 30% lipid, and 5% lactose. Lipid synthesis is particularly remarkable: The mammary gland of the FVB mouse must synthesize an amount of triacylglycerol (TAG) equivalent to the entire weight of the mouse during a 20-day lactation, generally while the mouse is eating a diet containing Ͻ8% of the calories as fat (37).Coordinate transcriptional regulation of many of the lipid synthesis enzymes occurs in other organs such as the liver (12, 17) and adipose tissue (39) as well as pancreatic ␤-cells (2). We hypothesized that coordinate regulation of the same pathways might be integral to the remarkable increase in lipid and lactose synthesis during the activation of secretion (sometimes called lactogenesis II) in the mammary gland. We wished to identify both the key enzymes that change during the initiation of this program and the transcriptional regulators involved.Our strategy was first to utilize...

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Human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 causes about half the cases of cervical cancer worldwide and is the focus of HPV vaccine development efforts. Systematic data are lacking as to whether the prevention of HPV-16 could affect the equilibrium of infection with other HPV types and thus alter the predicted impact of vaccination on the occurrence of cervical neoplasia. Therefore, the associations of HPV-16 detection with subsequent acquisition of other HPV types and with the persistence of concomitantly detected HPV types were examined prospectively among 1124 initially cytologically normal women. Preexisting HPV-16 was generally associated with an increased risk for subsequent acquisition of other types. HPV-16 did not affect the persistence of concomitant infections, regardless of type. These findings suggest that the prevention or removal of HPV-16 is not likely to promote the risk of infection with other types, a theoretical concern with current vaccination efforts.

The transition from pregnancy to lactation is a critical event in the survival of the newborn since all the nutrient requirements of the infant are provided by milk. While milk contains numerous components, including proteins, that aid in maintaining the health of the infant, lactose and milk fat represent the critical energy providing elements of milk. Much of the research to date on mammary epithelial differentiation has focused upon expression of milk protein genes, providing a somewhat distorted view of alveolar differentiation and secretory activation. While expression of milk protein genes increases during pregnancy and at secretory activation, the genes whose expression is more tightly regulated at this transition are those that regulate lipid biosynthesis. The sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) family of transcription factors is recognized as regulating fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis. We propose that SREBP1 is a critical regulator of secretory activation with regard to lipid biosynthesis, in a manner that responds to diet, and that the serine/threonine protein kinase Akt influences this process, resulting in a highly efficient lipid synthetic organ that is able to support the nutritional needs of the newborn.

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