Excessive fat intake contributes to the progression of metabolic diseases via cellular injury and inflammation, a process termed lipotoxicity. Here, we investigated the role of lysosomal dysfunction and impaired autophagic flux in the pathogenesis of lipotoxicity in the kidney. In mice, a high-fat diet (HFD) resulted in an accumulation of phospholipids in enlarged lysosomes within kidney proximal tubular cells (PTCs). In isolated PTCs treated with palmitic acid, autophagic degradation activity progressively stagnated in association with impaired lysosomal acidification and excessive lipid accumulation. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that the accumulated lipids originated from cellular membranes. In mice with induced PTC-specific ablation of autophagy, PTCs of HFD-mice exhibited greater accumulation of ubiquitin-positive protein aggregates normally removed by autophagy than did PTCs of mice fed a normal diet. Furthermore, HFD-mice had no capacity to augment autophagic activity upon another pathologic stress. Autophagy ablation also exaggerated HFD-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammasome activation. Moreover, renal ischemia-reperfusion induced greater injury in HFD-mice than in mice fed a normal diet, and ablation of autophagy further exacerbated this effect. Finally, we detected similarly enhanced phospholipid accumulation in enlarged lysosomes and impaired autophagic flux in the kidneys of obese patients compared with nonobese patients. These findings provide key insights regarding the pathophysiology of lipotoxicity in the kidney and clues to a novel treatment for obesity-related kidney diseases.

No abstract

To fulfil the bioenergetic requirements for increased cell size and clonal expansion, activated T cells reprogramme their metabolic signatures from energetically quiescent to activated. However, the molecular mechanisms and essential components controlling metabolic reprogramming in T cells are not well understood. Here, we show that the mTORC1–PPARγ pathway is crucial for the fatty acid uptake programme in activated CD4+ T cells. This pathway is required for full activation and rapid proliferation of naive and memory CD4+ T cells. PPARγ directly binds and induces genes associated with fatty acid uptake in CD4+ T cells in both mice and humans. The PPARγ-dependent fatty acid uptake programme is critical for metabolic reprogramming. Thus, we provide important mechanistic insights into the metabolic reprogramming mechanisms that govern the expression of key enzymes, fatty acid metabolism and the acquisition of an activated phenotype during CD4+ T cell activation.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive, extracellular bacterium that is responsible for significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Pneumolysin (PLY), a cytolysin produced by all clinical isolates of the pneumococcus, is one of the most important virulence factors of this pathogen. We have previously reported that PLY is an essential factor for activation of caspase-1 and consequent secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 in macrophages infected with S. pneumoniae. However, the host molecular factors involved in caspase-1 activation are still unclear. To further elucidate the mechanism of caspase-1 activation in macrophages infected with S. pneumoniae, we examined the involvement of inflammasomes in inducing this cellular response. Our study revealed that apoptosis-associated speck like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), an adaptor protein for inflammasome receptors such as NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), is essentially required for the induction of caspase-1 activation by S. pneumoniae. Caspase-1 activation was partially impaired in NLRP3−/− macrophages, while knockdown and knockout of AIM2 resulted in a clear decrease in caspase-1 activation in response to S. pneumoniae. These results suggest that ASC inflammasomes, including AIM2 and NLRP3, are critical for caspase-1 activation induced by S. pneumoniae. Furthermore, ASC−/− mice were more susceptible than wild-type mice to S. pneumoniae, with impaired secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 into the bronchoalveolar lavage after intranasal infection, suggesting that ASC inflammasomes contribute to the protection of host from infection with PLY-producing S. pneumoniae.

No abstract

Autophagy plays an essential role in cellular homeostasis through the quality control of proteins and organelles. Although a time-dependent decline in autophagic activity is believed to be involved in the aging process, the issue remains controversial. We previously demonstrated that autophagy maintains proximal tubular cell homeostasis and protects against kidney injury. Here, we extend that study and examine how autophagy is involved in kidney aging. Unexpectedly, the basal autophagic activity was higher in the aged kidney than that in young kidney; short-term cessation of autophagy in tamoxifeninducible proximal tubule-specific autophagy-deficient mice increased the accumulation of SQSTM1/p62-and ubiquitin-positive aggregates in the aged kidney. By contrast, autophagic flux in response to metabolic stress was blunted with aging, as demonstrated by the observation that transgenic mice expressing a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B fusion construct, showed a drastic increase of GFP-positive puncta in response to starvation in young mice compared to a slight increase observed in aged mice. Finally, proximal tubule-specific autophagy-deficient mice at 24 mo of age exhibited a significant deterioration in kidney function and fibrosis concomitant with mitochondrial dysfunction as well as mitochondrial DNA abnormalities and nuclear DNA damage, all of which are hallmark characteristics of cellular senescence. These results suggest that age-dependent high basal autophagy plays a crucial role in counteracting kidney aging through mitochondrial quality control. Furthermore, a reduced capacity for upregulation of autophagic flux in response to metabolic stress may be associated with age-related kidney diseases.

Material Supplementary 8.DC1http://www.jimmunol.org/content/suppl/2010/06/18/jimmunol.100105

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are involved in the progression of diabetic nephropathy. AGEs filtered by glomeruli or delivered from the circulation are endocytosed and degraded in the lysosomes of kidney proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs). Autophagy is a highly conserved degradation system that regulates intracellular homeostasis by engulfing cytoplasmic components. We have recently demonstrated that autophagic degradation of damaged lysosomes is indispensable for cellular homeostasis in some settings. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that autophagy could contribute to the degradation of AGEs in the diabetic kidney by modulating lysosomal biogenesis. Both a high-glucose and exogenous AGE overload gradually blunted autophagic flux in the cultured PTECs. AGE overload upregulated lysosomal biogenesis and function in vitro, which was inhibited in autophagy-deficient PTECs because of the impaired nuclear translocation of transcription factor EB. Consistently, streptozotocin-treated, PTEC-specific, autophagy-deficient mice failed to upregulate lysosomal biogenesis and exhibited the accumulation of AGEs in the glomeruli and renal vasculature as well as in the PTECs, along with worsened inflammation and fibrosis. These results indicate that autophagy contributes to the degradation of AGEs by the upregulation of lysosomal biogenesis and function in diabetic nephropathy. Strategies aimed at promoting lysosomal function hold promise for treating diabetic nephropathy.