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Category: Publications (Page 1 of 16)

Remodeling p38 signaling in muscle controls locomotor activity via IL-15

20/08/2024 /

Cintia Folgueira, Leticia Herrera-Melle, Juan Antonio López, Victor Galvan-Alvarez, Marcos Martin-Rincon, María Isabel Cuartero, Alicia García-Culebras, Phillip A. Dumesic, Elena Rodríguez, Luis Leiva-Vega, Marta León, Begoña Porteiro, Cristina Iglesias, Jorge L. Torres, Lourdes Hernández-Cosido, Clara Bonacasa, Miguel Marcos, María Ángeles Moro, Jesús Vázquez, Jose A. L. Calbet, Bruce M. Spiegelman, Alfonso Mora & Guadalupe Sabio.

Skeletal muscle has gained recognition as an endocrine organ releasing myokines upon contraction during physical exercise. These myokines exert both local and pleiotropic health benefits, underscoring the crucial role of muscle function in countering obesity and contributing to the overall positive effects of exercise on health.

Active p38γ increases locomotor activity (Image: Cintia Folgueira).

Here, we found that exercise activates muscle p38γ, increasing locomotor activity through the secretion of interleukin-15 (IL-15). IL-15 signals in the motor cortex, stimulating locomotor activity. This activation of muscle p38γ, leading to an increase locomotor activity, plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of diabetes and liver steatosis, unveiling a vital muscle-brain communication pathway with profound clinical implications. The correlation between p38γ activation in human muscle during acute exercise and increased blood IL-15 levels highlights the potential therapeutic relevance of this pathway in treating obesity and metabolic diseases.

These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular basis of exercise-induced myokine responses promoting physical activity.

Sci Adv 2024; 10 (33): eadn5993.

Estrogens prevent the hypothalamus-periphery crosstalk induced by olanzapine intraperitoneal treatment in female mice: effects on brown/beige adipose tissues and liver

16/05/2024 /

Vítor Ferreira, Cintia Folgueira, Ángela Montes-San Lorenzo, Andrea Rodríguez-López, Eva Gonzalez-Iglesias, Pablo Zubiaur, Francisco Abad-Santos, Guadalupe Sabio, Patricia Rada & Ángela M Valverde.

Olanzapine (OLA) is a highly obesogenic second-generation antipsychotic (SGA). Recently we demonstrated that, contrarily to OLA oral treatment, intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration resulted in weight loss and absence of hepatic steatosis in wild-type (WT) and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B)-deficient (KO) male mice. This protection relied on two central-peripheral axes connecting hypothalamic AMPK with brown/inguinal white adipose tissue (BAT/iWAT) uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) and hypothalamic JNK with hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS).

Olanzapine reduces body weight exclusively in ovariectomized mice (Image: Cintia Folgueira).

Herein, we addressed OLA i.p. treatment effects in WT and PTP1B-KO female mice. Contrarily to our previous results in WT females receiving OLA orally, the i.p. treatment did not induce weight gain or hyperphagia. Molecularly, in females OLA failed to diminish hypothalamic phospho-AMPK or elevate BAT UCP-1 and energy expenditure (EE) despite the preservation of iWAT browning. Conversely, OLA i.p. treatment in ovariectomized mice reduced hypothalamic phospho-AMPK, increased BAT/iWAT UCP-1 and EE, and induced weight loss as occurred in males. Pretreatment of hypothalamic neurons with 17β-estradiol (E2) abolished OLA effects on AMPK. Moreover, neither hypothalamic JNK activation nor hepatic FAS upregulation were found in WT and PTP1B-KO females receiving OLA via i.p. Importantly, this axis was reestablished upon ovariectomy. In this line, E2 prevented OLA-induced phospho-JNK in hypothalamic neurons.

These results support the role of estrogens in sex-related dimorphism in OLA treatment. This study evidenced the benefit of OLA i.p. administration in preventing its obesogenic effects in female mice that could offer clinical value.

BBA Mol Basis Dis 2024; 1870 (5): 167227.

Lack of p38 activation in T cells increases IL-35 and protects against obesity by promoting thermogenesis

10/05/2024 /

Ivana Nikolić, Irene Ruiz-Garrido, María Crespo, Rafael Romero-Becerra, Luis Leiva-Vega, Alfonso Mora, Marta León, Elena Rodríguez, Magdalena Leiva, Ana Belén Plata-Gómez, Maria Beatriz Alvarez Flores, Jorge L Torres, Lourdes Hernández-Cosido, Juan Antonio López, Jesús Vázquez, Alejo Efeyan, Pilar Martin, Miguel Marcos & Guadalupe Sabio.

Obesity is characterized by low-grade inflammation, energy imbalance and impaired thermogenesis. The role of regulatory T cells (Treg) in inflammation-mediated maladaptive thermogenesis is not well established.

Reduction of fat mass of mice lacking MKK3/6 as seen by MRI (Image: Ivana Nikolić).

Here, we find that the p38 pathway is a key regulator of T cell-mediated adipose tissue (AT) inflammation and browning. Mice with T cells specifically lacking the p38 activators MKK3/6 are protected against diet-induced obesity, leading to an improved metabolic profile, increased browning, and enhanced thermogenesis. We identify IL-35 as a driver of adipocyte thermogenic program through the ATF2/UCP1/FGF21 pathway. IL-35 limits CD8+ T cell infiltration and inflammation in AT. Interestingly, we find that IL-35 levels are reduced in visceral fat from obese patients.

Mechanistically, we demonstrate that p38 controls the expression of IL-35 in human and mouse Treg cells through mTOR pathway activation. Our findings highlight p38 signaling as a molecular orchestrator of AT T cell accumulation and function.

EMBO Rep 2024; 25: 2635-2661.

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Fundación Princesa de Girona

Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer

Fundación BBVA

European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes

Immunothercan

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