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Browsing by Author "Smith, Cayleen M."

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    FoxO1 interacts with transcription factor EB and differentially regulates mitochondrial uncoupling proteins via autophagy in Adipocytes
    Liu, Longhua; Tao, Zhipeng; Zheng, Louise D.; Brooke, Joseph P.; Smith, Cayleen M.; Liu, Dongmin; Long, Yun Chau; Cheng, Zhiyong (Nature, 2016-10-03)
    Mitochondrial uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are inducible and play an important role in metabolic and redox homeostasis. Recent studies have suggested that FoxO1 controls mitochondrial biogenesis and morphology, but it remains largely unknown how FoxO1 may regulate mitochondrial UCPs. Here we show that FoxO1 interacted with transcription factor EB (Tfeb), a key regulator of autophagosome and lysosome, and mediated the expression of UCP1, UCP2 and UCP3 differentially via autophagy in adipocytes. UCP1 was down-regulated but UCP2 and UCP3 were upregulated during adipocyte differentiation, which was associated with increased Tfeb and autophagy activity. However, inhibition of FoxO1 suppressed Tfeb and autophagy, attenuating UCP2 and UCP3 but increasing UCP1 expression. Pharmacological blockade of autophagy recapitulated the effects of FoxO1 inhibition on UCPs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that FoxO1 interacted with Tfeb by directly binding to its promoter, and silencing FoxO1 led to drastic decrease in Tfeb transcript and protein levels. These data provide the first line of evidence that FoxO1 interacts with Tfeb to regulate autophagy and UCP expression in adipocytes. Dysregulation of FoxO1→autophagy→UCP pathway may account for metabolic changes in obesity.
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    Mitochondrial Epigenetic Changes Link to Increased Diabetes Risk and Early-Stage Prediabetes Indicator
    Zheng, Louise D.; Linarelli, Leah E.; Brooke, Joseph; Smith, Cayleen M.; Wall, Sarah S.; Greenawald, Mark H.; Seidel, Richard W.; Estabrooks, Paul A.; Almeida, Fabio A.; Cheng, Zhiyong (Hindawi, 2016-04-26)
    Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by mitochondrial derangement and oxidative stress. With no known cure for T2D, it is critical to identify mitochondrial biomarkers for early diagnosis of prediabetes and disease prevention. Here we examined 87 participants on the diagnosis power of fasting glucose (FG) and hemoglobin A1c levels and investigated their interactions with mitochondrial DNA methylation. FG and A1c led to discordant diagnostic results irrespective of increased body mass index (BMI), underscoring the need of new biomarkers for prediabetes diagnosis. Mitochondrial DNA methylation levels were not correlated with late-stage (impaired FG or A1c) but significantly with early-stage (impaired insulin sensitivity) events. Quartiles of BMI suggested that mitochondrial DNA methylation increased drastically from Q1 (20 < BMI < 24.9, lean) to Q2 (30 < BMI < 34.9, obese), but marginally from Q2 to Q3 (35 < BMI < 39.9, severely obese) and from Q3 to Q4 (BMI > 40, morbidly obese). A significant change was also observed from Q1 to Q2 inHOMA insulin sensitivity but not in A1c or FG. Thus, mitochondrial epigenetic changes link to increased diabetes risk and the indicator of early-stage prediabetes. Further larger-scale studies to examine the potential of mitochondrial epigenetic marker in prediabetes diagnosis will be of critical importance for T2D prevention.