scholarly journals Communications between Mitochondria and Endoplasmic Reticulum in the Regulation of Metabolic Homeostasis

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2195
Author(s):  
Pengcheng Zhang ◽  
Daniels Konja ◽  
Yiwei Zhang ◽  
Yu Wang

Mitochondria associated membranes (MAM), which are the contact sites between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, have emerged as an important hub for signaling molecules to integrate the cellular and organelle homeostasis, thus facilitating the adaptation of energy metabolism to nutrient status. This review explores the dynamic structural and functional features of the MAM and summarizes the various abnormalities leading to the impaired insulin sensitivity and metabolic diseases.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. e202101079
Author(s):  
Himani Pathak ◽  
Jishy Varghese

In Drosophila, nutrient status is sensed by the fat body, a functional homolog of mammalian liver and white adipocytes. The fat body conveys nutrient information to insulin-producing cells through humoral factors which regulate Drosophila insulin-like peptide levels and insulin signalling. Insulin signalling has pleiotropic functions, which include the management of growth and metabolic pathways. Here, we report that Edem1 (endoplasmic reticulum degradation–enhancing α-mannosidase–like protein 1), an endoplasmic reticulum–resident protein involved in protein quality control, acts in the fat body to regulate insulin signalling and thereby the metabolic status in Drosophila. Edem1 limits the fat body–derived Drosophila tumor necrosis factor-α Eiger activity on insulin-producing cells and maintains systemic insulin signalling in fed conditions. During food deprivation, edem1 gene expression levels drop, which aids in the reduction of systemic insulin signalling crucial for survival. Overall, we demonstrate that Edem1 plays a vital role in helping the organism to endure a fluctuating nutrient environment by managing insulin signalling and metabolic homeostasis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 233 (3) ◽  
pp. R145-R171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Botchlett ◽  
Shih-Lung Woo ◽  
Mengyang Liu ◽  
Ya Pei ◽  
Xin Guo ◽  
...  

Obesity is an ongoing pandemic and serves as a causal factor of a wide spectrum of metabolic diseases including diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease. Much evidence has demonstrated that nutrient overload/overnutrition initiates or exacerbates inflammatory responses in tissues/organs involved in the regulation of systemic metabolic homeostasis. This obesity-associated inflammation is usually at a low-grade and viewed as metabolic inflammation. When it exists continuously, inflammation inappropriately alters metabolic pathways and impairs insulin signaling cascades in peripheral tissues/organs such as adipose tissue, the liver and skeletal muscles, resulting in local fat deposition and insulin resistance and systemic metabolic dysregulation. In addition, inflammatory mediators, e.g., proinflammatory cytokines, and excessive nutrients, e.g., glucose and fatty acids, act together to aggravate local insulin resistance and form a vicious cycle to further disturb the local metabolic pathways and exacerbate systemic metabolic dysregulation. Owing to the critical role of nutrient metabolism in controlling the initiation and progression of inflammation and insulin resistance, nutritional approaches have been implicated as effective tools for managing obesity and obesity-associated metabolic diseases. Based on the mounting evidence generated from both basic and clinical research, nutritional approaches are commonly used for suppressing inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, and/or decreasing fat deposition. Consequently, the combined effects are responsible for improvement of systemic insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. R87-R106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Tubbs ◽  
Jennifer Rieusset

Beyond the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and the determination of cell fate, ER–mitochondria contact sites, defined as mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), start to emerge as an important signaling hub that integrates nutrient and hormonal stimuli and adapts cellular metabolism. Here, we summarize the established structural and functional features of MAM and mainly focus on the latest breakthroughs highlighting a crucial role of organelle crosstalk in the control of metabolic homeostasis. Lastly, we discuss recent studies that have revealed the importance of MAM in not only metabolic diseases but also in other pathologies with disrupted metabolism, shedding light on potential common molecular mechanisms and leading hopefully to novel treatment strategies.


Endocrinology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 154 (3) ◽  
pp. 1055-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhou ◽  
Huixia Li ◽  
Lin Xu ◽  
Weijin Zang ◽  
Shufang Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Osteocalcin, a synthetic osteoblast-specific protein, has recently emerged as an important regulator of energy metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In the present study, mice fed a high-fat diet and receiving osteocalcin showed reduced body weight gain, less fat pad gain, and improved insulin sensitivity as well as increased energy expenditure compared with mice fed a high-fat diet and receiving vehicle. Meanwhile, increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, defective insulin signaling, and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by obesity were also effectively alleviated by treatment with osteocalcin. Consistent with these findings, the addition of osteocalcin to the culture medium of 3T3-L1 adipocytes, Fao liver cells, and L6 muscle cells markedly reduced ER stress and restored insulin sensitivity. These effects were nullified by blockade of nuclear factor–κB (NF-κB) or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase but not by U0126, a mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, indicating the causative role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/NF-κB in action of osteocalcin. In addition, the reversal effects of osteocalcin in cells deficient in X-box–binding protein-1, a transcription factor that modulates ER stress response, further confirmed its protective role against ER stress and insulin resistance. Our findings suggest that osteocalcin attenuates ER stress and rescues impaired insulin sensitivity in insulin resistance via the NF-κB signaling pathway, which may offer novel opportunities for treatment of obesity and diabetes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noemi Ruiz-Lopez ◽  
Jessica Pérez-Sancho ◽  
Alicia Esteban del Valle ◽  
Richard P Haslam ◽  
Steffen Vanneste ◽  
...  

Abstract Endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane contact sites (ER-PM CS) play fundamental roles in all eukaryotic cells. Arabidopsis thaliana mutants lacking the ER-PM protein tether synaptotagmin1 (SYT1) exhibit decreased plasma membrane (PM) integrity under multiple abiotic stresses such as freezing, high salt, osmotic stress and mechanical damage. Here, we show that, together with SYT1, the stress-induced SYT3 is an ER-PM tether that also functions in maintaining PM integrity. The ER-PM CS localization of SYT1 and SYT3 is dependent on PM phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate and is regulated by abiotic stress. Lipidomic analysis revealed that cold stress increased the accumulation of diacylglycerol at the PM in a syt1/3 double mutant relative to wild type while the levels of most glycerolipid species remain unchanged. Additionally, the SYT1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion preferentially binds diacylglycerol in vivo with little affinity for polar glycerolipids. Our work uncovers a SYT-dependent mechanism of stress adaptation counteracting the detrimental accumulation of diacylglycerol at the PM produced during episodes of abiotic stress.


2020 ◽  
Vol 401 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 793-809
Author(s):  
Naama Zung ◽  
Maya Schuldiner

AbstractContact sites, areas where two organelles are held in close proximity through the action of molecular tethers, enable non-vesicular communication between compartments. Mitochondria have been center stage in the contact site field since the discovery of the first contact between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) over 60 years ago. However, only now, in the last decade, has there been a burst of discoveries regarding contact site biology in general and mitochondrial contacts specifically. The number and types of characterized contacts increased dramatically, new molecular mechanisms enabling contact formation were discovered, additional unexpected functions for contacts were shown, and their roles in cellular and organismal physiology were emphasized. Here, we focus on mitochondria as we highlight the most recent developments, future goals and unresolved questions in the field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5390
Author(s):  
Qianhui Zeng ◽  
Nannan Wang ◽  
Yaru Zhang ◽  
Yuxuan Yang ◽  
Shuangshuang Li ◽  
...  

Obesity-induced adipose tissue dysfunction and disorders of glycolipid metabolism have become a worldwide research priority. Zfp217 plays a crucial role in adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, but about its functions in animal models are not yet clear. To explore the role of Zfp217 in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, global Zfp217 heterozygous knockout (Zfp217+/−) mice were constructed. Zfp217+/− mice and Zfp217+/+ mice fed a normal chow diet (NC) did not differ significantly in weight gain, percent body fat mass, glucose tolerance, or insulin sensitivity. When challenged with HFD, Zfp217+/− mice had less weight gain than Zfp217+/+ mice. Histological observations revealed that Zfp217+/− mice fed a high-fat diet had much smaller white adipocytes in inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). Zfp217+/− mice had improved metabolic profiles, including improved glucose tolerance, enhanced insulin sensitivity, and increased energy expenditure compared to the Zfp217+/+ mice under HFD. We found that adipogenesis-related genes were increased and metabolic thermogenesis-related genes were decreased in the iWAT of HFD-fed Zfp217+/+ mice compared to Zfp217+/− mice. In addition, adipogenesis was markedly reduced in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from Zfp217-deleted mice. Together, these data indicate that Zfp217 is a regulator of energy metabolism and it is likely to provide novel insight into treatment for obesity.


Contact ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 251525642110265
Author(s):  
Vladimir Zhemkov ◽  
Jen Liou ◽  
Ilya Bezprozvanny

Recent studies indicated potential importance of membrane contact sites (MCS) between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and other cellular organelles. These MCS have unique protein and lipid composition and serve as hubs for inter-organelle communication and signaling. Despite extensive investigation of MCS protein composition and functional roles, little is known about the process of MCS formation. In this perspective, we propose a hypothesis that MCS are formed not as a result of random interactions between membranes of ER and other organelles but on the basis of pre-existing cholesterol-enriched ER microdomains.


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