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Nature Communications Sep 2023Mitochondrial morphology, which is controlled by mitochondrial fission and fusion, is an important regulator of the thermogenic capacity of brown adipocytes....
Mitochondrial morphology, which is controlled by mitochondrial fission and fusion, is an important regulator of the thermogenic capacity of brown adipocytes. Adipose-specific peroxisome deficiency impairs thermogenesis by inhibiting cold-induced mitochondrial fission due to decreased mitochondrial membrane content of the peroxisome-derived lipids called plasmalogens. Here, we identify TMEM135 as a critical mediator of the peroxisomal regulation of mitochondrial fission and thermogenesis. Adipose-specific TMEM135 knockout in mice blocks mitochondrial fission, impairs thermogenesis, and increases diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. Conversely, TMEM135 overexpression promotes mitochondrial division, counteracts obesity and insulin resistance, and rescues thermogenesis in peroxisome-deficient mice. Mechanistically, thermogenic stimuli promote association between peroxisomes and mitochondria and plasmalogen-dependent localization of TMEM135 in mitochondria, where it mediates PKA-dependent phosphorylation and mitochondrial retention of the fission factor Drp1. Together, these results reveal a previously unrecognized inter-organelle communication regulating mitochondrial fission and energy homeostasis and identify TMEM135 as a potential target for therapeutic activation of BAT.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Adipocytes, Brown; Adipose Tissue, Brown; Homeostasis; Insulin Resistance; Mice, Knockout; Mitochondrial Dynamics; Obesity; Peroxisomes; Thermogenesis
PubMed: 37773161
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41849-8 -
Biology of Sex Differences Sep 2023We have previously reported that maternal obesity reduces placental transport capacity for lysophosphatidylcholine-docosahexaenoic acid (LPC-DHA), a preferred form for...
BACKGROUND
We have previously reported that maternal obesity reduces placental transport capacity for lysophosphatidylcholine-docosahexaenoic acid (LPC-DHA), a preferred form for transfer of DHA (omega 3) to the fetal brain, but only in male fetuses. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC), have either sn-1 ester, ether or vinyl ether (plasmalogen) linkages to primarily unsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids and DHA or arachidonic acid (ARA, omega 6) in the sn-2 position. Whether ether and plasmalogen PC and PE metabolism in placenta impacts transfer to the fetus is unexplored. We hypothesized that ether and plasmalogen PC and PE containing DHA and ARA are reduced in maternal-fetal unit in pregnancies complicated by obesity and these differences are dependent on fetal sex.
METHODS
In maternal, umbilical cord plasma and placentas from obese women (11 female/5 male infants) and normal weight women (9 female/7 male infants), all PC and PE species containing DHA and ARA were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Placental protein expression of enzymes involved in phospholipid synthesis, were determined by immunoblotting. All variables were compared between control vs obese groups and separated by fetal sex, in each sample using the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate adjustment to account for multiple testing.
RESULTS
Levels of ester PC containing DHA and ARA were profoundly reduced by 60-92% in male placentas of obese mothers, while levels of ether and plasmalogen PE containing DHA and ARA were decreased by 51-84% in female placentas. PLA2G4C abundance was lower in male placentas and LPCAT4 abundance was lower solely in females in obesity. In umbilical cord, levels of ester, ether and plasmalogen PC and PE with DHA were reduced by 43-61% in male, but not female, fetuses of obese mothers.
CONCLUSIONS
We found a fetal sex effect in placental PE and PC ester, ether and plasmalogen PE and PC containing DHA in response to maternal obesity which appears to reflect an ability of female placentas to adapt to maintain optimal fetal DHA transfer in maternal obesity.
Topics: Infant; Female; Humans; Male; Pregnancy; Placenta; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylethanolamines; Plasmalogens; Ether; Obesity, Maternal; Sex Characteristics; Chromatography, Liquid; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Obesity; Ethyl Ethers; Ethers
PubMed: 37770949
DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00548-1 -
Metabolites Aug 2023Physical activity (PA) is known to have beneficial effects on health, primarily through its antioxidative stress properties. However, the specific metabolic pathways...
Physical activity (PA) is known to have beneficial effects on health, primarily through its antioxidative stress properties. However, the specific metabolic pathways that underlie these effects are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the metabolic pathways that are involved in the protective effects of moderate PA in non-obese and healthy individuals. Data on 305 young, non-obese participants were obtained from the Qatar Biobank. The participants were classified as active or sedentary based on their self-reported PA levels. Plasma metabolomics data were collected and analyzed to identify differences in metabolic pathways between the two groups. The results showed that active participants had increased activation of antioxidative, stress-related pathways, including lysoplasmalogen, plasmalogen, phosphatidylcholine, vitamin A, and glutathione. Additionally, there were significant associations between glutathione metabolites and certain clinical traits, including bilirubin, uric acid, hemoglobin, and iron. This study provides new insights into the metabolic pathways that are involved in the protective effects of moderate PA in non-obese and healthy individuals. The findings may have implications for the development of new therapeutic strategies that target these pathways.
PubMed: 37755253
DOI: 10.3390/metabo13090973 -
Membranes Aug 2023Plasmalogens are a unique family of cellular glycerophospholipids that contain a vinyl-ether bond. The synthesis of plasmalogens is initiated in peroxisomes and... (Review)
Review
Plasmalogens are a unique family of cellular glycerophospholipids that contain a vinyl-ether bond. The synthesis of plasmalogens is initiated in peroxisomes and completed in the endoplasmic reticulum. Plasmalogens are transported to the post-Golgi compartment, including endosomes and plasma membranes, in a manner dependent on ATP, but not vesicular transport. Plasmalogens are preferentially localized in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane in a manner dependent on P4-type ATPase ATP8B2, that associates with the CDC50 subunit. Plasmalogen biosynthesis is spatiotemporally regulated by a feedback mechanism that senses the amount of plasmalogens in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and controls the stability of fatty acyl-CoA reductase 1 (FAR1), the rate-limiting enzyme for plasmalogen biosynthesis. The physiological consequences of such asymmetric localization and homeostasis of plasmalogens are discussed in this review.
PubMed: 37755186
DOI: 10.3390/membranes13090764 -
Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease Nov 2023Measurement of plasmalogens is useful for the biochemical diagnosis of rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) and is also informative for Zellweger spectrum... (Review)
Review
Measurement of plasmalogens is useful for the biochemical diagnosis of rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) and is also informative for Zellweger spectrum disorders (ZSD). We have developed a test method for the simultaneous quantitation of C16:0, C18:0, and C018:1 plasmalogen (PG) species and their corresponding fatty acids (FAs) in dried blood spots (DBS) and erythrocytes (RBC) by using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Normal reference ranges for measured markers and 10 calculated ratios were established by the analysis of 720 and 473 unaffected DBS and RBC samples, respectively. Determination of preliminary disease ranges was made by using 45 samples from 43 unique patients: RCDP type 1 (DBS: 1 mild, 17 severe; RBC: 1 mild, 6 severe), RCDP type 2 (DBS: 2 mild, 1 severe; RBC: 2 severe), RCDP type 3 (DBS: 1 severe), RCDP type 4 (RBC: 2 severe), and ZSD (DBS: 3 severe; RBC: 2 mild, 7 severe). Postanalytical interpretive tools in Collaborative Laboratory Integrated Reports (CLIR) were used to generate an integrated score and a likelihood of disease. In conjunction with a review of clinical phenotype, phytanic acid, and very long-chain FA test results, the CLIR analysis allowed for differentiation between RCDP and ZSD. Data will continue to be gathered to improve CLIR analysis as more samples from affected patients with variable disease severity are analyzed. The addition of DBS analysis of PGs may allow for at-home specimen collection and second-tier testing for newborn screening programs.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Plasmalogens; Chondrodysplasia Punctata, Rhizomelic; Peroxisomal Disorders; Phytanic Acid; Zellweger Syndrome
PubMed: 37747296
DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12682 -
Chemistry (Weinheim An Der Bergstrasse,... Jan 2024Vinyl ethers are valuable synthetic intermediates which are also found as natural products, including aflatoxins, rifamycins and plasmalogens. The latter are ubiquitous...
Vinyl ethers are valuable synthetic intermediates which are also found as natural products, including aflatoxins, rifamycins and plasmalogens. The latter are ubiquitous phospholipids in human cells and contain a vinyl ether moiety with specifically Z configuration. Although numerous methods are available for synthesis of vinyl ethers, there is a lack of methods for obtaining Z isomers of molecules of the type RCH=CHOR' that are applicable to plasmalogens. A variant of the Peterson reaction is described that generates such molecules with very high stereoselectivity (Z/E ratio: 99 : 1). (R,R)/(S,S)-1-alkoxy-2-hydroxyalkylsilanes were synthesized from 1-trimethylsilylalkynes by a sequence of reduction with di-isobutylaluminium hydride to a (Z)-1-trimethylsilylalkene, epoxidation of the alkene to a 2-trimethylsilyl-3-substituted epoxide and regioselective, boron-trifluoride catalyzed ring-opening of the epoxide by reaction with an alcohol. Conversion of the (R,R)/(S,S)-1-alkoxy-2-hydroxyalkylsilanes to vinyl ethers (RCH=CHOR') was achieved under basic conditions as in a standard Peterson reaction. However, near exclusive formation of a Z vinyl ether was only achieved when the reaction was performed using potassium hydride in the non-polar solvent α,α,α-trifluorotoluene, more polar solvents giving increasing amounts of the E isomer. The sequence described embraces a variety of substituents and precursors, proceeds in overall high yield and is readily scalable.
PubMed: 37732540
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202302708 -
Frontiers in Nutrition 2023Breastfed infants have lower disease risk compared to formula-fed infants, however, the mechanisms behind this protection are unknown. Human milk has a complex lipidome...
BACKGROUND
Breastfed infants have lower disease risk compared to formula-fed infants, however, the mechanisms behind this protection are unknown. Human milk has a complex lipidome which may have many critical roles in health and disease risk. However, human milk lipidomics is challenging, and research is still required to fully understand the lipidome and to interpret and translate findings. This study aimed to address key human milk lipidome knowledge gaps and discuss possible implications for early life health.
METHODS
Human milk samples from two birth cohorts, the Barwon Infant Study ( = 312) and University of Western Australia birth cohort ( = 342), were analysed using four liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods (lipidome, triacylglycerol, total fatty acid, alkylglycerol). Bovine, goat, and soy-based infant formula, and bovine and goat milk were analysed for comparison. Composition was explored as concentrations, relative abundance, and infant lipid intake. Statistical analyses included principal component analysis, mixed effects modelling, and correlation, with false discovery rate correction, to explore human milk lipidome longitudinal trends and inter and intra-individual variation, differences between sample types, lipid intakes, and correlations between infant plasma and human milk lipids.
RESULTS
Lipidomics analysis identified 979 lipids. The human milk lipidome was distinct from that of infant formula and animal milk. Ether lipids were of particular interest, as they were significantly higher, in concentration and relative abundance, in human milk than in formula and animal milk, if present in the latter samples at all. Many ether lipids were highest in colostrum, and some changed significantly through lactation. Significant correlations were identified between human milk and infant circulating lipids (40% of which were ether lipids), and specific ether lipid intake by exclusively breastfed infants was 200-fold higher than that of an exclusively formula-fed infant.
CONCLUSION
There are marked differences between the lipidomes of human milk, infant formula, and animal milk, with notable distinctions between ether lipids that are reflected in the infant plasma lipidome. These findings have potential implications for early life health, and may reveal why breast and formula-fed infants are not afforded the same protections. Comprehensive lipidomics studies with outcomes are required to understand the impacts on infant health and tailor translation.
PubMed: 37712002
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1227340 -
The Journal of Organic Chemistry Oct 2023Plasmalogens (Pls) are vinyl ether-containing glycerophospholipids of broad biological interest. Their abnormal levels are associated with neurological disorders and...
Plasmalogens (Pls) are vinyl ether-containing glycerophospholipids of broad biological interest. Their abnormal levels are associated with neurological disorders and cardiovascular diseases. The intricacy of analyzing Pls in lipid samples arises from the wide variety of other coexisting lipid species, which underscores the urgent need for a Pls-specific labeling reaction. To address this challenge, we report an efficient hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction between nonterminal vinyl ethers of Pls and -quinolinone quinone methide probes under mild conditions. On the basis of this mechanism, a selective fluorescent labeling method for Pls is developed. The application of this method permits the exclusive derivatization of Pls over other human plasma lipids. The process also imparts labeled Pls with distinct fluorescence emission and chromatographic retention properties. By integrating this method with high-performance liquid chromatography, we are able to identify individual chromatographic signatures of Pls from 10 different human plasma samples. This Pls signature analytical technique, empowered by the Pls-specific labeling reaction, is cost-effective and simple in terms of instrumentation, suggesting its promising potential for the early screening and diagnosis of diseases linked to Pls abnormalities.
PubMed: 37710996
DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01380 -
JIMD Reports Sep 2023Contiguous / deletion syndrome (CADDS) is a rare deletion syndrome involving two contiguous genes on Xq28, and (formerly known as ). Only nine individuals with this...
Contiguous / deletion syndrome (CADDS) is a rare deletion syndrome involving two contiguous genes on Xq28, and (formerly known as ). Only nine individuals with this diagnosis have been reported in the medical literature to date. Intragenic loss-of-function variants in cause the deafness, dystonia, and cerebral hypomyelination syndrome (DDCH). Isolated pathogenic intragenic variants in are associated with the most common peroxisomal disorder, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), a single transporter deficiency, which in its more severe cerebral form is characterised by childhood-onset neurodegeneration and high levels of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA). While increased VLCFA levels also feature in CADDS, the few patients described to date all presented as neonates with a severe phenotype. Here we report a tenth individual with CADDS, a male infant with dysmorphic facial features who was diagnosed through ultra-rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) in the setting of persistent cholestatic liver disease, sensorineural hearing loss, hypotonia and growth failure and developmental delay. Biochemical studies showed elevated VLCFA and mildly reduced plasmalogens. He died at 7 months having developed pancreatic exocrine deficiency and interstitial lung disease, two features we propose to be possible extensions to the CADDS phenotype. We also review the genetic, phenotypic, and biochemical features in previously reported individuals with CADDS.
PubMed: 37701323
DOI: 10.1002/jmd2.12390 -
Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry 2023Ether lipids are compounds present in many living organisms including humans that feature an ether bond linkage at the -1 position of the glycerol. This class of lipids... (Review)
Review
Ether lipids are compounds present in many living organisms including humans that feature an ether bond linkage at the -1 position of the glycerol. This class of lipids features singular structural roles and biological functions. Alkyl ether lipids and alkenyl ether lipids (also identified as plasmalogens) correspond to the two sub-classes of naturally occurring ether lipids. In 1979 the discovery of the structure of the platelet-activating factor (PAF) that belongs to the alkyl ether class of lipids increased the interest in these bioactive lipids and further promoted the synthesis of non-natural ether lipids that was initiated in the late 60's with the development of edelfosine (an anticancer drug). More recently, ohmline, a glyco glycero ether lipid that modulates selectively SK3 ion channels and reduces in vivo the occurrence of bone metastases, and other glyco glycero ether also identified as GAEL (glycosylated antitumor ether lipids) that exhibit promising anticancer properties renew the interest in this class of compounds. Indeed, ether lipid represent a new and promising class of compounds featuring the capacity to modulate selectively the activity of some membrane proteins or, for other compounds, feature antiproliferative properties via an original mechanism of action. The increasing interest in studying ether lipids for fundamental and applied researches invited to review the methodologies developed to prepare ether lipids. In this review we focus on the synthetic method used for the preparation of alkyl ether lipids either naturally occurring ether lipids (e.g., PAF) or synthetic derivatives that were developed to study their biological properties. The synthesis of neutral or charged ether lipids are reported with the aim to assemble in this review the most frequently used methodologies to prepare this specific class of compounds.
PubMed: 37701305
DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.19.96