We previously demonstrated that the deletion of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (Parp)-1 gene in mice enhances oxidative metabolism, thereby protecting against diet-induced obesity. However, the therapeutic use of PARP inhibitors to enhance mitochondrial function remains to be explored. Here, we show tight negative correlation between Parp-1 expres...
Published in Cell metabolism
Adipose tissue macrophage (ATM)-driven inflammation plays a key role in insulin resistance; however, factors activating ATMs are poorly understood. Using a proteomics approach, we show that markers of classical activation are absent on ATMs from obese humans but are readily detectable on airway macrophages of patients with cystic fibrosis, a diseas...
Published in Cell Metabolism
Autophagy is essential for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis during periods of stress. Eisenberg and colleagues (Eisenberg et al., 2014) now describe the central and conserved role for acetyl-CoA synthetase in regulating life span in yeast and flies by a mechanism involving autophagy.
Published in Cell Metabolism
For many years, mitochondria were viewed as semiautonomous organelles, required only for cellular energetics. This view has been largely supplanted by the concept that mitochondria are fully integrated into the cell and that mitochondrial stresses rapidly activate cytosolic signaling pathways that ultimately alter nuclear gene expression. Remarkabl...
Published in Cell metabolism
Obesity is associated with infiltration of macrophages into adipose tissue (AT), contributing to insulin resistance and diabetes. However, relatively little is known regarding the origin of AT macrophages (ATMs). We discovered that murine models of obesity have prominent monocytosis and neutrophilia, associated with proliferation and expansion of b...
Published in Cell Metabolism
Both glucagon and insulin, hormones of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans, tightly control blood glucose levels. This article uncovers a trihormonal glucoregulatory circuit in which glucagon stimulates liver kisspeptin1 production, which in turn suppresses insulin secretion. The findings also suggest in diabetes mellitus a causal link between hype...
Published in Cell Metabolism
Published in Cell Metabolism
Extra Myc activity in Drosophila cells promotes “supercompetitor” status of these cells at the expense of weaker cells in mosaic tissues. Here, de la Cova et al. show that p53 promotes and supports the functional transition of Myc-expressing cells into super-competitors. Their findings have implications in understanding cancer cell fitness and tumo...
Published in Cell Metabolism
Mitochondria fulfill central functions in bioenergetics, metabolism, and apoptosis. They import more than 1,000 different proteins from the cytosol. It had been assumed that the protein import machinery is constitutively active and not subject to detailed regulation. However, recent studies indicate that mitochondrial protein import is regulated at...
Published in Cell Metabolism
Brissova et al. show that transiently increasing β cell VEGF-A activates islet endothelial cells but, surprisingly, leads to β cell loss. After removal of the VEGF-A stimulus, β cells proliferated, leading to islet regeneration. The regeneration required bone marrow-derived macrophages and was independent of the pancreatic location or circulating f...
