Annalise Schweickart, Richa Batra, Bryan J. Neth, Cameron Martino, Liat Shenhav, Anru R. Zhang, Pixu Shi, Naama Karu, Kevin Huynh, Peter J. Meikle, Leyla Schimmel, Amanda Hazel Dilmore, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Colette Blach, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Rob Knight, Alzheimer’s Gut Microbiome Project Consortium, Suzanne Craft, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Jan Krumsiek
{"title":"Serum and CSF metabolomics analysis shows Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet mitigates risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease","authors":"Annalise Schweickart, Richa Batra, Bryan J. Neth, Cameron Martino, Liat Shenhav, Anru R. Zhang, Pixu Shi, Naama Karu, Kevin Huynh, Peter J. Meikle, Leyla Schimmel, Amanda Hazel Dilmore, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Colette Blach, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Rob Knight, Alzheimer’s Gut Microbiome Project Consortium, Suzanne Craft, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Jan Krumsiek","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00016-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00016-3","url":null,"abstract":"Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is influenced by a variety of modifiable risk factors, including a person’s dietary habits. While the ketogenic diet (KD) holds promise in reducing metabolic risks and potentially affecting AD progression, only a few studies have explored KD’s metabolic impact, especially on blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Our study involved participants at risk for AD, either cognitively normal or with mild cognitive impairment. The participants consumed both a modified Mediterranean Ketogenic Diet (MMKD) and the American Heart Association diet (AHAD) for 6 weeks each, separated by a 6-week washout period. We employed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to profile serum and CSF and metagenomics profiling on fecal samples. While the AHAD induced no notable metabolic changes, MMKD led to significant alterations in both serum and CSF. These changes included improved modifiable risk factors, like increased HDL-C and reduced BMI, reversed serum metabolic disturbances linked to AD such as a microbiome-mediated increase in valine levels, and a reduction in systemic inflammation. Additionally, the MMKD was linked to increased amino acid levels in the CSF, a breakdown of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and decreased valine levels. Importantly, we observed a strong correlation between metabolic changes in the CSF and serum, suggesting a systemic regulation of metabolism. Our findings highlight that MMKD can improve AD-related risk factors, reverse some metabolic disturbances associated with AD, and align metabolic changes across the blood-CSF barrier.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00016-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141489061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sharen Lee, Tong Liu, Cheuk To Chung, Johannes Reinhold, Vassilios S. Vassiliou, Gary Tse
{"title":"PowerAI-Diabetes: Review of glycemic and lipid variability to predict cardiovascular events in Chinese diabetic population","authors":"Sharen Lee, Tong Liu, Cheuk To Chung, Johannes Reinhold, Vassilios S. Vassiliou, Gary Tse","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00012-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00012-7","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study is to review the predictive value of visit-to-visit variability in glycaemic or lipid tests for forecasting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in diabetes mellitus. Data from existing studies suggests that such variability is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes in this patient cohort. This understanding is then applied to the development of PowerAI-Diabetes, a Chinese-specific artificial intelligence-enhanced predictive model for predicting the risks of major adverse cardiovascular events and diabetic complications. The model integrates an amalgam of variables including demographics, laboratory and medication information to assess the risk of MACE. Future efforts should focus on the incorporation of treatment effects and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as social determinants of health variables, to improve the performance of predictive models.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00012-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141489070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In Ah Choi, Akio Umemoto, Masataka Mizuno, Kyung-Hyun Park-Min
{"title":"Bone metabolism – an underappreciated player","authors":"In Ah Choi, Akio Umemoto, Masataka Mizuno, Kyung-Hyun Park-Min","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00010-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00010-9","url":null,"abstract":"Bone is constantly being remodeled, and this process is orchestrated by a dynamic crosstalk of bone cells, including osteoclasts, osteoblasts, and osteocytes. Recent evidence suggests that cellular metabolism plays a crucial role in the differentiation and function of bone cells and facilitates the adaptation of bone cells to changes in the bone microenvironment. Moreover, bone affects whole-body energy metabolism. However, it is not yet completely understood how different cells in bone coordinate metabolic processes under physiological conditions, and how altered metabolic processes in bone cells contribute to pathological conditions where the balance among bone cells is disrupted. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of the distinct metabolic requirements of bone cells can provide crucial insights into the dysfunction of bone cells in pathological conditions and can be used to identify new therapeutic approaches to treat bone diseases. Here, we discuss recent advances in understanding metabolic reprogramming in bone cells.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00010-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141489069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pre-conceptional paternal diet impacts on offspring testosterone homoeostasis via epigenetic modulation of cyp19a1/aromatase activity","authors":"Arianna Pastore, Nadia Badolati, Francesco Manfrevola, Serena Sagliocchi, Valentina Laurenzi, Giorgia Musto, Veronica Porreca, Melania Murolo, Teresa Chioccarelli, Roberto Ciampaglia, Valentina Vellecco, Mariarosaria Bucci, Monica Dentice, Gilda Cobellis, Mariano Stornaiuolo","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00011-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00011-8","url":null,"abstract":"Paternal eating habits, before and at conception, have a strong impact on offspring future metabolism. By sending specific epigenetic signals through spermatozoa, paternal nutrition influences developing embryos and increases offspring risk of developing dysmetabolism and cardiovascular diseases. Among the intergenerational consequences, paternal epigenetic messages affect embryo DNA methylation altering programmed gene expression. The identification of offspring genetic loci that are epigenetically altered by paternal stimuli is of pivotal interest for timely post-natal treatment of offspring metabolic defects. We here use a murine model to show that, cyp19a1/aromatase, a gene coding for the cytochrome converting testosterone into 17-β estradiol (both potent hormonal mediators of embryo development and metabolism), is an epigenetic transducer of paternal intergenerational inheritance. By affecting cyp19a1 methylation status and alternative splicing, paternal diet coordinates androgens’ metabolism in the progeny affecting it in a sexually dimorphic way and promoting hypoandrogenism, growth retardation and diabetes in male pups.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00011-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141334115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pialuisa Quiriconi, Vanco Hristov, Mayu Aburaya, Una Greferath, Andrew I. Jobling, Erica L. Fletcher
{"title":"The role of microglia in the development of diabetic retinopathy","authors":"Pialuisa Quiriconi, Vanco Hristov, Mayu Aburaya, Una Greferath, Andrew I. Jobling, Erica L. Fletcher","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00009-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00009-2","url":null,"abstract":"Diabetic retinopathy is a vision-threatening disease and remains the most feared complication for those living with diabetes. Historically, the disease has been considered primarily vascular in nature, based on clinically detectable vascular pathology. Nonetheless, it is now recognized that the retina undergoes a variety of cellular changes from the early onset of diabetes. In fact, one of the earliest changes to occur is a loss in vasoregulation, yet our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is lacking. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, perform a range of physiological, non-inflammatory functions to maintain retinal homeostasis which includes surveying the microenvironment to constantly monitor tissue health, neuronal surveillance to maintain synaptic integrity and vasoregulation, a recently discovered role that these cells additionally perform. The role of microglia in the development of diabetic retinopathy is well-established, centered around their contribution to inflammation which remains an integral component in disease pathogenesis, particularly in later stages of disease. However, recent findings reveal that early in the development of diabetes the vasoregulatory function of microglia is dysfunctional, leading to early vascular compromise. This review summarizes recent work to highlight how microglia are affected by diabetes and the implications of these changes in the development of diabetic retinopathy from pre-clinical to advanced stages of disease.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00009-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141246193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multifaceted mitochondria in innate immunity","authors":"Eloïse Marques, Robbin Kramer, Dylan G. Ryan","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00008-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00008-3","url":null,"abstract":"The ability of mitochondria to transform the energy we obtain from food into cell phosphorylation potential has long been appreciated. However, recent decades have seen an evolution in our understanding of mitochondria, highlighting their significance as key signal-transducing organelles with essential roles in immunity that extend beyond their bioenergetic function. Importantly, mitochondria retain bacterial motifs as a remnant of their endosymbiotic origin that are recognised by innate immune cells to trigger inflammation and participate in anti-microbial defence. This review aims to explore how mitochondrial physiology, spanning from oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) to signalling of mitochondrial nucleic acids, metabolites, and lipids, influences the effector functions of phagocytes. These myriad effector functions include macrophage polarisation, efferocytosis, anti-bactericidal activity, antigen presentation, immune signalling, and cytokine regulation. Strict regulation of these processes is critical for organismal homeostasis that when disrupted may cause injury or contribute to disease. Thus, the expanding body of literature, which continues to highlight the central role of mitochondria in the innate immune system, may provide insights for the development of the next generation of therapies for inflammatory diseases.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00008-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141156531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Logan V. Vick, Spencer Rosario, Jonathan W. Riess, Robert J. Canter, Sarbajit Mukherjee, Arta M. Monjazeb, William J. Murphy
{"title":"Potential roles of sex-linked differences in obesity and cancer immunotherapy: revisiting the obesity paradox","authors":"Logan V. Vick, Spencer Rosario, Jonathan W. Riess, Robert J. Canter, Sarbajit Mukherjee, Arta M. Monjazeb, William J. Murphy","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00007-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00007-4","url":null,"abstract":"Obesity, a condition of excess adiposity usually defined by a BMI > 30, can have profound effects on both metabolism and immunity, connecting the condition with a broad range of diseases, including cancer and negative outcomes. Obesity and cancer have been associated with increased incidence, progression, and poorer outcomes of multiple cancer types in part due to the pro-inflammatory state that arises. Surprisingly, obesity has also recently been demonstrated in both preclinical models and clinical outcomes to be associated with improved response to immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI). These observations have laid the foundation for what has been termed the “obesity paradox”. The mechanisms underlying these augmented immunotherapy responses are still unclear given the pleiotropic effects obesity exerts on cells and tissues. Other important variables such as age and sex are being examined as further affecting the obesity effect. Sex-linked factors exert significant influences on obesity biology, metabolism as well as differential effects of different immune cell-types. Age can be another confounding factor contributing to the effects on both sex-linked changes, immune status, and obesity. This review aims to revisit the current body of literature describing the immune and metabolic changes mediated by obesity, the role of obesity on cancer immunotherapy, and to highlight questions on how sex-linked differences may influence obesity and immunotherapy outcome.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00007-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141085135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Angela S. Bruzina, Christiana J. Raymond-Pope, Kevin J. Murray, Thomas J. Lillquist, Katelyn M. Castelli, Shefali R. Bijwadia, Jarrod A. Call, Sarah M. Greising
{"title":"Limitations in metabolic plasticity after traumatic injury are only moderately exacerbated by physical activity restriction","authors":"Angela S. Bruzina, Christiana J. Raymond-Pope, Kevin J. Murray, Thomas J. Lillquist, Katelyn M. Castelli, Shefali R. Bijwadia, Jarrod A. Call, Sarah M. Greising","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00006-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00006-5","url":null,"abstract":"Following traumatic musculoskeletal injuries, prolonged bedrest and loss of physical activity may limit muscle plasticity and drive metabolic dysfunction. One specific injury, volumetric muscle loss (VML), results in frank loss of muscle and is characterized by whole-body and cellular metabolic dysfunction. However, how VML and restricted physical activity limit plasticity of the whole-body, cellular, and metabolomic environment of the remaining uninjured muscle remains unclear. Adult mice were randomized to posterior hindlimb compartment VML or were age-matched injury naïve controls, then randomized to standard or restricted activity cages for 8-wks. Activity restriction in naïve mice resulted in ~5% greater respiratory exchange ratio (RER); combined with VML, carbohydrate oxidation was ~23% greater than VML alone, but lipid oxidation was largely unchanged. Activity restriction combined with VML increased whole-body carbohydrate usage. Together there was a greater pACC:ACC ratio in the muscle remaining, which may contribute to decreased fatty acid synthesis. Further, β-HAD activity normalized to mitochondrial content was decreased following VML, suggesting a diminished capacity to oxidize fatty acids. The muscle metabolome was not altered by the restriction of physical activity. The combination of VML and activity restriction resulted in similar ( ~ 91%) up- and down-regulated metabolites and/or ratios, suggesting that VML injury alone is regulating changes in the metabolome. Data supports possible VML-induced alterations in fatty acid metabolism are exacerbated by activity restriction. Collectively, this work adds to the sequalae of VML injury, exhausting the ability of the muscle remaining to oxidize fatty acids resulting in a possible accumulation of triglycerides.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00006-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140351741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"MTHFD2 in healthy and cancer cells: Canonical and non-canonical functions","authors":"Natalia Pardo-Lorente, Sara Sdelci","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00005-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00005-6","url":null,"abstract":"Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2 (MTHFD2) is a mitochondrial enzyme of the folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism pathway. MTHFD2 has become a highly attractive therapeutic target due to its consistent upregulation in cancer tissues and its major contribution to tumor progression, although it also performs vital functions in proliferating healthy cells. Here, we review the diversity of canonical and non-canonical functions of this key metabolic enzyme under physiological conditions and in carcinogenesis. We provide an overview of its therapeutic potential and describe its regulatory mechanisms. In addition, we discuss the recently described non-canonical functions of MTHFD2 and the mechanistic basis of its oncogenic function. Finally, we speculate on novel therapeutic approaches that take into account subcellular compartmentalization and outline new research directions that would contribute to a better understanding of the fundamental roles of this metabolic enzyme in health and disease.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00005-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140135485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eliana D. Weisz, Adam R. Fenton, Thomas A. Jongens
{"title":"PGC-1α integrates insulin signaling with mitochondrial physiology and behavior in a Drosophila model of Fragile X Syndrome","authors":"Eliana D. Weisz, Adam R. Fenton, Thomas A. Jongens","doi":"10.1038/s44324-024-00004-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44324-024-00004-7","url":null,"abstract":"Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most prevalent monogenetic form of intellectual disability and autism. Recently, dysregulation of insulin signaling (IS) and aberrations in mitochondrial function have emerged as robust, evolutionarily conserved components of FXS pathophysiology. However, the mechanisms by which altered IS and mitochondrial dysfunction impact behavior in the context of FXS remain elusive. Here, we show that normalization of IS improves mitochondrial volume and function in flies that lack expression of dfmr1, the Drosophila homolog of the causal gene of FXS in humans. Further, we demonstrate that dysregulation of IS underlies diminished expression of the mitochondrial master regulator PGC-1α/Spargel in dfmr1 mutant flies. These results are behaviorally relevant, as we show that pan-neuronal augmentation of PGC-1α/Spargel improves circadian behavior in dfmr1 mutants. Notably, we also show that modulation of PGC-1α/Spargel expression in wild-type flies phenocopies the dfmr1 mutant circadian defect. Taken together, the results presented herein provide a mechanistic link between mitochondrial function and circadian behavior both in FXS pathogenesis as well as more broadly at the interface between metabolism and behavioral output.","PeriodicalId":501710,"journal":{"name":"npj Metabolic Health and Disease","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44324-024-00004-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139915802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}