Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0948265 (metabolic syndrome)
 24,271 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Age-dependent metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a well established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it also confers major risk for impaired cognition in normal aging or Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about the specific pathways mediating MetS-brain interactions. Here, we performed the first studies quantitatively linking MetS variables to aging changes in brain genome-wide expression and mitochondrial function. In six young adult and six aging female rhesus monkeys, we analyzed gene expression in two major hippocampal subdivisions critical for memory/cognitive function [hippocampus proper, or cornu ammonis (CA), and dentate gyrus (DG)]. Genes that changed with aging [aging-related genes (ARGs)] were identified in each region. Serum variables reflecting insulin resistance and dyslipidemia were used to construct a quantitative MetS index (MSI). This MSI increased with age and correlated negatively with hippocampal mitochondrial function (state III oxidation). More than 2000 ARGs were identified in CA and/or DG, in approximately equal numbers, but substantially more ARGs in CA than in DG were correlated selectively with the MSI. Pathways represented by MSI-correlated ARGs were determined from the Gene Ontology Database and literature. In particular, upregulated CA ARGs representing glucocorticoid receptor (GR), chromatin assembly/histone acetyltransferase, and inflammatory/immune pathways were closely associated with the MSI. These results suggest a novel model in which MetS is associated with upregulation of hippocampal GR-dependent transcription and epigenetic coactivators, contributing to decreased mitochondrial function and brain energetic dysregulation. In turn, these MSI-associated neuroenergetic changes may promote inflammation, neuronal vulnerability, and risk of cognitive impairment/AD.
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PMID:Aging-related gene expression in hippocampus proper compared with dentate gyrus is selectively associated with metabolic syndrome variables in rhesus monkeys. 2042 64

Glucocorticoids, the end-products of the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis, influence the functions of virtually all organs and tissues through the nuclear glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Circulating levels of glucocorticoids fluctuate naturally in a circadian fashion under the strong influence of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) circadian CLOCK system, and regulate the transcriptional activity of the GR in the brain and peripheral target tissues. We recently reported that the basic helix-loop- helix transcription factor Clock, which is a histone acetyltransferase and a central component of the self-oscillating transcription factor loop that generates circadian rhythms, represses GR transcriptional activity by acetylating lysine residues within the 'lysine cluster' located in the hinge region of the receptor. This Clock-mediated repression of GR transcriptional activity oscillates in inverse phase to the HPA axis, acting as a target tissue counter-regulatory mechanism to the diurnally fluctuating circulating glucocorticoids. Interestingly, mild evening elevations of corti-sol, as occurs in chronic stress situations, and frequent uncoupling of the SCN CLOCK-directed HPA axis from the daily oscillation of target tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids, as happens in trans-time zone travel and night shift work, produce functional hypercortisolism and, hence, multiple components of the metabolic syndrome with resultant cardiovascular complications.
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PMID:Circadian CLOCK-mediated regulation of target-tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids: implications for cardiometabolic diseases. 2116 65

Sleep fragmentation (SF) is a common condition among pregnant women, particularly during late gestation. Gestational perturbations promote the emergence of adiposity and metabolic disease risk in offspring, most likely through epigenetic modifications. Adiponectin (AdipoQ) expression inversely correlates with obesity and insulin resistance. The effects of SF during late gestation on metabolic function and AdipoQ expression in visceral white adipose tissue (VWAT) of offspring mice are unknown. Male offspring mice were assessed at 24 weeks after dams were exposed to SF or control sleep during late gestation. Increased food intake, body weight, VWAT mass, and insulin resistance, with reductions in AdipoQ expression in VWAT, emerged in SF offspring. Increased DNMT3a and -b and global DNA methylation and reduced histone acetyltransferase activity and TET1, -2, and -3 expression were detected in VWAT of SF offspring. Reductions in 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and H3K4m3 and an increase in DNA 5-methylcytosine and H3K9m2 in the promoter and enhancer regions of AdipoQ emerged in adipocytes from VWAT and correlated with AdipoQ expression. SF during late gestation induces epigenetic modifications in AdipoQ in male offspring mouse VWAT adipocytes along with a metabolic syndrome-like phenotype. Thus, altered gestational environments elicited by SF impose the emergence of adverse, long-lasting metabolic consequences in the next generation.
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PMID:Sleep fragmentation during late gestation induces metabolic perturbations and epigenetic changes in adiponectin gene expression in male adult offspring mice. 2481 24

The P300/CBP-associating factor (PCAF), a histone acetyltransferase, is involved in metabolic and pathogenic diseases, particularly of the liver. The effects of PCAF on fine-tuning liver diseases are extremely complex and vary according to different pathological conditions. This enzyme has dichotomous functions, depending on differently modified sites, which regulate the activities of various enzymes, metabolic functions, and gene expression. Here, we summarize the most recent findings on the functions and targets of PCAF in various metabolic and immunological processes in the liver and review these new discoveries and models of PCAF biology in three areas: hepatic metabolic syndrome, inflammatory disease, and cancer. Finally, we discuss the potential implications of these findings for therapeutic interventions in liver diseases.
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PMID:PCAF fine-tunes hepatic metabolic syndrome, inflammatory disease, and cancer. 3021 60

In humans, chronic glucocorticoid use is associated with side effects like muscle wasting, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Intermittent steroid dosing has been proposed in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients to mitigate the side effects seen with daily steroid intake. We evaluated biomarkers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients, finding that, compared with chronic daily steroid use, weekend steroid use was associated with reduced serum insulin, free fatty acids, and branched chain amino acids, as well as reduction in fat mass despite having similar BMIs. We reasoned that intermittent prednisone administration in dystrophic mice would alter muscle epigenomic signatures, and we identified the coordinated action of the glucocorticoid receptor, KLF15 and MEF2C as mediators of a gene expression program driving metabolic reprogramming and enhanced nutrient utilization. Muscle lacking Klf15 failed to respond to intermittent steroids. Furthermore, coadministration of the histone acetyltransferase inhibitor anacardic acid with steroids in mdx mice eliminated steroid-specific epigenetic marks and abrogated the steroid response. Together, these findings indicate that intermittent, repeated exposure to glucocorticoids promotes performance in dystrophic muscle through an epigenetic program that enhances nutrient utilization.
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PMID:Pulsed glucocorticoids enhance dystrophic muscle performance through epigenetic-metabolic reprogramming. 3185 47