• BMB Reports
• /
• 제47권3호
• /
• pp.173-178
• /
• 2014

There is rapidly growing interest in the human microbiome because of its implication in metabolic disorders and inflammatory diseases. Consequently, understanding the biology of short chain fatty acids and their receptors has become very important for identifying novel therapeutic avenues. GPR41 and GPR43 have been recognized as the cognate receptors for SCFAs and their roles in metabolism and inflammation have drawn much attention in recent years. GPR43 is highly expressed on immune cells and has been suggested to play a role in inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Both GPR41 and GPR43 have been implicated in diabetes and obesity via the regulation of adipose tissue and gastrointestinal hormones. So far, many studies have provided contradictory results, and therefore further research is required to validate these receptors as drug targets. We will also discuss the synthetic modulators of GPR41 and GPR43 that are critical to understanding the functions of these receptors.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• 제28권1호
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2024

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Carvacrol (CAR) has demonstrated the potential to mitigate dyslipidemia. This study aims to investigate whether CAR can modulate blood glucose and lipid levels in a T2DM rat model by regulating short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and the GPR41/43 pathway. The T2DM rat model was induced by a high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozocin injection and treated with oral CAR and/or mixed antibiotics. Fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance, and insulin tolerance tests were assessed. Serum lipid parameters, hepatic and renal function indicators, tissue morphology, and SCFAs were measured. In vitro, high glucose (HG)-induced IEC-6 cells were treated with CAR, and optimal CAR concentration was determined. HG-induced IEC-6 cells were treated with SCFAs or/and GPR41/43 agonists. CAR significantly reduced blood lipid and glucose levels, improved tissue damage, and increased SCFA levels in feces and GPR41/43 expression in colonic tissues of T2DM rats. CAR also attenuated HG-induced apoptosis of IEC-6 cells and enhanced GPR41/43 expression. Overall, these findings suggest that CAR alleviates blood lipid and glucose abnormalities in T2DM rats by modulating SCFAs and the GPR41/43 pathway.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제30권1호
• /
• pp.48-54
• /
• 2022

GPR43 (also known as FFAR2), a metabolite-sensing G-protein-coupled receptor stimulated by short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) ligands is involved in innate immunity and metabolism. GPR43 couples with Gα_i/o and Gα_q/11 heterotrimeric proteins and is capable of decreasing cyclic AMP and inducing Ca²⁺ flux. The GPR43 receptor has additionally been shown to bind β-arrestin 2 and inhibit inflammatory pathways, such as NF-κB. However, GPR43 shares the same ligands as GPR41, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, and determination of its precise functions in association with endogenous ligands, such as SCFAs alone, therefore remains a considerable challenge. In this study, we generated novel synthetic agonists that display allosteric modulatory effects on GPR43 and downregulate NF-κB activity. In particular, the potency of compound 187 was significantly superior to that of pre-existing compounds in vitro. However, in the colitis model in vivo, compound 110 induced more potent attenuation of inflammation. These novel allosteric agonists of GPR43 clearly display anti-inflammatory potential, supporting their clinical utility as therapeutic drugs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• 제33권4호
• /
• pp.651-661
• /
• 2020

Objective: We hypothesized that Cr source can alter adipogenic-related transcriptional regulations and cell signaling. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the biological effects of chromium acetate (CrAc) on bovine intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) adipose cells. Methods: Bovine preadipocytes isolated from two different adipose tissue depots; IM and SC were used to evaluate the effect of CrAc treatment during differentiation on adipogenic gene expression. Adipocytes were incubated with various doses of CrAc: 0 (differentiation media only, control), 0.1, 1, and 10 μM. Cells were harvested and then analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in order to measure the quantity of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase-α (AMPK-α), CCAAT enhancer binding protein-β (C/EBPβ), G protein-coupled receptor 41 (GPR41), GPR43, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) mRNA relative to ribosomal protein subunit 9 (RPS9). The ratio of phosphorylated-AMPK (pAMPK) to AMPK was determined using a western blot technique in order to determine changing concentration. Results: The high dose (10 μM) of CrAc increased C/EBPβ, in both IM (p = 0.02) and SC (p = 0.02). Expression of PPARγ was upregulated by 10 μM of CrAc in IM but not in SC. Expression of SCD was also increased in both IM and SC with 10 μM of CrAc treatment. Addition of CrAc did not alter gene expression of glucose transporter 4, GPR41, or GPR43 in both IM and SC adipocytes. Addition of CrAc, resulted in a decreased pAMPKα to AMPKα ration (p<0.01) in IM. Conclusion: These data may indicate that Cr source may influence lipid filling in IM adipocytes via inhibitory action of AMPK phosphorylation and upregulating expression of adipogenic genes.

• 생명과학회지
• /
• 제22권11호
• /
• pp.1571-1586
• /
• 2012

지구상에는 약 5,400여 종의 포유동물이 있고 그 중 약 1,000여 종은 풀을 뜯어 먹고 사는 초식동물이다. 초식동물 중에서 약 250여 종이 반추동물로 알려져 있다. 반추동물인 소와 양은 반추위에서 주로 발효가 일어나지만 비반추동물인 돼지와 사람은 맹장과 결장, 직장에서 주로 발효가 일어난다. 반추위 미생물의 종류와 우점도 Bacteroidetes 51%, Firmicutes 43% 존재하며, 사람의 대장미생물의 우점도Firmicutes 65%, Bacteroidetes 25%로 존재한다. 풀의 세포벽 구성성분은 미생물에 의해 분해, 발효에 의해 SCFA (short chain fatty acid)를 생성하게 되고 acetate, propionate, butyrate 생성비율은 60:25:15이다. 장내 primary butyrate transporter인 MCT1(monocarboxylatetransports-1)에 의해서 흡수된 butyrate는 SCFA receptor GPR43과 GPR41을 활성화시킨다. Butyrate는 강력한 anti-tumorigenic 기능을 가지고 있다. Butyrate는 다양한 cancer cell에 효과를 나타내며 세포내의 기능 조절에 기여하고, 암세포사멸을 유도하는 특성이 있다. Butyrate는 caspase의 활성화, HDAC (histone deacetylase) 활성을 억제하여apoptosis를 유도하고, p53 발현증가로 cell cycle arrest와 apoptosis를 유도한다. SCFA의 항 염증작용으로는 장 상피세포에서 IL-8 발현 감소, NO합성과 NF-${\kappa}B$ (nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$)의 활성을 억제하여 염증으로 인한 암 발생을 억제한다. Butyrate는 장 점막의 생리적 기능을 유지하는데 중요한 역할을 하며 IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) 치료법으로 이용되고 있다.