Abbreviations: ACC, acetyl-CoA carboxylase; AMP, adenosine monophosphate; AMPK, adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase; CCCP, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine; CISD1, CDGSH iron sulfur domain 1; DRP1, dynamin-related protein 1; GFP, green fluorescence protein; MFF, mitochondrial fission factor; MFN-1/2, mitofusin-1/2; mtFIS1 101-152 , mitochondrial targeting sequence of FIS1 (amino acids 101-152); NDP52, nuclear dot protein 52; OPA1, dynamin-like 120 kDa protein; OPTN, optineurin; OXPHOS, oxidative phosphorylation; PINK1, PTEN-induced kinase 1; SQSTM1/p62, sequestosome-1; TBK1, TANK-binding kinase 1; Ub, ubiquitin; UBA UBQLN1 , his-halo-ubiquilin1 UBA domain tetramer; ULK1, unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1. AbstractMitophagy is a key process regulating mitochondrial quality control. Several mechanisms have been proposed to regulate mitophagy, but these have mostly been studied using stably expressed non-native proteins in immortalized cell lines. In skeletal muscle, mitophagy and its molecular mechanisms require more thorough investigation. To measure mitophagy directly, we generated a stable skeletal muscle C2C12 cell line, expressing a mitophagy reporter construct (mCherry-green fluorescence protein-mtFIS1 101-152 ). Here, we report that both carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) treatment and adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation by 991 promote mitochondrial fission via phosphorylation of MFF and induce mitophagy by ~20%. Upon CCCP treatment, but not 991, ubiquitin phosphorylation, a read-out of PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) activity, and Parkin E3 ligase activity toward CDGSH iron sulfur domain 1 (CISD1) were increased. Although the PINK1-Parkin signaling pathway is active in response to CCCP treatment, we observed no change in markers of mitochondrial protein content. Interestingly, our data shows that TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) phosphorylation is increased after both CCCP and 991 treatments, suggesting TBK1 activation to be independent of both PINK1 and Parkin. Finally, we confirmed in non-muscle cell lines that TBK1 phosphorylation occurs in the absence of PINK1 and is regulated by AMPKdependent signaling. Thus, AMPK activation promotes mitophagy by enhancing mitochondrial fission (via MFF phosphorylation) and autophagosomal engulfment (via TBK1 activation) in a PINK1-Parkin independent manner.

High circulating glucose and non-esterified (free) fatty acid levels can cause pancreatic β-cell failure. The molecular mechanisms of this β-cell glucolipotoxicity are yet to be established conclusively. In the present paper we report on the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in fatty-acid-induced β-cell failure. We have used state-of-the-art extracellular flux technology to functionally probe mitochondrial energy metabolism in intact INS-1E insulinoma cells in real-time. We show that 24-h palmitate exposure at high glucose attenuates the glucose-sensitivity of mitochondrial respiration and lowers coupling efficiency of glucose-stimulated oxidative phosphorylation. These mitochondrial defects coincide with an increased level of ROS (reactive oxygen species), impaired GSIS (glucose-stimulated insulin secretion) and decreased cell viability. Palmitate lowers absolute glucose-stimulated respiration coupled to ATP synthesis, but does not affect mitochondrial proton leak. Palmitate is not toxic when administered at low glucose unless fatty acid β-oxidation is inhibited. Palmitoleate, on the other hand, does not affect mitochondrial respiration, ROS levels, GSIS or cell viability. Although palmitoleate protects against the palmitate-induced ROS increase and cell viability loss, it does not protect against respiratory and insulin secretory defects. We conclude that mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to fatty-acid-induced GSIS impairment, and that glucolipotoxic cell viability and GSIS phenotypes are mechanistically distinct.

High glucose and fatty acid levels impair pancreatic beta cell function. We have recently shown that palmitate-induced loss of INS-1E insulinoma cells is related to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production as both toxic effects are prevented by palmitoleate. Here we show that palmitate-induced ROS are mostly mitochondrial: oxidation of MitoSOX, a mitochondria-targeted superoxide probe, is increased by palmitate, whilst oxidation of the equivalent non-targeted probe is unaffected. Moreover, mitochondrial respiratory inhibition with antimycin A stimulates palmitate-induced MitoSOX oxidation. We also show that palmitate does not change the level of mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) and that UCP2 knockdown does not affect palmitate-induced MitoSOX oxidation. Palmitoleate does not influence MitoSOX oxidation in INS-1E cells ±UCP2 and largely prevents the palmitate-induced effects. Importantly, UCP2 knockdown amplifies the preventive effect of palmitoleate on palmitate-induced ROS. Consistently, viability effects of palmitate and palmitoleate are similar between cells ±UCP2, but UCP2 knockdown significantly augments the palmitoleate protection against palmitate-induced cell loss at high glucose. We conclude that UCP2 neither mediates palmitate-induced mitochondrial ROS generation and the associated cell loss, nor protects against these deleterious effects. Instead, UCP2 dampens palmitoleate protection against palmitate toxicity.

The canonical model of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) by pancreatic β-cells predicts a glucose-induced rise in the cytosolic ATP/ADP ratio. Such bioenergetic sensitivity to metabolic fuel is unusual as it implies that ATP flux is governed, to a significant extent, by ATP supply, while it is predominantly demand-driven in other cell types. Metabolic control is generally shared between different processes, but potential control of ATP consumption over β-cell bioenergetics has been largely ignored to date. The present paper offers a brief overview of experimental evidence that demonstrates ATP flux control by glucose-fuelled oxidative phosphorylation. Based on old and new data, it is argued that ATP supply does not hold exclusive control over ATP flux, but shares it with ATP demand, and that the distribution of control is flexible. Quantification of the bioenergetic control distribution will be important from basic and clinical perspectives, but precise measurement of the cytosolic ATP/ADP ratio is complicated by adenine nucleotide compartmentalisation. Metabolic control analysis of β-cell bioenergetics will likely clarify the mechanisms by which glucose and fatty acids amplify and potentiate GSIS, respectively. Moreover, such analysis may offer hints as to how ATP flux control shifts from ATP supply to ATP demand during the development of type 2 diabetes, and why prolonged sulfonylurea treatment causes β-cell deterioration.

It has been well established that excessive levels of glucose and palmitate lower glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) by pancreatic β-cells. This β-cell 'glucolipotoxicity' is possibly mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction, but involvement of bioenergetic failure in the pathological mechanism is the subject of ongoing debate. We show in the present study that increased palmitate levels impair GSIS before altering mitochondrial function. We demonstrate that GSIS defects arise from increased insulin release under basal conditions in addition to decreased insulin secretion under glucose-stimulatory conditions. Real-time respiratory analysis of intact mouse pancreatic islets reveals that mitochondrial ATP synthesis is not involved in the mechanism by which basal insulin is elevated. Equally, mitochondrial lipid oxidation and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) do not contribute to increased basal insulin secretion. Palmitate does not affect KCl-induced insulin release at a basal or stimulatory glucose level, but elevated basal insulin release is attenuated by palmitoleate and associates with increased intracellular calcium. These findings deepen our understanding of β-cell glucolipotoxicity and reveal that palmitate-induced GSIS impairment is disconnected from mitochondrial dysfunction, a notion that is important when targeting β-cells for the treatment of diabetes and when assessing islet function in human transplants.