Summary Insulin resistance, tissue inflammation and adipose tissue dysfunction are features of obesity/Type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, we generated adipocyte-specific Nuclear Receptor Corepressor (NCoR) knock-out (AKO) mice to investigate the function of NCoR in adipocyte biology and glucose/insulin homeostasis. Despite increased obesity, glucose tolerance was improved in AKO mice, and euglycemic clamp studies demonstrated enhanced insulin sensitivity in liver, muscle and fat. Adipose tissue macrophage infiltration and inflammation were also decreased. PPARγ response genes were upregulated in adipose tissue from AKO mice and CDK5-mediated PPARγ ser-273 phosphorylation was reduced, creating a constitutively active PPARγ state. This identifies a novel function of NCoR as an adaptor protein which enhances the ability of CDK5 to associate with and phosphorylate PPARγ. The dominant function of adipocyte NCoR is to transrepress PPARγ and promote PPARγ ser-273 phosphorylation, such that NCoR deletion leads to adipogenesis, reduced inflammation, and enhanced systemic insulin sensitivity, phenocopying the TZD treated state.

In adipose, muscle, liver and macrophages, signaling by the nuclear receptor PPARγ is a determinant of insulin sensitivity and this receptor mediates the insulin–sensitizing effects of thioazolidinediones (TZDs)1-4. Since PPARγ is also expressed in neurons5, we generated mice with neuron–specific Pparγ knockout (Pparγ BKO) to determine whether neuronal PPARγ signaling contributes to either weight gain or insulin resistance. During high fat diet (HFD) feeding, food intake was reduced and energy expenditure increased in Pparγ BKO mice, resulting in reduced weight gain. When treated with the TZD rosiglitazone, Pparγ BKO mice were resistant to rosiglitazone–induced hyperphagia and weight gain and, relative to rosiglitazone–treated controls, experienced only a marginal improvement in glucose metabolism. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp studies showed that the effect of rosiglitazone treatment to increase hepatic insulin sensitivity during HFD feeding was completely abolished in Pparγ BKO mice, an effect associated with the failure of rosiglitazone to improve liver insulin receptor signal transduction. We conclude that excess weight gain induced by HFD feeding depends in part on the effect of neuronal PPARγ signaling to limit thermogenesis and increase food intake. Neuronal PPARγ signaling is also required for the hepatic insulin sensitizing effects of TZDs.

Obesity-induced inflammation is a key component of systemic insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. A major driver of this inflammation/insulin resistance syndrome is the accumulation of proinflammatory macrophages in adipose tissue and liver. We found that the orphan GPCR Gpr21 was highly expressed in the hypothalamus and macrophages of mice and that whole-body KO of this receptor led to a robust improvement in glucose tolerance and systemic insulin sensitivity and a modest lean phenotype. The improvement in insulin sensitivity in the high-fat diet-fed (HFD-fed) Gpr21 KO mouse was traced to a marked reduction in tissue inflammation caused by decreased chemotaxis of Gpr21 KO macrophages into adipose tissue and liver. Furthermore, mice lacking macrophage expression of Gpr21 were protected from HFD-induced inflammation and displayed improved insulin sensitivity. Results of in vitro chemotaxis studies in human monocytes suggested that the defect in chemotaxis observed ex vivo and in vivo in mice is also translatable to humans. Cumulatively, our data indicate that GPR21 has a critical function in coordinating macrophage proinflammatory activity in the context of obesity-induced insulin resistance.

The acetyltransferase, E1a-binding protein (p300), is proposed to regulate various aspects of skeletal muscle development, metabolism, and mitochondrial function, via its interaction with numerous transcriptional regulators and other proteins. Remarkably, however, the contribution of p300 to skeletal muscle function and metabolism, in vivo, is poorly understood. To address this, we used Cre-LoxP methodology to generate mice with skeletal muscle-specific knockout of E1a-binding protein (mKO). mKO mice were indistinguishable from their wild-type/ floxed littermates, with no differences in lean mass, skeletal muscle structure, fiber type, respirometry flux, or metabolites of fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. Ex vivo muscle function in extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles, including peak stress and time to fatigue, as well as in vivo running capacity were also comparable. Moreover, expected adaptations to a 20 d voluntary wheel running regime were not compromised in mKO mice. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that p300 is not required for the normal development or functioning of adult skeletal muscle, nor is it required for endurance exercise-mediated mitochondrial adaptations.-LaBarge,

Interleukin 1 Receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is highly elevated in obesity and is widely recognized as an anti-inflammatory cytokine. While the anti-inflammatory role of IL-1Ra in the pancreas is well established, the role of IL-1Ra in other insulin target tissues and the contribution of systemic IL-1Ra levels to the development of insulin resistance remains to be defined. Using antisense knock down of IL-1Ra in vivo, we show that normalization of IL-1Ra improved insulin sensitivity due to decreased inflammation in the liver and improved hepatic insulin sensitivity and these effects were independent of changes in body weight. A similar effect was observed in IL1-R1 KO mice, suggesting that at high concentrations of IL-1Ra typically observed in obesity, IL-1Ra can contribute to the development of insulin resistance in a mechanism independent of IL-1Ra binding to IL-1R1. These results demonstrate that normalization of plasma IL-1Ra concentration improves insulin sensitivity in diet- induced obese mice.