The insulin signaling pathway is dysregulated in cumulus cells from obese, infertile women with polycystic ovarian syndrome with an absence of clinical insulin resistance
THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Authors: Chehin, Mauricio B.; Fraietta, Renato; Lorenzon, Aline R.; Bonetti, Tatiana C. S.; Motta, Eduardo L. A.
Abstract
Methods: This is a cohort study, conducted at a university-based reproductive medicine center and private reproductive medicine center that aimed to evaluate granulosa cumulus cell gene expression in the insulin signaling pathway in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and to compare the cumulus gene expression between normal weight and obese women without clinical insulin resistance. Fifteen PCOS patients, nine normal weight patients and six obese patients presenting normal HOMA IR (Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance), participated. Patients underwent oocyte retrieval for IVF and after the procedure, granulosa cumulus cells were removed from the oocytes for RNA extraction. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array analysis of 84 genes from insulin signaling pathway was conducted. The results were expressed as fold up- or fold down-expression in obese patients compared with normal weight patients. Any fold change >= 3 or <= 3 and anyp <= 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: There were 10 genes that were overexpressed in obese compared with normal weight women, BCL2L1, BRAF, CBL, DOK1, FBP1, FRS2, MTOR, PCK2, RPS6KA1, and SORBS1, that had a fold change >= 3 and p <= 0.05. Discussion: In the obese group, the overexpressed genes are mainly responsible for the proliferation and differentiation of cumulus cells during oocyte maturation, insulin resistance, apoptosis regulation, and glucose metabolism during early embryogenesis, suggesting that in the follicular environment, insulin resistance is present even in the absence of clinical signs. Conclusion: Together, our findings and the related literature suggest that those alterations may be associated with the worse prognosis of follicular development and oocyte maturation observed in PCOS obese women.
Dok1 mediates high-fat diet-induced adipocyte hypertrophy and obesity through modulation of PPAR-gamma phosphorylation
NATURE MEDICINE
Authors: Hosooka, Tetsuya; Noguchi, Tetsuya; Kotani, Ko; Nakamura, Takehiro; Sakaue, Hiroshi; Inoue, Hiroshi; Ogawa, Wataru; Tobimatsu, Kazutoshi; Takazawa, Kazuo; Sakai, Mashito; Matsuki, Yasushi; Hiramatsu, Ryuji; Yasuda, Tomoharu; Lazar, Mitchell A.; Yamanashi, Yuji; Kasuga, Masato
Abstract
Insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2 have dominant roles in the action of insulin(1), but other substrates of the insulin receptor kinase, such as Gab1, c-Cbl, SH2-B and APS, are also of physiological relevance(2-5). Although the protein downstream of tyrosine kinases-1 (Dok1) is known to function as a multisite adapter molecule in insulin signaling(6-8), its role in energy homeostasis has remained unclear. Here we show that Dok1 regulates adiposity. Expression of Dok1 in white adipose tissue was markedly increased in mice fed a high-fat diet, whereas adipocytes lacking this adapter were smaller and showed a reduced hypertrophic response to this dietary manipulation. Dok1-deficient mice were leaner and showed improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity compared with wild-type mice. Embryonic fibroblasts from Dok1-deficient mice were impaired in adipogenic differentiation, and this defect was accompanied by an increased activity of the protein kinase ERK and a consequent increase in the phosphorylation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma on Ser112. Mutation of this negative regulatory site for the transactivation activity of PPAR-gamma blocked development of the lean phenotype caused by Dok1 ablation. These results indicate that Dok1 promotes adipocyte hypertrophy by counteracting the inhibitory effect of ERK on PPAR-gamma and may thus confer predisposition to diet-induced obesity.