YAP and TAZ protect against white adipocyte cell death during obesity
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Authors: Wang, Lei; Wang, ShengPeng; Shi, Yue; Li, Rui; Guenther, Stefan; Ong, Yu Ting; Potente, Michael; Yuan, Zuyi; Liu, Enqi; Offermanns, Stefan
Abstract
The expansion of the white adipose tissue (WAT) in obesity goes along with increased mechanical, metabolic and inflammatory stress. How adipocytes resist this stress is still poorly understood. Both in human and mouse adipocytes, the transcriptional co-activators YAP/TAZ and YAP/TAZ target genes become activated during obesity. When fed a high-fat diet (HFD), mice lacking YAP/TAZ in white adipocytes develop severe lipodystrophy with adipocyte cell death. The pro-apoptotic factor BIM, which is downregulated in adipocytes of obese mice and humans, is strongly upregulated in YAP/TAZ-deficient adipocytes under HFD, and suppression of BIM expression reduces adipocyte apoptosis. In differentiated adipocytes, TNF alpha and IL-1 beta promote YAP/TAZ nuclear translocation via activation of RhoA-mediated actomyosin contractility and increase YAP/TAZ-mediated transcriptional regulation by activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and AP-1. Our data indicate that the YAP/TAZ signaling pathway may be a target to control adipocyte cell death and compensatory adipogenesis during obesity. The expansion of the white adipose tissue during obesity is accompanied by increased cellular stress, but factors that protect adipocytes from cell death are not well known. Here the authors report that the transcriptional co-activators YAP and TAZ are activated in adipocytes during obesity, which increases adipocyte survival through the proapoptotic factor BIM.
Redox Regulation by Protein S-Glutathionylation: From Molecular Mechanisms to Implications in Health and Disease
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
Authors: Musaogullari, Aysenur; Chai, Yuh-Cherng
Abstract
S-glutathionylation, the post-translational modification forming mixed disulfides between protein reactive thiols and glutathione, regulates redox-based signaling events in the cell and serves as a protective mechanism against oxidative damage. S-glutathionylation alters protein function, interactions, and localization across physiological processes, and its aberrant function is implicated in various human diseases. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of S-glutathionylation and describe the changing levels of expression of S-glutathionylation in the context of aging, cancer, cardiovascular, and liver diseases.