Alpha-1 adrenergic receptors mediate adaptive effects in the heart and cardiac myocytes, and a myocyte survival pathway involving the alpha-1A receptor subtype and ERK activation exists in vitro. However, data in vivo are limited. Here we tested A61603 (N-[5-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-2-hydroxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-yl]methanesulfonamide), a selective imidazoline agonist for the al...

The acute-phase response (APR) leads to alterations in lipid metabolism and type II nuclear hormone receptors, which regulate lipid metabolism, are suppressed, in liver, heart, and kidney. Here, we examine the effect of the APR in adipose tissue. In mice, lipopolysaccharide produces a rapid, marked decrease in mRNA levels of nuclear hormone receptors [peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ...

During obesity, excess body weight is not only associated with an increased risk of type 2-diabetes, but also several other pathological processes, such as infertility. Adipose tissue the largest endocrine organ that produces adipokines, including adiponectin. Adiponectin has been reported to control fertility through hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis, and folliculogenesis in ovaries. In this...

Wnt signaling maintains preadipocytes in an undifferentiated state. When Wnt signaling is enforced, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes no longer undergo adipocyte conversion in response to adipogenic medium. Here we used microarray analyses to identify subsets of genes whose expression is aberrant when differentiation is blocked through enforced Wnt signaling. Furthermore, we used the microarray data to iden...

The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR) is a member of the steroid/hormone receptor superfamily that mediates the peroxisome proliferator-dependent transcriptional activation of genes encoding several peroxisomal and microsomal enzymes as well as peroxisome proliferation. Human liver is refractory to the pathological effects of peroxisome proliferators that are seen in mice....

BACKGROUND Diabetic cardiomyopathy, which contributes to >50% diabetic death, is featured by myocardial lipid accumulation, hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiac dysfunction. The mechanism underlying diabetic cardiomyopathy is poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that a striated muscle-specific E3 ligase Mitsugumin 53 (MG53, or TRIM72) constitutes a primary causal factor of systemic insuli...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) belongs to the nuclear receptor (NR) family of transcription factors and regulates lipid and glucose metabolism. Like other NRs, the regulation of gene expression by PPARalpha depends on cofactor recruitment to the transcription complex and multiple protein-protein interactions. In this study, Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2), an E3 ubiq...

Cellular responses to the AA isoform of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-AA) are mediated via the PDGF alpha receptor. Several studies suggest this receptor may signal pathways distinct from those activated by the PDGF beta receptor. Because alpha receptors are less well characterized than are beta receptors, and because the quantity of cell surface PDGF receptors governs the extent and per...

We investigated serotonin stimulated palmitoylation of G alpha subunits in rat brain cerebrocortical membranes. Serotonin dose dependently stimulated palmitoylation of membrane G alpha proteins. The highest [3H] palmitate incorporation observed was by G alpha-q (7-fold), followed by G alpha-o (5-fold), G alpha-i (4-fold) and G alpha-s (3-fold) and these increases in palmitoylation were blocked ...

It is known that application of tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) sensitizes neuronal calcium channels for heat stimuli in rat models of neuropathic pain. This study examines whether TNF-alpha modulates the capsaicin-induced effects after transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV)-1 receptor activation on voltage activated calcium channel currents (I(Ca(V))). TRPV-1 receptors are activ...