Biomedical subjects

André Tremblay

Publications and source records attributed to André Tremblay.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The hormonal response of estrogen receptor beta is decreased by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway via a phosphorylation-dependent release of CREB-binding protein.

The hormonal response of estrogen receptors (ER) alpha and ERbeta is controlled by a number of cofactors, including the general transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP). Growing evidence suggests that specific kinase signaling events also modulate the formation and activity of the ER coactivation complex. Here we show that ERbeta activity and target gene expression are decreased upon activation of ErbB2/ErbB3 receptors despite the presence of CBP. This inhibition of ERbeta involved activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway, abrogating the potential of CBP to facilitate ERbeta response to estrogen. Such reduced activity was associated with an impaired ability of ERbeta to recruit CBP upon activation of Akt. Mutation of serine 255, an Akt consensus site contained in the hinge region of ERbeta, prevented the release of CBP and rendered ERbeta transcriptionally more responsive to CBP coactivation, suggesting that Ser-255 may serve as a regulatory site to restrain ERbeta activity in Akt-activated cells. In contrast, we found that CBP intrinsic activity was increased by Akt through threonine 1872, a consensus site for Akt in the cysteine- and histidine-rich 3 domain of CBP, indicating that such enhanced transcriptional potential of CBP did not serve to activate ERbeta. Interestingly, nuclear receptors sharing a conserved Akt consensus site with ERbeta also exhibit a reduced ability to be coactivated by CBP, whereas others missing that site were able to benefit from the activation of CBP by Akt. These results therefore outline a regulatory mechanism by which the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway may discriminate nuclear receptor response through coactivator transcriptional competence.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

A growth hormone-releasing peptide promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and a fat burning-like phenotype through scavenger receptor CD36 in white adipocytes.

Whereas the uptake of oxidized lipoproteins by scavenger receptor CD36 in macrophages has been associated with foam cell formation and atherogenesis, little is known about the role of CD36 in regulating lipid metabolism in adipocytes. Here we report that treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with hexarelin, a GH-releasing peptide that interacts with CD36, resulted in a depletion of intracellular lipid content with no significant change in CD36 expression. Microarray analysis revealed an increased pattern in several genes involved in fatty acid mobilization toward the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation process in response to hexarelin. Interestingly, many of these up-regulated genes are known targets of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma, such as FATP, CPT-1, and F(1)-ATPase, suggesting that adipocyte response to hexarelin may involve PPARgamma activation. Expression studies also indicate an increase in thermogenic markers PPARgamma coactivator 1alpha and uncoupling protein-1, which are normally expressed in brown adipocytes. Electron microscopy of hexarelin-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes showed an intense and highly organized cristae formation that spans the entire width of mitochondria, compared with untreated cells, and cytochrome c oxidase activity was enhanced by hexarelin, two features characteristic of highly oxidative tissues. A similar mitochondrial phenotype was detected in epididymal white fat of mice treated with hexarelin, along with an increased expression of thermogenic markers that was lost in treated CD36-null mice, suggesting that the ability of hexarelin to promote a brown fat-like phenotype also occurs in vivo and is dependent on CD36. These results provide a potential role for CD36 to impact the overall metabolic activity of fat usage and mitochondrial biogenesis in adipocytes.

3T3-L1 Cells↗

PubMed2006

Oxidative stress influences cholesterol efflux in THP-1 macrophages: role of ATP-binding cassette A1 and nuclear factors.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the mechanisms involved in oxidative stress-induced foam cell formation is of fundamental importance for atherosclerosis. Our aim was to characterize the effects of oxidative stress on key receptors of macrophage cholesterol homeostasis, on the nuclear transcription factors PPAR and LXR regulating their expression, and on macrophage cholesterol handling. METHODS AND RESULTS: The incubation of macrophages derived from the human monocyte cell line THP-1 with iron (100 microm)/ascorbate (1000 microm) for a period of 4 h induced a strong peroxidation, as demonstrated by the elevation of malondialdehyde (220%, P < 0.001). The production of lipid peroxidation affected cholesterol efflux, which was probably due to decreased ABCAI gene and protein expression. On the other hand, cholesterol influx remained unchanged as did the mRNA and protein levels of SR-BI and CD36, important protein receptors that participate in cholesterol import. Experiments using RT-PCR showed that the ABCAI modulation was orchestrated by the nuclear receptors LXRalpha, LXRbeta, PPARalpha, and PPARgamma. Treatment with powerful antioxidants (Trolox and BHT) prevented the adverse effects of iron-ascorbate on cholesterol movement, conceivably supporting the role of oxidative stress. CONCLUSION: Our results show that oxidative stress can directly be induced in macrophages and concomitantly impairs the expression of receptors involved in cholesterol flux, which could influence foam cell formation and atherosclerosis development.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1↗

PubMed2006

A growth hormone-releasing peptide that binds scavenger receptor CD36 and ghrelin receptor up-regulates sterol transporters and cholesterol efflux in macrophages through a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-dependent pathway.

Macrophages play a central role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by accumulating cholesterol through increased uptake of oxidized low-density lipoproteins by scavenger receptor CD36, leading to foam cell formation. Here we demonstrate the ability of hexarelin, a GH-releasing peptide, to enhance the expression of ATP-binding cassette A1 and G1 transporters and cholesterol efflux in macrophages. These effects were associated with a transcriptional activation of nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma in response to binding of hexarelin to CD36 and GH secretagogue-receptor 1a, the receptor for ghrelin. The hormone binding domain was not required to mediate PPARgamma activation by hexarelin, and phosphorylation of PPARgamma was increased in THP-1 macrophages treated with hexarelin, suggesting that the response to hexarelin may involve PPARgamma activation function-1 activity. However, the activation of PPARgamma by hexarelin did not lead to an increase in CD36 expression, as opposed to liver X receptor (LXR)alpha, suggesting a differential regulation of PPARgamma-targeted genes in response to hexarelin. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that, in contrast to a PPARgamma agonist, the occupancy of the CD36 promoter by PPARgamma was not increased in THP-1 macrophages treated with hexarelin, whereas the LXRalpha promoter was strongly occupied by PPARgamma in the same conditions. Treatment of apolipoprotein E-null mice maintained on a lipid-rich diet with hexarelin resulted in a significant reduction in atherosclerotic lesions, concomitant with an enhanced expression of PPARgamma and LXRalpha target genes in peritoneal macrophages. The response was strongly impaired in PPARgamma(+/-) macrophages, indicating that PPARgamma was required to mediate the effect of hexarelin. These findings provide a novel mechanism by which the beneficial regulation of PPARgamma and cholesterol metabolism in macrophages could be regulated by CD36 and ghrelin receptor downstream effects.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1↗

PubMed2006

Adenoviral-mediated modulation of Sim1 expression in the paraventricular nucleus affects food intake.

Haploinsufficency of Sim1, which codes for a basic helix-loop-helix-PAS (PER-ARNT-SIM) transcription factor, causes hyperphagia in mice and humans, without decrease in energy expenditure. Sim1 is expressed in several areas of the brain, including the developing and postnatal paraventricular nucleus (PVN), a region of the hypothalamus that controls food intake. We have previously found that the number of PVN cells is decreased in Sim1+/- mice, suggesting that their hyperphagia is caused by a developmental mechanism. However, the possibility that Sim1 functions in the postnatal PVN to control food intake cannot be ruled out. To explore this hypothesis, we used adenoviral vectors to modulate Sim1 expression in the postnatal PVN of wild-type mice. Unilateral stereotaxic injection into the PVN of an adenoviral vector producing a short hairpin RNA directed against Sim1 resulted in a significant increase in food intake, which peaked to 22% 6 d after the procedure, compared with the injection of a control virus. In contrast, injection of an adenovirus that expresses Sim1 induced a decrease in food intake that was maximal on the seventh day after the procedure, reaching 20%. The impact of bilateral injections of these vectors into the PVN was not greater than that of unilateral injections. Together, these results strongly suggest that Sim1 functions along a physiological pathway to control food intake.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2005

EP 80317, a ligand of the CD36 scavenger receptor, protects apolipoprotein E-deficient mice from developing atherosclerotic lesions.

CD36, a type B scavenger receptor expressed on macrophages, appears to play a major role in fatty streak formation through scavenging oxidatively modified lipoproteins in the arterial wall. We tested the hypothesis that EP 80317, a novel CD36 ligand derived from the growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide family but devoided of any GH releasing activity, exerts anti-atherosclerotic effects in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice fed an atherogenic diet from 6 wk of age. Daily subcutaneous injections of EP 80317 (300 microg/kg) or vehicle were initiated at 6, 10, 12, or 14 wk until death at 18 wk. En face analyses of the entire aortic tree revealed a striking reduction (up to 51%) of lesion areas in EP 80317-treated apoE-/- mice compared with controls. Chronic treatment with EP 80317 (12 wk) is also associated with a 30% decrease in total plasma cholesterol, suggesting potential effects of this drug on cholesterol metabolism at the intestine/hepatic levels. EP 80317 exerts both preventive and curative effects on atherosclerotic lesion progression that were shown to be reversible after cessation of treatment. At the macrophage level, EP 80317 reduced oxidized low density lipoproteins internalization and up-regulated genes involved in cholesterol efflux, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), liver x receptor alpha (LXRalpha), and the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1, supporting a role in regulating peripheral cholesterol trafficking. Importantly, the effects of EP 80317 were shown to be CD36 dependent, inasmuch as no anti-atherosclerotic or hypocholesterolemic effects were observed in apoE/CD36 double-deficient mice. In addition, long-term treatment of apoE/CD36 double-deficient mice with EP 80317 did not modulate the expression of genes of the PPARgamma-LXRalpha-ABC transporters pathway. Our results suggest that EP 80317, as a CD36 ligand, might be a prototype for a novel class of anti-atherosclerotic agents.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1↗

PubMed2005

Selective hormone-dependent repression of estrogen receptor beta by a p38-activated ErbB2/ErbB3 pathway.

Deregulated signaling of ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase is often associated with hormone resistance in estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha)-positive breast cancers, establishing a relationship between ErbB2 and ERalpha pathways. Although ERalpha and ERbeta are expressed in many breast cancer cells, the response of ERbeta to ErbB2 signaling is less well defined. In the present study, we demonstrate that ERbeta activity can be modulated by ErbB2 signaling in ER-expressing breast cancer cells. The estrogen-dependent transcriptional activity of ERbeta was altered in a manner similar to ERalpha by either activation of ErbB2/ErbB3 signaling by growth factor heregulin beta or expression of a constitutively active mutant of ErbB2. However, as opposed to ERalpha, the p38 MAPK pathway was found to be involved in liganded ERbeta repression activity by ErbB2 signaling and in regulating estrogen-responsive promoter occupancy by ERbeta. The repression in ERbeta response to hormone was dependent upon its AF-1 domain which includes serines 106 and 124, two phosphorylation target sites for Erk that we previously showed to be involved in SRC-1 recruitment to ERbeta. Substitution of these two serines by aspartic acid residues abolished the repression of ERbeta by activated ErbB2/ErbB3. Moreover, expression of SRC-1 also relieved the inhibition of ERbeta in heregulin-treated cells. Our study demonstrates a functional coupling between ERbeta and ErbB receptors and outlines the differential role of the AF-1 region in the regulation of the estrogen-dependent cell growth and activity of both estrogen receptors in response to growth factor signaling.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Regulatory interaction between arylhydrocarbon receptor and SIM1, two basic helix-loop-helix PAS proteins involved in the control of food intake.

The basic helix-loop-helix PAS (bHLH-PAS) transcription factors SIM1 and arylhydrocarbon receptor (AHR) are involved in the control of feeding behavior. Sim1 haploinsufficiency causes hyperphagia in mice and humans, most likely by perturbing the hypothalamus function. The administration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), a ligand of AHR, causes severe anorexia, which also appears to be of central origin. Both SIM1 and AHR require heterodimerization either with ARNT or ARNT2 to function. Here, we characterize the promoter for Sim1 and show that a consensus AHR-ARNT/2 binding site positively regulates its activity in the context of transfection experiments in Neuro-2A cells. A gel shift assay indicated that AHR-ARNT/2 can bind its putative site in the Sim1 promoter. Overexpression of Arnt, Arnt2, or Ahr increased the activity of a reporter construct containing the Sim1 promoter by 1.8-, 1.5-, and 2.2-fold, respectively, but failed to do so when the AHR-ARNT/2 binding site was mutated. Similarly, TCDD increased the activity of the reporter construct by 1.8-fold but not that of its mutated version. Finally, we found that TCDD increased Sim1 expression in Neuro-2A cells and in mouse kidney and hypothalamus by 4-, 3-, and 2-fold, respectively. We conclude that Sim1 expression is regulated by AHR-ARNT/2. This result raises the possibility that Sim1 mediates the effect of TCDD on feeding and points to a complex network of regulatory interactions between bHLH-PAS proteins.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reorganizing care and work: process and productivity gains.

A Montreal-area hospital implemented organizational changes to improve the psychosocial environment for patients and health care workers and enhance organizational efficiency. This article describes a participatory approach to improving the organization of care and work, an approach focused on productivity gains in an organization. Productivity gains were analyzed in 13 units of the Department of Nursing, which had introduced a series of organizational changes. Changes introduced in care and work organization led to productivity gains in all units overseen by the Nursing Directorate. A reorganization of care and work based on the psychosocial work environment and staff participation can have positive outcomes, both for employees and for the wider organization.

Efficiency, Organizational↗