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AMPK directly phosphorylates the mitochondrial protein SYNJ2BP to facilitate its interaction with the RNA-binding protein SYNJ2a, which transports Pink1 mRNA into neurites. AMPK inhibition downstream of insulin signalling untethers Pink1 mRNA from neuronal mitochondria and favours PINK1-dependent mitophagy in neurons. ApoE4-induced insulin receptor internalization reverses the process by stabilizing Pink1 mRNA binding to neuronal mitochondria.
When preparing your manuscript, clear presentation of the data and concise writing are key. In this Editorial, we offer tips on how to better communicate your results.
Hees et al. identify a mechanism that integrates insulin signalling with distal mitochondrial quality control in neurons via AMPK/PINK1, with implications for mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of insulin resistance in neurons.
The mechanisms that drive cancer cachexia are unclear. Adipocyte activation of GPR81 by high levels of lactate is now shown to drive adipose tissue browning, thermogenesis and a loss of body weight in mouse models of cancer.
The mechanism by which metformin affects food intake remains controversial. Now, two studies link metformin treatment with the induction of the appetite-suppressing metabolite N-lactoyl-phenylalanine, which is produced by the intestine.
Metformin treatment was found to be associated with acute increases in the appetite-suppressing metabolite Lac-Phe in several human observational and interventional studies.
Tumour-derived lactate activates adipose GPR81, which in turn leads to cachexia. Targeting GPR81 and its downstream signalling pathway holds therapeutic potential for treating cancer cachexia.
Metformin is shown to trigger production and release of Lac-Phe from gut epithelial cells, which is required for its effects on food intake and loss of body weight.
Eating requires the sensing in the stomach of not only nutrients, but also volume. A study in Nature Metabolism shows that stretch activation of PIEZO1 on X/A-like cells of the stomach reduces ghrelin production and secretion, which consequently reduces food intake.
Sharma et al. review the regulation and biological functions of apparently ‘futile’ dynamic lipid cycle in regulating whole-body metabolic homeostasis.
Zhang, Fang, et al. develop a method to perform an in-depth lysine succinylation analysis in the mouse liver. This approach allows them to identify a previously unappreciated mechanism of regulation of the urea cycle and ammonia detoxification.
A recent study in Nature Metabolism uncovers a mechanism for pain sensitization that involves a regulatory protein of glycogen metabolism in spinal astrocytes. Targeting this protein, or the lactate fluxes linked to glycogen breakdown, may provide novel opportunities for pain management.
In this study in humans, the authors describe distinct phases of adaptions in the plasma proteome to seven days without food, and identify limited associations of protein changes with weight loss.
The authors describe distinct phases of adaptions in the human plasma proteome to 7 days without food, with profound changes occurring only after 2 days.