Person:

Baffy, Gyorgy

Uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) regulates insulin secretion by controlling ATP levels in β cells. While UCP2 deficiency improves glycemic control in mice, increased expression of UCP2 interferes with glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. These observations link UCP2 to β cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes with a perplexing evolutionary role. We found higher residual serum insulin levels and blunted lipid metabolic responses in fasted ucp2−/− mice, supporting the concept that UCP2 evolved to suppress insulin effects and to accommodate the fuel switch to fatty acids during starvation. In the absence of UCP2, fasting initially promotes peripheral lipolysis and hepatic fat accumulation at less than expected rates, but culminates in protracted steatosis indicating diminished hepatic utilization and clearance of fatty acids. We conclude that UCP2-mediated control of insulin secretion is a physiologically relevant mechanism of the metabolic response to fasting.

Liver cancer is associated with chronic inflammation, which is linked to immune dysregulation, disordered metabolism and aberrant cell proliferation. CD39/ENTPD1 is an ectonucleotidase that regulates extracellular nucleotide/nucleoside concentrations by scavenging nucleotides to ultimately generate adenosine. These properties inhibit anti tumor immune responses and promote angiogenesis, being permissive for the growth of transplanted tumors. Here, we show Cd39 deletion promotes development of both induced and spontaneous autochthonous liver cancer in mice. Loss of Cd39 results in higher concentrations of extracellular nucleotides, which stimulate proliferation of hepatocytes, abrogate autophagy and disrupt glycolytic metabolism. Constitutive activation of Ras-MAPK and mTOR-S6K1 pathways occurs in both quiescent Cd39 null hepatocytes in vitro and liver tissues in vivo. Exogenous ATP boosts these signaling pathways, while rapamycin inhibits such aberrant responses in hepatocytes.

Conclusions Deletion of Cd39 and resulting changes in disordered purinergic signaling perturb hepatocellular metabolic/proliferative responses, paradoxically resulting in malignant transformation. These findings might impact adjunctive therapies for cancer. Lastly, our studies indicate that the biology of autochthonous and transplanted tumors is quite distinct.