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The gustatory system provides critical information about the quality and nutritional value of food before it is ingested. Thus, physiological mechanisms that modulate taste function in the context of nutritional needs or metabolic status could optimize ingestive decisions. We report that glucagon, which plays important roles in the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, enhances sweet taste responsiveness through local actions in the mouse gustatory epithelium. Using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy, we found that glucagon and its receptor (GlucR) are coexpressed in a subset of mouse taste receptor cells. Most of these cells also express the T1R3 taste receptor implicated in sweet and/or umami taste. Genetic or pharmacological disruption of glucagon signaling in behaving mice indicated a critical role for glucagon in the modulation of taste responsiveness. Scg5-/- mice, which lack mature glucagon, had significantly reduced responsiveness to sucrose as compared to wild-type littermates in brief-access taste tests. No significant differences were seen in responses to prototypical salty, sour, or bitter stimuli. Taste responsiveness to sucrose was similarly reduced upon acute and local disruption of glucagon signaling by the GlucR antagonist L-168,049. Together, these data indicate a role for local glucagon signaling in the peripheral modulation of sweet taste responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcopenic obesity, the combination of skeletal muscle mass and function loss with an increase in body fat, is associated with physical limitations, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic stress, and increased risk of mortality. Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) plays a critical role in the regulation of whole-body energy metabolism because of its involvement in controlling appetite, fuel distribution, and utilization. Inhibition of CB1R improves insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in pancreatic β-cells and hepatocytes. We have now developed a skeletal muscle-specific CB1R-knockout (Skm-CB1R-/-) mouse to study the specific role of CB1R in muscle. Muscle-CB1R ablation prevented diet-induced and age-induced insulin resistance by increasing IR signaling. Moreover, muscle-CB1R ablation enhanced AKT signaling, reducing myostatin expression and increasing IL-6 secretion. Subsequently, muscle-CB1R ablation increased myogenesis through its action on MAPK-mediated myogenic gene expression. Consequently, Skm-CB1R-/- mice had increased muscle mass and whole-body lean/fat ratio in obesity and aging. Muscle-CB1R ablation improved mitochondrial performance, leading to increased whole-body muscle energy expenditure and improved physical endurance, with no change in body weight. These results collectively show that CB1R in muscle is sufficient to regulate whole-body metabolism and physical performance and is a novel target for the treatment of sarcopenic obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R5925 --> 586.3 --> Background: Cellular senescence, one of the hallmarks of aging, refers to a permanent cell cycle arrest and is accelerated during the aging process. A senolytic, a small molecule that eliminates senescent cells, can be a potential strategy to extend healthy lifespan and ameliorate age‐associated diseases. Black ginseng (BG) prepared via nine‐times repetitive steaming and drying process from fresh ginseng (Panax ginsengC.A. Meyer) has been reported to its physiological benefits against reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammation, and oncogenesis which are common cues to induce aging. Therefore, the present study was aimed to investigate the effect of BG on cellular senescence. Methods: Senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐β‐gal) staining was performed on primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) treated 5 μg/mL BG extract for 7 days, and then senescence was induced by γ‐ray irradiation (20 Gy). For animal studies, C57BL/6 male mice were divided into three groups: 9‐week‐old mice orally administered distilled water (Young), 21‐month‐old mice received administration of distilled water (Old), and aged mice supplemented 300 mg/kg BG extracts (Old + BG). After 4 weeks of daily injection, PCR array and immunoblotting were conducted to evaluate mRNA expression and protein levels of targets associated with cellular senescence and cell cycle regulation in metabolic organs, liver, skeletal muscle (SKM), and white adipose tissue (WAT). Results: In in vitro study, BG treatment reduced the density of SA‐β‐gal‐positive MEFs after γ‐ray irradiation (Fig. 1). In aged mice study, BG supplementation remarkedly downregulated age‐related hepatic genes, especially in complement component 1q B (C1qb) and C (C1qc), compared to the aged control group. We further examined the canonical Wnt signaling, augmented in a mouse model of accelerated aging, since the complement C1q family activates Wnt signaling by binding to Frizzled receptors. By assessing the related markers, BG supplementation significantly decreased the hepatic β‐catenin expression level; it also slightly reduced the levels of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) and its phosphorylated form (p‐GSK3β). Recent studies have revealed that Wnt signaling involves in mammalian aging by regulating cell fate and proliferation choice. Thus, we evaluated the expressions of p53 and p21, which involves in cell cycle regulation, and both levels decreased in liver samples from Old + BG group compared to the Old group (Fig. 2). In support of this notion, BG treatment decreased the hepatic mRNA expression levels of senescence‐associated secretory phenotypes (SASPs) such as matrix metallopeptidase 12 (Mmp12) and chemokine ligand 2 (Cxcl2). Consistent with the results in the liver, other metabolic organs, SKM and WAT, showed significantly lower p53 expression in Old + BG group over the Old group. Conclusion: The current study indicates that BG could be a potential candidate of senolytics to reversely regulate cellular senescence, resulting from downregulated complement system affecting Wnt signaling pathways and p53/p21 pathway in metabolic organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R5518 --> 583.5 --> Aging is a physiological decrease of several biological activities in an organ that all organisms go through. The presence of a gradual deterioration of cell functioning, due to damage accumulation in metabolic organs, accelerates biological aging. Recently, dietary interventions with food‐active compounds have been linked to suppressing the accumulation of senescent cells and senescence‐associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Curcumin has potent biochemical and biological activities, including antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory actions. However, it largely remains unclear how curcumin has anti‐aging properties such as protection of DNA damage and cell survival/cell fate decisions. The objective of this study is to examine the regulatory effect of dietary curcumin on hepatic cellular senescence in the aged mouse model. Aged (18‐20 months old) male C57BL/6 mice were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or NCD containing 0.4% (w/w) curcumin ‐ equivalent to 2g/day for a 60 kg adult ‐ (NCD+CUR), high fat high sugar diet (HFHSD) or a HFHSD+CUR (N=7‐9 per group) for 15 weeks. Mice given an HFHSD supplemented with curcumin displayed a different metabolic phenotype compared to mice given an HFHSD alone. To examine the phenotypic plasticity led by transcriptomic alteration, we used RNA‐Seq and analyzed differential gene expression in Gene Ontology (GO) terms and KEGG pathway analysis. There were 1687 and 3794 number of genes that showed a significant change with curcumin in NCD and HFHSD groups compared to their respective control groups. There were at least 8‐fold higher uniquely upregulated and 6‐fold uniquely downregulated genes in the HFHSD+CUR group when compared with their NCD counterparts. To this extent, curcumin supplementation altered hepatic gene expression profiling, especially in senescence pathways and their associated genes. Thus, to validate downregulation in senescence pathway involved genes from the RNA‐Seq data results, we compared the distribution of hepatic senescent cells by β‐gal staining in HFHSD groups. It revealed that HFHSD+CUR mice showed less density of the hepatic senescent cell (Figure A). We then mechanistically sought how curcumin regulates the hepatic senescence pathway. We found that curcumin supplementation decreased senescence effectors, specifically p38 and JNK protein expression levels in the liver (Figure B, C). Our findings suggest that the multifaceted therapeutic potential of curcumin can be used as a protective agent for age‐induced metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]