Teodoro Bottiglieri Ph.D.

Vogel, K. R., E. Arning, T. Bottiglieri and K. M. Gibson (2016). “Multicompartment analysis of protein-restricted phenylketonuric mice reveals amino acid imbalances in brain.” J Inherit Metab Dis: 2016 Oct [Epub ahead of print].

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BACKGROUND: The mainstay of therapy for phenylketonuria (PKU) remains dietary protein restriction. Developmental and neurocognitive outcomes for patients, however, remain suboptimal. We tested the hypothesis that mice with PKU receiving protein-restricted diets would reveal disruptions of brain amino acids that shed light on these neurocognitive deficits. METHOD: Phenylalanine hydroxylase-deficient (PKU) mice and parallel controls (both wild-type and heterozygous) were fed custom diets containing 18, 6, and 4 % protein for 3 weeks, after which tissues (brain, liver, sera) were collected for amino acid analysis profiling. RESULTS: Phenylalanine (phe) was increased in all tissues (p < 0.0001) of PKU mice and improved with protein restriction. In sera, decreased tyrosine (p < 0.01) was corrected (defined as not significantly different from the level in control mice receiving 18 % chow) with protein restriction, whereas protein restriction significantly increased many other amino acids. A similar trend for increased amino acid levels with protein restriction was also observed in liver. In brain, the effects of protein restriction on large neutral amino acids (LNAAs) were variable, with some deficit correction (threonine, methionine, glutamine) and no correction of tyrosine under any dietary paradigm. Protein restriction (4 % diet) in PKU mice significantly decreased lysine, arginine, taurine, glutamate, asparagine, and serine which had been comparable to control mice under 18 % protein intake. CONCLUSION: Depletion of taurine, glutamate, and serine in the brain of PKU mice with dietary protein restriction may provide new insight into neurocognitive deficits of PKU.

Wexler, O., M. S. Gough, M. A. Morgan, C. M. Mack, M. J. Apostolakos, K. P. Doolin, R. A. Mooney, E. Arning, T. Bottiglieri and A. P. Pietropaoli (2016). “Methionine metabolites in patients with sepsis.” J Intensive Care Med: 2016 Sep [Epub ahead of print].

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OBJECTIVE: Sepsis is characterized by microvascular dysfunction and thrombophilia. Several methionine metabolites may be relevant to this sepsis pathophysiology. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) serves as the methyl donor for trans-methylation reactions. S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) is the by-product of these reactions and serves as the precursor to homocysteine. Relationships between plasma total homocysteine concentrations (tHcy) and vascular disease and thrombosis are firmly established. We hypothesized that SAM, SAH, and tHcy levels are elevated in patients with sepsis and associated with mortality. METHODS: This was a combined case-control and prospective cohort study consisting of 109 patients with sepsis and 50 control participants without acute illness. The study was conducted in the medical and surgical intensive care units of the University of Rochester Medical Center. Methionine, SAM, SAH, and tHcy concentrations were compared in patients with sepsis versus control participants and in sepsis survivors versus nonsurvivors. RESULTS: Patients with sepsis had significantly higher plasma SAM and SAH concentrations than control participants (SAM: 164 [107-227] vs73 [59-87 nM], P < .001; SAH: 99 [60-165] vs 35 [28-45] nM, P < .001). In contrast, plasma tHcy concentrations were lower in sepsis patients compared to healthy control participants (4 [2-6]) vs 7 [5-9] muM; P = .04). In multivariable analysis, quartiles of SAM, SAH, and tHcy were independently associated with sepsis (P = .006, P = .05, and P < .001, respectively). Sepsis nonsurvivors had significantly higher plasma SAM and SAH concentrations than survivors (SAM: 223 [125-260] vs 136 [96-187] nM; P = .01; SAH: 139 [81-197] vs 86 [55-130] nM, P = .006). Plasma tHcy levels were similar in survivors vs nonsurvivors. The associations between SAM or SAH and hospital mortality were no longer significant after adjusting for renal dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Methionine metabolite concentrations are abnormal in sepsis and linked with clinical outcomes. Further study is required to determine whether these abnormalities have pathophysiologic significance.

Nicholls, R. E., J. M. Sontag, H. Zhang, A. Staniszewski, S. Yan, C. Y. Kim, M. Yim, C. M. Woodruff, E. Arning, B. Wasek, D. Yin, T. Bottiglieri, E. Sontag, E. R. Kandel and O. Arancio (2016). “PP2A methylation controls sensitivity and resistance to beta-amyloid-induced cognitive and electrophysiological impairments.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113(12): 3347-3352.

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Elevated levels of the beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) are thought to contribute to cognitive and behavioral impairments observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) participates in multiple molecular pathways implicated in AD, and its expression and activity are reduced in postmortem brains of AD patients. PP2A is regulated by protein methylation, and impaired PP2A methylation is thought to contribute to increased AD risk in hyperhomocysteinemic individuals. To examine further the link between PP2A and AD, we generated transgenic mice that overexpress the PP2A methylesterase, protein phosphatase methylesterase-1 (PME-1), or the PP2A methyltransferase, leucine carboxyl methyltransferase-1 (LCMT-1), and examined the sensitivity of these animals to behavioral and electrophysiological impairments caused by exogenous Abeta exposure. We found that PME-1 overexpression enhanced these impairments, whereas LCMT-1 overexpression protected against Abeta-induced impairments. Neither transgene affected Abeta production or the electrophysiological response to low concentrations of Abeta, suggesting that these manipulations selectively affect the pathological response to elevated Abeta levels. Together these data identify a molecular mechanism linking PP2A to the development of AD-related cognitive impairments that might be therapeutically exploited to target selectively the pathological effects caused by elevated Abeta levels in AD patients.

Ejaz, A., L. Martinez-Guino, A. B. Goldfine, F. Ribas-Aulinas, V. De Nigris, S. Ribo, A. Gonzalez-Franquesa, P. M. Garcia-Roves, E. Li, J. M. Dreyfuss, W. Gall, J. K. Kim, T. Bottiglieri, F. Villarroya, R. E. Gerszten, M. E. Patti and C. Lerin (2016). “Dietary Betaine Supplementation Increases Fgf21 Levels to Improve Glucose Homeostasis and Reduce Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Mice.” Diabetes. Feb 8. [Epub ahead of print]

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Identifying markers of human insulin resistance may permit development of new approaches for treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes. To this end, we analyzed the fasting plasma metabolome in metabolically characterized human volunteers across a spectrum of insulin resistance. We demonstrate that plasma betaine levels are reduced in insulin resistant humans, and correlate closely with insulin sensitivity. Moreover, betaine administration to diet-induced obese mice prevents the development of impaired glucose homeostasis, reduces hepatic lipid accumulation, increases white adipose oxidative capacity, and enhances whole-body energy expenditure. In parallel with these beneficial metabolic effects, betaine supplementation robustly increased hepatic and circulating Fgf21 levels. Betaine administration failed to improve glucose homeostasis and liver fat content in Fgf21-/- mice, demonstrating that Fgf21 is necessary for betaine’s beneficial effects. Together, these data indicate that dietary betaine increases Fgf21 levels to improve metabolic health in mice, and suggest that betaine supplementation merits further investigation as a supplement for treatment or prevention of type 2 diabetes in humans.