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Chang, C.-P.

Publications and source records attributed to Chang, C.-P..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Body temperature regulates glucose metabolism and torpid

Glucose is a significant energy resource for maintaining physiological activities, including body temperature homeostasis, and glucose homeostasis is tightly regulated in mammals. Although ambient temperature tunes glucose metabolism to maintain euthermia, the significance of body temperature in metabolic regulation remains unclear owing to strict thermoregulation. Activation of Qrfp neurons in the preoptic area induced a harmless hypothermic state known as Q-neuron-induced hypothermia and hypometabolism (QIH), which is suitable for studying glucose metabolism under hypothermia. In this study, we first observed that QIH mice had hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. This glucose hypometabolic state was abolished by increasing the body temperature to euthermia. Moreover, QIH-mediated inappetence and locomotor inactivity were recovered in euthermia QIH mice. These results indicate that body temperature is considerably more powerful than ambient temperature in regulating glucose metabolism and behavior, and hypometabolism in QIH is secondary to hypothermia rather than modulated by Qrfp neurons. HighlightsO_LIQIH reorganizes glucose homeostasis which is unchanged by fasting. C_LIO_LIQIH mice exhibit glucose hypometabolism with hyperinsuliemia and insulin resistance. C_LIO_LIIncreased body temperature abolishes QIH-mediated hypometabolism and torpid behaviors. C_LIO_LIBody temperature is a strong factor in controlling metabolism and behavior. C_LIO_LIBody temperature-mediated glucose metabolism is reversible. C_LI

physiology↗

A novel equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 inhibitor alleviates Tau-mediated neurodegeneration

Tau hyperphosphorylation favors the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and triggers the gradual loss of neuronal functions in tauopathies, including Alzheimers disease. Herein, we demonstrated that chronic treatment with an inhibitor (J4) of equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (ENT1), which plays a critical role in controlling adenosine homeostasis and purine metabolism in the brain, exerted beneficial effects in a mouse model of tauopathy (Thy-Tau22, Tau22). Chronic treatment with J4 improved spatial memory deficits, mitochondrial dysfunction, synaptic plasticity impairment, and gliosis. Immunofluorescence assays showed that J4 not only reduced Tau hyperphosphorylation but also normalized the reduction in mitochondrial mass and suppressed the abnormal activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a pathogenic feature that is also observed in the brains of patients with tauopathies. Given that AMPK is an important energy sensor, our findings suggest that energy dysfunction is associated with tauopathy and that J4 may exert its protective effect by improving energy homeostasis. Bulk RNA-seq analysis revealed that J4 also mitigated immune signature associated with Tau pathology including C1q upregulation and A1 astrocyte markers. Collectively, our findings suggest that identifying strategies for normalizing energy and neuroimmune dysfunctions in tauopathies through adenosinergic signaling modulation may pave the way for the development of treatments for Alzheimers disease.

neuroscience↗