The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transmits apoptotic signals in the pancreas during ER stress, implicating ER stress–mediated apoptosis in the development of diabetes. P58IPK (DNAJC3) is induced during ER stress and functions as a negative feedback component to inhibit eIF-2α signaling and attenuate the later phases of the ER stress response. To gain insight into a more comprehensive role of P58IPK function, we generated deletion mutant mice that showed a gradual onset of glucosuria and hyperglycemia associated with increasing apoptosis of pancreatic islet cells. Lack of P58IPK had no apparent effect on the functional integrity of viable β-cells. A set of genes associated with apoptosis showed altered expression in pancreatic islets from P58IPK-null mice, further substantiating the apoptosis phenotype. The data provide in vivo evidence to support the concept that P58IPK functions as a signal for the downregulation of ER-associated proteins involved in the initial ER stress response, thus preventing excessive cell loss by degradation pathways. Insulin deficiency associated with the absence of P58IPK mimics β-cell failure associated with type 1 and late-stage type 2 diabetes. P58IPK function and activity may therefore provide a novel area of investigation into ER-mediated mechanistic and therapeutic approaches for diabetes.

Voluntary wheel running in the mouse is used to assess physical performance and endurance and to model exercise training as a way to enhance health. Wheel running is a voluntary activity in contrast to other experimental exercise models in mice, which rely on aversive stimuli to force active movement. This protocol consists of allowing mice to run freely on the open surface of a slanted, plastic saucer‐shaped wheel placed inside a standard mouse cage. Rotations are electronically transmitted to a USB hub so that frequency and rate of running can be captured via a software program for data storage and analysis for variable time periods. Mice are individually housed so that accurate recordings can be made for each animal. Factors such as mouse strain, gender, age, and individual motivation, which affect running activity, must be considered in the design of experiments using voluntary wheel running. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Background: Treatment of invasive breast cancer has an alarmingly high rate of failure because effective targets have not been identified. One potential target is mitochondrial generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) because ROS production has been associated with changes in substrate metabolism and lower concentration of anti-oxidant enzymes in tumor and stromal cells and increased metastatic potential. Methods: Transgenic mice expressing a human catalase gene (mCAT) were crossed with MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice that develop metastatic breast cancer. All mice (33 mCAT positive and 23 mCAT negative) were terminated at 110 days of age, when tumors were well advanced. Tumors were histologically assessed for invasiveness, proliferation and metastatic foci in the lungs. ROS levels and activation status of p38 MAPK were determined. Results: PyMT mice expressing mCAT had a 12.5 per cent incidence of high histological grade primary tumor invasiveness compared to a 62.5 per cent incidence in PyMT mice without mCAT. The histological grade correlated with incidence of metastasis with 56 per cent of PyMT mice positive for mCAT showing evidence of pulmonary metastasis compared to 85.4 per cent of PyMT mice negative for mCAT with pulmonary metastasis (p ≤ 0.05). PyMT tumor cells expressing mCAT had lower ROS levels and were more resistant to hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress than wild type tumor cells, suggesting that mCAT has the potential of quenching intracellular ROS and subsequent invasive behavior. The metastatic tumor burden in PyMT mice expressing mCAT was 0.1 mm²/cm² of lung tissue compared with 1.3 mm²/cm² of lung tissue in PyMT mice expressing the wild type allele (p ≤ 0.01), indicating that mCAT could play a role in mitigating metastatic tumor progression at a distant organ site. Expression of mCAT in the lungs increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress that was associated with decreased activation of p38MAPK suggesting ROS signaling is dependent on p38MAPK for at least some of its downstream effects. Conclusion: Targeting catalase within mitochondria of tumor cells and tumor stromal cells suppresses ROS-driven tumor progression and metastasis. Therefore, increasing the antioxidant capacity of the mitochondrial compartment could be a rational therapeutic approach for invasive breast cancer. Please see related commentary article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/9/62

Trafficking through the secretory pathway is known to regulate the maturation of the APP-cleaving secretases and APP proteolysis. The coupling of stress signaling and pathological deterioration of the brain in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) supports a mechanistic connection between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and neurodegeneration. Consequently, small molecular chaperones, which promote protein folding and minimize ER stress, might be effective in delaying or attenuating the deleterious progression of AD. We tested this hypothesis by treating APPswePS1delta9 AD transgenic mice with the molecular chaperone phenylbutyric acid (PBA) for 14 months at a dose of 1 mg PBA g⁻¹ of body weight in the drinking water. Phenylbutyric acid treatment increased secretase-mediated APP cleavage, but was not associated with any increase in amyloid biosynthesis. The PBA-treated AD transgenic mice had significantly decreased incidence and size of amyloid plaques throughout the cortex and hippocampus. There was no change in total amyloid levels suggesting that PBA modifies amyloid aggregation or pathogenesis independently of biogenesis. The decrease in amyloid plaques was paralleled by increased memory retention, as PBA treatment facilitated cognitive performance in a spatial memory task in both wild-type and AD transgenic mice. The molecular mechanism underlying the cognitive facilitation of PBA is not clear; however, increased levels of both metabotropic and ionotropic glutamate receptors, as well as ADAM10 and TACE, were observed in the cortex and hippocampus of PBA-treated mice. The data suggest that PBA ameliorates the cognitive and pathological features of AD and supports the investigation of PBA as a therapeutic for AD.

Mutations that cause a reduction in protein kinase A (PKA) activity have been shown to extend lifespan in yeast. Loss of function of mammalian RIIβ, a regulatory subunit of PKA expressed in brain and adipose tissue, results in mice that are lean and insulin sensitive. It was therefore hypothesized that RIIB null (RIIβ^−/−) mice would express anti-aging phenotypes. We conducted lifespan studies using 40 mutant and 40 wild type (WT) littermates of equal gender numbers and found that both the median and maximum lifespans were significantly increased in mutant males compared to WT littermates. The median lifespan was increased from 884 days to 1005 days (p = 0.006 as determined by the log rank test) and the 80% lifespan (defined here as 80% deaths) was increased from 941 days to 1073 days (p = 0.004 as determined by the Wang-Allison test). There was no difference in either median or 80% lifespan in female genotypes. WT mice of both genders became increasingly obese with age, while mutant mice maintained their lean phenotype into old age. Adiposity was found to correlate with lifespan for males only. 50% of male mice between 30 and 35 g, corresponding to about 5% body fat, for either genotype lived over 1000 days. No male mouse outside of this weight range achieved this lifespan. During their last month of life, WT mice began losing weight (a total of 8% and 15% of body weight was lost for males and females, respectively), but RIIβ^−/− male mice maintained their lean body mass to end of life. This attenuation of decline was not seen in female mutant mice. Old male mutant mice were insulin sensitive throughout their life. Both genders showed modestly lower blood glucose levels in old mutants compared to WT. Male mutants were also resistant to age-induced fatty liver. Pathological assessment of tissues from end of life male mutant mice showed a decrease in tumor incidence, decreased severity of renal lesions, and a trend towards a decrease in age-related cardiac pathology. These findings help establish the highly conserved nature of PKA and suggest that disruption of PKA affects physiological mechanisms known to be associated with healthy aging.