Macrophage JNK in Metabolic Disease: Inflammation is thought to be an important driver of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. Proinflammatory, M1 phenotype macrophages and the c-jun NH ₂ terminal kinases (JNK) are central players in this process. But whether JNK expression is specifically required inside macrophages is unclear. In mice containing a macrophage-specific deletion in both Jnk1 and Jnk2 , Han et al. (p. 218 , published online 6 December; see the Perspective by Ferrante Jr. ) found that the mice were protected against many of the diet-induced metabolic changes, including insulin resistance, despite similar weight gain as control mice on a high-fat diet. This protection was associated with a decrease in the presence of M1 macrophages in adipose tissue.

Obesity is associated with a chronic state of low-grade inflammation and progressive tissue infiltration by immune cells and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines. It is established that interleukin 6 (IL6) regulates multiple aspects of metabolism, including glucose disposal, lipolysis, oxidative metabolism, and energy expenditure. IL6 is secreted by many tissues, but the role of individual cell types is unclear. We tested the role of specific cells using a mouse model with conditional expression of the Il6 gene. We found that IL6 derived from adipocytes increased, while IL6 derived from myeloid cells and muscle suppressed, macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue. These opposite actions were associated with a switch of IL6 signaling from a canonical mode (myeloid cells) to a noncanonical trans-signaling mode (adipocytes and muscle) with increased expression of the ADAM10/17 metalloprotease that promotes trans-signaling by the soluble IL6 receptor α. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the source of IL6 production plays a major role in the physiological regulation of metabolism. Significance Chronic low-grade inflammation is a key driver of metabolic syndrome. This inflammatory response is mediated by immune-cell infiltration and the expression of inflammatory cytokines. IL6 is implicated in this response, but the physiological role of IL6 signaling is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the source of IL6 influences the nature of the inflammatory response. We report that IL6 secreted by myeloid cells inhibits adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) accumulation by a canonical signaling mechanism, but IL6 secreted by adipocytes or muscle promotes ATM accumulation by a noncanonical mechanism. These observations provide physiological insight into the complexity of IL6-mediated regulation of inflammation.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a widespread environmental pollutant with many toxic effects, including endocrine disruption, reproductive dysfunction, immunotoxicity, liver damage, and cancer. These are mediated by TCDD binding to and activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. In this regard, targeting the AhR using novel small molecule inhibitors is an attractive strategy for the development of potential preventive agents. In this study, by screening a chemical library composed of approximately 10,000 compounds, we identified a novel compound, 2-methyl-2H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid (2-methyl-4-o-tolylazo-phenyl)-amide (CH-223191), that potently inhibits TCDD-induced AhR-dependent transcription. In addition, CH-223191 blocked the binding of TCDD to AhR and inhibited TCDD-mediated nuclear translocation and DNA binding of AhR. These inhibitory effects of CH-223191 prevented the expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes, target genes of the AhR. Unlike many known antagonists of AhR, CH-223191 did not have detectable AhR agonist-like activity or estrogenic potency, suggesting that CH-223191 is a specific antagonist of AhR. It is noteworthy that CH-223191 potently prevented TCDD-elicited cytochrome P450 induction, liver toxicity, and wasting syndrome in mice. Taken together, these results demonstrate that this novel compound, CH-223191, may be a useful agent for the study of AhR-mediated signal transduction and the prevention of TCDD-associated pathology.

The pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is unclear, despite epidemiological data implicating FFAs. We studied the pathogenesis of NASH using lipoapoptosis models. Palmitic acid (PA) induced classical apoptosis of hepatocytes. PA-induced lipoapoptosis was inhibited by acyl-CoA synthetase inhibitor but not by ceramide synthesis inhibitors, suggesting that conversion products other than ceramide are involved. Phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) inhibitors blocked PA-induced hepatocyte death, suggesting an important role for PLA₂ and its product lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). Small interfering RNA for Ca²⁺-independent phospholipase A₂ (iPLA₂) inhibited the lipoapoptosis of hepatocytes. PA increased LPC content, which was reversed by iPLA₂ inhibitors. Pertussis toxin or dominant-negative Gα_i mutant inhibited hepatocyte death by PA or LPC acting through G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)/Gα_i. PA decreased cardiolipin content and induced mitochondrial potential loss and cytochrome c translocation. Oleic acid inhibited PA-induced hepatocyte death by diverting PA to triglyceride and decreasing LPC content, suggesting that FFAs lead to steatosis or lipoapoptosis according to the abundance of saturated/unsaturated FFAs. LPC administration induced hepatitis in vivo. LPC content was increased in the liver specimens from NASH patients. These results demonstrate that LPC is a death effector in the lipoapoptosis of hepatocytes and suggest potential therapeutic values of PLA₂ inhibitors or GPCR/Gα_i inhibitors in NASH.