HIV Protease Inhibitor-Specific Alterations in Human Adipocyte Differentiation and Metabolism*

Protease inhibitor treatments reveal specific involvement of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in human adipocyte differentiation.

We previously showed that human and murine 3T3-F442A preadipocytes produced and released matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2 and 9 and that a treatment by MMP inhibitors resulted in the blockade of murine fat cell adipose conversion. In parallel, investigators reported that other protease inhibitors, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors (PIs) involved in lipodystrophy in hu...

Sequence-specific alterations of epitope production by HIV protease inhibitors.

Ag processing by intracellular proteases and peptidases and epitope presentation are critical for recognition of pathogen-infected cells by CD8+ T lymphocytes. First-generation HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) alter proteasome activity, but the effect of first- or second-generation PIs on other cellular peptidases, the underlying mechanism, and impact on Ag processing and epitope presentation to C...

Editorial: Control of Adipocyte Differentiation and Metabolism

For many years, adipose tissue was considered a passive tissue with the only function of storing excess energy as triglycerides and releasing fatty acids according to necessity. Now it becomes increasingly clear that adipose tissue is an endocrine organ that plays a critical role in modulating energy expenditure and homeostasis. White adipose tissue is thus responsible for the secretion of an a...

HIV Protease Inhibitor : Past

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 modulates adipocyte differentiation.

Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is linked to obesity and insulin resistance. However, the functional role of PAI-1 in adipocytes is unknown. This study was designed to investigate effects and underlying mechanisms of PAI-1 on glucose uptake in adipocytes and on adipocyte differentiation. Using primary cultured adipocytes from PAI-1(+/+) and PAI-1(-/-) mice, we found that PAI...