Abstract
Insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP, cystinyl aminopeptidase, CysAP) and aminopeptidase M (alanyl aminopeptidase, AlaAP) are closely related enzymes involved in cognitive, metabolic, and cardiovascular functions. These functions may be modulated by the type of fat used in the diet. In order to analyze a possible coordinated response of both enzymes we determined simultaneously their activities in frontal cortex, liver, and plasma of adult male rats fed diets enriched with fats differing in their percentages of saturated, mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids such as sesame, sunflower, fish, olive, Iberian lard, and coconut. The systolic blood pressure, food intake, body and liver weight as well as glucose and total cholesterol levels in plasma were measured. The type of fat in the diet influences the enzymatic activities depending on the enzyme and its location. These results suggest cognitive improvement properties for diets with predominance of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Physiological parameters such as systolic blood pressure, food intake, and biochemical factors such as cholesterol and glucose in plasma were also modified depending on the type of diet, supporting beneficial properties for diets rich in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Inter-tissue correlations between the analyzed parameters were also modified depending on the type of diet. If the type of fat used in the diet modifies the behavior and relationship between CysAP and AlaAP in and between frontal cortex, liver and plasma, the functions in which they are involved could also be modified.
Introduction
Ang III at the final steps of the cascade of the renin-angiotensin system (Figure 1A) is metabolized to Ang IV, through the action of alanyl aminopeptidase (AlaAP, EC. 3.4.11.2). Ang IV is further metabolized to Ang 4-8 by the action of AlaAP. By its binding to the AT4 receptor, identified as insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP or cystinyl aminopeptidase, CysAP, EC. 3.4.11.3, AT4), Ang IV may be involved in cognitive and cardiovascular functions as well as in glucose metabolism. Its role in glucose uptake in brain is region-specific and dependent on a high colocalization of IRAP and the glucose transporter GLUT4 (Fernando et al., ). However, the effects of Ang IV on glucose uptake and the IRAP function may be independent (De Bundel et al., ). On the other hand, AlaAP may also hydrolyze enkephalins whereas CysAP hydrolyzes oxytocin and vasopressin (reviewed in Ramírez-Sánchez et al., ). The inhibition of both AlaAP (Ismail et al., ) and IRAP (Diwakarla et al., ; Seyer et al., ) have been proposed as strategies to improve cognitive functions such as memory processes. Therefore, both AlaAP and CysAP activities might act in concert to affect the cognitive, cardiovascular and metabolic functions in which they have been involved.
Figure 1
The type of fat in the diet modifies the profile of fatty acids and the levels of certain neuropeptidase activities in frontal cortex (Segarra et al.,
Furthermore, different types of diets affect the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins on target organs such as the liver particularly involved in glucose metabolism, where they can influence glucose levels and fatty acids, and the brain, where they can modulate cognitive processes. The study of the effect of various saturated and unsaturated fats in the diet should give us an overview of the behavior of neuropeptidases and therefore, on the functional status of their endogenous substrates. These effects on the hepatic, cerebral and plasma response of such enzymes could be produced through a gut-brain-liver direct axis (Wang et al.,
Tissues do not function as independent compartments: they interact among each other to offer an integrated response to changes in the internal and/or external environment (Samdani et al.,
Materials and Methods
Forty eight adult male Wistar rats, weighing 200–250 g (aged 3–4 months) at the beginning of the study, were divided in six groups (n = 8 each), individually housed in metabolic cages and kept under standard environmental conditions. To ensure a full effect of the diets on experimental animals and based on the average length of the diet used in the literature, each group was fed during 16 weeks with isocaloric diets supplemented with 10% of the different oils studied: S, SF, F, O, L, and C (Segarra et al.,
Results
The results are indicated in Figures 1, 2 and in Tables 1, 2. The levels of TCH and SBP (Segarra et al.,
Figure 2

(A) Mean ± S.E.M. levels (n = 8) of body and liver weight (grams), total cholesterol and glucose levels in plasma (mg/dL), systolic blood pressure levels (mmHG) and food intake (g/day), obtained at the end of the feeding period in male rats fed during 16 weeks with diets enriched with sesame- (S, charcoal), sunflower- (SF, rose), fish- (F, gray), olive- (O, cyan), Iberian lard- (L, magenta), and coconut-oil (C, brown). (a) indicates a significant difference in comparison with S; (b) significant difference with SF; (c) significant difference with F; (d) significant difference with O; (e) significant difference with L. Single letter, P < 0.05; double letter, P < 0.01; triple letter, P < 0.001. (B) Simplified scheme showing the intra- and inter-tissue significant correlations between the enzymatic activities. Blue arrows denote positive correlations. Red arrow denotes negative correlation. FC, frontal cortex; LI, liver; PL, plasma.
Table 1
| Sesame | Sunflower | Fish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correlation | r | P | Correlation | r | P | Correlation | r | P |
| FC CysAP vs. PL AlaAP | −0.772 | 0.02 | LI AlaAP vs. LI CysAP | +0.881 | 0.003 | LI AlaAP vs. LI CysAP | +0.775 | 0.02 |
| FC CysAP vs. PL CysAP | −0.798 | 0.01 | PL AlaAP vs. PL CysAP | +0.935 | 0.0006 | |||
| PL AlaAP vs. PL CysAP | +0.816 | 0.01 | ||||||
| SBP vs. Glucose | −0.777 | 0.02 | ||||||
| Olive | Iberian lard | Coconut | ||||||
| FC CysAP vs. LI AlaAP | +0.708 | 0.04 | FC AlaAP vs. FC CysAP | +0.795 | 0.01 | No correlations | ||
| FC AlaAP vs. FC CysAP | +0.884 | 0.003 | LI AlaAP vs. LI CysAP | +0.813 | 0.01 | |||
| Glucose vs. LI CysAP | −0.767 | 0.02 | SBP vs. Glucose | +0.803 | 0.01 | |||
Intra- and inter-tissue significant correlations (paired data) of the different parameters measured into and between the tissues analyzed: Frontal cortex (FC), liver (LI), and plasma (PL) in each one of the diets studied (n = 8).
Negative correlations with rose background. Positive correlations with blue background. The values of r and P are indicated.
Table 2
| Body wt | Liver wt | SBP | FI | Total Ch | Glucose | FC AlaAP | FC CysAP | LI AlaAP | LI CysAP | PL AlaAP | PL CysAP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body wt | 1 | +0.642 | +0.359 | +0.290 | +0.352 | |||||||
| Liver wt | 1 | −0.312 | +0.391 | +0.560 | ||||||||
| SBP | 1 | +0.518 | ||||||||||
| FI | 1 | |||||||||||
| Total Ch | 1 | |||||||||||
| Glucose | 1 | |||||||||||
| FC AlaAP | 1 | +0.425 | +0.575 | |||||||||
| FC CysAP | 1 | −0.389 | ||||||||||
| LI AlaAP | 1 | +0.803 | +0.366 | |||||||||
| LI CysAP | 1 | +0.464 | ||||||||||
| PL AlaAP | 1 | +0.469 | ||||||||||
| PL CysAP | 1 |
Values of r for significant correlations (paired data) obtained between the different physiological and biochemical parameters determined at each location (Frontal cortex, FC; Liver, LI; Plasma, PL), considering together all the data (n = 48) obtained with the six groups designed (sesame, sunflower, fish, olive, Iberian lard, coconut).
Blue background for positive values and rose background for negative ones.
While weight gain (data not shown) and body weight demonstrated no differences between the different types of diets at the end of the feeding period, the liver weight showed to have lower levels with the S diet than with SF and O diets(p < 0.01). Total cholesterol in plasma demonstrated lower levels with F and L diets than with the rest of diets, and glucose was higher with O than with S, SF, F and L diets. The S diet had lower levels of plasma glucose than F, O and C diets. Systolic blood pressure exhibited the same profile than TCH: lower levels of SBP with F and L diets than with the rest. FI was higher (p < 0.01) with the C diet than with the rest of diets except with O (Figure 2A).
When we analyzed the data for the search of intra- and inter-tissue correlations with each of the diets studied, significant inter-tissue correlations between enzymatic activities were only obtained with S (between FC vs. PL: FC CysAP vs. PL AlaAP and FC CysAP vs. PL CysAP) and with O (between FC vs. LI: FC CysAP vs. LI AlaAP). There were negative correlations with S and positive with O. SBP correlates negatively with GLU in the diet enriched with S and positively in the diet enriched with L. Glucose also correlates negatively with CysAP activity from LI in the O diet. Intra-tissue correlations between both enzymatic activities were observed in FC with O and L diets, in LI with SF, L and F diets and in PL with the F diet. No significant correlations were observed in the C diet (Table 1).
Considering together the data obtained with the six diets studied (n = 48), we observed significant positive correlations between BW vs. LW and TCH but also with LI AlaAP and PL CysAP activities. LW correlates negatively with FC CysAP and positively with LI AlaAP and PL CysAP activities. SBP correlates positively with TCH. While FC AlaAP correlates positively with LI AlaAP and LI CysAP activities, FC CysAP correlates negatively with PL CysAP activity. LI AlaAP correlates positively with LI CysAP and PL CysAP activities, and PL CysAP correlates positively with LI CysAP and with PL AlaAP activities (Table 2 and Figure 2B).
Discussion
AlaAP and CysAP activities are involved in the metabolism of enkephalins, oxytocin and vasopressin as well as in the glucose metabolism. Changes in enzyme activities depending on the type of fat in the diet may be related to changes in the functions they exert in the locations studied: FC, LI, and PL. Consequently we could expect modulations in cognitive and metabolic functions in which these enzymes are involved (Ramírez-Sánchez et al.,
It has been reported that the AT4 receptor was identified as IRAP being also co-localized with the glucose transporter GLUT4. It was proposed that the binding of Ang IV to AT4 results in the inhibition of its enzymatic activity, reducing the catabolism of their endogenous substrates (vasopressin, oxytocin) and consequently increasing their availability and extending their action. Therefore, through its high affinity binding to the AT4 receptor, Ang IV might modulate cognitive and metabolic functions via neuropeptide processing or local blood flows. In this context, since AlaAP activity is involved in Ang III and Ang IV metabolism and it also acts as enkephalinase, this enzyme may as well be involved in these cognitive and metabolic regulations (Ramírez-Sánchez et al.,
In FC, the high difference between diets for AlaAP and CysAP activities suggests a role for the type of fatty acids on these enzymatic activities and therefore on their substrates. For example the low levels of both activities with SF (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids) may suggest longer action for the AlaAP substrates enkephalins and Ang III and a longer action for the CysAP substrate oxytocin. Polyunsaturated fatty acids enriched diet has been proposed to improve cognitive functions (Chalon et al.,
With the diet enriched with O, there was a negative correlation between GLU and CysAP activity in liver: The lower CysAP activity in liver, the higher GLU in PL and vice versa. This could be interpreted as a direct influence of the O diet on the glucose transporter and/or a compensatory response of CysAP in liver to the increase in plasma of GLU (Figure 2B). Other authors have described diverse influences of diets on plasma glucose. For example, Buettner et al. (
Interestingly, with a diet enriched with S (rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat), there was a negative correlation between SBP vs. GLU but in contrast, with L (rich mainly in monounsaturated fat) this correlation was positive which supports the importance of the type of diet in the adjustment of physiologic processes. Furthermore, both if we consider individually the type of diet (S and O) (Table 1), and if we consider together the data of all diets (Table 2), the relationship of FC with PL was negative while that of FC with LI was positive, just as it is also positive between LI and PL. In particular, considering only the S-enriched diet (Table 1), FC CysAP correlated negatively with PL AlaAP and PL CysAP and also negatively with PL CysAP considering all data (Table 2). In contrast, FC CysAP correlated positively with LI AlaAP and LI CysAP with an O-enriched diet (Table 1) and FC AlaAP correlated positively with LI AlaAP and LI CysAP (Table 2). In addition, AlaAP and CysAP from LI, correlated positively with AlaAP and CysAP from PL (Table 2). From a general perspective (Figure 2B), we observed some form of positive feedback between FC AlaAP with LI AlaAP and CysAP, a positive feedback between LI AlaAP and CysAP with PL but a negative feedback between FC CysAP with PL CysAP. Also, while in LI and PL there was a positive relationship between AlaAP and CysAP, there was no correlation in FC. Whether such changes relate to the amount of enzyme present (Vmax) or the conformation of the enzyme (Km) remains to be analyzed.
As we could expect, the results demonstrated significant positive correlations for BW vs. LW and vs. TCH as well as for SBP vs. TCH (Table 2). These results support the validity of our observation. In conclusion, the present results apparently do not show a clear systematic profile of response depending on the type of diet but they could be considered as preliminary results which support a distinctive influence of the saturation of the fatty acids in the diet that may result in changes in cognitive and metabolic functions which deserve further specific research.
Statements
Data availability statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available to any qualified researcher.
Ethics statement
The animal study was reviewed and approved by Ethics committee of the University of JAÉN.
Author contributions
AS and IP contributed equally to the work with the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data. MR-S contributed to the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data and wrote the first manuscript draft. MM-C, IB, PV, SZ, and MG participated in the analysis and interpretation of data and revised critically the final form of the manuscript. All authors have approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by a grant from the University of Jaén (ref. UJA2003-015).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
diet, fatty acids, cystinyl-aminopeptidase, alanyl-aminopeptidase, renin-angiotensin system
Citation
Segarra AB, Prieto I, Banegas I, Martínez-Cañamero M, de Gasparo M, Vanderheyden P, Zorad S and Ramírez-Sánchez M (2020) The Type of Fat in the Diet Influences the Behavior and the Relationship Between Cystinyl and Alanyl Aminopeptidase Activities in Frontal Cortex, Liver, and Plasma. Front. Mol. Biosci. 7:94. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00094
Received
26 January 2020
Accepted
22 April 2020
Published
15 May 2020
Volume
7 - 2020
Edited by
Siew Yeen Chai, Monash University, Australia
Reviewed by
Paul Richard Gard, University of Brighton, United Kingdom; Vincenzo Tufarelli, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy; Gina Cavaliere, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
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© 2020 Segarra, Prieto, Banegas, Martínez-Cañamero, de Gasparo, Vanderheyden, Zorad and Ramírez-Sánchez.
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*Correspondence: Manuel Ramírez-Sánchez msanchez@ujaen.es
This article was submitted to Cellular Biochemistry, a section of the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
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