THU043 Single-cell Transcriptomics Show Sex-specific Responses To A High Fat Diet, Under Thermoneutral Conditions, Pointing To Reduced Pituitary Plasticity

Disclosure: T.K. Miles: None. A.N. Lagasse: None. A.K. Odle: None. S.S. Lira: None. M.M. Syed: None. N. Akhter: None. M.C. MacNicol: None. A.M. MacNicol: None. G.V. Childs: None. Hyperinsulinemia caused by a high fat diet (HFD) directly suppressed pituitary growth hormone (Gh) and growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (Ghrhr) mRNAs (Luque and Kineman, 2006). To study the broader impact of a HFD, we exposed 3 groups of FVB.129P mice to 60% HFD for 10 or 15 wks at thermoneutrality (TN) (30 C), or 15 wks at room temperature (RT). Pituitary transcript expression was analyzed with single-cell RNA-seq. HFD-fed mice gained >20 g by 12 wks, showing increased serum leptin (1.8-2X), insulin (2-8X) and IL-6 (4-6X), decreased glucose clearance after a glucose challenge and decreased respiratory quotient indicating fat burning. Activity was unaffected by HFD. Rank plot analyses showed reduced amplitude GH pulses in HFD females fed at RT (15 wks), but not in mice fed at TN. Serum levels of other pituitary hormones were unaffected in HFD females. In HFD males, only serum TSH was elevated significantly (1.8X, 15 wks, TN). Analysis of the scRNA-seq data detected separate clusters representing each cell type. Two multihormonal cell clusters evident in control females mostly disappeared following HFD (15 wks, RT). At the threshold cutoff of avg Log2FC±0.5 with adj p<0.05, female somatotrope clusters showed reduced Pomc, Cga, and ribosomal proteins. Female lactotrope clusters exhibited decreased Gh mRNA (avg Log2FC -1.8 or -2.5) and galanin at 10 wks (TN). At 15 wks (TN), lactotrope clusters showed significant changes in 46 transcripts including reductions in Prl, 29 ribosomal proteins, galanin, and 3 transcriptional regulators. Notably, this cluster showed an increase in synaptotagmin-4 (Syt4), which is also elevated in oxytocin neurons following a HFD. Stem cell clusters in females were strongly impacted by HFD after 15 weeks (TN) with 94 reduced transcripts of which 48 were involved in cytoplasmic translation and ribosome biogenesis and >20 were involved with signaling and cell differentiation. In males, whereas changes in most clusters fell below the threshold cutoffs, stem cell clusters had 13 reduced transcripts after 10 or 15 weeks, most of which involved immune system processes including defense responses and antigen processing and presentation. The GH deficiency in mice fed under thermoneutral conditions was not as severe as that reported by Luque and Kineman, perhaps due to differences in strain, sex, and/or the environmental temperature. The reduced expression of multihormonal clusters, Gh by lactotropes and corticotropes, and Cga and Pomc by somatotropes suggests that HFD may reduce plasticity and activity of progenitor cells in the pituitary. The changes in lactotropes and somatotropes also indicate that HFD may compromise ribosome function and cytoplasmic translation. The reduced transcriptome in stem cells in both males and females suggests HFD interference with cell differentiation and pituitary plasticity as well as dysfunctional immune defense responses. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023