Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0015695 (fatty liver)
 13,941 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The observation that loss of orexin (hypocretin) neurons causes human narcolepsy raises the possibility that other acquired disorders might also result from loss of hypothalamic neurons. To test this possibility for body weight, mice with selective loss of melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons were generated. MCH was chosen to test because induced mutations of the MCH gene in mice cause hypophagia and leanness. Mice with ablation of MCH neurons were generated using toxin (ataxin-3)-mediated ablation strategy. The mice appeared normal but, after 7 weeks, developed reduced body weight, body length, fat mass, lean mass, and leptin levels. Leanness was characterized by hypophagia and increased energy expenditure. To study the role of MCH neurons on obesity secondary to leptin deficiency, we generated mice deficient in both ob gene product (leptin) and MCH neurons. Absence of MCH neurons in ob/ob mice improved obesity, diabetes, and hepatic steatosis, suggesting that MCH neurons are important mediators of the response to leptin deficiency. These data show that loss of MCH neurons can lead to an acquired leanness. This has implications for the pathogenesis of acquired changes of body weight and might be considered in clinical settings characterized by substantial weight changes later in life.
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PMID:Late-onset leanness in mice with targeted ablation of melanin concentrating hormone neurons. 1640 34

Blockade of brain melanin-concentrating hormone 1 receptor (MCH1R) significantly ameliorates fatty liver as well as obesity. However, the mode of action of this effect is unknown. This study examined the effect of a MCH1R antagonist in murine steatohepatitis models with and without obesity and clarified whether these pharmacological effects were attributed to anti-obesity effects. Steatohepatitis with concomitant obese phenotypes was developed after 52-week exposure to a high-fat diet, and steatohepatitis with reduced body weight was developed by exposure to a methionine- and choline-deficient diet for 10 days. Chronic intracerebroventricular infusion of a peptidic MCH1R antagonist reduced hepatic triglyceride contents and ameliorated steatohepatitis on histological observations in both mice models. Improvement of steatohepatitis was concomitant with amelioration of obese phenotypes such as hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia in the case of the obese model, whereas body weight reduction was not associated with amelioration of steatohepatitis by the antagonist in the lean model. Reduction of hepatic gene expressions encoding cytochromes P450 4A was identified by treatment with the antagonist in both the obese and lean models. These results suggest that brain blockade of MCH1R could alleviate steatohepatitis independently from anti-obesity effects. In conclusion, MCH1R antagonist could have a new therapeutic potential for the treatment of human nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
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PMID:Antagonism of central melanin-concentrating hormone 1 receptor alleviates steatohepatitis in mice. 1852 32

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), a cyclic neuropeptide expressed predominantly in the lateral hypothalamus, plays an important role in the control of feeding behavior and energy homeostasis. Mice lacking MCH or MCH1 receptor are resistant to diet-induced obesity (DIO) and MCH1 receptor antagonists show potent anti-obesity effects in preclinical studies, indicating that MCH1 receptor is a promising target for anti-obesity drugs. Moreover, recent studies have suggested the potential of MCH1 receptor antagonists for treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In the present study, we show the anti-obesity and anti-hepatosteatosis effect of our novel MCH1 receptor antagonist, Compound A. Repeated oral administration of Compound A resulted in dose-dependent body weight reduction and had an anorectic effect in DIO mice. The body weight lowering effect of Compound A was more potent than that of pair-feeding. Compound A also reduced lipid content and the expression level of lipogenesis-, inflammation-, and fibrosis-related genes in the liver of DIO mice. Conversely, intracerebroventricular infusion of MCH caused induction of hepatic steatosis as well as increase in body weight in high-fat diet-fed wild type mice, but not MCH1 receptor knockout mice. The pair-feeding study revealed the MCH-MCH1 receptor system affects hepatic steatosis through a mechanism that is independent of body weight change. Metabolome analysis demonstrated that Compound A upregulated lipid metabolism-related molecules, such as acylcarnitines and cardiolipins, in the liver. These findings suggest that our novel MCH1 receptor antagonist, Compound A, exerts its beneficial therapeutic effect on NAFLD and obesity through a central MCH-MCH1 receptor pathway.
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PMID:A novel and selective melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 antagonist ameliorates obesity and hepatic steatosis in diet-induced obese rodent models. 2798 27