Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis was assessed by measuring mitochondrial guanosine diphosphate (GDP) binding, cytochrome oxidase activity and oxygen consumption in ovariectomized (OVX) and sham-operated rats. The food intake and body weight of OVX rats increased more than those of controls and OVX rats became obese. Mitochondrial GDP binding, as an indicator of thermogenic activity, cytochrome oxidase activity, as a marker of mitochondrial abundance, and mitochondrial respiration of BAT in OVX rats were significantly reduced compared with those in controls. And, also, even when OVX rats were restricted in food intake (pair-gained) to produce comparable changes in body weight with sham-controls, or matched in food intake (pair-fed) with sham-controls, these parameters in both pair-gained and pair-fed OVX groups were decreased markedly compared to those in sham-controls. As expected, body weight in pair-fed OVX rats increased significantly more than that in sham-controls. In response to cold exposure, these parameters of OVX rats increased as much as those of controls did. These results suggest that reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis might be one of the important factors that are responsible for the development of obesity after OVX.
 ...
PMID:Reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis of obese rats after ovariectomy. 285 Sep 6

A high rate of lipogenesis in obese mice plays a major role in their excessive deposition of body lipid. Inhibition of lipogenesis may decrease their obesity. Therefore, we have investigated the effects of sodium 2-n-pentadecyl-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate (M & B 35347B), an inhibitor of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, on in-vivo lipogenesis in obese and lean mice. It significantly inhibited hepatic cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis, measured using 3H2O, in both lean and obese mice, with or without a glucose load. Brown adipose tissue (scapular) lipogenesis was decreased by M & B 35347B in obese mice but not in lean mice. In white adipose tissue, M & B 35347B did not affect the rates of lipogenesis in either scapular white, inguinal or epididymal depots of obese mice, or the inguinal and scapular white depot of lean mice. However, it doubled lipogenesis in the epididymal fat pad of lean mice. After a glucose load, lipogenesis in the lean epididymal fat pad was not inhibited but that in the inguinal depot was. M & B 35347B inhibited acetyl CoA carboxylase of adipose tissue in vitro but only a small inhibition was detected after in-vivo treatment. These different responses according to type of mouse, treatment and tissue site appear to stem from differences in inhibitor concentration and the importance of acetyl CoA carboxylase as the rate-limiting enzyme of lipogenesis. The weight gain of obese mice dosed orally (200 mg M & B 35347B/kg daily) for 60 days was unaffected and they continued to deposit excess body fat. This presumably occurred because of the lack of inhibition of fatty acid synthesis in white adipose tissue.
 ...
PMID:Effect of sodium 2-n-pentadecyl-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate (M & B 35347B), an inhibitor of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, on lipogenesis and fat deposition in obese hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) and lean mice. 289 66

The energizing balance of the body is the result of intake and output of energy. Intake corresponds to eating and output corresponds to basal metabolism, physical exercise and heat production. Recent studies conducted on man suggest that obesity could be associated with a lack of heat production. Thus, a decreased thermogenic consumption associated with eating could contribute to the development of obesity. This hypothesis seems valid as far as obese rodents are concerned. In this case, it is a known fact that a specific organ, the brown fatty tissue, main effector of the thermogenesis induced by cold and eating. The molecular mechanisms of heat production by the brown fatty tissue, have been recently explained. Brown adipocytes are present in man, but their specific contribution to the energizing balance or imbalance is not yet established. This will be subject of further studies.
 ...
PMID:[Thermogenesis and obesity: molecular aspects]. 322 99

The role of brown adipose tissue in the development and maintenance of obesity has been a recent focus of research efforts. Brown fat serves as a heat-producing tissue, via nonshivering and diet-induced thermogenesis, because of a unique mechanism that uncouples oxidative phosphorylation. The importance of these forms of thermogenesis to energy balance has been characterized in animal models of obesity; increased metabolic efficiency has been attributed to impaired heat production and compositional and functional alterations in brown fat. Although the possibility exists that human obesity may partly result from inadequate thermogenesis, evidence that the defect is related to brown fat is tenuous. Currently, the contribution of brown fat to metabolic rate in human beings has been estimated as minor. However, even if it is found that differences in brown fat cannot explain differences in corpulence, interest in the tissue will likely continue. Because of its ability to waste calories, the potential for manipulating body weight by stimulation of brown fat remains a promising field of investigation.
 ...
PMID:Brown adipose tissue: regulation of thermogenesis and implications for obesity. 329 79

Genetically obese Zucker fatty rats require two autosomal recessive genes (fa/fa) to express the obese phenotype. The obese Zucker rat (fa/fa) has decreased total and free serum T3 concentrations, but normal serum T4 concentrations, compared to those in their lean littermates. To elucidate the mechanism of these differences, we measured the MCR and production rate (PR) of T4 and T3 in the three genotypes of 4-month-old male Zucker rats (Fa/Fa, Fa/fa, and fa/fa). In addition, 5'-deiodinase activity in liver, kidney, and brown adipose tissue homogenates was determined. T4 MCRs were equivalent in all three genotypes, but a decreased T3 MCR was seen in Fa/fa and fa/fa rats. An additive effect of the fa gene was noted with respect to the decrease in T3 MCR (Fa/Fa, 42.0 +/- 1.5; Fa/fa, 38.7 +/- 2.4; fa/fa, 34.7 +/- 3.4 ml/h; P less than 0.05). Whole body T4 PRs were equal in all three genotypes, but the T3 PR was decreased in the fa/fa rat by 25% compared to that in the homozygous lean rats (15.7 +/- 2.1 vs. 21.2 +/- 2.4 ng/h; P less than 0.005). Liver and kidney 5'-deiodinase activities were decreased in the fa/fa rat by 34% (P less than 0.005) and 20% (P less than 0.01), respectively. Brown adipose tissue and pituitary 5'-deiodinase activity were similar in all three genotypes. These results show a reduction in T3, but not T4, MCR in obese Zucker rats. Whole body T3 production and type I 5'-deiodinase activity were decreased in the obese (fa/fa) rats. These results suggest that decreased T4 to T3 conversion is responsible for the decreased T3 production rate in the fatty rat and may contribute to its obesity.
 ...
PMID:Altered triiodothyronine metabolism in Zucker fatty rats. 333 15

Female obese and lean Zucker rats were adrenalectomized (ADX) or sham-operated at 4 wk of age. ADX animals were given daily injections of 0.01, 0.05, 0.50, 1.0, or 2.0 mg hydrocortisone/100 g body wt for 30 days. ADX rats gained less weight than sham-operated controls. Obese ADX rats at the lowest dose (0.01) had a net positive energy gain but lost body fat. As steroid dose increased, obese rats deposited more fat and less protein. Doses of 0.01 and 0.05 mg produced rats that were less fat than sham-operated controls, whereas doses of 0.50, 1.0, and 2.0 mg produced rats of comparable body fat composition. Obese rats were consistently fatter and had a significantly smaller percentage body protein than lean rats at each dose. Body fat elevation was reflected by heavier parametrial and retroperitoneal fat depots and larger fat cells at all doses except the lowest. Compared with sham-operated controls, lean and obese rats at the two lowest replacement doses (0.01, 0.05) exhibited significantly decreased plasma insulin and triglyceride levels and significantly elevated brown adipose tissue protein content and citrate synthase (CS) activity. Obese rats at these doses had significantly reduced adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in the retroperitoneal depot and lower food intake. Furthermore, these obese rats had adipose depot weights, cell sizes, LPL activity, and plasma insulin, glucose, and triglyceride comparable to that of lean sham-operated controls. As steroid dose increased (0.5, 1.0, 2.0), plasma insulin and triglyceride and food intake markedly increased only in obese rats. Adipose tissue LPL activity appeared unaffected by dose. Brown adipose tissue protein content and CS activity significantly decreased as dose increased in both lean and obese rats. At all doses of replacement obese rats were more responsive to steroid than were lean rats. Obese rats receiving 0.01 mg had comparable fat depot weights, cell sizes, and plasma insulin and triglyceride as lean rats receiving 50 times as much steroid per day (0.50 mg). These results suggest glucocorticoids play an important role in the early development of obesity in the Zucker rat and support the hypothesis that obese rats are more responsive to glucocorticoids than are lean rats.
 ...
PMID:Effect of adrenalectomy and glucocorticoid replacement on development of obesity. 351 71

Sympathoadrenal activity was assessed in adult rats with obesity-producing hypothalamic knife cuts prior to and after the onset of gross obesity by measuring urinary excretion of norepinephrine and epinephrine and by determining rates of norepinephrine turnover in selected organs. Urinary excretion of norepinephrine, as an index of overall sympathetic nervous system activity, was approximately doubled throughout the 4-week study in knife-cut rats, as was intake of the high-fat diet. Three days after knife-cut surgery (before the onset of gross obesity) rates of norepinephrine turnover (ng X organ-1 X hr-1) were 23-33% lower in three of the four organs examined than in the corresponding organs of control rats; rates of norepinephrine turnover were depressed in pancreas, interscapular brown adipose tissue, and abdominal white adipose tissue and unchanged in hearts. Four weeks after surgery when gross obesity was evident, rates of norepinephrine turnover were accelerated in heart (+82%) and pancreas (+63%), but remained low in interscapular brown adipose tissue (-27%) and abdominal white adipose tissue (-28%). Adrenal medullary activity, assessed by urinary excretion of epinephrine, was suppressed within the 1st day after knife-cut surgery and remained suppressed for several weeks. Brown adipose tissue and white adipose tissue appear to be selectively excluded from the generalized activation of the sympathetic nervous system in adult hyperphagic rats with obesity-producing hypothalamic knife cuts. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system was associated with reciprocal suppression of adrenal medullary responses in knife-cut rats.
 ...
PMID:Temporal adjustments in sympathoadrenal activity in rats with obesity-producing hypothalamic knife cuts. 364 96

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis is important in the adaptation of body energy expenditure to cold exposure, fasting, and overfeeding and in the pathogenesis of obesity. Thyroid hormones are required for the normal functioning of BAT. The mechanism of their effect on BAT, however, has not yet been elucidated. Since most thyroid hormone effects are mediated via the binding of T3 to nuclear receptors (NT3R) the present studies were performed to investigate whether BAT contained NT3R and whether these NT3R were affected by cold exposure, fasting, overfeeding, or hypo- or hyperthyroidism. Rat BAT was found to contain NT3R with a maximum binding capacity (MBC) of 0.28 ng T3/mg DNA and a dissociation constant (Kd) of 3.2 X 10(-10) M. These parameters were unaffected by any of the experimental conditions studied. A major alteration of BAT NT3R MBC or Kd is thus not a causal factor in the changes in BAT thermogenesis induced by the above experimental conditions. In contrast, 3-wk overfeeding increased (+48%) and fasting decreased (-29%) the MBC of hepatic NT3R. Overfeeding increased serum T3 (+110%), while fasting decreased it (-37%).
 ...
PMID:Brown fat nuclear triiodothyronine receptors in rats. 377 60

The winter athlete has several potential tactics for sustaining body temperature in the face of severe cold. An increase in the intensity of physical activity may be counter-productive because of increased respiratory heat loss, increased air or water movement over the body surface, and a pumping of air or water beneath the clothing. Shivering can generate heat at a rate of 10 to 15 kJ/min, but it impairs skilled performance, while the resultant glycogen usage hastens the onset of fatigue and mental confusion. Non-shivering thermogenesis could arise in either brown adipose tissue or white fat. Brown adipose tissue generates heat by the action of free fatty acids in uncoupling mitochondrial electron transport, and by noradrenaline-induced membrane depolarisation and sodium pumping. The existence of brown adipose tissue in human adults is controversial, and although there are theoretical mechanisms of heat production in white fat, their contribution to the maintenance of body temperature is small. Acclimatisation to cold develops over the course of about 10 days, and in humans the primary change is an insulative, hypothermic type of response; this reflects the intermittent nature of most occupational and athletic exposures to cold. Nevertheless, with more sustained exposure to cold air or water, humans can apparently develop the humoral type of acclimatisation described in small mammals, with an increased output of noradrenaline and/or thyroxine. The associated mobilisation of free fatty acids suggests the possibility of using winter sport as a pleasant method of treating obesity. In men, a combination of moderate exercise and facial cooling induces a substantial fat loss over a 1- to 2-week period, with an associated ketonuria, proteinuria, and increase of body mass. Possible factors contributing to this fat loss include: (a) a small energy deficit; (b) the energy cost of synthesising new lean tissue; (c) energy loss through the storage and excretion of ketone bodies; (d) catecholamine-induced 'futile' metabolic cycles with increased resting metabolism; and (e) a specific reaction to cold dehydration. Current limitations for the clinical application of such treatment include uncertainty regarding optimal environmental conditions, concern over possible pathological reactions to cold, and suggestions of a less satisfactory fat mobilisation in female patients. Possible interactions between physical fitness and metabolic reactions to cold remain controversial.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Adaptation to exercise in the cold. 388 60

Restricting the food intake of the genetically obese (ob/ob) mouse is known to ameliorate its cold intolerance. Cold intolerance of the ob/ob mouse is associated with defective thermogenesis in its brown adipose tissue. The objective of the experiments was to find out whether food restriction could increase the thermogenic function of brown adipose tissue of the ob/ob mouse. Obese and lean mice were fed a restricted amount of chow in one meal per day for 3-7 mo. Both lean and ob/ob mice were torpid (rectal temperature of approximately 32 degrees C) in the early morning and aroused spontaneously to a normal body temperature before the anticipated meal time. Obese mice were also torpid during the dark phase, whereas lean mice were active and had a normal body temperature at this time. Brown adipose tissue was in a thermogenically inactive state (low level of mitochondrial GDP binding) in torpid lean and ob/ob mice but became thermogenically active (increase in mitochondrial GDP binding) during stimulated arousal when body temperature increased by 6-7 degrees C in 15-30 min. Ad libitum-fed ob/ob mice had a normal diurnal rhythm in a rectal temperature that was at a lower level than in lean ad libitum-fed mice. They did not raise their rectal temperatures when stimulated and no activation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis occurred under these conditions. Food restriction increased the capacity of both lean and ob/ob mice to raise their metabolic rate in response to injection of noradrenaline, indicating an increased capacity for thermogenesis in their brown adipose tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Food restriction increases torpor and improves brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in ob/ob mice. 403 35


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>