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Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Nutrients regulate metabolic fluxes and homeostasis through transcriptional and translational control of enzyme concentrations and allosteric modulation of enzyme activity. Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to exert a variety of beneficial health effects such as reducing adiposity and increasing insulin sensitivity in rodents. It is now clear that PUFAs regulate fundamental adipose cell and liver functions through modulation of activity and abundance of key transcription factors that act as nutrient sensors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARalpha/delta/gamma), sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP-1/2), and liver X receptors (LXRalpha/beta). However, in the state of obesity, where adipose tissue shows elevated storage of triglycerides, many lipogenic genes that are essential for adipose cell function including PPARgamma, SREBP-1c, CCAAT-enhancer binding protein alpha and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 are downregulated, apparently due to desensitization of the very same crucial nutrient sensors. This chapter will summarize recent studies of PUFA- and obesity-induced changes in gene expression in white adipose tissue.
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PMID:Nutrition-/diet-induced changes in gene expression in white adipose tissue. 1631 Dec 19

Intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) deposition in skeletal muscle is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and is thought to be related to insulin resistance (IR). Curiously, despite enhanced skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity, highly trained athletes and calorie-restricted (CR) monkeys also have increased IMTG. Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are transcription factors that regulate the biosynthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids. SREBP-1 is increased by insulin in skeletal muscle in vitro and in skeletal muscle of IR subjects, but SREBP-1 expression has not been examined in exercise training or calorie restriction. We examined the relationship between IMTG and SREBP-1 expression in animal models of exercise and calorie restriction. Gastrocnemius and soleus muscle biopsies were obtained from 38 Sprague-Dawley rats (18 control and 20 exercise trained). Triglyceride content was higher in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the trained rats. SREBP-1c mRNA, SREBP-1 precursor and mature proteins, and fatty acid synthase (FAS) protein were increased with exercise training. Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were CR for a mean of 10.4 years, preventing weight gain and IR. Vastus lateralis muscle was obtained from 12 monkeys (6 CR and 6 controls). SREBP-1 precursor and mature proteins and FAS protein were higher in the CR monkeys. In addition, phosphorylation of ERK1/ERK2 was increased in skeletal muscle of CR animals. In summary, SREBP-1 protein and SREBP-1c mRNA are increased in interventions that increase IMTG despite enhanced insulin sensitivity. CR and exercise-induced augmentation of SREBP-1 expression may be responsible for the increased IMTG seen in skeletal muscle of highly conditioned athletes.
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PMID:Exercise training and calorie restriction increase SREBP-1 expression and intramuscular triglyceride in skeletal muscle. 1644 96

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) is a fatty acid-activated transcription factor that governs a variety of biological processes. Little is known about the role of PPARalpha in the small intestine. Since this organ is frequently exposed to high levels of PPARalpha ligands via the diet, we set out to characterize the function of PPARalpha in small intestine using functional genomics experiments and bioinformatics tools. PPARalpha was expressed at high levels in both human and murine small intestine. Detailed analyses showed that PPARalpha was expressed most highly in villus cells of proximal jejunum. Microarray analyses of total tissue samples revealed, that in addition to genes involved in fatty acid and triacylglycerol metabolism, transcription factors and enzymes connected to sterol and bile acid metabolism, including FXR and SREBP1, were specifically induced. In contrast, genes involved in cell cycle and differentiation, apoptosis, and host defense were repressed by PPARalpha activation. Additional analyses showed that intestinal PPARalpha-dependent gene regulation occurred in villus cells. Functional implications of array results were corroborated by morphometric data. The repression of genes involved in proliferation and apoptosis was accompanied by a 22% increase in villus height and a 34% increase in villus area of wild-type animals treated with WY14643. This is the first report providing a comprehensive overview of processes under control of PPARalpha in the small intestine. We show that PPARalpha is an important transcriptional regulator in small intestine, which may be of importance for the development of novel foods and therapies for obesity and inflammatory bowel diseases.
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PMID:Genome-wide analysis of PPARalpha activation in murine small intestine. 1742 15

Obesity is frequently associated with the consumption of high carbohydrate/fat diets leading to hyperinsulinemia. We have demonstrated that soy protein (SP) reduces hyperinsulinemia, but it is unclear by which mechanism. Thus, the purpose of the present work was to establish whether SP stimulates insulin secretion to a lower extent and/or reduces insulin resistance, and to understand its molecular mechanism of action in pancreatic islets of rats with diet-induced obesity. Long-term consumption of SP in a high fat (HF) diet significantly decreased serum glucose, free fatty acids, leptin, and the insulin:glucagon ratio compared with animals fed a casein HF diet. Hyperglycemic clamps indicated that SP stimulated insulin secretion to a lower extent despite HF consumption. Furthermore, there was lower pancreatic islet area and insulin, SREBP-1, PPARgamma, and GLUT-2 mRNA abundance in comparison with rats fed the casein HF diet. Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps showed that the SP diet prevented insulin resistance despite consumption of a HF diet. Incubation of pancreatic islets with isoflavones reduced insulin secretion and expression of PPARgamma. Addition of amino acids resembling the plasma concentration of rats fed casein stimulated insulin secretion; a response that was reduced by the presence of isoflavones, whereas the amino acid pattern resembling the plasma concentration of rats fed SP barely stimulated insulin release. Infusion of isoflavones during the hyperglycemic clamps did not stimulate insulin secretion. Therefore, isoflavones as well as the amino acid pattern seen after SP consumption stimulated insulin secretion to a lower extent, decreasing PPARgamma, GLUT-2, and SREBP-1 expression, and ameliorating hyperinsulinemia observed during obesity.
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PMID:Pancreatic insulin secretion in rats fed a soy protein high fat diet depends on the interaction between the amino acid pattern and isoflavones. 1750 81

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), a critical regulator of energy metabolism, catalyzes the synthesis of monounsaturated fats. To understand the tissue-specific role of SCD1 in energy homeostasis, we used Cre-lox technology to generate mice with a liver-specific knockout of Scd1 (LKO). LKO mice were protected from high-carbohydrate, but not high-fat (HF), diet-induced adiposity and hepatic steatosis. Additionally, on a high-sucrose, very low-fat (HSVLF) diet, lipogenesis and levels of nuclear SREBP-1 and ChREBP were significantly decreased in the livers of LKO relative to Scd1(lox/lox) (Lox) mice. HSVLF feeding in LKO mice caused hypoglycemia and hepatic carbohydrate reduction due to an impairment of gluconeogenesis. Oleate, but not stearate, supplementation normalized adiposity, gluconeogenesis, triglyceride secretion, and hepatic lipogenesis of LKO mice. These results indicate that hepatic SCD1 expression (and thus, oleate) is required for carbohydrate-induced adiposity, but SCD1 inhibition in extrahepatic tissues is required to protect mice from HF-induced obesity and insulin resistance.
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PMID:Hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 deficiency protects mice from carbohydrate-induced adiposity and hepatic steatosis. 1805 17

Approximately 30% of patients with hypertension have hepatic steatosis, and it has recently been proposed that fatty liver be considered a feature of the metabolic syndrome. Obesity, diet, and level of physical activity are likely factors modulating risk for hepatic steatosis, however genetic factors could also influence susceptibility or resistance to fatty liver in hypertensive or normotensive subjects. In genetic studies in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Brown Norway (BN) rats, we discovered that a variant form of sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (Srebf1 gene, SREBP-1 protein) underlies a quantitative trait locus (QTL) influencing hepatic cholesterol levels in response to a high cholesterol diet. Compared with the BN allele of Srebf1, the SHR allele of Srebf1 includes variants in the promoter and coding regions that are linked to hepatic deficiency of SREBP-1 mRNA and protein, reduced expression of the SREBP-1 target gene stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1, reduced promoter activity for SREBP-1c, and relative protection from dietary induced accumulation of liver cholesterol. Genetic correction of reduced SREBP-1 activity by derivation of congenic and transgenic strains of SHR increased hepatic cholesterol levels, thereby confirming Srebf1 as a QTL influencing hepatic lipid metabolism in the rat. The Srebf1 variant regulating hepatic cholesterol did not appear to affect blood pressure. These findings (1) are consistent with the results of association studies indicating that common polymorphisms affecting SREBP-1 may influence cholesterol synthesis in humans and (2) indicate that variation in Srebf1 may influence risk for hepatic steatosis.
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PMID:Identification of mutated Srebf1 as a QTL influencing risk for hepatic steatosis in the spontaneously hypertensive rat. 1807 Oct 61

Obesity is characterized by systemic low-grade inflammation in which adipose tissue, especially the omental depot, is thought to play a key role. We have previously shown that inflammation impairs 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line differentiation. To explore whether this interaction also takes place in vivo, the expression of several genes related to inflammation and adipocyte differentiation was assessed in human samples. Paired adipose tissue biopsies (from omental and subcutaneous depots) were obtained from 24 women: 6 lean normoglycemic and 18 obese volunteers with different glycemic states (normoglycemic, glucose-intolerant, or type 2 diabetic). The expression levels of CD14, IL-18, leptin, adiponectin, sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBP1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), pre-B-cell colony enhancing factor 1 (PBEF1) (or visfatin), glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1 (soluble) (GPD1), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), fatty acid binding protein 4, adipocyte (FABP4), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. CD14 and IL-18 were overexpressed in omental adipose tissue compared with the subcutaneous depot, irrespective of the subject's obesity or diabetes status. A significant decrease of LPL, GPD1, and leptin expression was observed in omental tissue, and an inverse correlation between expression of CD14 and IL-18 and that of PPARgamma, LPL, and FABP4 was observed. The underexpression of omental lipogenic markers was more accentuated in the presence of glucose intolerance. Furthermore, adiponectin and SREBP1 expression was also significantly decreased in omental tissue of type 2 diabetic patients. PBEF1 and HIF1alpha expression remained comparable in all samples. Therefore, in humans, inflammation is increased in the omental depot, as evidenced by CD14 and IL-18 expression. In this localization, the inflammatory state is associated with a decreased expression of lipogenic markers, which is more pronounced in diabetic subjects.
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PMID:Inflammation is associated with a decrease of lipogenic factors in omental fat in women. 1883 93

The stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) catalyzes the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids. This enzyme is a critical control point regulating hepatic lipogenesis and lipid oxidation. Therefore SCD1 may be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Regulation of SCD1 expression occurs primarily at the level of transcription. In the present study, we characterized the insulin response elements (IREs) and the insulin signaling pathway mediating the regulation of SCD1 gene transcription in liver. In chicken embryo hepatocytes (CEH) and HepG2 cells, insulin stimulates SCD1 promoter activity by 2.5 folds. This activation is mediated by two different IREs on the chicken promoter, one localized between -1,975 and -1,610 bp and one between -372 and -297 bp. The latter binds both NF-Y and SREBP-1 transcription factors in response to insulin. We also demonstrated that insulin induction of SCD1 gene expression and promoter activity is abolished by pre-incubation of cells with specific inhibitors of both PI3-kinase (LY294002) and mTor (Rapamycin) or by over-expression of a dominant negative mutant of PI3-kinase. The PI3-kinase and mTor pathway mediates the insulin response on both IREs. In summary, insulin activates SCD1 gene expression in liver via a signaling pathway that involves PI3-kinase and mTor and the downstream transcription factors NF-Y and SREBP-1. Sentence summary: Insulin regulates SCD1 gene expression via two different IREs. The most 3' IRE is localized between -372 and -297 bp and binds the NF-Y and SREBP-1 transcription factors in response to insulin. PI3-kinase and mTor mediate the action of insulin on both IREs.
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PMID:Role of the PI3-kinase/mTor pathway in the regulation of the stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD1) gene expression by insulin in liver. 1848 Dec 2

Epidemiological evidence suggests a link between chronic oxygen starvation and fat accumulation/obesity, however the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Using Caenorhabditis elegans we found extended oxygen deprivation resulted in activation of SBP-1, the worm homologue of SREBP1, a transcription factor important in maintaining lipid homeostasis. SBP-1 knockdown prevented hypoxia-induced fat accumulation and the associated increase in worm width/length ratio, demonstrating that SBP-1/SREBP1 plays an essential role in hypoxia-induced lipid accumulation and body shape alteration. This study provides the first evidence suggesting that activation of SREBP1 may be a critical pathogenic factor contributing to chronic hypoxia associated excessive fat accumulation/obesity in humans.
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PMID:Essential role of SBP-1 activation in oxygen deprivation induced lipid accumulation and increase in body width/length ratio in Caenorhabditis elegans. 1918 79

Insulin resistance is commonly found in a large number of adults-in particular, those with android obesity, the metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. Strong adverse relationships between adipose tissue, liver and muscles in these patients result in lipotoxicity, with deposition of triglycerides (TG) within the liver and muscles together with insulin resistance. Such a situation is also seen in lipodystrophic patients with fat loss. Insulin signals in the liver through its tyrosine-kinase receptors to negatively control hepatic glucose production (HGP), replenish glycogen stores and synthesize fatty acids (FA), leading to TG exported as VLDL. In liver insulin resistance, HGP is increased mainly by activation of the gluconeogenic pathway, resulting in increased fasting glycemia. Lipogenesis is also increased possibly due to direct activation of the SREBP-1 transcription factor and together with increased FA availability results in an increased production of VLDL-TG. An imbalance between the pathways of TG synthesis and oxidation or export results in 'metabolic' steatosis. Increased cellular FA derivatives activate stress kinases, leading to phosphorylation of serine in insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins and, hence, insulin resistance. A number of studies in normal subjects and patients have revealed a strong association between insulin resistance and metabolic steatosis. Moreover, when insulin resistance is decreased by weight loss in obese subjects or by treatment with insulin sensitizers such as thiazolidinediones, the levels of liver fat and insulin resistance vary accordingly. An important question that remains unanswered concerns the relationship between steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and the potential roles of insulin resistance together with inflammation and oxidative stress in such a setting.
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PMID:Insulin resistance and steatosis in humans. 1919 26


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