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

The incidence of obesity has increased dramatically in recent years, making it one of the most pressing public health concerns worldwide. Obesity is commonly associated with comorbid conditions, most notably diabetes, coronary artery disease, and hypertension, and the coexistence of these diseases has been termed the Metabolic Syndrome. The identification of the hormone leptin provided a molecular link to obesity. Leptin is recognized as the central mediator in an endocrine circuit regulating energy homeostasis. Leptin administration leads to hypophagia, increased energy expenditure, and weight loss, while leptin deficiency enacts an adaptive response to starvation manifested by hyperphagia, decreased energy expenditure, and suppression of the neuroendocrine axis. While elucidation of leptin's role has permitted a more detailed view of the biology underlying energy homeostasis, most obese individuals are leptin resistant. A more complete understanding of the molecular components of the leptin pathway is necessary to develop effective treatment for obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome. The identification and role of one such component, stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), is reviewed here. Leptin's actions are not due to its anorectic effects alone. Leptin also mediates specific metabolic effects, including the potent depletion of triglyceride from liver and other peripheral tissues. To explore the molecular basis by which leptin depletes hepatic lipid, we used oligonucleotide arrays to identify genes in liver whose expression was modulated by leptin treatment. An algorithm was created that identified and ranked genes specifically repressed by leptin. The gene ranking at the top of this list was SCD-1, the rate limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of monounsaturated fats. SCD-1 was specifically repressed during leptin-mediated weight loss, and mice lacking SCD-1 showed markedly reduced adiposity on both a lean and ob/ob background (ab(J)/ab(J); ob/ob), despite higher food intake. ab(J)/ab(J); ob/ob mice also showed a complete correction of the hypometabolic phenotype and hepatic steatosis of ob/ob mice, suggesting that fatty acid oxidation is enhanced in the absence of SCD-1. These findings indicate that pharmacologic manipulation of SCD-1 may be of benefit in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and other components of the Metabolic Syndrome.
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PMID:Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 and the metabolic syndrome. 1468 58

This article continues a series of reports on recent research developments in the field of heart failure. Key presentations made at the American College of Cardiology meeting, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA in March 2004 are reported. These new data have been added to existing data in cumulative meta-analyses. The WATCH study randomised 1587 patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction to warfarin, aspirin or clopidogrel. The study showed no difference between the effects of these agents on mortality or myocardial infarction, but hospitalisations for heart failure were higher on aspirin (22.2%) compared to warfarin (16.1%). The SCD-HeFT study showed that ICD therapy reduced all-cause mortality at 5 years by 23% in patients with predominantly NYHA class II heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction, but amiodarone was ineffective. The DINAMIT study showed that ICD therapy was not beneficial in patients with left ventricular dysfunction after a recent MI, even in those with risk factors for arrhythmic death. In CASINO, levosimendan improved survival compared with dobutamine or placebo in patients with decompensated heart failure. INSPIRE showed that SPECT imaging can be used to assess risk early after acute MI safely and accurately. Rimonabant was shown to be safe and effective in treating the combined cardiovascular risk factors of smoking and obesity. An overview of new developments in cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in heart failure is also reported.
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PMID:Clinical trials update and cumulative meta-analyses from the American College of Cardiology: WATCH, SCD-HeFT, DINAMIT, CASINO, INSPIRE, STRATUS-US, RIO-Lipids and cardiac resynchronisation therapy in heart failure. 1518 77

Given the recent demonstration that oleoylethanolamide (OEA), a cannabinoid receptor-inactive N-acylethanolamine, decreases food intake by activating the nuclear receptor PPARalpha (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha) in the periphery, we here evaluated the effects of both saturated and unsaturated C18 N-acylethanolamides (C18:0; C18:1; C18:2) in mice feeding behavior after overnight starvation. Our results show stearoylethanolamide (SEA, C18:0) exerts, unlike other unsaturated C18 homologs, a marked dose-dependent anorexic effect evident already at 2 h after its intraperitoneal administration. In addition, oral administration of SEA (25 mg/kg) was also effective in reducing food consumption, an effect ascribed to the molecule itself and not to its catabolites. Moreover, although the anorexic response to oral administered SEA was not associated with changes in the levels of various hematochemical parameters (e.g., glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, leptin) nor in liver mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) including PPARalpha, the anorexic effect of SEA was interestingly accompanied by a reduction in liver stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) mRNA expression. As SCD-1 has been recently proposed as a molecular target for the treatment of obesity, the novel observation provided here that SEA reduces food intake in mice in a structurally selective manner, in turn, correlated with downregulation of liver SCD-1 mRNA expression, has the potential of providing new insights on a class of lipid mediators with suitable properties for the pharmacological treatment of over-eating dysfunctions.
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PMID:Stearoylethanolamide exerts anorexic effects in mice via down-regulation of liver stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase-1 mRNA expression. 1528 50

The incidence of obesity has increased sharply in recent years, making it one of the most urgent public health concerns worldwide. The hormone leptin is the central mediator in a negative feedback loop regulating energy homeostasis. Leptin administration leads to reduced food intake, increased energy expenditure, and weight loss. Leptin also mediates unique metabolic effects, specifically depleting lipid from liver and other peripheral tissues. While elucidation of leptin's role has permitted a more detailed view of the biology underlying energy homeostasis, most obese individuals are leptin resistant. A more complete understanding of the molecular components of the leptin pathway is necessary to develop effective treatment for obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome. We review here studies on the identification of one such component, stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), as a gene specifically repressed by leptin and discuss the role of this process in mediating the metabolic effects of leptin. Data indicate that pharmacologic manipulation of SCD-1 may be of benefit in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and other components of the Metabolic Syndrome.
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PMID:Leptin and the control of metabolism: role for stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1). 1533 42

Obstructive sleep apnea, a syndrome leading to recurrent intermittent hypoxia (IH), has been associated previously with hypercholesterolemia, independent of underlying obesity. We examined the effects of experimentally induced IH on serum lipid levels and pathways of lipid metabolism in the absence and presence of obesity. Lean C57BL/6J mice and leptin-deficient obese C57BL/6J-Lep(ob) mice were exposed to IH for five days to determine changes in serum lipid profile, liver lipid content, and expression of key hepatic genes of lipid metabolism. In lean mice, exposure to IH increased fasting serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, phospholipids (PLs), and triglycerides (TGs), as well as liver TG content. These changes were not observed in obese mice, which had hyperlipidemia and fatty liver at baseline. In lean mice, IH increased sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) levels in the liver, increased mRNA and protein levels of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD-1), an important gene of TG and PL biosynthesis controlled by SREBP-1, and increased monounsaturated fatty acid content in serum, which indicated augmented SCD-1 activity. In addition, in lean mice, IH decreased protein levels of scavenger receptor B1, regulating uptake of cholesterol esters and HDL by the liver. We conclude that exposure to IH for five days increases serum cholesterol and PL levels, upregulates pathways of TG and PL biosynthesis, and inhibits pathways of cholesterol uptake in the liver in the lean state but does not exacerbate the pre-existing hyperlipidemia and metabolic disturbances in leptin-deficient obesity.
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PMID:Intermittent hypoxia induces hyperlipidemia in lean mice. 1612 34

Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) catalyzes the first committed step in triacylglycerol (TAG) and phospholipid biosynthesis. GPAT activity has been identified in both ER and mitochondrial subcellular fractions. The ER activity dominates in most tissues except in liver, where the mitochondrial isoform (mtGPAT) can constitute up to 50% of the total activity. To study the in vivo effects of hepatic mtGPAT overexpression, mice were transduced with adenoviruses expressing either murine mtGPAT or a catalytically inactive variant of the enzyme. Overexpressing mtGPAT resulted in massive 12- and 7-fold accumulation of liver TAG and diacylglycerol, respectively but had no effect on phospholipid or cholesterol ester content. Histological analysis showed extensive lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. Furthermore, mtGPAT transduction markedly increased adipocyte differentiation-related protein and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) in the liver. In line with increased SCD-1 expression, 18:1 and 16:1 in the hepatic TAG fraction increased. In addition, mtGPAT overexpression decreased ex vivo fatty acid oxidation, increased liver TAG secretion rate 2-fold, and increased plasma TAG and cholesterol levels. These results support the hypothesis that increased hepatic mtGPAT activity associated with obesity and insulin resistance contributes to increased TAG biosynthesis and inhibition of fatty acid oxidation, responses that would promote hepatic steatosis and dyslipidemia.
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PMID:Liver-directed overexpression of mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase results in hepatic steatosis, increased triacylglycerol secretion and reduced fatty acid oxidation. 1650 61

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are cytosolic fatty acid chaperones that play a critical role in systemic regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism. In animals lacking the adipocyte/macrophage FABP isoforms aP2 and mal1, there is strong protection against diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis. On high-fat diet, FABP-deficient mice also exhibit enhanced muscle AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and reduced liver stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) activities. Here, we performed a cross between aP2(-/-), mal1(-/-), and leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice to elucidate the role of leptin action on the metabolic phenotype of aP2-mal1 deficiency. The extent of obesity in the ob/ob-aP2-mal1(-/-) mice was comparable with ob/ob mice. However, despite severe obesity, ob/ob-aP2-mal1(-/-) mice remained euglycemic and demonstrated improved peripheral insulin sensitivity. There was also a striking protection from liver fatty infiltration in the ob/ob-aP2-mal1(-/-) mice with strong suppression of SCD-1 activity. On the other hand, the enhanced muscle AMPK activity in aP2-mal1(-/-) mice was lost in the ob/ob background. These results indicated that both decreased body weight and enhanced muscle AMPK activity in aP2-mal1(-/-) mice are potentially leptin dependent but improved systemic insulin sensitivity and protection from liver fatty infiltration are largely unrelated to leptin action and that insulin-sensitizing effects of FABP deficiency are, at least in part, independent of its effects on total-body adiposity.
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PMID:Regulation of metabolic responses by adipocyte/macrophage Fatty Acid-binding proteins in leptin-deficient mice. 1680 58

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) and associated with dysregulation of lipid metabolisms and atherosclerosis. Causal relationships between OSA and metabolic abnormalities have not been established because of confounding effects of underlying obesity. The goal of the study was to determine if CIH causes lipid peroxidation and dyslipidemia in the absence of obesity and whether the degrees of dyslipidemia and lipid peroxidation depend on the severity of hypoxia. Lean C57BL/6J mice were exposed to CIH for 4 wk with a fractional inspired O2 (FI(O2)) nadir of either 10% (moderate CIH) or 5% (severe CIH). Mice exposed to severe CIH exhibited significant increases in fasting serum levels of total cholesterol (129 +/- 2.9 vs. 113 +/- 2.8 mg/dl in control mice, P < 0.05) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (85.7 +/- 8.9 vs. 56.4 +/- 9.7 mg/dl, P < 0.05) in conjunction with a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in lipoprotein secretion, and upregulation of hepatic stearoyl coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD-1). Severe CIH also markedly increased lipid peroxidation in the liver (malondialdehyde levels of 94.4 +/- 5.4 vs. 57.4 +/- 5.2 nmol/mg in control mice, P < 0.001). In contrast, moderate CIH did not induce hyperlipidemia or change in hepatic SCD-1 levels but did cause lipid peroxidation in the liver at a reduced level relative to severe CIH. In conclusion, CIH leads to hypercholesterolemia and lipid peroxidation in the absence of obesity, and the degree of metabolic dysregulation is dependent on the severity of the hypoxic stimulus.
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PMID:Hyperlipidemia and lipid peroxidation are dependent on the severity of chronic intermittent hypoxia. 1715 41

Dietary saturated fats have often been implicated in the promotion of obesity and related disorders. It has been shown recently that saturated fats act through the transcription factor SREBP-1c (sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c) and its requisite coactivator, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1beta (PGC-1beta), to exert their pro-lipogenic effects. We show here that a diet high in the saturated fat stearate induces lipogenic genes in wild-type mice, with the induction of the Scd1 (stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1) gene preceding that of other lipogenic genes. However, in Scd1-/- mice, stearate does not induce lipogenesis, and Srebp-1c and Pgc-1beta levels are markedly reduced. Instead, genes of fatty acid oxidation such as Cpt-1 (carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1) as well as Pgc-1alpha are induced. Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation is increased, and white adipose tissue and hepatic glycogen stores are depleted in stearate-fed Scd1-/- mice. Furthermore, AMP-activated protein kinase is also induced by stearate feeding in Scd1-/- mice. These results indicate that the desaturation of saturated fats such as stearate by SCD is an essential step mediating their induction of lipogenesis. In the absence of SCD1, stearate promotes oxidation, leading to protection from saturated fat-induced obesity. SCD1 thus serves as a molecular switch in the promotion or prevention of lipid-induced disorders brought on by consumption of excess saturated fat.
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PMID:Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 mediates the pro-lipogenic effects of dietary saturated fat. 1712 73

The dietary fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces hepatic lipid accumulation in some rodent models for obesity and hepatic steatosis. However, these effects are variable and complex due to differences in isomer responses and degree and sensitivity to changes in adiposity. Here, we hypothesized that CLA decreases hepatic steatosis in a diet-induced model of obesity in rats which are resistant to the adipose-lowering effects of CLA. To investigate this, we fed male Wistar rats a high-fat (20%) diet for 4 weeks to induce obesity and hepatic steatosis followed by low-fat (6.5%) experimental diets containing either 6.5% soybean oil (CON) or 1.5% CLA triglyceride mix plus 5% soybean oil (CLA). Dietary CLA significantly lowered hepatic triglycerides without changing weight, adiposity or adipokines, and was associated with significantly lower hepatic fatty acid synthase and stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) mRNA levels and SCD-1 index along with significantly lower sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 mRNA, a transcription factor that regulates lipogenesis. Furthermore, the lower lipogenesis was associated with significantly higher mRNA expression of lipid oxidation gene peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha and acetyl CoA oxidase in the livers of rats fed dietary CLA. The lipid-lowering effects of CLA in the liver were observed in the absence of changes in adipose tissue and body weight. Thus, we conclude that in the Wistar rat model, where adipose levels remain static after feeding dietary CLA, hepatic lipid accumulation is reduced and these effects are not due to an improvement in overall adiposity.
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PMID:Conjugated linoleic acid does not reduce body fat but decreases hepatic steatosis in adult Wistar rats. 1736 79


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