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

Calorie restriction (CR) improves obesity-related insulin resistance through undefined molecular mechanisms. Insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 serine/threonine kinases have been proposed to modulate insulin sensitivity through phosphorylation of IRS proteins. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that changes in the activity of IRS1 serine/threonine kinases may underlie the molecular mechanism of CR in improving insulin sensitivity. Obese and lean Zucker rats were subjected to 40% CR or allowed to feed ad libitum (AL) for 20 weeks; body weight and insulin sensitivity were monitored throughout this period. The activity of IRS1 serine/threonine kinases - including JNK, ERK, MTOR/p70(S6K) (RPS6KB1 as listed in the MGI Database), glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3B), AMPK (PRKAA1 as listed in the MGI Database), and protein kinase C (PRKCQ) in liver tissue extracts was measured by an in vitro kinase assay using various glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-IRS1 fragments as substrates, while phosphorylation of IRS1 and serine kinases was determined by western blotting using phosphospecific antibodies. CR in obese rats significantly reduced body weight and increased insulin sensitivity compared to AL controls. Serine kinase activity toward IRS1(S612) (corresponding to S616 in human IRS1) and IRS1(S632/635) (corresponding to S636/639 in human IRS1) was increased in obese rats compared to lean littermates, and was markedly decreased following CR. Concomitantly, obesity increased and CR decreased the activity of hepatic ERK and p70(S6K) against IRS1. The close association between the activity of hepatic ERK and p70(S6K) with insulin resistance suggests an important role for ERK and p70(S6K) in the development of insulin resistance, presumably via phosphorylation of IRS proteins.
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PMID:Improved insulin sensitivity by calorie restriction is associated with reduction of ERK and p70S6K activities in the liver of obese Zucker rats. 1980 85

The incidence of obesity and obesity-related conditions, such as metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, is on the increase. The effect of obesity on skeletal muscle function, especially the regulation of muscle mass, is poorly understood. In this study we investigated the effect of diet-induced obesity on the ability of skeletal muscle to respond to an imposed growth stimulus, such as increased load. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomized into two diet groups: a low fat, high carbohydrate diet (LFD) and a high fat, low carbohydrate diet (HFD) fed ad libitum for 14 weeks. Mice from each diet group were divided into two treatment groups: sedentary control or bilateral functional overload (FO) of the plantaris muscle. Mice were evaluated at 3, 7, 14 or 30 days following FO. By 14 days of FO, there was a 10% reduction (P < 0.05) in absolute growth of the plantaris in response to overload in HFD mice vs. LFD mice. By 30 days the attenuation in growth increased to 16% in HFD mice compared to LFD mice. Following FO, there was a reduction in the formation of polysomes in the HFD mice relative to the LFD mice, suggesting a decrease in protein translation. Further, activation of Akt and S6K1, in response to increased mechanical loading, was significantly attenuated in the HFD mice relative to the LFD mice. In conclusion, chronic high fat feeding impairs the ability of skeletal muscle to hypertrophy in response to increased mechanical load. This failure coincided with a failure to activate key members of the Akt/mTOR signalling pathway and increase protein translation.
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PMID:Chronic high fat feeding attenuates load-induced hypertrophy in mice. 2051 48

The mechanism of the association between breast cancer and obesity remains unknown. To investigate this mice over-expressing HER2/Neu in the mammary gland (MMTV-HER2/Neu) were fed either a high-fat diet (45% of calories) (HFD) or low-fat diet (10%) (LFD) from 4 weeks of age and followed for up to 1 year, or sacrificed when a mammary tumor reached 1.5 cm. There was a small but significant increase in body weight on HFD (P < 0.05) and the HFD mice displayed a greater fat mass determined by MRI (P < 0.01). Mild glucose intolerance was observed from 3 months of age on HFD, but insulin levels were not elevated. While the time of onset of a first tumor and tumor growth rates were not altered, mice on HFD had an earlier onset of a second tumor and a twofold greater incidence (LFD 25%, HFD 54%) and a greater absolute number of multiple tumors (tumors/mouse, LFD 1.5 +/- 0.25 vs. HFD 2.7 +/- 0.23, P < 0.01). Consistent with a lack of hyperinsulinemia, immunoblotting of skeletal muscle lysates from mice injected with insulin showed no insulin resistance determined by the phosphorylation of Akt/PKB. Similarly, there was no difference in basal or maximum insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of IRS-1/2, Akt/PKB, or p70 S6K in tumor cell lysates from HFD and LFD groups. Immunohistochemistry revealed no difference in tumor tissue staining for the proliferative marker, Ki67, between diets. These data indicate that HFD, in the absence of significant insulin resistance, mediates a tumor promoting, but not a tumor growth effect in this model of mammary carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Evidence for a tumor promoting effect of high-fat diet independent of insulin resistance in HER2/Neu mammary carcinogenesis. 1985 63

Sirt1 is an evolutionarily conserved NAD(+) dependent deacetylase involved in a wide range of processes including cellular differentiation, apoptosis, as well as metabolism, and aging. In this study, we investigated the role of hypothalamic Sirt1 in energy balance. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA mediated knock down of hypothalamic Sirt1 showed to decrease food intake and body weight gain. Central administration of a specific melanocortin antagonist, SHU9119, reversed the anorectic effect of hypothalamic Sirt1 inhibition, suggesting that Sirt1 regulates food intake through the central melanocortin signaling. We also showed that fasting increases hypothalamic Sirt1 expression and decreases FoxO1 (Forkhead transcription factor) acetylation suggesting that Sirt1 regulates the central melanocortin system in a FoxO1 dependent manner. In addition, hypothalamic Sirt1 showed to regulate S6K signaling such that inhibition of the fasting induced Sirt1 activity results in up-regulation of the S6K pathway. Thus, this is the first study providing a novel role for the hypothalamic Sirt1 in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Given the role of Sirt1 in several peripheral tissues and hypothalamus, potential therapies centered on Sirt1 regulation might provide promising therapies in the treatment of metabolic diseases including obesity.
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PMID:Hypothalamic Sirt1 regulates food intake in a rodent model system. 2002 36

Adiponectin is an adipocytokine involved in the pathogenesis of various obesity-related disorders. Also, it has been shown that adiponectin has therapeutic potential for metabolic syndrome, systemic insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and more recently carcinogenesis. Adiponectin can modulate breast cancer cell growth and proliferation. Anti-metastatic effects of adiponectin have also been elucidated. It has been shown that adiponectin inhibits important metastatic properties such as adhesion, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells. Examination of the underlying molecular mechanisms has shown that adiponectin treatment increases AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and activity. Adiponectin also increases phosphorylation of downstream target of AMPK, Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase (ACC) and decreases phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase (S6K). Importantly, adiponectin treatment increases the expression of tumor suppressor gene, LKB1 in breast cancer cells. LKB1 is required for adiponectin-mediated modulation of AMPK-S6K axis and more importantly, its biological functions including inhibition of adhesion, migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Although further studies are required to analyze the effect of adiponectin on LKB1-AMPK-S6K axis, these data present a novel mechanism involving specific upregulation of tumor suppressor gene LKB1 by which adiponectin inhibits adhesion, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells. These results highlight a new role for LKB1 in adiponectin action and may have significant implication for development of novel therapeutic options. Cancer research has largely focused on the molecular basis of oncogenic transformation and tumorigenesis for many years. Recent progress in cancer research has put the metastatic process at the center stage because higher metastatic potential of tumor cells is the major cause of mortality from solid tumors. Metastasis is a complex process that involves modulation of various molecular signaling networks. Tumor cells alter the microenvironment, attain greater cellular adhesion along with better ability to invade and migrate to gain access to circulation. These wandering tumor cells defy anoikis, survive in the circulation, exit into new permissive organ site and colonize distant organs. The microenvironment in which the tumor originates plays an important role in tumor initiation, progression and metastasis.
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PMID:Metastasis suppression by adiponectin: LKB1 rises up to the challenge. 2041 65

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has attracted substantial attention because of its involvement in a variety of diseases, such as cancer, cardiac hypertrophy, diabetes and obesity. Current knowledge indicates that mTOR functions as two distinct multiprotein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. mTORC1 phosphorylates p70 S6 kinase (S6K1) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), and regulates cell growth, proliferation, and survival by integrating hormones, growth factors, nutrients, stressors and energy signals. In contrast, mTORC2 is insensitive to nutrients or energy conditions. However, in response to hormones or growth factors, mTORC2 phosphorylates Akt, and regulates actin cytoskeleton and cell survival. These findings not only reveal the crucial role of mTOR in physiology and pathology, but also reflect the complexity of the mTOR signaling network. In this review, we discuss the advances in studies of the mTOR complexes, including the interacting proteins, the upstream regulators and the downstream effectors of mTOR complexes, as well as their implication in certain human diseases.
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PMID:The complexes of mammalian target of rapamycin. 2049 27

Earlier, we reported that S6K1(-/-) mice have reduced body fat mass, have elevated rates of lipolysis, have severely decreased adipocyte size, and are resistant to high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Here we report that adipocytes of S6K1(-/-) mice on a HFD have the capacity to increase in size to a degree comparable to that of wild-type (WT) mice, but not in number, indicating an unexpected lesion in adipogenesis. Tracing this lesion revealed that S6K1 is dispensable for terminal adipocyte differentiation, but is involved in the commitment of embryonic stem cells to early adipocyte progenitors. We further show that absence of S6K1 attenuates the upregulation of transcription factors critical for commitment to adipogenesis. These results led to the conclusion that a lack of S6K1 impairs the generation of de novo adipocytes when mice are challenged with a HFD, consistent with a reduction in early adipocyte progenitors.
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PMID:S6K1 plays a critical role in early adipocyte differentiation. 2049 10

The circadian clock coordinates cellular and organismal energy metabolism. The importance of this circadian timing system is underscored by findings that defects in the clock cause deregulation of metabolic physiology and result in metabolic disorders. On the other hand, metabolism also influences the circadian clock, such that circadian gene expression in peripheral tissues is affected in mammalian models of obesity and diabetes. However, to date there is little to no information on the effect of metabolic genes on the central brain pacemaker which drives behavioral rhythms. We have found that the AKT and TOR-S6K pathways, which are major regulators of nutrient metabolism, cell growth, and senescence, impact the brain circadian clock that drives behavioral rhythms in Drosophila. Elevated AKT or TOR activity lengthens circadian period, whereas reduced AKT signaling shortens it. Effects of TOR-S6K appear to be mediated by SGG/GSK3beta, a known kinase involved in clock regulation. Like SGG, TOR signaling affects the timing of nuclear accumulation of the circadian clock protein TIMELESS. Given that activities of AKT and TOR pathways are affected by nutrient/energy levels and endocrine signaling, these data suggest that metabolic disorders caused by nutrient and energy imbalance are associated with altered rest:activity behavior.
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PMID:AKT and TOR signaling set the pace of the circadian pacemaker. 2065 6

Aberrant activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a common molecular event in a variety of pathological settings, including genetic tumor syndromes, cancer, and obesity. However, the cell-intrinsic consequences of mTORC1 activation remain poorly defined. Through a combination of unbiased genomic, metabolomic, and bioinformatic approaches, we demonstrate that mTORC1 activation is sufficient to stimulate specific metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the oxidative arm of the pentose phosphate pathway, and de novo lipid biosynthesis. This is achieved through the activation of a transcriptional program affecting metabolic gene targets of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1alpha) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP1 and SREBP2). We find that SREBP1 and 2 promote proliferation downstream of mTORC1, and the activation of these transcription factors is mediated by S6K1. Therefore, in addition to promoting protein synthesis, mTORC1 activates specific bioenergetic and anabolic cellular processes that are likely to contribute to human physiology and disease.
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PMID:Activation of a metabolic gene regulatory network downstream of mTOR complex 1. 2067 Aug 87

Developing small-molecule inhibitors that are highly selective for specific protein kinases has been and remains a serious challenge. This especially applies to members of families of related kinases with overlapping substrate specificities, such as the serine/threonine kinases of the AGC family. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Dario Alessi's group, in a collaboration with Pfizer, report on PF-4708671, a potent and highly selective inhibitor of S6K1 (p70 S6 kinase 1) in vitro and in cells. S6K1 is an AGC family member and a crucial effector of the mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1) kinase. This is the first reported inhibitor that is highly selective for S6K1. This compound will help to understand the signalling and physiological roles of S6K1, and to dissect signalling downstream of mTORC1. S6K1 inhibitors may ultimately be useful in the treatment of diseases such as cancer where S6K1 is overexpressed, but most importantly in metabolic disease such as insulin resistance and obesity.
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PMID:A new tool to dissect the function of p70 S6 kinase. 2070 63


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