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)

Ghrelin is a GH-releasing peptide that also has an important role as an orexigenic hormone-stimulating food intake. By measuring inositol phosphate turnover or by using a reporter assay for transcriptional activity controlled by cAMP-responsive elements, the ghrelin receptor showed strong, ligand-independent signaling in transfected COS-7 or human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Ghrelin and a number of the known nonpeptide GH secretagogues acted as agonists stimulating inositol phosphate turnover further. In contrast, the low potency ghrelin antagonist, [D-Arg1,D-Phe5,D-Trp7,9,Leu11]-substance P was surprisingly found to be a high potency (EC50 = 5.2 nm) full inverse agonist as it decreased the constitutive signaling of the ghrelin receptor down to that observed in untransfected cells. The homologous motilin receptor functioned as a negative control as it did not display any sign of constitutive activity; however, upon agonist stimulation the motilin receptor signaled as strongly as the unstimulated ghrelin receptor. It is concluded that the ghrelin receptor is highly constitutively active and that this activity could be of physiological importance in its role as a regulator of both GH secretion and appetite control. It is suggested that inverse agonists for the ghrelin receptor could be particularly interesting for the treatment of obesity.
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PMID:High constitutive signaling of the ghrelin receptor--identification of a potent inverse agonist. 1290 57

To elucidate the role of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) in diet-induced obesity, HSL-deficient (HSL-/-) and wild-type mice were fed normal chow or high-fat diets. HSL-/- mice were resistant to diet-induced obesity showing higher core body temperatures. Weight and triacylglycerol contents were decreased in white adipose tissue (WAT) but increased in both brown adipose tissue (BAT) and liver of HSL-/- mice. Serum insulin levels in the fed state and tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA levels in adipose tissues were higher, whereas serum levels of adipocyte complement-related protein of 30 kDa (ACRP30)/adiponectin and leptin, as well as mRNA levels of ACRP30/adiponectin, leptin, resistin, and adipsin in WAT, were lower in HSL-/- mice than in controls. Expression of transcription factors associated with adipogenesis (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, CAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha) and lipogenesis (carbohydrate response element-binding protein, adipocyte determination- and differentiation-dependent factor-1/sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c), as well as of adipose differentiation markers (adipocyte lipid-binding protein, perilipin, lipoprotein lipase), lipogenic enzymes (glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 and -2, fatty acid synthase, ATP citrate lyase) and insulin signaling proteins (insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate-1, GLUT4), was suppressed in WAT but not in BAT of HSL-/- mice. In contrast, expression of genes associated with cholesterol metabolism (sterol-regulatory element-binding protein-2, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase-1) and thermogenesis (uncoupling protein-2) was upregulated in both WAT and BAT of HSL-/- mice. Our results suggest that impaired lipolysis in HSL deficiency affects lipid metabolism through alterations of adipose differentiation and adipose-derived hormone levels.
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PMID:Resistance to high-fat diet-induced obesity and altered expression of adipose-specific genes in HSL-deficient mice. 1295 98

In type 2 diabetes, glucose phosphorylation, a regulatory step in glucose utilization by skeletal muscle, is impaired. Since glucokinase expression in skeletal muscle of transgenic mice increases glucose phosphorylation, we examined whether such mice counteract the obesity and insulin resistance induced by 12 wk of a high-fat diet. When fed this diet, control mice became obese, whereas transgenic mice remained lean. Furthermore, high-fat fed control mice developed hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia (a 3-fold increase), indicating that they were insulin resistant. In contrast, transgenic mice were normoglycemic and showed only a mild increase in insulinemia (1.5-fold). They also showed improved whole body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and increased intramuscular concentrations of glucose 6-phosphate and glycogen. A parallel increase in uncoupling protein 3 mRNA levels in skeletal muscle of glucokinase-expressing transgenic mice was also observed. These results suggest that the rise in glucose phosphorylation by glucokinase expression in skeletal muscle leads to increased glucose utilization and energy expenditure that counteracts weight gain and maintains insulin sensitivity.
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PMID:Prevention of obesity and insulin resistance by glucokinase expression in skeletal muscle of transgenic mice. 1450 May 48

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) has been implicated in the regulation of the insulin signaling pathway and represents an attractive target for the design of inhibitors in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Inspection of the structure of PTP1B indicates that potent PTP1B inhibitors may be obtained by targeting a secondary aryl phosphate-binding site as well as the catalytic site. We report here the crystal structures of PTP1B in complex with first and second generation aryldifluoromethyl-phosphonic acid inhibitors. While all compounds bind in a previously unexploited binding pocket near the primary binding site, the second generation compounds also reach into the secondary binding site, and exhibit moderate selectivity for PTP1B over the closely related T-cell phosphatase. The molecular basis for the selectivity has been confirmed by single point mutation at position 52, where the two phosphatases differ by a phenylalanine-to-tyrosine switch. These compounds present a novel platform for the development of potent and selective PTP1B inhibitors.
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PMID:The structural basis for the selectivity of benzotriazole inhibitors of PTP1B. 1451 96

Increased free intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) in adipocytes blunts the lipolytic response to catecholamines by activating phosphodiesterase 3B - the same enzyme that mediates the antilipolytic effect of insulin - while also compromising the efficiency of insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Physiological increases in parathyroid hormone (PTH) have been shown to increase [Ca(2+)](i) in adipocytes. These considerations may rationalize recent evidence that high dietary intakes of calcium and/or dairy products may reduce risk for obesity, diabetes, and insulin-resistance syndrome, and they predict that other dietary measures which down-regulate PTH - such as good vitamin D status, and moderation in phosphate and salt intakes - may likewise be beneficial in these respects. Consistent with this position are reports that body weight is elevated in elderly subjects with both primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism; furthermore, insulin resistance is a well-known complication of both forms of hyperparathyroidism. The fact that regular alcohol consumption is associated with decreased PTH secretion may help to explain why moderate drinkers are less prone to insulin resistance, diabetes, and - in women - obesity. Down-regulation of PTH cannot be expected to promote dramatic weight loss, but in the long-term it may lessen risk for significant weight gain and diabetes, and conceivably may potentiate the fat loss achievable with caloric restriction and/or exercise.
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PMID:PTH excess may promote weight gain by impeding catecholamine-induced lipolysis-implications for the impact of calcium, vitamin D, and alcohol on body weight. 1459 84

Leptin regulates feeding behavior and energy metabolism by affecting hypothalamic neuromodulators. The present study was designed to examine hypothalamic neuronal histamine, a recently identified mediator of leptin signaling in the brain, in genetic obese animals. Concentrations of hypothalamic histamine and tele-methylhistamine (t-MH), a major histamine metabolite, were significantly lower in obese (ob/ob) and diabetic (db/db) mice, and Zucker fatty (fa/fa) rats, leptin-deficient and leptin-receptor defective animals, respectively, relative to lean littermates (P < 0.05 for each). A bolus infusion of leptin (1.0 microg) into the lateral ventricle (ilvt) significantly elevated the turnover rate of hypothalamic neuronal histamine, as assessed by pargyline-induced accumulation of t-MH, in ob/ob mice compared with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) infusions (P < 0.05). However, this same treatment did not affect hypothalamic histamine turnover in db/db mice. In agouti yellow (A(y)/a) mice, animals defective in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) signaling, normal levels of histamine, and t-MH were seen in the hypothalamus at 4 weeks of age when obesity had not yet developed. These amine levels in A(y)/a mice showed no change until 16 weeks of age, although the mice were remarkably obese by this time. Infusions of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), one of neuropeptide related to leptin signaling, into the third ventricle (i3vt) increased histamine turnover in the hypothalamus of Wistar King A rats (P < 0.05 versus PBS infusion). Infusion of neuropeptide Y (NPY) or alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), a POMC-derived peptide failed to increase histamine turnover. These results indicate that lowered activity of hypothalamic neuronal histamine in ob/ob and db/db mice, and fa/fa rats may be due to insufficiency of leptin action in the brains of these animals. These results also suggest that disruption of POMC signaling in A(y)/a mice may not impact on neuronal histamine. Moreover, CRH but neither POMC-derived peptide nor NPY may act as a signal to neuronal histamine downstream of the leptin signaling pathway.
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PMID:Hypothalamic neuronal histamine in genetically obese animals: its implication of leptin action in the brain. 1461 Feb 51

Obese individuals with glucose intolerance present with high serum levels of glucose, insulin, and leptin. These substances are potent inhibitors of feeding in the brain. Obese subjects still present with over-feeding despite elevation of the above factors. To elucidate the mechanism of this paradox, the effects of insulin and glucose on the anorectic action of leptin in the hypothalamus were examined. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (weighing 285-320 g) were pretreated with intracerebroventricular injection of insulin, glucose, or saline, followed by leptin (7.5 microg) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) injection into the third cerebral ventricle (icv). The cumulative food intakes were measured 24 hr after leptin icv. The tyrosine phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator transcription factor 3 (STAT3) in the hypothalamus was determined by Western blotting. In rats pretreated with saline and stimulated with leptin (saline/LEPTIN group), food intake diminished to about 50% of that of the saline/PBS group (P < 0.005). Food intake in the insulin/LEPTIN group was significantly higher compared with the saline/LEPTIN group (P < 0.005) and reached the level seen in the saline/PBS group. Similar data were obtained in glucose pretreatment experiments. Insulin and glucose icv resulted in reduction of leptin-induced STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation compared with saline. Infusion of insulin and glucose icv did not alter peripheral blood glucose levels in all groups. High insulin or glucose levels in the brain could result in leptin resistance as manifested by food intake, which is probably due to the attenuation of STAT3 phosphorylation downstream the leptin receptor.
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PMID:Intracerebroventricular administration of insulin and glucose inhibits the anorectic action of leptin in rats. 1461 Feb 54

The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine whether adipose tissue glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity is associated with human obesity. The data presented in this paper indicate that the glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in adipose tissue from morbidly obese subjects is approximately 2-fold higher than from lean individuals. Moreover, positive correlation between adipose tissue glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity and body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.5; p < 0.01) was found. In contrast, the adipose tissue fatty acid synthase (FAS) and ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) activities in morbidly obese patients are significantly lower than in lean subjects. Furthermore, negative correlation between adipose tissue FAS activity and BMI (r = -0.3; p < 0.05) as well as between ACL activity and BMI (r = -0.3; p < 0.05) was found. These data indicate that elevated glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase might contribute to the increase of triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis in obese subjects, however, fatty acids necessary for glycerol 3-phosphate esterification must be derived (because of lower FAS and ACL activities) mainly from TAG in circulating lipoproteins formed in liver (VLDL), and/or from the intake with food (chylomicrons). The conclusion is, that the enhanced activity of glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and hence the generation of more glycerol 3-phosphate in adipose tissue offers a novel explanation for increased TAG production in adipose tissue of obese subjects.
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PMID:Enhanced glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in adipose tissue of obese humans. 1467 82

Menopause is associated with two main risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus--impaired beta-cell insulin secretion and insulin resistance. Physiologically estrogens improve carbohydrate metabolism, but this is not the case with different progestogens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Cyproterone acetate (a progestogen with antiandrogenic activity) on insulin secretion, peripheral insulin sensitivity, lipid parameters and parameters of oxidative stress. Seven type 2 diabetic females, of mean age 55.4 +/- 4.7 years and mean BMI 30.8 +/- 9.39 kg/m2, in menopause for average 5 years, in good borderline glycaemic control (mean HbAic 7.8%), with dyslipidaemia, normal parameters of calcium and phosphate metabolism and with osteopenia (T-score < 88%) were enrolled in the study. They were treated with Estradiol valerate + Cyproterone acetate (Climen, Schering) for three months. Phases of insulin secretion--first phase (FPIS), second phase (SPIS) and AUC for FPIS and SPIS were assessed during IVGTT. Insulin sensitivity was determined with the manual method of euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp technique. The postmenopausal diabetic women in the present study were with overweight and obesity; they did not increase their body weight during HRT and even decreased it by mean 0.7%. Insulin secretion improved after Climen--FPIS increased by 16% and SPIS by 44%. Insulin sensitivity increased by 15%; triglycerides decreased by 16% and HDL-cholesterol increased by 27%. Total antioxidant capacity of the serum (TAOK) increased by 7%. The favourable effect on the pathophysiological mechanisms improved metabolic control--HbAic was reduced by mean 3% after 3 months. In conclusion, our results suggest that HRT with the progestogen Cyproterone acetate (Climen) should be preferred in postmenopausal type 2 diabetic females with predominant beta-cell insulin secretion defect.
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PMID:[Cyproterone acetate improves beta-cell function in postmenopausal women with diabetes mellitus type 2]. 1468 6

Leptin can regulate several immune functions. However, the role of leptin on lymphocyte function has not been recognized in vivo. Accordingly, we have investigated the effect of leptin on starvation-induced immune dysfunction using diet-induced obese mice. To induce obesity, C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet for 14 weeks and control mice were fed a standard diet for the same period. The obese and control groups of mice were then starved for 48 h, and received intraperitoneal injections of recombinant leptin or phosphate-buffered saline four times during starvation. Other control mice in both diet groups were free fed without being starved. Although starvation of the control mice dramatically reduced the weights of the immune organs, cytokine production and increased proliferation of cultured splenocytes, these levels returned to those of the free-feeding groups with exogenous leptin administration. However, these effects of leptin were not observed in obese mice. These findings provide some evidence that leptin can regulate the immune function in vivo. It is also suggested that the action of leptin might not appear in obesity.
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PMID:Analysis of the effect of leptin on immune function in vivo using diet-induced obese mice. 1470 55


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