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)

The administration of monosodium-L-glutamate (MSG) during the neonatal period is known to result in central nervous system lesions in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus and the retina. Rodents so treated exhibit behavioral deficts and endocrinopathies including obesity, hypogonadism, hypothyroidism, pituitary atrophy, tail automutilation and diminished locomotor activity. Assessment of endocrine status revealed normal serum levels of glucagon, thyroid-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and diminished levels of thyroid hormones and growth hormone in MSG-treated rats. Prolactin levels were elevated in the glutamate-treated male rats. Within the brain hypothalamic levels of thyrotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, and somatostatin were unchanged. Measurement of neurotransmitters and neurotransmitter-related enzymes in individual hypothalamic nuclei derived from MSG-treated rats revealed normal levels of norepinephrine, serotonin and glutamic acid decarboxylase, but reduced levels of choline acetyltransferase and dopamine in the arcuate nucleus and median eminence. Histochemical methods for visualization of dopamine and acetylcholinesterase in the mediobasal hypothalamus confirmed these findings. The MSG-treated animals exhibited a normal diurnal rhythm of pineal serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity. These data indicate that the MSG-induced endocrine deficiency syndrome results at least partly from destruction of cholinergic and dopamingeric tuberoinfundibular systems in the hypothalamus.
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PMID:Models of neuroendocrine regulation: use of monosodium glutamate as an investigational tool. 3 35

Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD) are common in typical insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and also identify a sub-group of older persons who are originally misdiagnosed as having non-insulin-dependent disease (NIDDM). The Wanigela people of Papua New Guinea are highly susceptible to diabetes mellitus, with a prevalence of 20.4% in urbanised young adults aged 25-34 years. On the basis of clinical features including the presence of obesity and relatively high insulin concentrations the Wanigelas have NIDDM. To determine whether anti-GAD is present in this high prevalence form of diabetes, and to investigate whether there might be an autoimmune component to the disease, we measured anti-GAD in 93 newly-diagnosed diabetic subjects aged 25-44 years, and in 40 controls with normal glucose tolerance. There was no difference in mean levels of anti-GAD in diabetic subjects and normal controls. Two subjects had borderline elevated anti-GAD levels: one was a normal control, and the other a diabetic. This study shows that anti-GAD is not present in this (and probably other) high prevalence variant of NIDDM. Moreover, the results suggest strongly that diabetes in the Wanigela people is unlikely to have an autoimmune component to its pathogenesis.
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PMID:Lack of antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase in young adults of the high diabetes prevalence Wanigela people of Papua New Guinea. 798 52

We investigated the association of serum antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADab) with early start of insulin treatment (< or = 1 year from diagnosis, or < or = 2 years from diagnosis) using data from a representative sample of 374 adult-onset insulin-treated individuals from the Tasmanian Diabetes Register. Furthermore, we examined whether this association was stronger than the phenotypic characteristics (age at diagnosis, sex, family history of diabetes, level of obesity, duration of diabetes) often used for diabetes classification. In this cohort, 35.9% of males and 38.5% of females were GADab positive. Within the first year from diagnosis, 78.4% of GADab positive people compared to 44.0% of GADab negative people (p < 0.001) had started insulin treatment. Univariate associations with insulin treatment < or = 1 year from diagnosis included GADab positivity, no family history of diabetes, lower BMI for men, and GADab positivity and lower BMI for women. In multivariate models, significant associations with insulin treatment < or = 1 year from diagnosis included a family history of diabetes (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.23-0.95) and GADab positivity (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.01-4.73) for men, but only GADab positivity (OR = 7.53, 95% CI = 3.09-18.30) for women. Age at diagnosis was not associated with insulin treatment < or = 1 year or < or = 2 years from diagnosis for either sex. These findings indicate that a positive GADab test result is strongly associated with start of insulin treatment within 1 or 2 years from diagnosis, more so than characteristics such as level of obesity and age at diagnosis.
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PMID:Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase and phenotypic features associated with early insulin treatment in individuals with adult-onset diabetes mellitus. 950 10

Right classification of diabetes is important clinical issue. The aim of present study was to compare clinical, biochemical and immunological features, to analyze their practical use and to establish new decision tree which make the distinction between diabetes type 1, LADA, diabetes type 2 and MODY. We studied 97 not obese (mean BMI 26.3 +/- 4.9 kg/m2) patients aged 14 to 70 years, mean age 43 +/- 11.7 years, 53 women, 44 men. Mean duration of diabetes--2.3 +/- 4.3 years. We measured basal and stimulated C-peptide (6 minutes after 1 mg i.v. glucagon) (ELISA) and antibodies titers to glutamic acid decarboxylase--antiGAD65, tyrosine phosphatase-like molecule--IA2 and insulin--IAA (RIA). Autoimmune diabetes (LADA, type 1) was diagnosed with presence of one or more islet antigen antibodies. The highest frequencies had anti-GAD antibodies 33/97 (34%). The most complicated was to sort out group of patients with LADA. Comparison between this group and patients with diabetes type 2 have shown that BMI, co-existence of autoimmune disease, autoimmune markers and basal and stimulated C-peptide level measured at entry for the classification were useful in differentiation. Moreover we observed significantly lower C-peptide basal, stimulated and over basal level in group with MODY diabetes in comparison to diabetes type 2 patients. In the studied group were 5 patients with diabetes type 2 and obesity, in relatively young age. At the end there was one case of ADM (atypical diabetes mellitus). Clinical criteria for the classification of diabetes not always correlated with diagnosis. Autoimmune markers, basal and stimulated C-peptide were useful specially in differentiation between LADA and diabetes type 2 or diabetes type 1. Autoimmune diabetes co-existe with autoimmune disease. Proposed diagnostic scheme take for consideration presence of autoantibodies as well as C-peptide criteria.
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PMID:[Clinical, biochemical and immunological characteristic of diabetes type I, LADA, diabetes type II, and MODY patients]. 1268 30

The gene GAD2 encoding the glutamic acid decarboxylase enzyme (GAD65) is a positional candidate gene for obesity on Chromosome 10p11-12, a susceptibility locus for morbid obesity in four independent ethnic populations. GAD65 catalyzes the formation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which interacts with neuropeptide Y in the paraventricular nucleus to contribute to stimulate food intake. A case-control study (575 morbidly obese and 646 control subjects) analyzing GAD2 variants identified both a protective haplotype, including the most frequent alleles of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) +61450 C>A and +83897 T>A (OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.681-0.972], p = 0.0049) and an at-risk SNP (-243 A>G) for morbid obesity (OR = 1.3, 95% CI [1.053-1.585], p = 0.014). Furthermore, familial-based analyses confirmed the association with the obesity of SNP +61450 C>A and +83897 T>A haplotype (chi(2) = 7.637, p = 0.02). In the murine insulinoma cell line betaTC3, the G at-risk allele of SNP -243 A>G increased six times GAD2 promoter activity (p < 0.0001) and induced a 6-fold higher affinity for nuclear extracts. The -243 A>G SNP was associated with higher hunger scores (p = 0.007) and disinhibition scores (p = 0.028), as assessed by the Stunkard Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. As GAD2 is highly expressed in pancreatic beta cells, we analyzed GAD65 antibody level as a marker of beta-cell activity and of insulin secretion. In the control group, -243 A>G, +61450 C>A, and +83897 T>A SNPs were associated with lower GAD65 autoantibody levels (p values of 0.003, 0.047, and 0.006, respectively). SNP +83897 T>A was associated with lower fasting insulin and insulin secretion, as assessed by the HOMA-B% homeostasis model of beta-cell function (p = 0.009 and 0.01, respectively). These data support the hypothesis of the orexigenic effect of GABA in humans and of a contribution of genes involved in GABA metabolism in the modulation of food intake and in the development of morbid obesity.
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PMID:GAD2 on chromosome 10p12 is a candidate gene for human obesity. 1614 52

Type 1 diabetes (with predominant insulin deficiency) was until recently assumed to be the diagnosis of almost all children presenting with glucose intolerance. This requires insulin treatment via subcutaneous injections, and most patients develop microvascular and macrovascular complications in adulthood. Advances in genetics in the 1990s identified a group of genetic disorders of pancreatic beta-cell function (maturity-onset diabetes of the young) for which the outlook is better than type 1, genetic testing is available, and oral medication is the preferred treatment. In 2000, the first cases of type 2 diabetes (predominant insulin resistance) were reported in UK children, reflecting a trend seen in North America over the last 20 years. Affected children are usually overweight or obese, often female, pubertal, predominantly of ethnic minority (South Asian) origin and have a family history of type 2 diabetes. The diagnosis is aided by demonstration of insulin resistance, and may include measurement of fasting insulin and C-peptide, markers of the metabolic syndrome (fasting lipids, sex hormone binding globulin) and absence of autoantibodies against beta-cell components (e.g. glutamic acid decarboxylase). Management is aimed towards weight stabilization in the growing child, education on healthy lifestyles and the treatment of hyperglycaemia with both insulin and insulin-sensitizing agents. The underlying cause of type 2 diabetes in children is likely to be related to the epidemic of childhood obesity. There is emerging evidence of an appalling outlook for these young people in terms of miscarriages and microvascular and cardiovascular complications, which are likely to present an enormous economic and health services burden over the next 20 years.
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PMID:The emergence of type 2 diabetes in childhood. 1471 81

Tubby and tubby-like proteins (TULPs) are encoded by members of a small gene family. An autosomal recessive mutation in the mouse tub gene leads to blindness, deafness, and maturity-onset obesity. The mechanisms by which the mutation causes the obesity syndrome has not been established. We compared obese tub/tub mice and their lean littermates in order to find abnormalities within the mediobasal hypothalamus, a region intimately associated with the regulation of body weight. Using an antiserum to the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), a marker for cholinergic neurons, many unusually large VAChT-immunoreactive (-ir) nerve terminals, identified by colocalization with the synaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin, were demonstrated in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of obese tub/tub mice. Double-labeling showed that VAChT-ir nerve endings also contained glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), a marker for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. The VAChT- and GAD-ir nerve terminals were in close contact with blood vessels, identified with antisera to platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM; also called CD31), laminin, smooth muscle actin (SMA), and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1). Such large cholinergic and GABAergic nerve terminals surrounding blood vessels were not seen in the arcuate nucleus of lean tub/+ mice. The presence of abnormal cholinergic/GABAergic vascular innervation in the arcuate nucleus suggests that alterations in this region, which contains neurons that receive information from the periphery and which relays information about the energy status to other parts of the brain, may be central in the development of the obese phenotype in animals with an autosomal recessive mutation in the tub gene.
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PMID:Abnormal cholinergic and GABAergic vascular innervation in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of obese tub/tub mice. 1510 91

A mutation in the mouse tub gene causes a phenotype characterized by maturity-onset obesity, blindness and deafness. The role of the intact tubby protein and the pathogenesis resulting in the phenotype of tub/tub mice remain largely unknown. In this study, we have investigated whether obese tub/tub mice exhibit altered expression levels for agouti-related protein (AGRP) or glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 (GAD65) in body weight-regulating neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. In situ hybridization revealed that AGRP, but not GAD65 mRNA levels, were significantly lower in obese tub/tub mice as compared to tub/+ mice. The lower levels of AGRP mRNA in the arcuate nucleus of tub/tub mice were paralleled by lower fluorescence intensity and numbers of AGRP- and neuropeptide Y (NPY)-immunoreactive (ir) nerve fibers and terminals in the arcuate, ventromedial, dorsomedial hypothalamic nuclei and perifornical and lateral hypothalamic areas. No obvious differences in GAD65-ir nerve fibers and terminals could be detected. Measurements of daily food intake revealed that tub/tub mice displayed progressively higher food consumption as compared to lean tub/+ littermates over a 15-day observation period. When moved to an unfamiliar environment, e.g. a novel cage, daily food intake was initially lower in tub/tub mice than in tub/+ mice suggesting that tub/tub mice may be more sensitive to psychogenic stress. The results together show that tub/tub mice are hyperphagic and exhibit, within the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, a depressed expression of neuropeptides involved in the regulation of feeding behavior.
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PMID:Down-regulated expression of agouti-related protein (AGRP) mRNA in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of hyperphagic and obese tub/tub mice. 1519 30

The demonstration of association between common genetic variants and chronic human diseases such as obesity could have profound implications for the prediction, prevention, and treatment of these conditions. Unequivocal proof of such an association, however, requires independent replication of initial positive findings. Recently, three (-243 A>G, +61450 C>A, and +83897 T>A) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within glutamate decarboxylase 2 (GAD2) were found to be associated with class III obesity (body mass index > 40 kg/m2). The association was observed among 188 families (612 individuals) segregating the condition, and a case-control study of 575 cases and 646 lean controls. Functional data supporting a pathophysiological role for one of the SNPs (-243 A>G) were also presented. The gene GAD2 encodes the 65-kDa subunit of glutamic acid decarboxylase-GAD65. In the present study, we attempted to replicate this association in larger groups of individuals, and to extend the functional studies of the -243 A>G SNP. Among 2,359 individuals comprising 693 German nuclear families with severe, early-onset obesity, we found no evidence for a relationship between the three GAD2 SNPs and obesity, whether SNPs were studied individually or as haplotypes. In two independent case-control studies (a total of 680 class III obesity cases and 1,186 lean controls), there was no significant relationship between the -243 A>G SNP and obesity (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.83-1.18, p = 0.89) in the pooled sample. These negative findings were recapitulated in a meta-analysis, incorporating all published data for the association between the -243G allele and class III obesity, which yielded an OR of 1.11 (95% CI 0.90-1.36, p = 0.28) in a total sample of 1,252 class III obese cases and 1,800 lean controls. Moreover, analysis of common haplotypes encompassing the GAD2 locus revealed no association with severe obesity in families with the condition. We also obtained functional data for the -243 A>G SNP that does not support a pathophysiological role for this variant in obesity. Potential confounding variables in association studies involving common variants and complex diseases (low power to detect modest genetic effects, overinterpretation of marginal data, population stratification, and biological plausibility) are also discussed in the context of GAD2 and severe obesity.
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PMID:Lack of support for the association between GAD2 polymorphisms and severe human obesity. 1614 52

Morbidly obese individuals represent one of the fastest growing subpopulations of obese individuals. Thus, it is of significant interest to broaden our understanding of the potential genetic causes of this public health concern. A recent study investigated a role of positional candidate gene GAD2 (the gene for glutamic acid decarboxylase) in the development of morbid obesity. This commentary carefully examines the genetic and functional arguments for and against the GAD2 gene as an influential gene for obesity. Also discussed are additional research questions that merit inquiry when further evaluating this genetic variant as a putative contributor to human obesity.
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PMID:Is GAD2 on chromosome 10p12 a potential candidate gene for morbid obesity? 1622 Jun 43


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