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

The major function of mitochondria in human cells is to provide ATP by oxidative phosphorylation. However, mitochondria have many other roles including the modulation of intracellular calcium concentration and the regulation of apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, the mitochondrial respiratory chain is a major source of damaging free radicals. Consequently, mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to a number of human diseases, ranging from neurodegenerative diseases and ischaemia-reperfusion injury to obesity and diabetes. In addition, mutations to nuclear or mitochondrial DNA cause a number of human diseases. Therefore, strategies to prevent mitochondrial damage or to manipulate mitochondrial function in clinically useful ways may provide new therapies for a range of human disorders. Here we outline why mitochondria are a potentially important target for drug delivery and discuss how to deliver bioactive molecules selectively to mitochondria within cells.
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PMID:Drug delivery to mitochondria: the key to mitochondrial medicine. 1069 18

Obesity results when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. Naturally occurring genetic mutations, as well as ablative lesions, have shown that the brain regulates both aspects of energy balance and that abnormalities in energy expenditure contribute to the development of obesity. Energy can be expended by performing work or producing heat (thermogenesis). Adaptive thermogenesis, or the regulated production of heat, is influenced by environmental temperature and diet. Mitochondria, the organelles that convert food to carbon dioxide, water and ATP, are fundamental in mediating effects on energy dissipation. Recently, there have been significant advances in understanding the molecular regulation of energy expenditure in mitochondria and the mechanisms of transcriptional control of mitochondrial genes. Here we explore these developments in relation to classical physiological views of adaptive thermogenesis.
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PMID:Towards a molecular understanding of adaptive thermogenesis. 1076 52

The recently cloned uncoupling protein homolog UCP3 is expressed primarily in muscle and therefore may play a significant role in the regulation of energy expenditure and body weight. However, investigation into the regulation of uncoupling protein has been hampered by the inability to assess its activity in vivo. In this report, we demonstrate the use of a noninvasive NMR technique to assess mitochondrial energy uncoupling in skeletal muscle of awake rats by combining (13)C NMR to measure rates of mitochondrial substrate oxidation with (31)P NMR to assess unidirectional ATP synthesis flux. These combined (31)P/(13)C NMR measurements were performed in control, 10-day triiodo-l-thyronine (T(3))-treated (model of increased UCP3 expression), and acute 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP)-treated (protonophore and mitochondrial uncoupler) rats. UCP3 mRNA and protein levels increased 8.1-fold (+/- 1.1) and 2.8-fold (+/- 0.8), respectively, in the T(3)-treated vs. control rat gastrocnemius muscle. (13)C NMR measurements of tricarboxylic acid cycle flux as an index of mitochondrial substrate oxidation were 61 +/- 21, 148 +/- 25, and 310 +/- 48 nmol/g per min in the control, T(3), and DNP groups, respectively. (31)P NMR saturation transfer measurements of unidirectional ATP synthesis flux were 83 +/- 14, 84 +/- 14, and 73 +/- 7 nmol/g per s in the control, T(3), and DNP groups, respectively. Together, these flux measurements, when normalized to the control group, suggest that acute administration of DNP (mitochondrial uncoupler) and chronic administration of T(3) decrease energy coupling by approximately 80% and approximately 60%, respectively, and that the latter treatment correlates with an increase in UCP3 mRNA and protein expression. This NMR approach could prove useful for exploring the regulation of uncoupling protein activity in vivo and elucidating its role in energy metabolism and obesity.
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PMID:Assessment of mitochondrial energy coupling in vivo by 13C/31P NMR. 1082 16

Mitochondria are not only the major site of ATP production in cells but also an important source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under certain pathological conditions. Because mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the mitochondrial matrix is exposed to ROS that leak from the respiratory chain, this extranuclear genome is prone to mutations. Therefore, the mitochondrial genome is a rich source of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the functional significance of SNPs in the mitochondrial genome is comparable to that of SNPs in the entire nuclear genome. To demonstrate the contribution of mitochondrial SNPs to the susceptibility to adult-onset diseases, we analyzed the mtDNA from Japanese centenarians and identified a longevity-associated mitochondrial genotype, Mt5178A. Because this genotype was demonstrated to suppress the occurrence of mtDNA mutations in the oocytes, it also would seem to decelerate the accumulation of mtDNA mutations in the somatic cells with increasing age. This genotype is likely to confer resistance to adult-onset diseases by suppressing obesity and atherosclerosis.
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PMID:Mitochondrial genotype associated with longevity and its inhibitory effect on mutagenesis. 1099 7

We previously demonstrated that the expression and function of the adipocyte-specific beta3-adrenergic receptor (beta3AR) are significantly depressed in single gene and diet-induced rodent models of obesity. Furthermore, these models are relatively unresponsive to the anti-obesity effects of beta3AR agonists. Because all of these models are hyperinsulinemic, we hypothesized that hyperinsulinemia could be responsible for this abnormality in beta3AR function. The goal of this study was to determine whether lowering insulin with the K-ATP channel agonist, diazoxide (Dz) would reverse the depressed expression and function of the beta3AR found in a model of diet-induced diabetes and obesity in C57BL/6J (B6) mice. B6 male mice were placed on either high fat (HF) or low fat experimental diets. After 4 weeks, HF-fed mice were assigned to a group: HF or HF containing disodium (R,R)-5- [2-( [2-(3-chlorophenyl)-2-hydroxyethyl]-amino]propyl-1,3-benzodioxole-2,2-di carboxylate (CL; 0.001%, wt/wt), Dz (0.32%, wt/wt), or their combination (CLDz). Dz animals exhibited significantly reduced plasma insulin levels as well as increased 3pAR expression and agonist-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in adipocytes. CLDz was more effective in reducing percent body fat, lowering nonesterified fatty acids, improving glucose tolerance, and reducing feed efficiency than either treatment alone.
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PMID:Diazoxide restores beta3-adrenergic receptor function in diet-induced obesity and diabetes. 1101 17

In mitochondria ATP synthesis is not perfectly coupled to oxygen consumption due to proton leak across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Quantitative studies have shown that proton leak contributes to approximately 25% of the resting oxygen consumption of mammals. Proton leak plays a role in accounting for differences in basal metabolic rate. Thyroid studies, body mass studies, phylogenic studies and obesity studies have all shown that increased mass-specific metabolic rate is linked to increased mitochondrial proton leak. The mechanism of the proton leak is unclear. Evidence suggests that proton leak occurs by a non-specific diffusion process across the mitochondrial inner membrane. However, the high degree of sequence homology of the recently cloned uncoupling proteins UCP 2 and UCP 3 to brown adipose tissue UCP 1, and their extensive tissue distribution, suggest that these novel uncoupling proteins play a role in proton leak. Early indications from reconstitution experiments and several in vitro expression studies suggest that the novel uncoupling proteins uncouple mitochondria. Furthermore, mice overexpressing UCP 3 certainly show a phenotype consistent with increased metabolism. The evidence for a role for these novel UCPs in mitochondrial proton leak is reviewed.
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PMID:Mitochondrial proton leak: a role for uncoupling proteins 2 and 3? 1123 89

Enlarged fat cells exhibit modified metabolic capacities, which could be involved in the metabolic complications of obesity at the whole body level. We show here that sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) and its target genes are induced in the adipose tissue of several models of rodent obesity, suggesting cholesterol imbalance in enlarged adipocytes. Within a particular fat pad, larger adipocytes have reduced membrane cholesterol concentrations compared with smaller fat cells, demonstrating that altered cholesterol distribution is characteristic of adipocyte hypertrophy per se. We show that treatment with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, which mimics the membrane cholesterol reduction of hypertrophied adipocytes, induces insulin resistance. We also produced cholesterol depletion by mevastatin treatment, which activates SREBP-2 and its target genes. The analysis of 40 adipocyte genes showed that the response to cholesterol depletion implicated genes involved in cholesterol traffic (caveolin 2, scavenger receptor BI, and ATP binding cassette 1 genes) but also adipocyte-derived secretion products (tumor necrosis factor alpha, angiotensinogen, and interleukin-6) and proteins involved in energy metabolism (fatty acid synthase, GLUT 4, and UCP3). These data demonstrate that altering cholesterol balance profoundly modifies adipocyte metabolism in a way resembling that seen in hypertrophied fat cells from obese rodents or humans. This is the first evidence that intracellular cholesterol might serve as a link between fat cell size and adipocyte metabolic activity.
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PMID:Cholesterol, a cell size-dependent signal that regulates glucose metabolism and gene expression in adipocytes. 1127 95

For the first time in history, populations in affluent countries may concomitantly indulge in rich food and physical idleness. Various combinations of obesity, diabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia, with insulin resistance as the common feature, cause hepatic steatosis, which can trigger necroinflammation and fibrosis. Patients with "primary" steatohepatitis exhibit ultrastructural mitochondrial lesions, decreased activity of respiratory chain complexes, and have impaired ability to resynthesize ATP after a fructose challenge. Mitochondria play a major role in fat oxidation and energy production but also leak reactive oxygen species (ROS) and are the main cellular source of ROS. In patients with steatosis, mitochondrial ROS may oxidize hepatic fat deposits, as suggested in animal models. Lipid peroxidation products impair the flow of electrons along the respiratory chain, which may cause overreduction of respiratory chain components, further increasing mitochondrial ROS formation and lipid peroxidation. Another vicious circle could involve ROS-induced depletion of antioxidants, impairing ROS inactivation. Blood vitamin E is decreased in some obese children with steatohepatitis, and serum transaminases improve after vitamin E supplementation. Steatohepatitis is also caused by alcohol abuse, drugs, and other causes. In "secondary" steatohepatitis, mitochondrial ROS formation is further increased as the causative disease itself directly increases ROS or first impairs respiration, which secondarily increases mitochondrial ROS formation. This "second hit" could cause more lipid peroxidation, cytokine induction, Fas ligand induction, and fibrogenesis than in primary steatohepatitis.
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PMID:Mitochondria in steatohepatitis. 1129 97

The ATP-sensitive potassium channel (KATP channel) is an essential ion channel involved in glucose-induced insulin secretion. The KATP channel is composed of an inwardly rectifying potassium channel, Kir6.2, and the sulfonylurea receptor (SUR 1); in the pancreas it is reported to be shared by all endocrine cell types. A previous study by our research group showed that Kir 6.2-knockout mice lacked KATP channel activities and failed to secrete insulin in response to glucose, but displayed normal blood glucose levels and only mild impairment in glucose tolerance at younger ages. In some aged knockout mice, however, obesity and hyperglycemia were recognizable. The present study aimed to reveal morphological changes in pancreatic islets of Kir 6.2-knockout mice throughout life. At birth, there were no significant differences in the islet cell arrangement between the knockout mice and controls. At 14 postnatal weeks glucagon cells appeared in the central parts of islets, and this image became more pronounced with aging. In animals older than 50 weeks insulin cells decreased in numbers and intensity of insulin immunoreactivity; most islets in 70- and 80-week-old mice were predominantly composed of glucagon cells and peptide YY (PYY)-containing cells. Staining of serial sections and double staining of single sections from these old mice demonstrated the frequent coexpression of glucagon and PYY, which is a phenotype for the earliest progenitor cells of pancreatic endocrine cells. These findings suggest that the KATP channel is important for insulin cell survival and also regulates the differentiation of islet cells.
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PMID:Morphological changes in pancreatic islets of KATP channel-deficient mice: the involvement of KATP channels in the survival of insulin cells and the maintenance of islet architecture. 1131 May 6

In pancreatic beta-cells, glucose metabolism signals insulin secretion by altering the cellular array of messenger molecules. ATP is particularly important, given its role in regulating cation channel activity, exocytosis, and events dependent upon its hydrolysis. Uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 is proposed to catalyze a mitochondrial inner-membrane H(+) leak that bypasses ATP synthase, thereby reducing cellular ATP content. Previously, we showed that overexpression of UCP-2 suppressed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in isolated islets (1). The aim of this study was to identify downstream consequences of UCP-2 overexpression and to determine whether insufficient insulin secretion in a diabetic model was correlated with increased endogenous UCP-2 expression. In isolated islets from normal rats, the degree to which GSIS was suppressed was inversely correlated with the amount of UCP-2 expression induced. Depolarizing the islets with KCl or inhibiting ATP-dependent K(+) (K(ATP)) channels with glybenclamide elicited similar insulin secretion in control and UCP-2-overexpressing islets. The glucose-stimulated mitochondrial membrane ((m)) hyperpolarization was reduced in beta-cells overexpressing UCP-2. ATP content of UCP-2-induced islets was reduced by 50%, and there was no change in the efflux of Rb(+) at high versus low glucose concentrations, suggesting that low ATP led to reduced glucose-induced depolarization, thereby causing reduced insulin secretion. Sprague-Dawley rats fed a diet with 40% fat for 3 weeks were glucose intolerant, and in vitro insulin secretion at high glucose was only increased 8.5-fold over basal, compared with 28-fold in control rats. Islet UCP-2 mRNA expression was increased twofold. These studies provide further strong evidence that UCP-2 is an important negative regulator of beta-cell insulin secretion and demonstrate that reduced (m) and increased activity of K(ATP) channels are mechanisms by which UCP-2-mediated effects are mediated. These studies also raise the possibility that a pathological upregulation of UCP-2 expression in the prediabetic state could contribute to the loss of glucose responsiveness observed in obesity-related type 2 diabetes in humans.
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PMID:Increased uncoupling protein-2 levels in beta-cells are associated with impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion: mechanism of action. 1137 30


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