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

The c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated during obesity. One consequence of obesity is that JNK phosphorylates the adapter protein insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) on Ser 307 and inhibits signaling by the insulin receptor. JNK can therefore cause peripheral insulin resistance during obesity and may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. Here we report that the JNK-interacting protein 1 (JIP1) scaffold protein, which binds components of the JNK signaling module, is essential for JNK activation in the adipose tissue of obese mice. These data identify JIP1 as a novel molecular target for therapeutic intervention in the development of obesity.
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PMID:An essential role of the JIP1 scaffold protein for JNK activation in adipose tissue. 1531 24

Metformin reduces the incidence of progression to type 2 diabetes in humans with obesity or impaired glucose tolerance. We used an animal model to investigate whether metformin could prevent acute lipid-induced insulin resistance and the mechanisms involved. Metformin or vehicle was administered to rats daily for 1 week. Rats were studied basally, after 3.75 h of intralipid-heparin or glycerol infusion, or after 5 h of infusion with a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp between 3 and 5 h. Metformin had no effect on plasma triacylglycerol or nonesterified fatty acid concentrations and did not alter glucose turnover or gluconeogenic enzyme mRNA after lipid infusion. However, metformin normalized hepatic glucose output and increased liver glycogen during lipid infusion and clamp. Basal liver (but not muscle or fat) AMP-activated protein kinase activity was increased by metformin (by 310%; P < 0.01), associated with increased phosphorylation of acetyl CoA carboxylase. Postclamp liver but not muscle phosphorylated/total Akt protein was increased, whereas basal c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-1 and -2 protein expression were reduced (by 39 and 53%, respectively; P < 0.05). Metformin also increased hepatic basal IkappaBalpha levels (by 260%; P < 0.001) but had no effect on tyrosine phosphorylation or expression of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1). In summary, metformin opposes the development of acute lipid-induced insulin resistance in the liver through alterations in multiple signaling pathways.
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PMID:Metformin prevents the development of acute lipid-induced insulin resistance in the rat through altered hepatic signaling mechanisms. 1556 58

Chronic inflammation plays an important role in insulin resistance. Inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS), a mediator of inflammation, has been implicated in many human diseases including insulin resistance. However, the molecular mechanisms by which iNOS mediates insulin resistance remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that exposure to NO donor or iNOS transfection reduced insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 protein expression without altering the mRNA level in cultured skeletal muscle cells. NO donor increased IRS-1 ubiquitination, and proteasome inhibitors blocked NO donor-induced reduction in IRS-1 expression in cultured skeletal muscle cells. The effect of NO donor on IRS-1 expression was cGMP-independent and accentuated by concomitant oxidative stress, suggesting an involvement of nitrosative stress. Inhibitors for phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin, and c-Jun amino-terminal kinase failed to block NO donor-induced IRS-1 reduction, whereas these inhibitors prevented insulin-stimulated IRS-1 decrease. Moreover iNOS expression was increased in skeletal muscle of diabetic (ob/ob) mice compared with lean wild-type mice. iNOS gene disruption or treatment with iNOS inhibitor ameliorated depressed IRS-1 expression in skeletal muscle of diabetic (ob/ob) mice. These findings indicate that iNOS reduces IRS-1 expression in skeletal muscle via proteasome-mediated degradation and thereby may contribute to obesity-related insulin resistance.
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PMID:Inducible nitric-oxide synthase and NO donor induce insulin receptor substrate-1 degradation in skeletal muscle cells. 1580 18

Elevated circulating fatty acid concentration is a hallmark of insulin resistance and is at least in part attributed to the action of adipose tissue-derived tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on lipolysis. Cell death-inducing DFFA (DNA fragmentation factor-alpha)-like effector A (CIDEA) belongs to a family of proapoptotic proteins that has five known members in humans and mice. The action of CIDEA is unknown, but CIDEA-null mice are resistant to obesity and diabetes. We investigated CIDEA in adipose tissue of obese and lean humans and mice. The mRNA was expressed in white human fat cells and in brown mouse adipocytes. The adipose mRNA expression of CIDEA in mice was not influenced by obesity. However, CIDEA expression was decreased twofold in obese humans and normalized after weight reduction. Low adipose CIDEA expression was associated with several features of the metabolic syndrome. Human adipocyte depletion of CIDEA by RNA interference stimulated lipolysis and increased TNF-alpha secretion by a posttranscriptional effect. Conversely, TNF-alpha treatment decreased adipocyte CIDEA expression via the mitogen-activated protein kinase c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase. We propose an important and human-specific role for CIDEA in lipolysis regulation and metabolic complications of obesity, which is at least in part mediated by cross-talk between CIDEA and TNF-alpha.
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PMID:A human-specific role of cell death-inducing DFFA (DNA fragmentation factor-alpha)-like effector A (CIDEA) in adipocyte lipolysis and obesity. 1591 94

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) were originally identified by their ability to phosphorylate c-Jun in response to UV-irradiation, but now are recognized as critical regulators of various aspects of mammalian physiology, including: cell proliferation, cell survival, cell death, DNA repair and metabolism. JNK-mediated phosphorylation enhances the ability of c-Jun, a component of the AP-1 transcription factor, to activate transcription, in response to a plethora of extracellular stimuli. The JNK activation leads to induction of AP-1-dependent target genes involved in cell proliferation, cell death, inflammation, and DNA repair. The JNKs, which are encoded by three different Jnk loci, are now known to be regulated by many other stimuli, from pro-inflammatory cytokines to obesity, in addition to UV-irradiation. Targeted disruption of the Jnk loci in mice has proved to be a critical tool in better understanding their physiological functions. Such studies revealed that the JNKs play important roles in numerous cellular processes, including: programmed cell death, T cell differentiation, negative regulation of insulin signaling, control of fat deposition, and epithelial sheet migration. Importantly, the JNKs have become prime targets for drug development in several important clinical areas, including: inflammation, diabetes, and cancer.
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PMID:From JNK to pay dirt: jun kinases, their biochemistry, physiology and clinical importance. 1603 12

The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), which are essential regulators of physiological and pathological processes, are involved in several diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, stroke, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Inhibition of JNKs suppresses pathological features of these diseases but the many physiological functions of these enzymes argue against the use of sustained, systemic, nonspecific inhibition in the treatment of these diseases. For example, deletion of the gene that encodes JNK1 prevents insulin resistance but disrupts neuronal cytoarchitecture and initiates the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Thus, it is not sufficient to inhibit selectively either JNKs or individual isoforms of JNK. Instead, the aim is to inhibit the damaging actions of JNK. This can be achieved using peptides that selectively block molecular domains of individual JNK signaling complexes (exclusively) that form under pathological conditions. To date, peptide inhibitors of JNK have been successful in protecting against ischemia-induced brain damage and insulin resistance following obesity. In this review, we discuss novel pharmacological strategies to inhibit JNK and the limitations of these strategies.
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PMID:Context-specific inhibition of JNKs: overcoming the dilemma of protection and damage. 1605 42

Increased activity of proinflammatory/stress pathways has been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in obesity. However, the effects of obesity on the activity of these pathways in skeletal muscle, the major insulin-sensitive tissue by mass, are poorly understood. Furthermore, the mechanisms that activate proinflammatory/stress pathways in obesity are unknown. The present study addressed the effects of diet-induced obesity (DIO; 6 wk of high-fat feeding) and acute (6-h) hyperlipidemia (HL) in rats on activity of IKK/IkappaB/NF-kappaB c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase, and p38 MAPK in three skeletal muscles differing in fiber type [superficial vastus (Vas; fast twitch-glycolytic), soleus (Sol; slow twitch-oxidative), and gastrocnemius (Gas; mixed)]. DIO decreased the levels of the IkappaBalpha in Vas (24 +/- 3%, P = 0.001, n = 8) but not in Sol or Gas compared with standard chow-fed controls. Similar to DIO, HL decreased IkappaBalpha levels in Vas (26 +/- 5%, P = 0.006, n = 6) and in Gas (15 +/- 4%, P = 0.01, n = 7) but not in Sol compared with saline-infused controls. Importantly, the fiber-type-dependent effects on IkappaBalpha levels could not be explained by differential accumulation of triglyceride in Sol and Vas. HL, but not DIO, decreased phospho-p38 MAPK levels in Vas (41 +/- 7% P = 0.004, n = 6) but not in Sol or Gas. Finally, skeletal muscle c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase activity was unchanged by DIO or HL. We conclude that diet-induced obesity and acute HL reduce IkappaBalpha levels in rat skeletal muscle in a fiber-type-dependent manner.
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PMID:Diet-induced obesity and acute hyperlipidemia reduce IkappaBalpha levels in rat skeletal muscle in a fiber-type dependent manner. 1608 81

The obese Zucker rat, whose genotype is transmitted in an autosomal recessive fashion, is an animal model widely used in the field of obesity. The expression of the nuclear transcription factors c-Fos and c-Jun in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus of obese Zucker rats was studied using immunohistochemical methods. PVN and ARC in the hypothalamus are known as centers for the control of food intake. It was observed that the numbers of c-Fos-positive and c-Jun-positive neurons in these regions decreased in obese rats compared to lean rats, and that difference was more evident in the ARC than in the PVN which has to do with the regulation of body weight. The reduction in expression in the ARC of obese rats was greater for c-Jun than for c-Fos. These results suggest a possible difference in Fos immunoreactivity in hypothalamic resistance to circulating satiety factors in genetically obese Zucker rats.
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PMID:Dissimilarity in Fos and Jun immunoreactivity in hypothalamic regions between obese and lean Zucker rats. 1624 53

Obesity and insulin resistance are strongly associated with systemic markers of inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress. c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) are activated by inflammatory cytokines and have a key role in beta-cell apoptosis and in negative regulation of insulin signaling. JNK1-deficient mice are protected from diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance, while genetically obese mice with targeted mutations in JNK1 are leaner and have reduced insulin and blood glucose levels. These studies validate JNK as a link between inflammation and metabolic diseases and as a promising drug target. This review highlights recent advances in small-molecule inhibitors of JNK that have also been targeted for other diseases with an inflammatory component such as stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
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PMID:JNK: bridging the insulin signaling and inflammatory pathway. 1625 18

Metabolic and immune systems are the most fundamental requirements for survival, and many metabolic and immune response pathways or nutrient- and pathogen-sensing systems have been evolutionarily highly conserved. Consequently, metabolic and immune pathways are also highly integrated and interdependent. In the past decade, it became apparent that this interface plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic metabolic diseases, particularly obesity and type 2 diabetes. Importantly, the inflammatory component in obesity and diabetes is now firmly established with the discovery of causal links between inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and insulin receptor signaling and the elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms, such as c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK)- and inhibitor of nuclear factor-kappaB kinase-mediated transcriptional and posttranslational modifications that inhibit insulin action. More recently, obesity-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress has been demonstrated to underlie the initiation of obesity-induced JNK activation, inflammatory responses, and generation of peripheral insulin resistance. This article will review the link between stress, inflammation, and metabolic disease, particularly type 2 diabetes, and discuss the mechanistic and therapeutic opportunities that emerge from this platform by focusing on JNK and endoplasmic reticulum stress responses.
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PMID:Role of endoplasmic reticulum stress and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathways in inflammation and origin of obesity and diabetes. 1630 44


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