Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0311277 (abdominal obesity)
 2,792 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study describes the previously uncharacterized ontogeny and regulation of truncal adipose reserves in the profoundly GH-deficient dwarf (dw/dw) rat. We show that, despite normal proportionate food intake, dw/dw rats develop abdominal leanness and hypoleptinemia (circulating leptin halved in dw/dw males, P < 0.05) during puberty. This contrasts with the hyperleptinemia seen in moderately GH-deficient Tgr rats (circulating leptin doubled at 6 wk of age, P < 0.05) and in GH receptor-binding protein (GHR/BP)-null mice (circulating leptin doubled; P < 0.05). This lean/hypoleptinemic phenotype was not completely normalized by GH treatment, but dw/dw rats developed abdominal obesity in response to neonatal MSG treatment or maintenance on a high-fat diet. Unlike Tgr rats, dw/dw rats did not become obese with age; plasma leptin levels and fat pad weights became similar to those in wild-type rats. In contrast with truncal leanness, tibial marrow adiposity was normal in male and doubled in female dwarves (P < 0.01), this increase being attributable to increased adipocyte number (P < 0.01). Neonatal MSG treatment and high-fat feeding elevated marrow adiposity in dw/dw rats by inducing adipocyte enlargement (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that, despite lipolytic influence of GH, severe GH deficiency in dw/dw rats is accompanied by a paradoxical leanness. This lean/hypoleptinemic phenotype is not solely attributable to reduced GH signaling and does not appear to result from a reduction in nutrient intake or the ability of dw/dw adipocytes to accumulate lipid. Disruption of preadipocyte differentiation or adipocyte proliferation in the dw/dw rat may lead to the development of this unusually lean/hypoleptinemic phenotype.
 ...
PMID:Adiposity profile in the dwarf rat: an unusually lean model of profound growth hormone deficiency. 1726 26

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its precursor, Barrett's esophagus (BE), have uncovered significant genetic components of risk, but most heritability remains unexplained. Targeted assessment of genetic variation in biologically relevant pathways using novel analytical approaches may identify missed susceptibility signals. Central obesity, a key BE/EAC risk factor, is linked to systemic inflammation, altered hormonal signaling, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis dysfunction. Here, we assessed IGF-related genetic variation and risk of BE and EAC. Principal components analysis (PCA) was employed to evaluate pathway-level and gene-level associations with BE/EAC, using genotypes for 270 SNPs in or near 12 IGF-related genes, ascertained from 3295 BE cases, 2515 EAC cases, and 3207 controls in the Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium (BEACON) GWAS. Gene-level signals were assessed using Multi-marker Analysis of GenoMic Annotation (MAGMA) and SNP summary statistics from BEACON and an expanded GWAS meta-analysis (6167 BE cases, 4112 EAC cases, 17,159 controls). Global variation in the IGF pathway was associated with risk of BE (P=0.0015). Gene-level associations with BE were observed for GHR (growth hormone receptor; p=0.00046, FDR q=0.0056) and IGF1R (IGF1 receptor; p=0.0090, q=0.0542). These gene-level signals remained significant at q<0.1 when assessed using data from the largest available BE/EAC GWAS meta-analysis. No significant associations were observed for EAC. This study represents the most comprehensive evaluation to date of inherited genetic variation in the IGF pathway and BE/EAC risk, providing novel evidence that variation in two genes encoding cell-surface receptors, GHR and IGF1R, may influence risk of BE.
 ...
PMID:Germline variation in the insulin-like growth factor pathway and risk of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. 3330 May 68