The Impact of Resident Adipose Tissue Macrophages on Adipocyte Homeostasis and Dedifferentiation.

Obesity is concurrent with immunological dysregulation, resulting in chronic low-grade inflammation and cellular dysfunction. In pancreatic islets, this loss of function has been correlated with mature β-cells dedifferentiating into a precursor-like state through constant exposure to inflammatory stressors. As mature adipocytes likewise have the capability to dedifferentiate in vitro and in vivo, we wanted to analyze this cellular change in relation to adipose tissue (AT) inflammation and adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) activity.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1signaling in macrophages reduces atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-deficient mice.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lysosphingolipid with antiatherogenic properties, but mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear. We here investigated atherosclerosis development in cholesterol-rich diet-fed LDL receptor-deficient mice with high or low overexpression levels of S1P receptor 1 (S1P1) in macrophages. S1P1-overexpressing macrophages showed increased activity of transcription factors PU.

IL-6 signaling drives self-renewal and alternative activation of adipose tissue macrophages.

Introduction: Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue (AT) and an increase of AT macrophages (ATMs) that is linked to the onset of type 2 diabetes. We have recently shown that neutralization of interleukin (IL)-6 in obese AT organ cultures inhibits proliferation of ATMs, which occurs preferentially in alternatively activated macrophage phenotype.

Methods: In this study, we investigated AT biology and the metabolic phenotype of mice with myeloid cell-specific IL-6Rα deficiency ( ) after normal chow and 20 weeks of high-fat diet focusing on AT inflammation, ATM polarization and proliferation.

Ex-vivo validation of spatial gain sonography for the quantification of echo intensity in fascicle-aligned ultrasound images in ten anatomical muscles in Bos taurus.

This study aimed to validate the concept of spatial gain sonography for quantifying texture-related echo intensity in B-mode ultrasound of skeletal muscle. Fifty-one bovine muscles were scanned postmortem using B-mode ultrasonography at varying fascicle probe angles (FPA). The relationship between mean gray values (MGV) and FPA was fitted with a sinusoidal and a linear function, the slope of which was defined as tilt echo gain (TEG).

Deficiency Promotes Hyperlipidemia, Inflammation, and Atherosclerosis in LDL Receptor Knockout Mice.

Background: Genetic variants at the gene locus are strongly associated with plasma lipid traits and the risk of coronary artery disease in humans. Here, we analyzed the consequences of deficiency on lipid metabolism and atherosclerotic lesion formation in atherosclerosis-susceptible mice.

Methods: mice were crossed onto the background to generate double-knockout mice () and fed a semisynthetic, modified AIN76 diet (0.