Sepiolite Clay Attenuates the Development of Hypercholesterolemia and Obesity in Mice Fed a High-Fat High-Cholesterol Diet.

Obesity reduces the quality of life and life expectancy, whereas nonoperative interventions have shown poor results so far. Statins effectively combat hypercholesterolemia but are not well tolerated at high doses, raising the need for coprescription with cholesterol sorbents and/or absorption inhibitors. Montmorillonite (MMT) clay was found to attenuate hypercholesterolemia and obesity by reducing cholesterol and fat absorption.

Postnatal administration of leptin antagonist mitigates susceptibility to obesity under high-fat diet in male αMUPA mice.

Perturbations in postnatal leptin signaling have been associated with altered susceptibility to diet-induced obesity (DIO) under high-fat-diet (HFD), albeit with contradicting evidence. Previous studies have shown that alpha murine urokinase-type plasminogen activator (αMUPA) mice have a higher and longer postnatal leptin surge compared with their wild types (WTs) as well as lower body weight and food intake under regular diet (RD). Here we explored αMUPA's propensity for DIO and the effect of attenuating postnatal leptin signaling with leptin antagonist (LA) on energy homeostasis under both RD and HFD.

Long-lived weight-reduced αMUPA mice show higher and longer maternal-dependent postnatal leptin surge.

We investigated whether long-lived weight-reduced αMUPA mice differ from their wild types in postnatal body composition and leptin level, and whether these differences are affected by maternal-borne factors. Newborn αMUPA and wild type mice had similar body weight and composition up to the third postnatal week, after which αMUPA mice maintained lower body weight due to lower fat-free mass. Both strains showed a surge in leptin levels at the second postnatal week, initiating earlier in αMUPA mice, rising higher and lasting longer than in the wild types, mainly in females.

Long-Lived αMUPA Mice Show Reduced Sexual Dimorphism in Lifespan, and in Energy and Circadian Homeostasis-Related Parameters.

Female αMUPA (alpha murine urokinase-like plasminogen activator) transgenic mice show increased lifespan, reduced body weight and food intake, and high-amplitude circadian rhythms with an endogenous period length (tau) of 24h, versus their wild types (WT) showing a 23.7-h tau. Our goal was to characterize αMUPA and WT male mice, and their in-strain sexual dimorphism, and to further understand the mechanisms underlying αMUPA's longevity.