Calpain 3 gene expression in skeletal muscle is associated with body fat content and measures of insulin resistance.

Objective: To investigate whether skeletal muscle gene expression of calpain 3 is related to obesity and insulin resistance.

Design: Cross-sectional studies in 27 non-diabetic human subjects and in Psammomys obesus, a polygenic animal model of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Measurements: Expression of CAPN3 in skeletal muscle was measured using Taqman fluorogenic PCR.

Expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism correlate with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma expression in human skeletal muscle.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma) activation in adipose tissue is known to regulate genes involved in adipocyte differentiation and lipid metabolism. However, the role of PPAR-gamma in muscle remains unclear. To examine the potential regulation of genes by PPAR-gamma in human skeletal muscle, we used semiquantitative RT-PCR to determine the expression of PPAR-gamma, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), muscle carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (mCPT1), fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), carnitine acylcarnitine transferase (CACT), and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in freeze-dried muscle samples from 14 male subjects.

No evidence for linkage of a novel CA repeat polymorphism for apoptosis antigen 1 (APO-1 or fas) with type I diabetes in a Caucasian population.

A novel microsatellite marker was found within 48.5 kb of the Fas gene. The observed heterozygosity in 160 healthy unrelated controls was 0.