Sex Differences in Liver, Adipose Tissue, and Muscle Transcriptional Response to Fasting and Refeeding in Mice.

Fasting is often used for obesity correction but the "refeeding syndrome" limits its efficiency, and molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic response to different food availability are under investigation. Sex was shown to affect hormonal and metabolic reactions to fasting/refeeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate hormonal and transcriptional responses to fasting and refeeding in male and female C57Bl/6J mice.

Sex-specific effects of leptin administration to pregnant mice on the placentae and the metabolic phenotypes of offspring.

Obesity during pregnancy has been shown to increase the risk of metabolic diseases in the offspring. However, the factors within the maternal milieu which affect offspring phenotypes and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The adipocyte hormone leptin plays a key role in regulating energy homeostasis and is known to participate in sex-specific developmental programming.

Expression of genes involved in carbohydrate-lipid metabolism in muscle and fat tissues in the initial stage of adult-age obesity in fed and fasted mice.

C57Bl mice exhibit impaired glucose metabolism by the late adult age under standard living conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate white adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT), and skeletal muscle expression of genes involved in carbohydrate-lipid metabolism at postpubertal stages preceding the late adult age in C57Bl mice. Muscle mRNA levels of uncoupling protein 3 () and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 () (indicators of FFA oxidation), WAT mRNA levels of hormone-sensitive lipase () and lipoprotein lipase () (indicators of lipolysis and lipogenesis), muscle and WAT mRNA levels of the type 4 glucose transporter (indicators of insulin-dependent glucose uptake), and BAT mRNA levels of uncoupling protein 1 () (indicator of thermogenesis) were measured in fed and 16 h-fasted mice in three age groups: 10-week-old (young), 15-week-old (early adult), and 30-week-old (late adult).

Influence of abnormally high leptin levels during pregnancy on metabolic phenotypes in progeny mice.

Maternal obesity increases the risk of obesity in offspring, and obesity is accompanied by an increase in blood leptin levels. The "yellow" mutation at the mouse agouti locus (A(y)) increases blood leptin levels in C57BL preobese pregnant mice without affecting other metabolic characteristics. We investigated the influence of the A(y) mutation or leptin injection at the end of pregnancy in C57BL mice on metabolic phenotypes and the susceptibility to diet-induced obesity (DIO) in offspring.

Food-intake regulation during stress by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide with serious consequences such as diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular diseases. Emotional stress is considered to be one of the main reasons of obesity development in humans. However, there are some contradictory results, which should be addressed.

Ectopic Agouti protein overexpression increases stimulated corticosterone production without effect on adenylate cyclase activity in mouse adrenal cells.

Objective: The antagonism of Agouti protein (AP) and Agouti-related protein on melanocortin receptors suggests an inhibitory role in the regulation of steroidogenesis. However, we have previously demonstrated that ectopic AP overexpression increased restraint-induced corticosterone release and adrenal reactivity to ACTH in mice. A high steroidogenic response to ACTH may be a consequence of a stimulatory AP action on the adenylate cyclase (AC) and/or intracellular steroidogenic enzymes.