Publications by authors named "Pena-Leon V"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the role of the Pyk2 gene in obesity among children and adolescents, noting its previously unclear involvement in energy balance-related diseases.
  • - Researchers measured mRNA expression levels of Pyk2 in 130 Caucasian subjects, split into two groups based on Body Mass Index (BMI), and found higher expression levels in those with obesity.
  • - The results revealed a positive correlation between Pyk2 expression levels and various obesity-related metrics (like weight, fat mass, and blood pressure), suggesting that Pyk2 may be a potential predictor for developing obesity.
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Leptin is a hormone that is secreted by adipocytes in proportion to adipose tissue size, and that informs the brain about the energy status of the body. Leptin acts through its receptor LepRb, expressed mainly in the hypothalamus, and induces a negative energy balance by potent inhibition of feeding and activation of energy expenditure. These actions have led to huge expectations for the development of therapeutic targets for metabolic complications based on leptin-derived compounds.

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Aim: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a stress response cytokine that has been proposed as a relevant metabolic hormone. Descriptive studies have shown that plasma GDF15 levels are regulated by short term changes in nutritional status, such as fasting, or in obesity. However, few data exist regarding how GDF15 levels are regulated in peripheral tissues.

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Early-life determinants are thought to be a major factor in the rapid increase of obesity. However, while maternal nutrition has been extensively studied, the effects of breastfeeding by the infant on the reprogramming of energy balance in childhood and throughout adulthood remain largely unknown. Here we show that delayed weaning in rat pups protects them against diet-induced obesity in adulthood, through enhanced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and energy expenditure.

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Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a 19aa cyclic peptide exclusively expressed in the lateral hypothalamic area, which is an area of the brain involved in a large number of physiological functions and vital processes such as nutrient sensing, food intake, sleep-wake arousal, memory formation, and reproduction. However, the role of the lateral hypothalamic area in metabolic regulation stands out as the most relevant function. MCH regulates energy balance and glucose homeostasis by controlling food intake and peripheral lipid metabolism, energy expenditure, locomotor activity and brown adipose tissue thermogenesis.

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Mammalian, or mechanic, target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is a crucial factor in the regulation of the energy balance that functions as an energy sensor in the body. The present review explores how the mTOR/S6k intracellular pathway is involved in modulating the production of different signals such as ghrelin and nesfatin-1 in the gastrointestinal tract to regulate food intake and body weight. The role of gastric mTOR signaling in different physiological processes was studied in depth through different genetic models that allow the modulation of mTOR signaling in the stomach and specifically in gastric X/A type cells.

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Linaclotide is a synthetic peptide approved by the FDA for the treatment of constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation. Linaclotide binds and activates the transmembrane receptor guanylate cyclase 2C (Gucy2c). Uroguanylin (UGN) is a 16 amino acid peptide that is mainly secreted by enterochromaffin cells in the duodenum and proximal small intestine.

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Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4) regulates lipidic metabolism and affects energy homeostasis. However, its function in children with obesity remains unknown. We investigated plasma ANGPTL-4 levels in children and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) and different lipidic parameters such as free fatty acids (FFA).

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Uroguanylin is a 16 amino acid peptide that constitutes a key component of the gut- brain axis with special relevance in body weight regulation. In childhood and adolescence, periods of life with notable metabolic changes; limited data exist, with measurements of pro-uroguanylin in adolescence but not in prepubertal children. This study investigates pro-uroguanylin circulating levels in children with obesity and its relationship with obesity, sex and pubertal development.

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Uroguanylin (UGN) is a potential target in the fight against obesity. The mature protein is released after enzymatic cleavage from its natural precursor, proUGN. UGN is mostly produced in the gut, and its production is regulated by nutritional status.

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Aim: To determine whether Nucb2/nesfatin1 production is regulated by the cannabinoid system through the intracellular mTOR pathway in the stomach.

Methods: Sprague Dawley rats were treated with vehicle, rimonabant, rapamycin or rapamycin+rimonabant. Gastric tissue obtained from the animals was used for biochemical assays: Nucb2 mRNA measurement by real time PCR, gastric Nucb2/nesfatin protein content by western blot, and gastric explants to obtain gastric secretomes.

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