MTHFR C677T polymorphism affects normotensive diastolic blood pressure independently of blood lipids.

Background: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism was found to be associated with hypertension. High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, gestational hypertension, and high-risk pregnancy. BP is a complex trait strongly associated with blood lipid parameters.

Differential regulation of pancreatic digestive enzymes during chronic high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6J mice.

Exocrine pancreatic digestive enzymes are essential for the digestion of dietary components and are regulated by them. Chronic excess dietary high fat (HF) consumption is a contributing factor of diet-induced obesity (DIO) and associated chronic diseases and requires adaptation by the pancreas. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of chronic HF diet feeding on exocrine pancreatic digestive enzyme transcript levels in DIO C57BL/6J mice.

BBS4 directly affects proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes.

BBS4 is one of several proteins whose defects cause Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a multi-systemic disorder, manifesting with marked obesity. BBS4 polymorphisms have been associated with common non-syndromic morbid obesity. BBS4 obesity molecular mechanisms, and the role of the BBS4 gene in adipocyte differentiation and function are not entirely known.

Common FSNP variants of fourteen Bardet-Biedl syndrome genes and adult body mass.

Objective: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare monogenic multi-systemic disorder manifesting with marked obesity. Fourteen BBS genes have been identified to date and additional loci are expected. Mutations of several BBS genes were shown to affect fat cell differentiation.

From fat cell biology to public health preventive strategies - pinpointing the critical period for obesity prevention.

The prevalence of childhood and adolescence obesity is increasing to alarming proportions worldwide and poses a major public health problem by significantly elevating the risks of chronic diseases. There is strong evidence that childhood overweight and obesity are risk factors for severe obesity over the whole life course. In fact, longitudinal studies have found that most overweight/obese children would become overweight and obese adults.

Autosomal recessive lethal congenital contractural syndrome type 4 (LCCS4) caused by a mutation in MYBPC1.

Autosomal recessive lethal congenital contractural syndrome (LCCS) is a severe form of neuromuscular arthrogryposis. We previously showed that this phenotype is caused in two unrelated inbred Bedouin tribes by different defects in the phosphatidylinositol pathway. However, the molecular basis of the same phenotype in other tribes remained elusive.

Temporal expression pattern of Bardet-Biedl syndrome genes in adipogenesis.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is an autosomal recessive disorder associated with marked obesity. Research in rare forms of obesity has identified genes with significant roles in common obesity etiology. To date, 11 BBS genes have been cloned (BBS1-BBS11).

Leptin restores plasma cholesterol, glucose and weight loss induced by IFNalpha treatment.

Leptin, an adipokine, a major regulator of food intake, was recently suggested to play a role in immune response. We previously showed that weight reduction following IFNalpha therapy is due, at least in part, to direct induction of adipose tissue apoptosis. We now studied the effect of leptin on IFNalpha treated adipocytes in vitro and in vivo.

Leptin directly regulates exocrine pancreas lipase and two related proteins in the rat.

Leptin, a metabolic regulator of energy expenditure, exerts its peripheral effects primarily by altering lipid metabolism. The exocrine pancreas has a key role in the digestion of dietary lipids, but the role of leptin in regulating pancreatic lipases remains unknown. Using the exocrine pancreas in vitro AR42J cell model, we studied the direct effects of leptin on pancreatic lipase (PL) secretion and on the mRNA levels of PL and PL-related proteins 1 and 2 (PLRP1, PLRP2).

IFN-alpha induces apoptosis of adipose tissue cells.

Interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) is produced in response to viral infections and used clinically in the therapy of a variety of cancers and viral infections. IFN-alpha treatment is often associated with severe weight reduction. To elucidate the mechanism of IFN-associated weight loss, we studied its effect on adipocytes in vitro and in vivo.

Conversion of adipogenic to osteogenic phenotype using crystalline porous biomatrices of marine origin.

Adipogenic and osteogenic cells share part of the early differentiation cascade of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The choice of a mesenchymal precursor cell to differentiate into a particular cell type is dictated by many spatial and temporal cues, including growth factors, neighboring mature cells, and the extracellular matrix (ECM), which plays an important role in bone formation. Whether adipocytes that have initiated differentiation along one lineage can convert into osteogenic lineage by merely interacting with materials having specific surface parameters is unknown.

Lactation decreases pancreatic lipase mRNA level in the rat.

Lactation alters maternal metabolism and increases food intake in rats to support milk production. Pancreatic lipase (PL) is primarily responsible for fat digestion in adults and is regulated by dietary fat. The present research determined the regulation of PL by lactation and dietary fat.

Placental angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2 expression and correlation with birth weight in twins.

Objective: To study the expression of angiopoietin 1 (Ang1) and angiopoietin 2 (Ang2) in human placentas of dizygotic dichorionic twins in relation to fetal growth.

Study Design: Placentas from dizygotic-dichorionic twins (n=14) obtained from normal uncomplicated pregnancies were collected immediately after delivery. A quantitative assessment of the placental expression of Ang1 and Ang2 was done using quantitative PCR.

Pancreatic lipase and its related protein 2 are regulated by dietary polyunsaturated fat during the postnatal development of rats.

The developmental gene expression of pancreatic lipase (PL) and its related proteins (PLRP1 and PLRP2) is anticoordinate. It is unknown whether dietary fat regulates the expression of these proteins in the preweanling stage. For determining the regulation of development and diet on PL, PLRP1, and PLRP2 as early as the suckling period, pregnant (Sprague-Dawley) rats consumed from day 15 (d15) of pregnancy through d9 of lactation a purified low (11% of energy) safflower oil diet [low-fat (LF)].

Regulation of pancreatic lipase by dietary medium chain triglycerides in the weanling rat.

Pancreatic lipase (PL) and its related protein 1 (PLRP1) are regulated by the amount of dietary fat through an apparent transcriptional mechanism. Regulation of PL and PLRP1 by type of fat (chain length and degree of saturation) is less well understood. The aim of this study was to determine whether medium-chain triglycerides regulate PL and PLRP1.

Circulating leptin levels in newborn rats: a significant post- natal developmental effect, independent of dietary polyunsaturated fat levels.

Leptin expression exhibits developmental and dietary regulation, but it is unknown whether there is an interaction of the regulation by dietary fat and postnatal development. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of different levels of dietary polyunsaturated fat on circulating leptin levels at different post-natal developmental stages. Pregnant (Sprague-Dawley) rats consumed from day 15 of pregnancy through day 9 of lactation a low fat, (11% of energy; LF) polyunsaturated safflower oil diet.