Publications by authors named "Terry Unterman"

Importance: Time-restricted eating (TRE) has become increasingly popular, yet longer-term randomized clinical trials have not evaluated its efficacy and safety in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Objective: To determine whether TRE is more effective for weight reduction and glycemic control than daily calorie restriction (CR) or a control condition in adults with T2D.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This 6-month, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial was performed between January 25, 2022, and April 1, 2023, at the University of Illinois Chicago.

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Background: Time-restricted eating (TRE), without calorie counting, has become a popular weight loss strategy, yet long-term randomized trials evaluating its efficacy are limited.

Objective: To determine whether TRE is more effective for weight control and cardiometabolic risk reduction compared with calorie restriction (CR) or control.

Design: 12-month randomized controlled trial.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated how endogenous sex hormones (like testosterone and estradiol) are linked to diabetes progression in 693 postmenopausal women and 1015 men aged 45 to 74, who were followed for 6 years without prior diabetes.
  • - In men, higher testosterone levels were associated with a lower chance of progressing from prediabetes to diabetes, while in women, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was linked to better glycemic control and less progression to diabetes.
  • - The findings suggest that sex hormones play a role primarily in the later stages of diabetes development, highlighting the need for further research to understand their biological effects on glucose regulation.
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To test probiotic therapy for osteoarthritis (OA), we administered Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) by oral gavage (2×/week) after induction of OA by partial medial meniscectomy (PMM). Pain was assessed by von Frey filament and hot plate testing. Joint pathology and pain markers were comprehensively analyzed in knee joints, spinal cords, dorsal root ganglia and distal colon by Safranin O/fast green staining, immunofluorescence microscopy and RT-qPCR.

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Multiple beneficial cardiovascular effects of HDL depend on sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). S1P associates with HDL by binding to apolipoprotein M (ApoM). Insulin resistance is a major driver of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular risk.

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  • TxNIP is a potential drug target for type 2 diabetes, linked to high blood sugar effects in pancreatic β cells, but its regulation in liver cells needs more research.
  • The study investigates how TxNIP is regulated in liver cells in response to glucose and fasting, focusing on the roles of transcription factors ChREBP and FoxO1.
  • Findings show that TxNIP expression in liver cells increases due to both ChREBP and FoxO1, particularly during fasting, indicating its significance in adapting to nutrient scarcity.
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Background: The general population is exposed to the group of endocrine disrupting chemicals persistent organic pollutants (POPs), that includes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs).

Objectives: The aim of this research was to evaluate the associations of serum levels of PCB, PCDD, and PCDF congeners with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in postmenopausal women not taking exogenous hormones. We hypothesized that associations of POPs with these gonadotropins could be modified by factors affecting endogenous hormones.

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  • Recent studies highlight a strong link between periodontitis and diabetes, though the exact mechanisms remain unclear.
  • Administration of the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) in mice leads to conditions like insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, with Pg found in the pancreas.
  • Research using advanced microscopy techniques reveals Pg mainly localizes in pancreatic β-cells, and its presence correlates with the emergence of bihormonal cells in both mice and human samples.
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Aims: Insulin resistance (IR) adversely impacts memory and executive functioning in non-Hispanic whites without diabetes. Less is known in Hispanics/Latinos, despite the fact that Hispanics/Latinos have higher rates of insulin resistance than non-Hispanic whites. We investigated the association between IR and cognition and its variation by age.

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FoxO proteins are major targets of insulin action, and FoxO1 mediates the effects of insulin on hepatic glucose metabolism. We reported previously that serpinB1 is a liver-secreted factor (hepatokine) that promotes adaptive β-cell proliferation in response to insulin resistance in the liver-specific insulin receptor knockout (LIRKO) mouse. Here we report that FoxO1 plays a critical role in promoting serpinB1 expression in hepatic insulin resistance in a non-cell-autonomous manner.

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FoxO proteins are ancient targets of insulin action and play an important role in mediating effects of insulin on gene expression and metabolism. Regulation of FoxO function in the liver is critical for the ability of insulin to maintain glucose homeostasis and suppress hepatic glucose production (HGP), and dysregulation of FoxO function is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Signaling by the insulin/PI3 kinase/Akt pathway suppresses FoxO function, and FoxO proteins also are regulated by counterregulatory factors and sirtuin deacetylases which increase their activity.

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Liver-specific disruption of the type 2 deiodinase gene (Alb-D2KO) results in resistance to both diet-induced obesity and liver steatosis in mice. Here, we report that this is explained by an ∼60% reduction in liver zinc-finger protein-125 (Zfp125) expression. Zfp125 is a Foxo1-inducible transcriptional repressor that causes lipid accumulation in the AML12 mouse hepatic cell line and liver steatosis in mice by reducing liver secretion of triglycerides and hepatocyte efflux of cholesterol.

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Insulin-dependent type-1 diabetes (T1D) is driven by autoimmune β-cell failure, whereas systemic resistance to insulin is considered the hallmark of insulin-independent type-2 diabetes (T2D). In contrast to this canonical dichotomy, insulin resistance appears to precede the overt diabetic stage of T1D and predict its progression, implying that insulin sensitizers may change the course of T1D. However, previous attempts to ameliorate T1D in animal models or patients by insulin sensitizers have largely failed.

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Hyperinsulinemia is a hallmark of insulin resistance-associated metabolic disorders. Under physiological conditions, insulin maintains a balance between nitric oxide (NO) and, the potent vasoconstrictor, endothelin-1 (ET-1). We tested the hypothesis that acute hyperinsulinemia will preferentially augment ET-1 protein expression, disrupt the equilibrium between ET-1 expression and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) activation, and subsequently impair flow-induced dilation (FID) in human skeletal muscle arterioles.

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Results from epidemiological studies suggest that there is an association between periodontitis and prediabetes, however, causality is not known. The results from our previous studies suggest that induction of periodontitis leads to hyperinsulinemia glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, all hallmarks of prediabetes. However, global effects of periodontitis on critical organs in terms of metabolic alterations are unknown.

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Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is among the most common and costly disorders worldwide. The goal of current medical management for T2D is to transiently ameliorate hyperglycemia through daily dosing of one or more antidiabetic drugs. Hypoglycemia and weight gain are common side effects of therapy, and sustained disease remission is not obtainable with nonsurgical approaches.

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Metabolism is a highly integrated process that is coordinately regulated between tissues and within individual cells. FoxO proteins are major targets of insulin action and contribute to the regulation of gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, and lipogenesis in the liver. However, the mechanisms by which FoxO proteins exert these diverse effects in an integrated fashion remain poorly understood.

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Inflammatory monocyte and tissue macrophages influence the initiation, progression, and resolution of type 2 immune responses, and alveolar macrophages are the most prevalent immune-effector cells in the lung. While we were characterizing the M1- or M2-like macrophages in type 2 allergic inflammation, we discovered that FoxO1 is highly expressed in alternatively activated macrophages. Although several studies have been focused on the fundamental role of FoxOs in hematopoietic and immune cells, the exact role that FoxO1 plays in allergic asthmatic inflammation in activated macrophages has not been investigated.

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The activity of the thyroid gland is stimulated by food availability via leptin-induced thyrotropin-releasing hormone/thyroid-stimulating hormone expression. Here we show that food availability also stimulates thyroid hormone activation by accelerating the conversion of thyroxine to triiodothyronine via type 2 deiodinase in mouse skeletal muscle and in a cell model transitioning from 0.1 to 10% FBS.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the link between periodontitis and the development of glucose intolerance (GI) and insulin resistance (IR), using a model involving liver Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mechanisms.
  • Chimeric mice with TLR4 were created to analyze the effects of chronic periodontitis induced by LPS, revealing significant bone loss and GI/IR in TLR4 positive chimeras.
  • Despite differences in glucose tolerance, inflammatory cytokines such as IL1β, IL6, and TNFα showed no significant variation, suggesting that other factors may drive the GI/IR response connected to periodontitis.
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Article Synopsis
  • FoxO proteins, specifically FoxO1, play a significant role in how insulin affects the liver, which was studied using special mouse models lacking insulin receptors.
  • Liver-specific insulin receptor knockout (LIRKO) mice showed severe insulin resistance, but removing FoxO1 from these mice (creating LIRFKO mice) reversed this resistance and improved glucose metabolism.
  • The findings suggest that inhibiting FoxO1 is essential for insulin’s ability to regulate liver glucose production and usage, while also indicating that insulin’s effects outside the liver can help maintain overall glucose balance even when FoxO1 is disrupted.
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Aims: Major aims were to determine whether exposure to the commonly used food additive carrageenan could induce fasting hyperglycemia and could increase the effects of a high fat diet on glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia.

Methods: C57BL/6J mice were exposed to either carrageenan, high fat diet, or the combination of high fat diet and carrageenan, or untreated, for one year. Effects on fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, lipid parameters, weight, glycogen stores, and inflammation were compared.

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Macrophages are a heterogeneous population of immune cells that are essential for the initiation and containment inflammation. There are 2 well-established populations of inflammatory macrophages: classically activated M1 and alternatively activated M2 macrophages. The FoxO family of transcription factors plays key roles in a number of cellular processes, including cell growth, metabolism, survival, and inflammation.

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