Correlation Between Impaired Sensitivity to Thyroid Hormones and Serum Uric Acid in Female Patients With Obesity and After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: An alterable risk factor for hyperuricemia is obesity. Additionally, obese people may have a moderate form of acquired resistance to thyroid hormones. Thyrotropin, thyroid hormones, and obesity all interact subtly. However, the connection between thyroid hormone sensitivity and hyperuricemia in obese patients both before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has not yet been clarified. The objective of our study was to investigate the connection between impaired thyroid hormone sensitivity and elevated uric acid (UA) levels before and after LSG. METHODS: In total, 1054 euthyroid patients with obesity (481 males, 573 females), 248 (143 female patients) of whom underwent subsequent LSG, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Anthropometric measurements and thyroid hormone and UA levels were taken before and 3 months after LSG. RESULTS: Female patients with obesity with impaired sensitivity to thyroid hormones had higher UA levels (P for trend <.01). The odds ratio of the fourth vs first quartile of thyroid feedback quantile index, thyrotropin index, and thyrotropin-thyroxine resistance index were 4.285 (confidence interval: 1.360-13.507), 3.700 (confidence interval: 1.276-10.729), and 2.839 (confidence interval: 1.014-7.948), respectively, with robust relationships with female hyperuricemia (all P < .05). However, there was only a positive correlation between the decline in UA levels and thyroid feedback quantile index, thyrotropin, and thyrotropin-thyroxine resistance index in female patients following LSG. CONCLUSION: Female hyperuricemia is correlated with higher thyroid hormone resistance index scores. Resistance to thyroid hormones was greatly improved by LSG. The decrease in UA levels after surgery is correlated with the improvement of thyroid hormone resistance after LSG.

The relationship between Lipocalin-2 level and hepatic steatosis in obese patients with NAFLD after bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has a critical effect on obesity as well as its associated comorbidities. The present study focused on analyzing serum LCN2 levels of obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and on determining relationship of hepatic steatosis improvement with LCN2 levels after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). METHODS: This work enrolled ninety patients with obesity and NAFLD. Twenty-three of them underwent LSG. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters and serum LCN2 levels were determined at baseline and those at 6-month post-LSG. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) measured by FibroScan was adopted for evaluating hepatic steatosis. RESULTS: Among severe obesity patients, serum LCN2 levels were significantly increased (111.59 ± 51.16 ng/mL vs. 92.68 ± 32.68 ng/mL, P = 0.035). The CAP value was higher indicating higher liver fat content (360.51 ± 45.14 dB/m vs. 340.78 ± 45.02 dB/m, P = 0.044). With regard to surgical patients, liver function, glucose, and lipid levels were significantly improved after surgery. Serum LCN2 levels significantly decreased (119.74 ± 36.15 ng/mL vs. 87.38 ± 51.65 ng/mL, P = 0.001). Decreased CAP indicated a significant decrease in liver fat content (358.48 ± 46.13 dB/m vs. 260.83 ± 69.64 dB/m, P < 0.001). The decrease in LCN2 levels was significantly related to the reduced hepatic fat content and improvement in steatosis grade after adjusting for gender, age, and BMI decrease. CONCLUSIONS: Serum LCN2 levels are related to obesity and NAFLD. The decreased serum LCN2 levels could be an indicator of hepatic steatosis improvement.

Key pathway and gene alterations in the gastric mucosa associated with obesity and obesity-related diabetes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The stomach plays an important role in obesity and obesity-related diabetes; yet, little is known about key pathways in the gastric mucosa associated with obesity and diabetes. METHODS: We performed gene microarray and real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on gut mucosa samples from control subjects (CON), patients with simple obesity (OB), and patients with obesity and comorbid diabetes (OD) (n = 3 per group). Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to predict the functional significance of differentially expressed genes. RESULTS: In total, 262 genes were upregulated and 265 genes were downregulated in the OB group whereas 1756 genes were upregulated and 1053 genes were downregulated in the OD group compared with the CON group. Of these, 23 were co-regulated in both comparisons. Seven differentially expressed genes were validated by RT-PCR (NRIP3, L1CAM, TPO, P2RY1, OR8A1, ADAMTS19, and ASIC3). A functional analysis revealed that genes differentially expressed between the OB or OD and CON groups played crucial roles in metabolic, T cell, and G-protein coupled receptor biological processes, and primarily participated in the PI3K-Akt and AGE-RAGE signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity and obesity-related diabetes are associated with important gene expression and pathway alterations in the stomach.

Ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction of total flavonoids and hydroxytyrosol from olive leaves optimized by response surface methodology.

Olive leaves were often extracted with methanol or ethanol at different proportions. In this study, ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction was adopted for olive leaf extraction. The yields of total flavonoids (TF) and hydroxytyrosol (HT) were optimized by central composite experimental design. Two second-order polynomial equations were established to quantify the relationship between the responses and the processing parameters. Under the optimal condition of extracting at 60 °C for 60 min with the solvent-to-material ratio of 40, TF and HT amounted to 57.31 ± 0.35 and 1.80 ± 0.02 mg/g dry leaves (DL), respectively. The scavenging rate of all extracts against α, α-diphenyl-ß-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl free radicals was screened. The integrated scores, representing both active ingredients and antioxidant capacity of the extracts, were calculated by principle component analysis (PCA). The optimal extract gained the highest score in PCA. In addition, compared to the extracts from 80% methanol to 44% ethanol, the ultrasound-assisted aqueous extract was richer in TF, HT, and polyphenols, while it also presented stronger ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), but poorer strength to quench hydroxyl radicals. The study indicated that the aqueous extract of olive leaves may present broad potential opportunities in health-care sector.

Pioglitazone Use and Risk of Bladder Cancer: an In Vitro Study.

Aims: Whether pioglitazone (PIO), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist, increases the risk of developing bladder cancer has been debated for several years. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effects of PIO on normal urothelial transitional epithelium (NUTE) cells and bladder cancer (J82) cells to further evaluate the risk. Methods: NUTE cells were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats. NUTE and J82 cells were treated with different concentrations of PIO for various time periods. Cell proliferation was tested by the MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. The expressions of p53, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, and Bax were determined by qRT-PCR and western blots. Results: After 24 hours, the treatment of NUTE cells with 10 µmol/L PIO led to morphological changes, without changes in J82 cells. Moreover, PIO inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of NUTE cells, but not J82 cells, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. However, PIO did not alter the growth of cells from other tissues. In addition, treatment with PIO for up to 72 hours did not result in changes in the expressions of p53, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, and Bax in NUTE cells and J82 cells. Interestingly, PIO significantly downregulated the protein levels of p53 and cyclin D1 in J82 cells, but not NUTE cells after more than 192 hours of treatment. Conclusions: PIO did not promote malignant alterations of NUTE cells or stimulate proliferation of J82 cells. PIO decreased the expression of p53 and cyclin D1 in J82 cells after long-term culture, which suggested that PIO may be helpful for diabetic patients with bladder cancer.

Gender difference in the relationship between serum uric acid reduction and improvement in body fat distribution after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in Chinese obese patients: a 6-month follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia is related to obesity and fat accumulation. This study aimed to observe the effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on serum uric acid (sUA) level and body fat distribution in obese patients. The relationships between post-LSG improvement in sUA levels and body fat distribution changes, as well as their sex-related differences, were also explored. METHODS: In total, 128 obese patients (48 men; 80 women) who underwent LSG were enrolled. Anthropometric indicators, glucose and lipid metabolic indicators, and sUA levels were measured pre-LSG and 6 months post-LSG. The body compositions were measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The patients were divided into normal-sUA (NUA) and high-sUA (HUA) groups based on preoperative sUA levels. RESULTS: Compared with the NUA group, the reduction of sUA levels 6 months post-LSG was more significant in the HUA group. In addition, sUA reduction in the female HUA group was more significant than that of the male HUA group (P < 0.01). Changes in serum uric acid levels (ΔsUA) in the male HUA group was positively correlated with changes in body weight, body mass index, neck circumference, and hip circumference (r = 0.618, 0.653, 0.716, and 0.501, respectively; P < 0.05 in all cases). It was also positively correlated with changes in fat mass in the gynoid region, android region, and legs, (r = 0.675, 0.551, and 0.712, respectively; P < 0.05 in all cases), and negatively correlated with changes in total testosterone (ΔTT) (r = - 0.517; P = 0.040). Furthermore, ΔTT in this group was closely associated with the improved sex-related fat distribution. The ΔsUA in the female HUA group was positively correlated with changes in fasting serum C peptide and ΔLNIR (r = 0.449 and 0.449, respectively; P < 0.05 in both cases). In addition, it was also positively correlated with changes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) fat mass, VAT fat volume, and VAT fat area (r = 0.749, 0.749, and 0.747, respectively; P < 0.01 in all cases). CONCLUSIONS: sUA levels of obese patients with hyperuricemia improved 6 months after LSG. Reduction of sUA after LSG was correlated with improved body fat distribution, and the relationships also displayed sex-based differences. Uric acid might be an important metabolic regulator associated with fat distribution and sex hormones.

New association of bone morphogenetic protein 4 concentrations with fat distribution in obesity and Exenatide intervention on it.

BACKGROUND: Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4) has been proven to regulate white adipogensis. We aimed to demonstrate the correlation of BMP-4 with fat distribution and Exenatide treatment on it. METHODS: We enrolled 69 obese patients. Anthropometric and metabolic indexes were collected. Fat distribution was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. BPM-4 levels were assessed using enzyme-link immunosorbent assay kit. 30 obese patients were treated with Exenatide twice a day. Change in body weight, metabolic-related indices and BPM-4 levels were evaluated after 18 weeks. RESULTS: 1) The mean(±SD) BMP-4 levels were 763.98 ± 324.11 pg/ml in the obese. BPM-4 levels were significantly positively correlated with estimated visceral adipose tissue mass in all subjects and also in females (r = 0.377, r = 0.625, respectively,all P < 0.05). BPM-4 levels were also significantly positively correlated with body mass index, hip circumference and total fat% in females (r = 0.375,r = 0.429,r = 0.493,respectively, all P < 0.05). BPM-4 levels were negatively correlated with total cholesterol(TC) in all subjects and males also (r = -0.373,r = -0.332,respectively, all P < 0.05). BPM-4 levels were also significantly positively correlated with free triiodothyronine in males (r = 0.441, P < 0.05). 3) Multivariate analyses showed that TC was risk factor of BMP-4 concentration in males and Est.VAT Area was risk factor of BMP-4 levels in females. 4) BMP-4 levels were significantly higher in the obesity with slightly increased thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH) than the obesity without slightly increased TSH (902.08 ± 354.74 pg/ml vs. 720.24 ± 306.41 pg/ml, P < 0.05). 5) Exenatide treatment leads to a significant decreased in BMP-4 from 860.05 ± 352.65 pg/ml to 649.44 + 277.49 pg/ml independent of weight loss(P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: BMP-4 levels were associated with the visceral adipose tissue and may play a certain role in fat distribution and subclinical hypothyroidism in obesity. Exenatide treatment reduced BMP-4 levels independent of weight loss. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02118376 , Registered 16 April.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy improves body composition and alleviates insulin resistance in obesity related acanthosis nigricans.

BACKGROUND: Acanthosis nigricans (AN) has a close relationship with obesity. It is believed that obesity and AN have the common pathophysiological basis such as hyperinsulinism. This study is aimed to observe the effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on body composition and insulin resistance in Chinese obese patients with acanthosis nigricans. METHODS: A total of 37 obese patients who underwent LSG in our hospital were selected for analysis. They were divided into simple obesity (OB n = 14) and obesity with acanthosis nigricans (AN n = 23) group respectively. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Anthropometric measurements and glucolipid metabolism before and 3 months post LSG were collected for analysis. RESULTS: Patients with AN got noticeable improvement in skin condition and their AN score was significantly decreased (3.52 ± 0.79 vs. 1.48 ± 0.73, P < 0.001).Alleviated insulin resistance and more trunk fat loss than limbs' were observed in both groups (P value < 0.01). In AN group, preoperative android fat mass (FM) was positively correlated with fasting insulin and natural logarithm of HOMA-IR (LNIR) (r = 0.622, 0.608, respectively; all P < 0.01). Besides, changes in android FM and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) also showed significantly positive correlation with changes in LNIR (r = 0.588, r = 0.598, respectively; all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: LSG had a positive impact on body composition and skin condition in Chinese obese patients with AN. Loss of android FM and VAT might result in the alleviation of insulin resistance in AN patients. Android fat distribution seems to be a potential indicator of postoperative metabolic benefits for obese patients with AN.

Activated central galanin type 1 receptor alleviated insulin resistance in diabetic rat muscle.

Evidence indicates that central galanin is involved in regulation of insulin resistance in animals. This study investigates whether type 1 galanin receptor (GAL1) in the brain mediates the ameliorative effect of galanin on insulin resistance in skeletal muscles of type 2 diabetic rats. Rats were intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) injected with galanin(1-13)-bradykinin(2-9) amide (M617), a GAL1 agonist, and/or Akti-1/2, an Akt inhibitor, via caudal veins once per day for 10 days. Insulin resistance in muscle tissues was evaluated by glucose tolerance and 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG) tests, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) mRNA expression levels, Akt phosphorylation, and GLUT4 and vesicle-associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2) concentration at plasma membranes in muscle cells. The results show that i.c.v. treatment with M617 increased glucose tolerance, 2-NBDG uptake, PPARγ levels, Akt phosphorylation, GLUT4 protein, and GLUT4 mRNA expression levels as well as GLUT4 and VAMP2 concentration at plasma membranes. All increases may be blocked by pretreatment with Akti-1/2. These results suggest that activated central GAL1 may trigger the Akt signaling pathway to alleviate insulin resistance in muscle cells. Therefore, the impact of galanin on insulin resistance is mediated mainly by GAL1 in the brain, and the GAL1 agonist may be taken as a potential antidiabetic agent for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Melatonin improves non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via MAPK-JNK/P38 signaling in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice.

BACKGROUND: Melatonin can regulate lipid metabolism, increase insulin sensitivity, regulate glucose metabolism and reduce body weight. This study is aimed to determine the effects and mechanism of action of melatonin on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in high-fat-diet (HFD) induced obese mice. METHODS: NAFLD was induced by HFD in C57BL/6 mice. A total of 24 mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups. Groups A and B were fed with HFD for 36 weeks while groups C and D were fed with a regular diet (RD). During the last 12 weeks, Groups A and C were treated with 10 mg/kg melatonin while Groups B and D were treated with water in the same volume by intragastric administration. Body and liver weight, blood glucose, serum transaminases and lipid levels, and markers of hepatic inflammation were measured. Histological analyses were also performed on liver tissue. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of treatment with melatonin, body weights (Group A: before 53.11 ± 0.72 vs after 12w treatment 39.48 ± 0.74) and liver weights (A 1.93 ± 0.09 g vs B 2.92 ± 0.19 g vs C 1.48 ± 0.09 g vs D 1.49 ± 0.10 g), fasting plasma glucose, alanine transaminase (A 24.33 ± 11.90 IU/L vs B 60.80 ± 10.18 IU/L vs C 13.01 ± 3.49 IU/L vs D 16.62 ± 2.00 IU/L), and low-density cholesterol (A 0.24 ± 0.06 mmol/L vs B 1.57 ± 0.10 mmol/L vs C 0.28 ± 0.06 mmol/L vs D 0.29 ± 0.03 mmol/L) were significantly decreased in HFD mice. HFD fed mice treated with melatonin showed significantly less liver steatosis. Treatment of HFD fed mice with melatonin led to a significant decrease in the expression of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6 measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). HFD fed mice demonstrated increased phosphorylation of P38 and JNK1/2, which was reduced by melatonin treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that melatonin could improve NAFLD by decreasing body weight and reduce inflammation in HFD induced obese mice by modulating the MAPK-JNK/P38 signaling pathway.

Hydrodynamic delivery of mIL10 gene protects mice from high-fat diet-induced obesity and glucose intolerance.

High-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity is associated with low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance (IR), and glucose intolerance. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of interleukin 10 (IL10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine, on blocking HFD-induced obesity and obesity-associated metabolic disorders by hydrodynamic delivery of IL10-containing plasmid. Animals fed a regular chow or HFD received two injections (one on day 1 and the other on day 31) of plasmids containing green fluorescence protein (GFP) or mouse IL10 (mIL10) gene. Blood concentration of mIL10 reached ~200 ng/ml on day 7 in animals receiving mIL10 plasmid DNA. The transfection efficiency of liver cells was the same in animals fed a regular chow or HFD. No difference was seen in animals on regular chow when injected with plasmids containing either gfp or mIL10 gene. Overexpression of mIL10 prevented weight gain of animals on HFD. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and insulin tolerance tests (ITT) showed that mIL10 maintained insulin sensitivity and prevented glucose intolerance. The mechanistic study reveals that mIL10 suppressed macrophage infiltration and reduced the development of crown-like structures in adipose tissue (AT). Collectively, these results suggest that maintaining a higher level of IL10 through gene transfer could be an effective strategy in preventing diet-induced obesity.

Head fat is a novel method of measuring metabolic disorder in Chinese obese patients.

BACKGROUND: Body adiposity, especially ectopic fat accumulation, has a range of metabolic and cardiovascular effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between head fat and metabolic values in Chinese obese patients. METHODS: Data of this cross-sectional study from 66 obese patients were collected. Fat distribution was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and data of body weight, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference (NC), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), visceral index, basal metabolism (BM), glucose metabolism, lipid levels, uric acid (UA) had been collected. RESULTS: 1) Head fat was significantly associated with BMI, WC, HC, visceral index, BM, total fat and total fat excluding head fat in both males and females (p<0.05). Head fat was positively correlated with upper limb fat, trunk fat, weight, fasting plasma C peptide, fasting plasma insulin and UA in women(p<0.05), and the association was not statistically significant in male (p>0.05). Head fat was positively corrected with NC in males (p<0.05) but not females (p>0.05). There was no significant correlation between head fat and fasting plasma glucose, total choleslerolemia, triglyceridemia, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and free fat acid in either gender (p>0.05). 2) Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that a head fat of 1925.6 g and a head fat of 1567.85 g were the best cut-off values to determine subjects with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hyperuricemia respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Head fat accumulation was closely associated with increased body fat, hyperinsulinemia, hyperuricemia, and impared lipid profile, suggesting it might be used as an indicator for dyslipidemia and hyperuricemia.

Recognition of food images based on transfer learning and ensemble learning.

The recognition of food images is of great significance for nutrition monitoring, food retrieval and food recommendation. However, the accuracy of recognition had not been high enough due to the complex background of food images and the characteristics of small inter-class differences and large intra-class differences. To solve these problems, this paper proposed a food image recognition method based on transfer learning and ensemble learning. Firstly, generic image features were extracted by using the convolutional neural network models (VGG19, ResNet50, MobileNet V2, AlexNet) pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset. Secondly, the 4 pre-trained models were transferred to the food image dataset for model fine-tuning. Finally, different basic learner combination strategies were adopted to establish the ensemble model and classify feature information. In this paper, several kinds of experiments were performed to compare the results of food image recognition between single models and ensemble models on food-11 dataset. The experimental results demonstrated that the accuracy of the ensemble model was the highest, reaching 96.88%, which was superior to any base learner. Therefore, the convolutional neural network model based on transfer learning and ensemble learning has strong learning ability and generalization ability, and it is feasible and practical to apply the method to food image recognition.

Sex-dependent impact of obesity on aggressiveness of papillary thyroid cancer.

PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the aggressiveness of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). METHODS: A total of 1720 PTC patients with total thyroidectomy or lobectomy, from January 2017 to April 2020, were retrospectively evaluated. Based on BMI, they were divided into two groups, as follows: control (CON, < 24 kg/m2) and overweight and obesity (OB, ≥ 24 kg/m2), each sex being analyzed separately. RESULTS: In the whole cohort, the OB group had significantly higher rates of extrathyroidal extension (21.5 vs. 16.8%, p = 0.013), multifocality (43.2 vs. 37.7%, p = 0.018), and BRAF-V600E mutation (82.9 vs. 79.3%, p = 0.015) than the CON group. In males, the OB group had increased rates of tumor size over 1cm (54.4 vs. 42.7%, p = 0.008), extrathyroidal extension (24.9 vs. 12.4%, p = 0.001), and multifocality (42.7 vs. 33.5%, p = 0.038). The OB group had significantly higher adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.63 (1.14-2.33, p = 0.008), 2.12 (1.26-3.57, p = 0.005), and 1.56 (1.07-2.29, p = 0.022) for tumor size over 1cm, extrathyroidal extension, and multifocality compared with CON. Additionally, overweight and obesity were analyzed alone and the rates of extrathyroidal extension (30/100, 30.0%, p = 0.001) and tumor size over 1cm (65/100, 65.0%, p = 0.001) were significantly higher in the obesity group than in the overweight and CON groups. The obesity group had robust higher adjusted ORs of 2.51(1.50-4.20, p < 0.001), 2.93 (1.50-5.73, p = 0.002) and 1.89 (1.11-3.22, p = 0.020) for tumor size over 1cm, extrathyroidal extension, and multifocality compared with CON. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity were predominant independent risk factors for PTC aggressiveness in males. These data indicated that the therapeutic treatment should be based on risk stratification by BMI in males.

Diverse associations between pancreatic intra-, inter-lobular fat and the development of type 2 diabetes in overweight or obese patients.

Pancreatic fat is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, the relationship between different types of pancreatic fat and diabetes status remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to determine the potential of different types of pancreatic fat accumulation as a risk factor for T2DM in overweight or obese patients. In total, 104 overweight or obese patients were recruited from January 2020 to December 2022. The patients were divided into three groups: normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired fasting glucose or glucose tolerance (IFG/IGT), and T2DM. mDixon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to detect pancreatic fat in all three groups of patients. The pancreatic head fat (PHF), body fat (PBF), and tail fat (PTF) in the IFG/IGT group were 21, 20, and 31% more than those in the NGT group, respectively. PHF, PBF, and PTF were positively associated with glucose metabolic dysfunction markers in the NGT group, and inter-lobular fat volume (IFV) was positively associated with these markers in the IFG/IGT group. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for PHF, PBF, and PTF (used to evaluate their diagnostic potential for glucose metabolic dysfunction) were 0.73, 0.73, and 0.78, respectively, while those for total pancreatic volume (TPV), pancreatic parenchymal volume, IFV, and IFV/TPV were 0.67, 0.67, 0.66, and 0.66, respectively. These results indicate that intra-lobular pancreatic fat, including PHF, PTF, and PBF, may be a potential independent risk factor for the development of T2DM. Additionally, IFV exacerbates glucose metabolic dysfunction. Intra-lobular pancreatic fat indices were better than IFV for the diagnosis of glucose metabolic dysfunction.

Blocking central galanin receptors attenuates insulin sensitivity in myocytes of diabetic trained rats.

Galanin (Gal), a bioactive neuropeptide, is widely distributed throughout the central nervous system and has diverse modulatory effects. To understand the central effect of this training-stimulatory peptide on insulin sensitivity, its antagonist M35 was injected into the cerebral ventricle in type 2 diabetic rats. A treadmill running of the rats was used to stimulate circulating Gal secretion and central Gal mRNA expression. The results showed that M35 significantly decreased glucose infusion rates in euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp tests as well as 2-deoxy-[(3) H]D-glucose uptake and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α expression levels in skeletal muscles. M35 also attenuated glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) concentration in plasma membranes and total cell membranes of myocytes, and the ratios of the GLUT4 contents in the former to the latter in M35 groups were lower than those of each diabetic control. These results imply that endogenous Gal, acting through its central receptor, may facilitate GLUT4 translocation from cytoplasm vesicles to cellular surface of myocytes to accelerate glucose uptake and to enhance insulin sensitivity in healthy and type 2 diabetic rats. Gal and its relative agents are potential targets for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Derlin-1 ameliorates nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis by promoting ubiquitylation and degradation of FABP1.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The functions of liver fatty acid binding protein 1 (FABP1) in the regulation of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been previously established. However, how FABP1 expression is dynamically regulated in metabolic disorders is unclear. Previous studies have reported that ubiquitin proteasome-mediated degradation of FABP1 is involved, but the mechanism remains unknown. METHODS: Dysregulated expression of hepatic FABP1 and Derlin-1 was observed in NAFLD patients. We performed mice hepatic tissue coimmunoprecipitation based mass spectrum assays. Interaction between Derlin-1 and FABP1, and its impact on FABP1 ubiquitination status was evaluated by coimmunoprecipitation. The role of Derlin-1 in lipid deposition was tested using adenovirus-mediated overexpression in C57BL/6 mice, as well as by Derlin-1 overexpression or knockdown in HepG2 cells. RESULTS: As a subunit of the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation complex, Derlin-1 was negatively associated with NAFLD patients, interacted with and ubiquitinated FABP1. Derlin-1 suppressed FABP1 levels and inhibited lipid deposition through a FABP1-dependent pathway. Additionally, Trim25, an E3 ubiquitin ligase present in the endoplasmic reticulum, was recruited to promote Derlin-1-related polyubiquitylation of FABP1, thereby creating a ubiquitin-associated network for FABP1 regulation. Derlin-1 overexpression ameliorated hepatic steatosis in both C57BL/6 mice and HepG2 cells, and contributed to attenuated weight gain, lower liver weight, and visceral fat mass. CONCLUSIONS: FABP1 was degraded by Derlin-1 through ubiquitin modification. Negative regulation of FABP1 by Derlin-1 overexpression, suppressed lipid metabolism and alleviated lipid deposition in vivo and in vitro. Hence, Derlin-1 activation in hepatocytes may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for NAFLD.

The relationship between serum superoxide dismutase and thyroid function in obese patients after Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal correlation between serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and thyroid function with obesity before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Patients with morbid obesity (n = 219, 112 males and 107 females) who underwent LSG were selected and they were subdivided into normal levels of SOD (NSOD, n = 112) and high levels of SOD (HSOD, n = 107) according to the median value of SOD levels (183 U/mL). SOD and thyroid hormones were measured and compared at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months after LSG. The HSOD group had lower body mass index (BMI), total thyroxine (TT4), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) than the NSOD group (p < 0.001, p = 0.031, p < 0.001, respectively). However, they had higher free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) (p = 0.019 and p = 0.017, respectively). SOD was significantly negatively associated with TSH and positively associated with FT4. Of all the patients, 22.31% (NSOD: 66.67%; HSOD: 33.33%) had subclinical hypothyroidism (SH), and there were lower SOD levels in the SH group. Preoperative SOD was a protective factor for SH. After LSG, SOD and FT4 levels were increased at 12 months after LSG, however, TSH, FT3, total triiodothyronine (TT3) and TT4 levels decreased compared to the preoperative levels at 3, 6, and 12 months in the SH group. Postoperative changes in FT4 and TT4 levels correlated with changes in SOD levels. SOD, which is correlated with thyroid hormones, protects against SH in patients with obesity. The improvement in thyroid function with SH after LSG may be related to increased SOD levels.

Predictive Factors of Menstrual Recovery After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Women with Obesity.

Objective: To explore the predictors of menstrual recovery in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women with obesity following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Methods: A total of 88 PCOS patients with obesity and 76 control patients with obesity aged 18-45 years were enrolled between May 2013 and December 2020. PCOS was diagnosed using the Rotterdam diagnostic criteria (2003). Anthropometric measurements, biochemical parameters, sex hormones, and circulating fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL-1) levels were collected before and six-month after LSG. The data on postoperative menstrual status, body weight, and fertility were obtained through telephone follow-ups for all individuals with PCOS. Results: Patients with PCOS were followed up for at least six months after surgery, and the mean follow-up time was 3.23 years. At 6 months after LSG, circulating total testosterone (TT), calculated free testosterone (cFT), and FGL-1 levels declined significantly. The mean percent excess weight loss (%EWL) and percent total weight loss (%TWL) in PCOS patients at the final follow-up was 97.52% ± 33.90% and 31.65% ± 10.31%, respectively. The proportion of regular menstruation in PCOS patients significantly increased within six months (75.86% vs 0.03% at baseline). In the logistic regression analysis, time from PCOS diagnosis (P=0.007), body mass index (BMI) (P=0.007), TT (P=0.038) at baseline were demonstrated to be independent predictive factors for the regular menstruation in women with PCOS and obesity within 6 months after LSG. Conclusion: In PCOS patients with obesity, time from PCOS diagnosis, BMI, and TT levels at baseline were independently and negatively associated with menstrual recovery within 6 months after LSG, which could be applied in preoperative evaluation.