Adipose tissue hormones and appetite and body weight regulators in insulin resistance.

Impaired sensitivity to insulin (the so called insulin resistance, IR) occurs in a number of genetic and acquired conditions, including obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and metabolic syndrome (MS). In this review we discuss the correlation between IR, the adipose tissue hormones and appetite and body weight regulators. Leptin acts as a major adipostat: it suppresses food intake and activates catabolic pathways associated with increased energy production. It improves the peripheral insulin sensitivity and affects beta-cell function. Adiponectin is the only adipocytokine discovered so far that has anti-atherogenic properties. There is a reverse correlation between the serum adiponectin levels and the degree of obesity, IR, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. Ghrelin stimulates food intake; of all circulating orexigenic hormones ghrelin is the most thoroughly studied. Ghrelin levels are decreased in MS and PCOS patients as this hormone is negatively correlated with body mass. Resistin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissues; a growing body of evidence suggests that it might be implicated in the link between obesity and diabetes. It has been found that the hormone's levels are significantly higher in obese people than those in normal body mass people. The recently discovered adipose tissue hormones, vaspin, visfatin, omentin-1 and their effect on IR development, have been increasingly researched.

Adipocytokines, neuropeptide Y and insulin resistance in overweight women with gynoid and android type of adipose tissue distribution.

UNLABELLED: The AIM of the study was to compare the levels of certain adipose tissue hormones in women with the two main morphological types of obesity - android and gynoid obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 2 groups of age- and weight-matched women with android (n = 32) and gynoid (n = 27) type of obesity, and a group of age-matched healthy women (n = 24) with normal weight and body constitution. Leptin, resistin, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), neuropeptide Y (NPY), glucose and insulin were measured. HOMA index was calculated. RESULTS: Leptin levels in the women with gynoid obesity did not differ significantly from those in the controls and the women with android obesity. The controls had significantly lower leptin levels compared with the android obesity women. NPY was significantly higher in the control women compared to the women with android obesity and did not differ significantly between the two groups of obese women. TNFalpha levels in all groups were very similar. Resistin did not show significant differences between all groups but tended to have the lowest levels in the controls. In the women with android obesity, insulin was significantly higher than that in the women with gynoid obesity and the controls. Insulin resistance was found in the women with android obesity only. Basal insulin and HOMA index in the women with gynoid obesity did not differ significantly from the values in the control group. CONCLUSION: The results from this study contribute to understanding the association of adipose tissue hormones and insulin resistance in obesity. When adipose tissue is predominantly distributed in the abdominal area at similar amount and percentage of body fats, leptin production is higher and insulin resistance develops. In the gynoid type of adipose tissue predisposition, overt insulin resistance is not found, leptin levels does not differ significantly from those in the control group.

Autologous fat transplantation in the facial region--clinical and morphological studies of 30 cases.

OBJECTIVE: This study presents the results of a clinicomorphological study of autologous fat transplantation in the face region. The aim was to investigate and compare adipose tissue morphology after it was purified by two methods--centrifugation and serum lavage, and to find a correlation between the histological outcomes and the postoperative results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The evaluation was performed on a series of 30 patients assigned into two groups of 15 patients. Centrifuged adipose tissue was transplanted in one of the groups, and noncentrifuged (saline solution washed) in the other group. In all cases fat was obtained by syringe liposuction of subgluteal zones, processed by one of the two methods and then transplanted. Part of the material was fixed between vitaline membranes and embedded in paraffin. Histological analysis was performed after hematoxylin eosin staining of the slides. Post-operative effect was assessed by comparison of the pre- and postoperative photos on a 4-grade scale. RESULTS: The morphological analysis revealed that adipose tissue was damaged by neither of the purification methods but the serum lavage preserved greater number of non-differentiated fat cells and connective tissue fragments. Furthermore, our clinical results suggested clearly that the noncentrifuged adipose tissue transplantation was more advantageous than the other type of transplantation. CONCLUSION: The present study is an attempt to make a contribution towards a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in fat graft preservation.

ATP and LPL histochemical activity of rat cardiomyocytes and adipocytes treated with androgenic anabolic steroids.

AIM: To study the effect of short-term and long-term treatment with retabolil, an androgenic anabolic steroid, on the activity of the enzymes ATP and LPL in rat cardiomyocytes and adipocytes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six male Wistar rats (mean weight 195-200 g.) were given retabolil 50 mg/kg once subcutaneously, another six were treated with retabolil at the same dose subcutaneously once a week for 6 weeks and another six were used as controls treating them with physiological saline in the same way. After six weeks the animals were sacrificed. Fragments of the left ventricle of the heart and of the subcutaneous tissue from the gluteal region were resected and enzyme-histochemical reactions for ATP and LPL were performed on fresh cryostat sections. RESULTS: The cardiomyocytes of the rats treated only once with retabolil showed no changes in the ATP and LPL activity in comparison with the controls. In the rats given a long-term treatment with retabolil, the enzyme-histochemical reaction for ATP was better expressed while that for LPL was weak. The subcutaneous adipose tissue of the long-term retabolil-treated animals contained some adipocytes that expressed positive LPL and ATP activity. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that androgenic anabolic steroids exert an effect on the activity of the enzymes ATP and LPL in rat cardiomyocytes and adipocytes which depends on the duration of treatment.