Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss.

BACKGROUND: After weight loss, changes in the circulating levels of several peripheral hormones involved in the homeostatic regulation of body weight occur. Whether these changes are transient or persist over time may be important for an understanding of the reasons behind the high rate of weight regain after diet-induced weight loss. METHODS: We enrolled 50 overweight or obese patients without diabetes in a 10-week weight-loss program for which a very-low-energy diet was prescribed. At baseline (before weight loss), at 10 weeks (after program completion), and at 62 weeks, we examined circulating levels of leptin, ghrelin, peptide YY, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide 1, amylin, pancreatic polypeptide, cholecystokinin, and insulin and subjective ratings of appetite. RESULTS: Weight loss (mean [±SE], 13.5±0.5 kg) led to significant reductions in levels of leptin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, insulin (P<0.001 for all comparisons), and amylin (P=0.002) and to increases in levels of ghrelin (P<0.001), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (P=0.004), and pancreatic polypeptide (P=0.008). There was also a significant increase in subjective appetite (P<0.001). One year after the initial weight loss, there were still significant differences from baseline in the mean levels of leptin (P<0.001), peptide YY (P<0.001), cholecystokinin (P=0.04), insulin (P=0.01), ghrelin (P<0.001), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (P<0.001), and pancreatic polypeptide (P=0.002), as well as hunger (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: One year after initial weight reduction, levels of the circulating mediators of appetite that encourage weight regain after diet-induced weight loss do not revert to the levels recorded before weight loss. Long-term strategies to counteract this change may be needed to prevent obesity relapse. (Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00870259.).

Low serum PYY is linked to insulin resistance in first-degree relatives of subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Low circulating peptide YY (PYY) levels are reported in obese and type II diabetic subjects and results from PYY knockout animals suggests that PYY deficiency may have a causative role in the etiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Here, our aims were to determine whether people with a genetic predisposition to developing type 2 diabetes and obesity differ from otherwise similar subjects without such family history, in fasting or meal-related PYY levels, fasting insulin, insulin secretion (HOMA-B) and insulin sensitivity. We also investigated whether PYY ablation affects the intrinsic ability of islets to secrete insulin, which may be a contributing factor to the hyperinsulinemia observed in PYY knockout mice. Healthy female first-degree relatives of people with type 2 diabetes were matched for age, gender and BMI to control subjects but had significantly lower insulin sensitivity (p<0.05). Relatives also had significantly lower fasting serum PYY levels than controls (p<0.05), but their PYY response to a high fat meal (4250 kJ, 73% fat) was not significantly different. Fasting PYY level correlated positively with glucose infusion rate (r=0.713, p=0.002) and fasting adiponectin (r=0.5, p=0.02). Islets of Langerhans from PYY knockout mice were found to hypersecrete insulin in response to 25 mM glucose (p<0.05). These data demonstrate that lack of PYY enhances insulin secretion from the Islets of Langerhans and that low fasting PYY levels are associated with insulin resistance in humans. Together, these findings suggest that low circulating levels of PYY could contribute to hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, and possibly contribute to subsequent development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Insulin resistance does not influence gene expression in skeletal muscle.

Insulin resistance is commonly observed in patients prior to the development of type 2 diabetes and may predict the onset of the disease. We tested the hypothesis that impairment in insulin stimulated glucose-disposal in insulin resistant patients would be reflected in the gene expression profile of skeletal muscle. We performed gene expression profiling on skeletal muscle of insulin resistant and insulin sensitive subjects using microarrays. Microarray analysis of 19,000 genes in skeletal muscle did not display a significant difference between insulin resistant and insulin sensitive muscle. This was confirmed with real-time PCR. Our results suggest that insulin resistance is not reflected by changes in the gene expression profile in skeletal muscle.

Serum adiponectin levels in normal and hypertensive pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to quantify adiponectin levels in women with normal and hypertensive pregnancies to determine whether there is an independent association, while controlling for body fat and insulin sensitivity. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the following categories: 12 normotensive non-pregnant women, 10 normotensive, 12 gestational hypertensive, 13 essential hypertensive, and 12 preeclamptic women. All subjects underwent measurements of body fat by bio-impedance analysis and blood sampling. RESULTS: Percentage of body fat and insulin resistance were greater in all pregnant groups compared with non-pregnant women. Adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower in women with normal pregnancies (18.6 +/- 1.4 microg/mL, p = 0.02) compared with non-pregnant women (24.0 +/- 1.5 microg/mL). However, adiponectin levels were not significantly different among normal pregnancy, gestational hypertension (19.0 +/- 3.1 microg/mL), essential hypertension (24.0 +/- 3.7 microg/mL) and pre-eclampsia (22.4 +/- 2.5 microg/mL) groups. Adiponectin levels were inversely related to percent body fat and insulin resistance. When adiponectin levels were corrected for percent body fat and insulin resistance, no significant differences were seen among the study groups. CONCLUSIONS: Adiponectin levels are decreased in normal pregnancy, however this difference disappears when adiponectin levels are corrected for the pregnancy-related increases in body fat and insulin resistance. Adiponectin levels are not altered significantly in states of hypertension in pregnancy compared with normal pregnancy.

The metabolism of isoforms of human adiponectin: studies in human subjects and in experimental animals.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known of the metabolism of different isoforms of adiponectin. We therefore (a) characterised the size distribution of human adiponectin in relation to gender, body composition and following a challenge with a fat meal or oral glucose in humans, and (b) studied the metabolism of isoforms of human adiponectin in rabbits. METHOD: Electrophoresis, blotting and chromatography were used to characterise human adiponectin in 36 healthy subjects, including 15 with at least two first-degree relatives with type 2 diabetes, before and after consumption of a fatty meal or glucose. The metabolism of column-fractionated human adiponectin was studied in rabbits, some of which were coinjected with insulin. RESULTS: Females had a higher proportion of high molecular weight (HMW) and hexameric adiponectin (P = 0.002 and 0.004 respectively), and a lower proportion of trimers (P < 0.0001) than males. Females also showed a strong negative relationship between body fat measures and the proportion of HMW adiponectin. There were no differences in isoforms between insulin-resistant and -sensitive subjects, or following oral glucose or a fat meal. Adiponectin in rabbits had an extravascular/intravascular ratio of 0.71, and a half-life (T1/2) of 14.3 h. Metabolism was not influenced by insulin or reduction of sulphydryl bonds. HMW and trimeric isoforms had a significantly different T1/2 of 13.0 and 17.5 h respectively (P < 0.05), and these isoforms did not interconvert in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Human adiponectin is present as trimers, hexamers and HMW forms. Females had a higher proportion and absolute amount of HMW species compared with males, and female, but not male, subjects showed a strong negative relationship between measures of body fat, and the proportion of HMW species. These isoforms did not respond to challenge in man with a fatty meal or oral glucose, and in the rabbit, to injected insulin. HMW adiponectin was more rapidly metabolised than the trimeric form, but both were stable in vivo, and did not interconvert. We conclude that human adiponectin is much longer-lived than is the case with other hormones, a finding with positive implications for the potential to supplement levels of adiponectin in man.

Insulin resistance and postprandial triglyceride levels in primary renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Renal failure is associated with a range of metabolic abnormalities including insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. We examined the role of creatinine clearance (CrCl) and body composition in the development of insulin resistance in patients with primary renal disease and a variable degree of renal failure. We also determined the effect of a high-fat meal on postprandial triglyceride levels in a subgroup of these patients. METHODS: Forty-four patients with primary renal disease (men, 25; women, 19; age, 21-75 years) were compared to 44 controls matched for age, sex, and body composition. Renal biochemistry, plasma glucose, insulin, lipids, and nonesterified fatty acids were measured in the fasting state. Insulin sensitivity was calculated using the Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-R), and pancreatic beta-cell secretory capacity by HOMA- beta . Fourteen normotriglyceridemic subjects from each group consumed an 80-g fat meal to examine their postprandial metabolic response. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference between HOMA-R for the controls and the entire patient group ( P = .06), HOMA-R was significantly higher in patients with CrCl less than 60 mL/min than those with CrCl greater than 60 mL/min or control subjects ( P < .01 for each pair). Exponential analysis of the relationship between CrCl and HOMA-R and - beta showed a line of best fit that was superior to that obtained by linear regression analysis ( P < .01 and P < .005, respectively). HOMA-R in renal patients was correlated with several parameters of body composition, including central fat (kilogram) ( P < .005). There was no difference in body fat parameters or HOMA-R for the patient and control subgroups undergoing a fat meal challenge. However, the patient subgroup showed a greater postprandial incremental rise in plasma triglycerides compared to controls ( P < .02). CONCLUSION: Patients with renal disease exhibit metabolic features typically associated with the metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance increased with decline in renal function and was significantly higher in patients with CrCl less than 60 mL/min compared to subjects with CrCl greater than 60 mL/min or carefully matched controls. Renal patients also showed significant postprandial hypertriglyceridemia.

Inflammation, insulin resistance, and adiposity: a study of first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic subjects.

OBJECTIVE: Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) are associated with insulin resistance, adiposity, and type 2 diabetes. Whether inflammation causes insulin resistance or is an epiphenomenon of obesity remains unresolved. We aimed to determine whether first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic subjects differ in insulin sensitivity from control subjects without a family history of diabetes, whether first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic subjects and control subjects differ in CRP, adiponectin, and complement levels, and whether CRP is related to insulin sensitivity independently of adiposity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied 19 young normoglycemic nonobese first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic subjects and 22 control subjects who were similar for age, sex, and BMI. Insulin sensitivity (glucose infusion rate [GIR]) was measured by the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry determined total and abdominal adiposity. Magnetic resonance imaging measured abdominal adipose tissue volumes. RESULTS: First-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic subjects had a 20% lower GIR than the control group (51.8 +/- 3.9 vs. 64.9 +/- 4.6 micromol x min(-1) x kg fat-free mass(-1), P = 0.04). However, first-degree relatives of subjects with type 2 diabetes and those without a family history of diabetes had normal and comparable levels of CRP, adiponectin, and complement proteins. When the cohort was examined as a whole, CRP was inversely related to GIR (r = -0.33, P = 0.04) and adiponectin (r = -0.34, P = 0.03) and positively related to adiposity (P < 0.04). However, CRP was not related to GIR independently of fat mass. In contrast to C3 (r = 0.41, P = 0.009) and factor B (r = 0.43, P = 0.005), CRP was unrelated to factor D. CONCLUSIONS: The insulin-resistant state is not associated with changes in inflammatory markers or complement proteins in subjects at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Our study confirms a strong relationship between CRP and fat mass. Increasing adiposity and insulin resistance may interact to raise CRP levels.

Changes in aerobic capacity and visceral fat but not myocyte lipid levels predict increased insulin action after exercise in overweight and obese men.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of moderate intensity physical activity on the interactions between central abdominal adiposity, myocyte lipid content, and insulin action in overweight and obese, sedentary men. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Myocyte lipid (biochemical triglyceride and long-chain acyl CoA [LCAC] from vastus lateralis biopsy and soleus and tibialis anterior intramyocellular lipid by (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy), regional body and abdominal fat (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging), serum lipids, insulin action (hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp), and substrate oxidation were measured in 18 nondiabetic, sedentary, and overweight to obese men (aged 37.4 +/- 1.3 years and BMI 30.9 +/- 0.7 kg/m(2), range 26.4-37.6) at baseline, after the first two to four bouts of aerobic exercise (55-70% of VO(2max) for 40 min/session), and at completion of 4.1 +/- 0.2 exercise sessions/week for 9.7 +/- 0.5 weeks (postexercise measurements performed 24-36 h after the last exercise bout). RESULTS: Mean whole body insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and basal fat oxidation rate increased 16 and 41%, respectively, after two to four bouts of exercise, without further increase at program end. Mean aerobic capacity increased 11%, and central abdominal fat decreased 5% at program end, but myocyte lipid levels were not significantly changed. Posttraining increases in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were predicted by increase in aerobic capacity (r = 0.726, P = 0.001) and magnitude of reduction in visceral fat (r = -0.544, P = 0.02) and not by changes in myocyte lipid or LCAC levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that in overweight and obese sedentary men, increase in insulin sensitivity with moderate intensity exercise is predicted by improvement in aerobic capacity and reduction in visceral fat but is independent of myocyte triglyceride or LCAC levels.

Serum Levels of Human MIC-1/GDF15 Vary in a Diurnal Pattern, Do Not Display a Profile Suggestive of a Satiety Factor and Are Related to BMI.

The TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 circulates in the blood of healthy humans. Its levels rise substantially in cancer and other diseases and this may sometimes lead to development of an anorexia/cachexia syndrome. This is mediated by a direct action of MIC-1/GDF15 on feeding centres in the hypothalamus and brainstem. More recent studies in germline gene deleted mice also suggest that this cytokine may play a role in physiological regulation of energy homeostasis. To further characterize the role of MIC-1/GDF15 in physiological regulation of energy homeostasis in man, we have examined diurnal and food associated variation in serum levels and whether variation in circulating levels relate to BMI in human monozygotic twin pairs. We found that the within twin pair differences in serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels were significantly correlated with within twin pair differences in BMI, suggesting a role for MIC-1/GDF15 in the regulation of energy balance in man. MIC-1/GDF15 serum levels altered slightly in response to a meal, but comparison with variation its serum levels over a 24 hour period suggested that these changes are likely to be due to bimodal diurnal variation which can alter serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels by about plus or minus 10% from the mesor. The lack of a rapid and substantial postprandial increase in MIC-1/GDF15 serum levels suggests that MIC1/GDF15 is unlikely to act as a satiety factor. Taken together, our findings suggest that MIC-1/GDF15 may be a physiological regulator of energy homeostasis in man, most probably due to actions on long-term regulation of energy homeostasis.

Multiple indexes of lipid availability are independently related to whole body insulin action in healthy humans.

An increase in muscle lipid content has been postulated to relate closely to the evolution of insulin resistance. We aimed to test whether the multiple indexes of lipid supply within man [namely, circulating triglycerides, skeletal muscle triglycerides (SMT), total and central fat mass, and circulating leptin] were independent predictors of insulin resistance, or whether triglycerides from different sources are additive in their influence on whole body insulin sensitivity. Whole body insulin sensitivity, body composition, and SMT content were determined in 49 sedentary, nondiabetic males (age, 20-74 yr; body mass index, 20-38 kg/m(2)). Insulin sensitivity was inversely associated with central abdominal fat (r(2) = 0.38; P < 0.0001), total body fat (r(2) = 0.21; P = 0.0003), SMT content (r(2) = 0.16; P = 0.005), and fasting triglycerides (r(2) = 0.24; P = 0.0003), nonesterified free fatty acid (r(2) = 0.19; P = 0.002), and leptin (r(2) = 0.35; P < 0.0001) levels. However, only central abdominal fat was significantly related to SMT content (r(2) = 0.10; P = 0.03). SMT content, circulating triglycerides, and measurements of total or central adiposity were independent predictors of whole body insulin sensitivity.

Muscle oxidative capacity is a better predictor of insulin sensitivity than lipid status.

We determined whole-body insulin sensitivity, long-chain fatty acyl coenzyme A (LCACoA) content, skeletal muscle triglyceride (TG(m)) concentration, fatty acid transporter protein content, and oxidative enzyme activity in eight patients with type 2 diabetes (TYPE 2); six healthy control subjects matched for age (OLD), body mass index, percentage of body fat, and maximum pulmonary O(2) uptake; nine well-trained athletes (TRAINED); and four age-matched controls (YOUNG). Muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were taken before and after a 2-h euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. Oxidative enzyme activities, fatty acid transporters (FAT/CD36 and FABPpm), and TG(m) were measured from basal muscle samples, and total LCACoA content was determined before and after insulin stimulation. Whole-body insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was lower in TYPE 2 (P < 0.05) than in OLD, YOUNG, and TRAINED. TG(m) was elevated in TYPE 2 compared with all other groups (P < 0.05). However, both basal and insulin-stimulated skeletal muscle LCACoA content were similar. Basal citrate synthase activity was higher in TRAINED (P < 0.01), whereas beta-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase activity was higher in TRAINED compared with TYPE 2 and OLD. There was a significant relationship between the oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle and insulin sensitivity (citrate synthase, r = 0.71, P < 0.001; beta-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase, r = 0.61, P = 0.001). No differences were found in FAT/CD36 protein content between groups. In contrast, FABPpm protein was lower in OLD compared with TYPE 2 and YOUNG (P < 0.05). In conclusion, despite markedly elevated skeletal muscle TG(m) in type 2 diabetic patients and strikingly different levels of whole-body glucose disposal, both basal and insulin-stimulated LCACoA content were similar across groups. Furthermore, skeletal muscle oxidative capacity was a better predictor of insulin sensitivity than either TG(m) concentration or long-chain fatty acyl CoA content.

Nicotinic acid-induced insulin resistance is related to increased circulating fatty acids and fat oxidation but not muscle lipid content.

Insulin resistance is associated with increased circulating lipids and skeletal muscle lipid content. Chronic nicotinic acid (NA) treatment reduces insulin sensitivity and provides a model of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that the reduction in insulin sensitivity occurs via elevation of circulating nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and an increase in intramyocellular lipid (IMCL). A total of 15 nondiabetic males (mean age 27.4 +/- 1.6 years) were treated with NA (500 mg daily for 1 week, 1 g daily for 1 week). Insulin sensitivity (glucose infusion rate [GIR]) was determined pre- and post-NA by euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. Substrate oxidation was determined by indirect calorimetry. Skeletal muscle lipid was assessed by estimation of long-chain acyl-CoA (LCACoA) and triglyceride (TG) content and by (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy quantification of IMCL (n = 11). NA reduced GIR (P =.03) and nonoxidative glucose disposal (P <.01) and increased fasting NEFAs (P =.01). The decrease in GIR related significantly to the increase in fasting NEFAs (r(2) =.30, P =.03). The intrasubject increase in basal and clamp fat oxidation correlated with the decrease in GIR (r(2) =.45, P <.01 and r(2) =.63, P <.01). There were no significant changes in muscle LCACoA, TG, or IMCL content. Therefore, induction of insulin resistance by NA occurs with increased availability of circulating fatty acids to muscle rather than with increased muscle lipid content.

Effect of weight loss and ketosis on postprandial cholecystokinin and free fatty acid concentrations.

BACKGROUND: Weight regain after weight loss may not be due primarily to voluntary return to social habits but may be explained by changes in peripheral hormonal signals activating hunger and encouraging feeding behavior. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate physiologic adaptations to weight loss that may encourage weight regain. DESIGN: The study had a within-subject repeated-measure design [12 healthy, obese men, 33-64 y, body mass index (in kg/m(2)) 30-46] and was a clinical intervention investigation of circulating metabolites and hunger-satiety responses before and after weight loss. Measures included anthropometry (bioelectrical impedance, body weight, and waist circumference), concentrations of circulating hormones and metabolites [ketone bodies, free fatty acids (FFAs), insulin, leptin, glucose, and cholecystokinin (CCK)], and measures of hunger and satiety at baseline, 8 wk after weight loss with a very-low-energy diet, and 1 wk after weight maintenance. RESULTS: Weight loss led to a reduction in postprandial CCK secretion (P = 0.016). However, when subjects were ketotic (elevated circulating beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations), CCK secretion was sustained at concentrations before weight loss. After weight loss, there were reduced postprandial FFA concentrations (P = 0.0005). The presence of ketosis sustained FFA to concentrations before weight loss (P = 0.60). CONCLUSION: Rapid weight loss of approximately 10% of initial body weight results in a reduction in postprandial CCK and FFA concentrations.

Islet-1: a potentially important role for an islet cell gene in visceral fat.

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in gene expression between visceral (VF) and subcutaneous fat (SF) to identity genes of potential importance in regulation of VF. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We compared gene expression (by DNA array and quantitative PCR (qPCR)) in paired VF and SF adipose biopsies from 36 subjects (age 54 +/- 15 years, 15 men/21 women) with varying degrees of adiposity and insulin resistance, in chow and fat fed mice (+/- rosiglitazone treatment) and in c-Cbl(-/-) mice. Gene expression was also examined in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes during differentiation. RESULTS: A twofold difference or more was found between VF and SF in 1,343 probe sets, especially for genes related to development, cell differentiation, signal transduction, and receptor activity. Islet-1 (ISL1), a LIM-homeobox gene with important developmental and regulatory function in islet, neural, and cardiac tissue, not previously recognized in adipose tissue was virtually absent in SF but substantially expressed in VF. ISL1 expression correlated negatively with BMI (r = -0.37, P = 0.03), abdominal fat (by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, r = -0.44, P = 0.02), and positively with circulating adiponectin (r = 0.33, P = 0.04). In diet-induced obese mice, expression was reduced in the presence or absence of rosiglitazone. Correspondingly, expression was increased in the c-Cbl(-/-) mouse, which is lean and insulin sensitive (IS). ISL1 expression was increased sevenfold in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes during early (day 1) differentiation and was reduced by day 2 differentiation. DISCUSSION: An important developmental and regulatory gene ISL1 is uniquely expressed in VF, probably in the preadipocyte. Our data suggest that ISL1 may be regulated by adiposity and its role in metabolic regulation merits further study.

Metabolic dysfunction in anorexia nervosa.

CONTEXT: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by self-induced energy deficit and low body weight with major consequences for most organ systems and a tendency towards self-perpetuation. OBJECTIVES: To compare metabolic responses to glucose and exercise in women hospitalized with AN (n = 10) before and after 6-weeks weight gain program and in lean healthy weight women (BMI < 22 kg/m(2)) (n = 7). MAIN OUTCOMES: Weight, body composition, indirect calorimetry, and response of serum insulin, glucose, adiponectin and leptin to oral glucose (75 g) and to 30-min of cycling at 50 rpm. RESULTS: Patients with AN had similar lean mass to controls, but had significantly less body fat. Adiponectin was 43% higher (p < 0.01) and leptin 47% lower in AN subjects versus controls (p = 0.04). In response to moderate exercise, fasting glucose increased in AN (p < 0.05), but was unchanged in controls. After glucose ingestion, a trend towards a greater increase in diet-induced thermogenesis was also observed in patients with AN (p = 0.07). Despite a further 6 weeks as in patients, weight was not significantly changed in AN. Similarly, glucose, insulin, leptin or adiponectin were not altered. CONCLUSIONS: AN patients appear metabolically healthy under resting conditions, but their responses to physiological stressors differed from those of controls. Potential impediments to weight gain should be further investigated to define mechanisms with a view to improving the effectiveness of nutritional management.

Relationship of adiponectin with insulin sensitivity in humans, independent of lipid availability.

OBJECTIVE: To test in humans the hypothesis that part of the association of adiponectin with insulin sensitivity is independent of lipid availability. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We studied relationships among plasma adiponectin, insulin sensitivity (by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp), total adiposity (by DXA), visceral adiposity (VAT; by magnetic resonance imaging), and indices of lipid available to muscle, including circulating and intramyocellular lipid (IMCL; by 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy). Our cohort included normal weight to obese men (n = 36). RESULTS: Plasma adiponectin was directly associated with insulin sensitivity and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and inversely with plasma triglycerides but not IMCL. These findings are consistent with adiponectin promoting lipid uptake and subsequent oxidation in muscle and inhibiting TG synthesis in the liver. In multiple regression models that also included visceral and total fat, free fatty acids, TGs, and IMCL, either alone or in combination, adiponectin independently predicted insulin sensitivity, consistent with some of its insulin-sensitizing effects being mediated through mechanisms other than modulation of lipid metabolism. Because VAT directly correlated with total fat and all three indices of local lipid availability, free fatty acids, and IMCL, an efficient regression model of insulin sensitivity (R2 = 0.69, p < 0.0001) contained only VAT (part R2 = 0.12, p < 0.002) and adiponectin (part R2 = 0.41, p < 0.0001) as independent variables. DISCUSSION: Given the broad range of total adiposity and body fat distribution in our cohort, we suggest that insulin sensitivity is robustly associated with adiponectin and VAT.

Beyond insulin resistance in NASH: TNF-alpha or adiponectin?

Adiponectin has antilipogenic and anti-inflammatory effects, while tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) reduces insulin sensitivity and has proinflammatory effects. We examined (1) the extent to which hypoadiponectinemia and TNF-alpha activation are features of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and (2) whether serum levels of these markers correlate with the severity of histological changes in 109 subjects with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), including 80 with NASH and 29 with simple steatosis. By multivariate analysis, subjects with NASH had reduced adiponectin level and increased TNF-alpha and soluble TNF receptor 2 (sTNFR2)-but not leptin levels, compared with controls matched by age, sex, and body mass index; these differences were independent of the increased insulin resistance (by homeostasis model [HOMA-IR]) in NASH. When compared with simple steatosis, NASH was associated with lower adiponectin levels and higher HOMA-IR, but there were no significant differences in the levels of TNF-alpha and sTNFR2. The majority of subjects with steatohepatitis (77%) had adiponectin levels less than 10 microg/mL and HOMA-IR greater than 3 units, but only 33% of those with pure steatosis had these findings. HOMA-IR and low serum adiponectin were also independently associated with increased grades of hepatic necroinflammation. In conclusion, hypoadiponectinemia is a feature of NASH independent of insulin resistance. Reduced adiponectin level is associated with more extensive necroinflammation and may contribute to the development of necroinflammatory forms of NAFLD.

Body fatness, insulin sensitivity and muscle oxygen supply in adolescents.

Muscle blood flow can be reduced in insulin-resistant states. The present study examined the importance of body fatness and insulin sensitivity as variables that may be associated with muscle oxygen supply. We studied 38 adolescents (22 males, 16 females; age 15.3-18.6 years; body mass index 17.7-34.7 kg/m(2)) and used near-IR spectroscopy to measure the muscle re-oxygenation rate after ischaemic finger flexion exercise. Total body fat content was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and insulin sensitivity was assessed by homoeostasis model assessment. Regional lipid compartments were also assessed for potential associations with muscle oxygen supply. Abdominal adiposity (visceral and subcutaneous) was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, and soleus intramyocellular lipid levels were determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Total body fat content ( r =0.67, P <0.001), abdominal subcutaneous fat area ( r =0.78, P <0.001), abdominal visceral fat area ( r =0.54, P <0.001) and intramyocellular lipid levels ( r =0.68, P <0.001) were significantly related to forearm re-oxygenation half-time. After adjusting for insulin sensitivity, both total body fat content ( r =0.395, P =0.02) and abdominal subcutaneous fat area ( r =0.543, P =0.001) remained positively associated with relatively reduced muscle oxygen supply in adolescent subjects. After adjusting for body fat content, abdominal subcutaneous fat area ( r =0. 511, P =0.002) was significantly associated with muscle oxygen supply. Thus muscle oxygen supply is associated with body fat content, and certain fat compartments may be more influential than others.