Effects of conjugated linoleic acid on the expression levels of miR-27 and miR-143 in pig adipose tissue.

In this study, we evaluated the effect and possible mech-anism of action of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on pig body fat deposition. Landrace piglets (N = 48) were randomly divided into three groups, which were fed diets containing 0% (control), 1%, or 2% CLA. Dorsal and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissues were col-lected, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to de-termine the expression of adipocyte differentiation marker genes and associated microRNAs (miRNAs). Our results indicated that dietary CLA significantly decreased body fat deposition in the pig dorsum. The expression of adipocyte differentiation marker genes, including peroxi-some proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) were not affected, whereas the expression of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) was significantly enhanced (P < 0.05). The expression of miR-27 and miR-143 in adipose tissue was significantly decreased. Data analysis indicated a significant negative correlation between miR-27 and FABP4 expression in the dorsal sub-cutaneous adipose tissue. In addition, the expression of miR-143 and miR-27 exhibited a significant negative relationship with FABP4 and PPARγ in the abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue. Thus, miRNA levels in adipose tissues could be modulated by CLA, thereby affecting adipose metabolism.

Grape seed procyanidins administered at physiological doses to rats during pregnancy and lactation promote lipid oxidation and up-regulate AMPK in the muscle of male offspring in adulthood.

The aim of the present study was to test whether the administration of a grape seed procyanidin extract (GSPE) during pregnancy and lactation, at doses extrapolated to human consumption, programs male offspring toward improved metabolism in adulthood. For this purpose, female rats were fed a normal-fat diet (NFD) and treated with either GSPE (25 mg kg(-1) of body weight/day) or vehicle during gestation and lactation. The metabolic programming effects of GSPE were evaluated in the male offspring fed NFD from 30 to 170 days of life. No changes were observed in body weight, adiposity, circulating lipid profile and insulin sensitivity between the offspring of dams treated with GSPE (STD-GSPE group) and their counterparts (STD-veh). However, the STD-GSPE offspring had lower circulating levels of C-reactive protein and lower respiratory quotient values, shifting whole-body energy catabolism from carbohydrate to fat oxidation. Furthermore, the STD-GSPE animals also exhibited increased levels of total and phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and an over-expression of the mRNA levels of key genes related to fatty acid uptake (Fatp1 and CD36) and ß-oxidation (pparα and had) in skeletal muscle. Our results indicate that GSPE programs healthy male offspring towards a better circulating inflammatory profile and greater lipid utilisation in adulthood. The metabolic programming effects of GSPE that are related to the enhancement of fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle seem to be mediated, at least in part, by AMPK. These findings could be of relevance in the prevention of pathologies associated to lifestyle and aging, such as obesity and insulin resistance.

Inhibitory effects of tannic acid in the early stage of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes differentiation by down-regulating PPARγ expression.

Obesity is a medical condition of excess body fat negatively influencing morbidity and mortality via non-communicable disease risks. Adipogenesis, the process in which preadipocytes differentiate into adipocytes, plays a pivotal role in obesity. Our previous study proved that tannic acid (TA) showed anti-adipogenesis effect in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. However, the precise mechanism involved in the inhibition in adipocytes differentiation by TA is unclear, and thus this is the subject of the present investigation. In this study, we determined the effect of TA on different stages of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes differentiation, and found that when treating in the early stage of differentiation, TA reduced lipid accumulation significantly. However, TA did not reduce lipid accumulation when treating in mid- and late-stages of adipocyte differentiation. To further study which gene TA had an impact on in the early stage of differentiation, we identified a number of genes associated with lipid metabolism. The results showed that compared to the control group, the mRNA levels of FAS, C/EBPα, and PPARγ were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas the mRNA levels of adipsin, ap2 were increased (p < 0.05). However, TA had no effect on mRNA levels of ACC1 and ACC2. Western blot results showed that TA down-regulated the expression of PPARγ, which is a major factor in preadipocyte differentiation. In addition, TA did not affect the PI3 K/AKT pathway. These results indicate that the anti-adipogenesis effect of TA involves down-regulation of PPARγ in the early stage of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Some potential limitations of this study should be considered. All the results in this study were based on cell experiments. However, the human bioavailability of TA is not clear. In the present study, the concentration of TA was 5 µM; therefore, there were concerns about whether oral intake of TA could reach the effective concentrations. This important point needs to be clarified in vivo.

Arachidonic acid-dependent gene regulation during preadipocyte differentiation controls adipocyte potential.

Arachidonic acid (AA) is a major PUFA that has been implicated in the regulation of adipogenesis. We examined the effect of a short exposure to AA at different stages of 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation. AA caused the upregulation of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4/aP2) following 24 h of differentiation. This was mediated by the prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)), as inhibition of cyclooxygenases or PGF(2α) receptor signaling counteracted the AA-mediated aP2 induction. In addition, calcium, protein kinase C, and ERK are all key elements of the pathway through which AA induces the expression of aP2. We also show that treatment with AA during the first 24 h of differentiation upregulates the expression of the transcription factor Fos-related antigen 1 (Fra-1) via the same pathway. Finally, treatment with AA for 24 h at the beginning of the adipocyte differentiation is sufficient to inhibit the late stages of adipogenesis through a Fra-1-dependent pathway, as Fra-1 knockdown rescued adipogenesis. Our data show that AA is able to program the differentiation potential of preadipocytes by regulating gene expression at the early stages of adipogenesis.

The human liver fatty acid binding protein T94A variant alters the structure, stability, and interaction with fibrates.

Although the human liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) T94A variant arises from the most commonly occurring single-nucleotide polymorphism in the entire FABP family, there is a complete lack of understanding regarding the role of this polymorphism in human disease. It has been hypothesized that the T94A substitution results in the complete loss of ligand binding ability and function analogous to that seen with L-FABP gene ablation. This possibility was addressed using the recombinant human wild-type (WT) T94T and T94A variant L-FABP and cultured primary human hepatocytes. Nonconservative replacement of the medium-sized, polar, uncharged T residue with a smaller, nonpolar, aliphatic A residue at position 94 of the human L-FABP significantly increased the L-FABP α-helical structure content at the expense of ß-sheet content and concomitantly decreased the thermal stability. T94A did not alter the binding affinities for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) agonist ligands (phytanic acid, fenofibrate, and fenofibric acid). While T94A did not alter the impact of phytanic acid and only slightly altered that of fenofibrate on the human L-FABP secondary structure, the active metabolite fenofibric acid altered the T94A secondary structure much more than that of the WT T94T L-FABP. Finally, in cultured primary human hepatocytes, the T94A variant exhibited a significantly reduced extent of fibrate-mediated induction of PPARα-regulated proteins such as L-FABP, FATP5, and PPARα itself. Thus, while the T94A substitution did not alter the affinity of the human L-FABP for PPARα agonist ligands, it significantly altered the human L-FABP structure, stability, and conformational and functional response to fibrate.