High-fat diet affects gut nutrients transporters in hypo and hyperthyroid mice by PPAR-a independent mechanism.

AIMS: High fat diet consumes and thyroid hormones (THs) disorders may affect nutrients metabolism, but their impact on the absorptive epithelium, the first place of nutrients access, remains unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the intestinal morphology and nutrients transporters content in mice fed standard (LFD) or high fat (HFD) diets in hypo or hyperthyroidism-induced condition. MATERIAL AND METHODS: C57BL/6 male mice fed LFD or HFD diets for 12 weeks, followed by saline, PTU (antithyroid drug) or T3 treatment up to 30 days. The mice were euthanized and proximal intestine was removed to study GLUT2, GLUT5, PEPT1, FAT-CD36, FATP4, NPC1L1 and NHE3 distribution by Western blotting. Since PPAR-a is activated by fatty acids, which is abundant in the HFD, we also evaluated whether PPAR-a affects nutrients transporters. Thus, mice were treated with fenofibrate, a PPAR-a agonist. KEY FINDINGS: HFD decreased GLUT2, PEPT1, FAT-CD6 and NPC1L1, but increased NHE3, while GLUT5 and FATP4 remained unaltered. THs did not alter distribution of nutrients transporters neither in LFD nor in HFD groups, but they increased villi length and depth crypt in LFD and HFD, respectively. Fenofibrate did not affect content of nutrients transporters, excluding PPAR-a involvement on the HFD-induced changes. SIGNIFICANCE: We assume that chronic HFD consumption reduced most of the nutrients transporters content in the small intestine of mice, which might limit the entrance of nutrients and gain weight. Since NHE3 promotes sodium absorption, and it was increased in HFD group, this finding could contribute to explain the hypertension observed in obesity.

Sleep and neurochemical modulation by the nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) in rat.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) is a nuclear protein that plays an essential role in diverse neurobiological processes. However, the role of PPARα on the sleep modulation is unknown. Here, rats treated with an intrahypothalamic injection of Wy14643 (10µg/1µL; PPARα agonist) enhanced wakefulness and decreased slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep whereas MK-886 (10µg/1µL; PPARα antagonist) promoted opposite effects. Moreover, Wy14643 increased dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and adenosine contents collected from nucleus accumbens. The levels of these neurochemicals were diminished after MK-886 treatment. The current findings suggest that PPARα may participate in the sleep and neurochemical modulation.

Effects and mechanisms of Fenofibrate on the secretion of vascular endothelial contraction factors in hypertensive rats.

This study investigated the effects of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-α) agonist, Fenofibrate, on the secretion of vascular endothelial contraction factors in hypertensive rats to elucidate its possible mechanisms. The vascular ring contraction experiment was used to observe whether rat vascular tension of clean grade spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) changes after 1-h incubation of 0.1, 1.0, 10.0 µM Fenofibrate with 10.0 µM Fenofibrate, a PPAR-α antagonist (MK866), and a PPAR-γ antagonist (GW9662) in SHR. The results were compared with Wistar Kyoto rats. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the secretion of the serum vascular endothelial contraction factor prostacyclin-1α (PGF-1α), PGF-2α, and thromboxane B2 (TXB2). Western blot was used to detect COX-1 protein expression. A quantity of 10.0 µM Fenofibrate significantly reduced vasoconstriction in SHR compared to the control group (P = 0.013). The PPAR-α antagonist, MK866, significantly improved the vascular contractility of SHR when incubated with 10.0 µM Fenofibrate (P = 0.021). The PPAR-γ antagonist, GW9662, had no significant effect on the vascular contractility of SHR when incubated with 10.0 µM Fenofibrate (P = 0.071). The isolated aorta of SHR released significantly lower PGF- 1α (P = 0.014), PGF-2α (P = 0.023), and TXB2 (P = 0.017) levels in the 10.0 µM Fenofibrate group compared to the control group. COX-1 expression of SHR rat vascular endothelium was significantly depressed in the 10.0 µM Fenofibrate group compared to the control group (P = 0.027). In conclusion, Fenofibrate reduces the secretion of vascular endothelial contraction factors in hypertensive rats, which might arise through the endothelium influencing COX-1 expression.