Estrogen Impairs Adipose Tissue Expansion and Cardiometabolic Profile in Obese-Diabetic Female Rats.

It has been reported that 17ß-estradiol (E2) can exert beneficial effects against the development of obesity, providing women with a healthier metabolic profile and conferring cardiovascular protection. However, a growing body of evidence questions this role in the context of obesity and diabetes. We focus on the adipose tissue-heart axis to address the question of whether E2 can have metabolically detrimental effects in an obese-diabetic rat model. Female Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats were used: LEAN, fa/+; SHAM, sham-operated fa/fa; OVA, ovariectomized fa/fa, and OVA+E2, ovariectomized and E2 treated fa/fa. The secretory expression profile, tissue expansion parameters and composition of visceral adipose tissue, as well as systemic and cardiac parameters related to insulin resistance, fibrosis, and inflammation were analyzed. Ovariectomy induced an attenuation of both diabetic condition and metabolic dysfunction of adipose tissue and cardiac muscle in fa/fa rats, suggesting that E2, in the context of diabetes and obesity, loses its cardioprotective role and could even contribute to greater metabolic alterations. Adipose tissue from OVA rats showed a healthier hyperplastic expansion pattern, which could help maintain tissue function, increase adiponectin expression, and decrease pro-inflammatory adipokines. These findings should be taken into account when considering hormone replacement therapy for obese-diabetic women.

Polymorphisms in Genes Involved in the Leptin-Melanocortin Pathway are Associated with Obesity-Related Cardiometabolic Alterations in a Southern Chilean Population

BACKGROUND:Polymorphisms in genes encoding proteins of the leptin-melanocortin pathway have been associated with obesity. The involvement of these polymorphisms with changes in body mass index (BMI) and anthropometric measures could also imply a contribution to the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and metabolic alterations. We evaluated the relationship of leptin-melanocortin system polymorphisms with obesity, MetS, and other metabolic alterations in Southern Chilean individuals.METHODS:Two-hundred individuals were grouped as normoweight (BMI 18.0-24.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) or according to MetS status. Anthropometric measures (BMI, abdominal circumference, waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]) and biochemical parameters (glycemia and lipid profile) were evaluated. Polymorphisms LEP rs7799039, LEPR rs1137101, MC3R rs3746619 and rs3827103, and MC4R rs17782313 were evaluated by real-time PCR using allelic discrimination assays.