Obesity is frequently associated with systemic insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and hyperlipidemia. Impaired insulin action in muscle and paradoxical diet/ insulin-dependent overproduction of hepatic lipids are important components of obesity, but their pathogenesis and inter-relationships between muscle and liver are uncertain. We studied two murine obesity models, moderate high-fatfee...

Ruminant fat is often perceived as having a negative impact on human health; however, the composition of the fat is under complex biochemical control and can be improved through strategic manipulation of the animal's diet. There were two major objectives of this study, namely (i) to develop and validate a primary bovine intramuscular adipocyte cell line and (ii) to examine the effect of eicosap...

3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) improves hepatic lipid accumulation by increasing lipid catabolism but it also increases lipogenesis, which at first glance appears contradictory. Recent studies have shown that 3,5-diiodothyronine (T2), a natural thyroid hormone derivative, also has the capacity to stimulate hepatic lipid catabolism, however, little is known about its possible effects on lipogen...

We explored the effects of bile acids on triglyceride (TG) homeostasis using a combination of molecular, cellular, and animal models. Cholic acid (CA) prevents hepatic TG accumulation, VLDL secretion, and elevated serum TG in mouse models of hypertriglyceridemia. At the molecular level, CA decreases hepatic expression of SREBP-1c and its lipogenic target genes. Through the use of mouse mutants ...

The synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol, the building blocks of membranes, is regulated by three membrane-bound transcription factors: sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP)-1a, -1c, and -2. Their function in liver has been characterized in transgenic mice that overexpress each SREBP isoform and in mice that lack all three nuclear SREBPs as a result of gene knockout of SREBP cl...

Saturated fatty acids are implicated in the development of diabetes via the impairment of pancreatic islet β-cell viability and function. Liver X receptors (LXRs) and eicosapentaenoate (EPA) are known regulators of fatty acid metabolism. However, their roles in the pathogenesis of diabetes remain incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of EPA and the LXR agon...

UNLABELLED We have previously shown that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection modulates the expression of forkhead box transcription factors, including FoxO1 and FoxA2, which play key roles in gluconeogenesis and β-oxidation of fatty acid, respectively. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of forkhead box transcription factors in modulating lipid metabolism. HCV infection or core...

Akt is a critical regulator of cell growth, proliferation, and survival that is activated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). We investigated the effect of PI3K inhibition on activation of sterol regulatory element binding protein-2 (SREBP-2), a master regulator of cholesterol homeostasis. SREBP-2 processing increased in response to various cholesterol depletion approaches (including stati...