Obesity depends on a close interplay between genetic and environmental factors. However, it is unknown how these factors interact to cause changes in the obese condition during the progression of obesity from the neonatal to the aged individual. We have utilized Mest and Sfrp5 genes, two genes highly correlated with adipose tissue expansion in diet-induced obesity, to characterize the obese con...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), is an appetite stimulatory signal from the stomach with structural resemblance to motilin. We examined the effects of the gastric peptide ghrelin and GHS-R antagonists on energy balance and glycaemic control in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Body weight, fat mass, glucose, insulin, and gene expres...

Creosote bush-derived nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a lipoxygenase inhibitor, possesses antioxidant properties and functions as a potent antihyperlipidemic agent in rodent models. Here, we examined the effect of chronic NDGA treatment of ob/ob mice on plasma dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and changes in hepatic gene expression. Feeding ob/ob mice a chow diet supplemented with either low (...

AIMS We have previously shown that activation of leptin signalling in the heart reduces cardiac morbidity and mortality after myocardial infarction (MI). In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that leptin signalling limits cardiac apoptosis after MI through activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3 responsive anti-apoptotic genes, including B-cell lymphoma ...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate whether obestatin (OB), a peptide mediator encoded by the ghrelin gene exerting a protective effect in ischemic reperfused heart, is able to reduce cardiac dysfunctions in adult diabetic rats. METHODS Diabetes was induced by STZ injection (50 mg/kg) in Wistar rats (DM). OB was administered (25 μg/kg) twice a day for 6 weeks. Non-diabetic (ND...

The temporal order of physiology and behaviour in mammals is regulated by the coordination of the master circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and peripheral clocks in various tissues outside the SCN. Because the circadian oscillator(s) in the olfactory bulb (OB) is regarded as SCN independent, we examined the relationship between the SCN master clock and the circadian clock in t...

Mutation of the obese gene produces obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and compensatory "overexpression" of the defective gene. As insulin activates obese gene expression, it seemed possible that hyperinsulinemia might be responsible for overexpression of the gene. To address this question we rapidly neutralized circulating insulin by injection of an insulin antibody. Unexpectedly, insulin depletion in...

The adipose tissue has become a central focus in the pathogenesis of obesity-mediated cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Here we demonstrate that adipose sphingolipid metabolism is altered in genetically obese (ob/ob) mice. Expression of enzymes involved in ceramide generation (neutral sphingomyelinase [NSMase], acid sphingomyelinase [ASMase], and serine-palmitoyl-transferase [SPT]) and cera...

Leptin, a recently identified hormonal product of the ob gene, is known to regulate appetite, body metabolism, and reproductive functions. We investigated the expression of the leptin receptor (Ob-R) in testes from different age groups. The messenger RNA for Ob-R was found in testes from all age groups using RT-PCR. Using immunohistochemistry, we observed age- and stage-dependent distribution o...