Respiratory and arousal state control are heritable traits in mice. B6.V-Lep(ob) (ob) mice are leptin deficient and differ from C57BL/6J (B6) mice by a variation in the gene coding for leptin. The ob mouse has morbid obesity and disordered breathing that is homologous to breathing of obese humans. This study tested the hypothesis that microinjecting neostigmine into the pontine reticular nucleu...

Leptin, encoded for by the mouse ob gene, regulates feeding behavior and energy metabolism. Its receptor (Ob-R) is encoded by the mouse diabetic (db) gene and is mutated in the db/db mouse so that it lacks the cytoplasmic domain. We show that the full-length leptin receptor (Ob-Rb), which is believed to transmit the leptin signal, is expressed in pancreatic islets of ob/ob and wild-type mice, a...

The ob gene product, leptin, is an important circulating signal for the regulation of body weight. To identify high affinity leptin-binding sites, we generated a series of leptin-alkaline phosphatase (AP) fusion proteins as well as [125I]leptin. After a binding survey of cell lines and tissues, we identified leptin-binding sites in the mouse choroid plexus. A cDNA expression library was prepare...

The human gene encoding the homolog of the mouse obese (ob) gene was isolated and partially characterized. The human ob gene consists of three exons and two introns and spans about 18 kilobase pairs (kb), encoding a 3.5-kb cDNA. A 3-kb 5'-flanking region of the gene was cloned and transient transfection assay with luciferase reporter confirmed the promoter activity in differentiated F442-A adip...

Recent evidence has been presented that expression of lipogenic genes is downregulated in adipose tissue of ob/ob mice as well as in human obesity, suggesting a functionally lipoatrophic state. Using (2)H(2)O labeling, we measured three adipose tissue biosynthetic processes concurrently: triglyceride (TG) synthesis, palmitate de novo lipogenesis (DNL), and cell proliferation (adipogenesis). To ...

Purpose Systemic increases in reactive oxygen species, and their association with inflammation, have been proposed as an underlying mechanism linking obesity and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Studies have found increased levels of oxidative stress biomarkers and inflammatory cytokines in obese individuals; however, the correlation between obesity and retinal inflammation has yet to be...

OBJECTIVE Metformin is an antidiabetic drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study was to determine whether metformin regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis through the orphan nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP; NR0B2). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We assessed the regulation of hepatic SHP gene expression by Northern blot analysis with metformin and adenovirus con...

Obesity is a strong risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. We have previously reported that in adipose tissue of obese (ob/ob) mice, the expression of adipogenic genes is decreased. When made genetically obese, the BTBR mouse strain is diabetes susceptible and the C57BL/6J (B6) strain is diabetes resistant. We used DNA microarrays and RT-PCR to compare the gene expression in BTBR-o...

Dietary intake of whole grains reduces the incidence of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. In an earlier study, we showed that Panicum miliaceum L. extract (PME) exhibited the highest anti-lipogenic activity in 3T3-L1 cells among extracts of nine different cereal grains tested. In this study, we hypothesized that PME in the diet would lead to weight ...