Impaired Preadipocyte Differentiation in Human Abdominal Obesity: Role of Wnt, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and Inflammation

OBJECTIVE—We examined preadipocyte differentiation in obese and nonobese individuals and the effect of cytokines and wingless-type MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus) integration site family, member 3A (Wnt3a) protein on preadipocyte differ-entiation and phenotype. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Abdominal subcuta-neous adipose tissue biopsies were obtained from a total of 51 donors with varying BMI. After isolation of the adipose and stromalvascular cells, inflammatory cells (CD14- and CD45-positive cells) were removed by immune magnetic separation. CD133-positive cells, containing early progenitor cells, were also isolated and quantified. The CD14- and CD45-negative preadipo-cytes were cultured with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, inter-leukin (IL)-6, resistin, or Wnt3a with or without a differentiation cocktail

Diurnal cortisol patterns are associated with physical performance in the Caerphilly Prospective Study

Background Cross-sectional studies have suggested that elevated cortisol is associated with worse physical performance, a surrogate of ageing. We examined the relationship between repeat cortisol measures over 20 years and physical performance in later life

Depression: An Important Comorbidity With Metabolic Syndrome in a General Population

OBJECTIVE—There is a recognized association among depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine in a sample representative of the general population whether depression, anxiety, and psychological distress are associated with metabolic syndrome and its components

Adipose Tissue Plasticity During Catch-Up Fat Driven by Thrifty Metabolism: Relevance for Muscle-Adipose Glucose Redistribution During Catch-Up Growth

OBJECTIVE: Catch-up growth, a risk factor for later type 2 diabetes, is characterized by hyperinsulinemia, accelerated body-fat recovery (catch-up fat), and enhanced glucose utilization in adipose tissue. Our objective was to characterize the determinants of enhanced glucose utilization in adipose tissue during catch-up fat. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: White adipose tissue morphometry, lipogenic capacity, fatty acid composition, insulin signaling, in vivo glucose homeostasis, and insulinemic response to glucose were assessed in a rat model of semistarvation-refeeding. This model is characterized by glucose redistribution from skeletal muscle to adipose tissue during catch-up fat that results solely from suppressed thermogenesis (i.e., without hyperphagia). RESULTS: Adipose tissue recovery during the dynamic phase of catch-up fat is accompanied by increased adipocyte number with smaller diameter, increased expression of genes for adipogenesis and de novo lipogenesis, increased fatty acid synthase activity, increased proportion of saturated fatty acids in triglyceride (storage) fraction but not in phospholipid (membrane) fraction, and no impairment in insulin signaling. Furthermore, it is shown that hyperinsulinemia and enhanced adipose tissue de novo lipogenesis occur concomitantly and are very early events in catch-up fat. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increased adipose tissue insulin stimulation and consequential increase in intracellular glucose flux play an important role in initiating catch-up fat. Once activated, the machinery for lipogenesis and adipogenesis contribute to sustain an increased insulin-stimulated glucose flux toward fat storage. Such adipose tissue plasticity could play an active role in the thrifty metabolism that underlies glucose redistribution from skeletal muscle to adipose tissue