Increased Circulating Adiponectin in Response to Thiazolidinediones: Investigating the Role of Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow adipose tissue (MAT) contributes to increased circulating adiponectin, an insulin-sensitizing hormone, during caloric restriction (CR), but whether this occurs in other contexts remains unknown. The antidiabetic thiazolidinediones (TZDs) also promote MAT expansion and hyperadiponectinemia, even without increasing adiponectin expression in white adipose tissue (WAT). OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that MAT expansion contributes to TZD-associated hyperadiponectinemia, we investigated the effects of rosiglitazone, a prototypical TZD, in wild-type (WT) or Ocn-Wnt10b mice. The latter resist MAT expansion during CR, leading us to postulate that they would also resist this effect of rosiglitazone. DESIGN: Male and female WT or Ocn-Wnt10b mice (C57BL/6J) were treated with or without rosiglitazone for 2, 4, or 8 weeks, up to 30 weeks of age. MAT content was assessed by osmium tetroxide staining and adipocyte marker expression. Circulating adiponectin was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: In WT mice, rosiglitazone caused hyperadiponectinemia and MAT expansion. Compared to WT mice, Ocn-Wnt10b mice had significantly less MAT in distal tibiae and sometimes in proximal tibiae; however, interpretation was complicated by the leakage of osmium tetroxide from ruptures in some tibiae, highlighting an important technical consideration for osmium-based MAT analysis. Despite decreased MAT in Ocn-Wnt10b mice, circulating adiponectin was generally similar between WT and Ocn-Wnt10b mice; however, in females receiving rosiglitazone for 4 weeks, hyperadiponectinemia was significantly blunted in Ocn-Wnt10b compared to WT mice. Notably, this was also the only group in which tibial adiponectin expression was lower than in WT mice, suggesting a close association between MAT adiponectin production and circulating adiponectin. However, rosiglitazone significantly increased adiponectin protein expression in WAT, suggesting that WAT contributes to hyperadiponectinemia in this context. Finally, rosiglitazone upregulated uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue (BAT), but this protein was undetectable in tibiae, suggesting that MAT is unlikely to share thermogenic properties of BAT. CONCLUSION: TZD-induced hyperadiponectinemia is closely associated with increased adiponectin production in MAT but is not prevented by the partial loss of MAT that occurs in Ocn-Wnt10b mice. Thus, more robust loss-of-MAT models are required for future studies to better establish MAT’s elusive functions, both on an endocrine level and beyond

How Have the Nordic Welfare States Responded to the Unexpected Increase in Inflation?

Rising inflation in the Nordic societies has changed the living standards for many families. The situation differs not only between the four Nordic countries analysed, but even within each of the Nordic countries. The needs for intervention have varied. Several elements have been used to determine who is facing the most risks. This article shows how to combine automatic stabilisers with temporary policy interventions to deal with increased inflation in general or specific sub-elements (such as oil, natural gas). Focus is on the degree of and criteria for targeting. Possible distributional consequences of the adopted measures will be discussed. Lastly, the article considers whether the observed responses to the crisis have implications for the understanding of the Nordic welfare state model. The article investigates institutional, political and economic reasons for the variations in the interventions. The article concludes that in managing the crisis, the Nordic countries have adopted stronger targeting towards those considered to be in need, displaying some innovations in their social policy approach. Yet, one can trace a high degree of path-dependency, with the countries adhering to universalist principles, with an aim of redistributing resources.Peer reviewe

EUROSHIP Working Paper No 21: Experiences of low-quality jobs and in-work poverty early in the career

   This is a publication in the project`s working papers` series.</p

Are patterns of bone loss in anorexic and postmenopausal women similar? Preliminary results using high resolution peripheral computed tomography.

This study intended to compare bone density and architecture in three groups of women: young women with anorexia nervosa (AN), an age-matched control group of young women, and healthy late postmenopausal women. Three-dimensional peripheral quantitative high resolution computed-tomography (HR-pQCT) at the ultradistal radius, a technology providing measures of cortical and trabecular bone density and microarchitecture, was performed in the three cohorts. Thirty-six women with AN aged 18-30years (mean duration of AN: 5.8years), 83 healthy late postmenopausal women aged 70-81 as well as 30 age-matched healthy young women were assessed. The overall cortical and trabecular bone density (D100), the absolute thickness of the cortical bone (CTh), and the absolute number of trabecules per area (TbN) were significantly lower in AN patients compared with healthy young women. The absolute number of trabecules per area (TbN) in AN and postmenopausal women was similar, but significantly lower than in healthy young women. The comparison between AN patients and post-menopausal women is of interest because the latter reach bone peak mass around the middle of the fertile age span whereas the former usually lose bone before reaching optimal bone density and structure. This study shows that bone mineral density and bone compacta thickness in AN are lower than those in controls but still higher than those in postmenopause. Bone compacta density in AN is similar as in controls. However, bone inner structure in AN is degraded to a similar extent as in postmenopause. This last finding is particularly troubling