High Sugar Intake and Development of Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance and Inflammation in Mice: A Protective Role for PPAR- \u3b4 Agonism

Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor (PPAR)- \u3b4 agonists may serve for treating metabolic diseases. However, the effects of PPAR- \u3b4 agonism within the skeletal muscle, which plays a key role in whole-body glucose metabolism, remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the signaling pathways activated in the gastrocnemius muscle by chronic administration of the selective PPAR- \u3b4 agonist, GW0742 (1 mg/kg/day for 16 weeks), in male C57Bl6/J mice treated for 30 weeks with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the major sweetener in foods and soft-drinks (15% wt/vol in drinking water). Mice fed with the HFCS diet exhibited hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, hyperleptinemia, and hypoadiponectinemia. In the gastrocnemius muscle, HFCS impaired insulin and AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and reduced GLUT-4 and GLUT-5 expression and membrane translocation. GW0742 administration induced PPAR- \u3b4 upregulation and improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism. Diet-induced activation of nuclear factor-\u3baB and expression of inducible-nitric-oxide-synthase and intercellular-adhesion-molecule-1 were attenuated by drug treatment. These effects were accompanied by reduction in the serum concentration of interleukin-6 and increase in muscular expression of fibroblast growth factor-21. Overall, here we show that PPAR- \u3b4 activation protects the skeletal muscle against the metabolic abnormalities caused by chronic HFCS exposure by affecting multiple levels of the insulin and inflammatory cascades

Accumulation of Advanced Glycation End-Products and Activation of the SCAP/SREBP Lipogenetic Pathway Occur in Diet-Induced Obese Mouse Skeletal Muscle.

Aim of this study was to investigate whether advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) accumulate in skeletal myofibers of two different animal models of diabesity and whether this accumulation could be associated to myosteatosis. Male C57Bl/6j mice and leptin-deficient ob/ob mice were divided into three groups and underwent 15 weeks of dietary manipulation: standard diet-fed C57 group (C57, n = 10), high-fat high-sugar diet-fed C57 group (HFHS, n = 10), and standard diet-fed ob/ob group (OB/OB, n = 8). HFHS mice and OB/OB mice developed glycometabolic abnormalities in association with decreased mass of the gastrocnemius muscle, fast-to-slow transition of muscle fibers, and lipid accumulation (that occurred preferentially in slow compared to fast fibers). Moreover, we found in muscle fibers of HFHS and OB/OB mice accumulation of AGEs that was preferential for the lipid-accumulating cells, increased expression of the lipogenic pathway SCAP/SREBP, and co-localisation between AGEs and SCAP-(hyper)expressing cells (suggestive for SCAP glycosylation). The increased expression of the SCAP/SREBP lipogenic pathway in muscle fibers is a possible mechanism underlying lipid accumulation and linking myosteatosis to muscle fiber atrophy and fast-to-slow transition that occur in response to diabesity

Superação da dormência de sementes de capim-carrapicho Dormancy overcoming in southern sandbur seeds

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi o de identificar tratamentos que, capazes de superar a dormência das sementes de Cenchrus echinatus, fossem favorá veis à germinação e passíveis de serem aplicados visando semeadura à campo. Para tanto, 4 lotes de sementes foram submetidos a tratamentos de escarificação mecânica, de retirada do invólucro de brácteas espinhosas e das glumas para a separa ção da cariopse , de imer são em KNO3 (1%) por 5 e 20 minuto s, imer sã o em KNO3 (1, 3 e 5%) por 5 minutos, de imersão em H2O por 5 minutos, de armazenamento a 5°C/ 7 dias, de exposição à 40, 55 e 70°C/ 8h em estufa com circulação forçada de ar e de imersão em H2SO4 (98%, 36N) por 1; 5 e 15 minutos seguida por lavagem em água co rren te. As sementes tratadas foram avaliadas por meio dos testes de germinação e de emergência de plântulas; de primeira contagem de germinação e de emergência de plântulas, de velocidade germinação e de emergência. Os tratamentos de escarificação mecânic a, da cariopse nua e de imersão das sementes em KNO3 (1 a 3%) por 5 minutos são técnicas de superação da dormência capazes de implementar a emergência em condições de campo.<br>The main goal of this research was to identify those treatments that besides being capable of overcoming dormancy in Cenchrus echinatus seeds were favorable to germination and liable to field use. Four seed lots were submitted to mechanical escarafication, cariopse excised, KNO3 (1%) immers ion fo r 5 and 20 minutes, KNO3 (1, 3 e 5%) immersion for 5 minutes, H2O immers ion for 5 minute s, 5°C/7 days storage, thermal treatments at 40, 55,and 70°C/8h in air circulating oven, H2SO4 (98%, 36N) immersion fo r 1, 5, and 15 minutes. Treated seeds were evaluated by means of the standard germination test and emerging seedlings, first germination and emergence count, germination and emergence speed. The use of mechanical escarafication, cariopse excised, KNO3 (1 - 3%) immersion for 5 minutes are dormancy overcoming techniques able to promote field emergence