Adipokine expression and secretion: a target for pharmacologic treatment

Obesity and insulin resistance are important risk factors for major diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Chronic subclinical inflammation appears to underlie these disorders. Increasing evidence suggests that dysregulation of metabolically active adipose tissue contributes to systemic inflammation in part by secreting higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory adipokines (a diverse set of bioactive proteins produced by adipose tissue). Some adipokines act as endocrine factors directly enhancing systemic inflammation. Increased secretion of these adipokines results from local adipose tissue inflammation that is mediated by autocrine and paracrine pathways. Adipokine expression and thus secretion are modulated by intercellular cross talk within adipose tissue, including that between adipocytes and macrophages (and possibly mast cells), as well as by oxidative stress and activation of pro-inflammatory pathways such as nuclear factor kappa B and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. These regulators of adipokine expression and secretion may serve as therapeutic targets for pharmacologic agents that ameliorate the above adipokine-related diseases. These agents include the widely used angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers, inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme, metformin, thiazolidinediones, statins, salicylates, as well as others yet to be developed.Biomedical Reviews 2006; 17: 63-72

A comparison of a social support physical activity intervention in weight management among post-partum Latinas

BACKGROUND: Weight gain during the childbearing years and failure to lose pregnancy weight after birth contribute to the development of obesity in postpartum Latinas. METHODS: Madres para la Salud [Mothers for Health] was a 12-month, randomized controlled trial exploring a social support intervention with moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) seeking to effect changes in body fat, fat tissue inflammation, and depression symptoms in sedentary postpartum Latinas. This report describes the efficacy of the Madres intervention. RESULTS: The results show that while social support increased during the active intervention delivery, it declined to pre-intervention levels by the end of the intervention. There were significant achievements in aerobic and total steps across the 12 months of the intervention, and declines in body adiposity assessed with bioelectric impedance. CONCLUSIONS: Social support from family and friends mediated increases in aerobic PA resulting in decrease in percent body fat. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01908959

Evaluation of the microsomal glutathione S-transferase 3 ( MGST3 ) locus on 1q23 as a Type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene in Pima Indians

Elevation of plasma glucose concentration may induce generation of oxygen-free radicals, which can play an important role in the progression of diabetes and/or development of its complications. Various glutathione transferases utilize the availability of reduced glutathione for the cellular defense against oxygen-free radicals. One such enzyme is microsomal glutathione S-transferase 3 encoded by MGST3, which maps to chromosome 1q23, a region linked to Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Pima Indians, Caucasian, and Chinese populations. We investigated the MGST3 gene as a potential susceptibility gene for T2DM by screening this locus for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in diabetic and non-diabetic Pima Indians. We also measured the skeletal muscle MGST3 mRNA level by Real-Time (RT) PCR and its relationship with insulin action in non-diabetic individuals. We identified 25 diallelic variants, most of which, based on their genotypic concordance, could be divided into three distinct linkage disequilibrium (LD) groups. We genotyped unique representative SNPs in selected diabetic and non-diabetic Pima Indians and found no evidence for association with T2DM. Furthermore, inter-individual variation of skeletal muscle MGST3 mRNA was not correlated with differences in insulin action in non-diabetic subjects. We conclude that alterations of MGST3 are unlikely to contribute to T2DM or differences in insulin sensitivity in the Pima Indians

Overweight, Obesity, and Neighborhood Characteristics Among Postpartum Latinas

Background. Weight gain during the childbearing years and failure to lose pregnancy weight after birth contribute to the development of obesity in Latinas. Design and Methods. Madres para la Salud (Mothers for Health) is a 12-month prospective, randomized controlled trial exploring a social support intervention with moderate-intensity physical activity to effect changes in body fat, systemic and fat tissue inflammation, and depression symptoms in sedentary postpartum Latinas. This paper describes the initial body composition of the sample, social support, and neighborhood contextual correlations of overweight and obese Latina mothers within the first 6 months after birth. Results. The mean body mass index was 29.68 with 38.56% bioelectrical impedence analysis for body fat. Elements of the environment (e.g., opportunities to walk) received middle or high scores. Access to healthy food was positively related to favorability of the walking environment. Waist-to-hip ratio was uncorrelated with other obesity-related indices. Conclusions. The body adiposity of these Latina mothers was coupled with low levels of social support from family and friends and neighborhood characteristics that were unfavorable to walking

A Comparison of a Social Support Physical Activity Intervention in Weight Management Among Post-Partum Latinas

BackgroundWeight gain during the childbearing years and failure to lose pregnancy weight after birth contribute to the development of obesity in postpartum Latinas.MethodsMadres para la Salud [Mothers for Health] was a 12-month, randomized controlled trial exploring a social support intervention with moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) seeking to effect changes in body fat, fat tissue inflammation, and depression symptoms in sedentary postpartum Latinas. This report describes the efficacy of the Madres intervention.ResultsThe results show that while social support increased during the active intervention delivery, it declined to pre-intervention levels by the end of the intervention. There were significant achievements in aerobic and total steps across the 12 months of the intervention, and declines in body adiposity assessed with bioelectric impedance.ConclusionsSocial support from family and friends mediated increases in aerobic PA resulting in decrease in percent body fat.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01908959