The effect of a low protein diet on the adipocytes of rat perigenital fat

Summary Weanling rats were fed a low protein diet for 6 weeks and their weights were 50% less than controls. There were significantly fewer adipocytes per g adipose tissue, but estimates of the number of adipocytes per rat indicated that the diet had much less effect on adipocyte number than on b.wt.     

Gnawing activity,dietary carbohydrate deficiency and oothecal production in the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

Summary The gnawing activity of adult female cockroaches was assessed by the dry weight loss of cotton fibre supplied to individual insects. In animals maintained on a carbohydrate-deficient diet the use of fibre was significantly less than in animals receiving a balanced diet. A comparison with controls showed that under both dietary regimes access to a fibre source did not significantly increase the mean, total number of oothecae produced.     

Effect of pectin and cellulose on formation and regression of gallstones in hamsters

Male Syrian hamsters were fed a lithogenic diet containing 7% cellulose or 4.2% pectin. After 50 days, pectin was 76% and cellulose 64% less lithogenic than the control diet. Hamsters fed the control diet for 50 days were maintained on that diet for another 50 days or fed diets containing cellulose or pectin. There was a 52% increase in gallstone incidence in hamsters continued on the control diet and a 9% increase in those on cellulose. Pectin promoted regression of gallstones (by 52%).     

Effect of latent iron deficiency on the levels of iron, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese, cadmium and lead in liver, kidney and spleen of growing rats

Feeding a marginally low iron content diet (18-20 mg iron/kg diet) to weaned (21-day-old) rats for 8 weeks produced a significant decrease in liver non-heme iron (66%, p less than 0.001) but no change in blood hemoglobin. Total iron contents of liver (56%, p less than 0.01), spleen (20%, p less than 0.05), and kidney (19%, p less than 0.05) were also found to decrease along with increased zinc, copper, calcium, manganese lead and cadmium in various organs. The magnitude of alteration of a metal was different in different organs. However, liver was found to be the most affected organ. Two weeks of rehabilitation with iron-sufficient diet (390 mg iron/kg diet) normalized these altered levels.     

Effect of pectin and cellulose on formation and regression of gallstones in hamsters

Summary Male Syrian hamsters were fed a lithogenic diet containing 7% cellulose or 4.2% pectin. After 50 days, pectin was 76% and cellulose 64% less lithogenic than the control diet. Hamsters fed the control diet for 50 days were maintained on that diet for another 50 days or fed diets containing cellulose or pectin. These was a 52% increase in gallstone incidence in hamsters continued on the control diet and a 9% increase in those on cellulose. Pectin promoted regression of gallstones (by 52%).Acknowledgments. This work was supported, in part, by a grant (HL-03299) and a Research Career Award (HL-00734) from the National Institutes of Health, and by funds from Mary L. Smith and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.     

Effect of feeding zinc-deficient Bengal gram (Cicer arietenum) diet to rats on the in vitro absorption of L-histidine monohydrochloride

Summary The in vitro absorption of L-histidine monohydrochloride from the duodenum was less in a group of rats fed a zinc-deficient bengal gram diet than in a group fed a zinc-supplemented bengal gram diet.     

Effect of the synthetic cannabinoid nabilone on spermatogenesis in mice

Chronic treatment of mice with the synthetic cannabinoid nabilone (50 mg/kg, 3 times per week) reduced the number of pachytene spermatocytes. Nabilone did not affect other cell types in the testis or the sex organ weights. Nabilone tended to increase the number of abnormal spermatozoa, but this did not reach statistical significance. It is concluded that nabilone causes less testicular toxicity than the natural cannabinoids.     

Effect of feeding cereal-legume diets to rats on in vitro absorption of45Ca

Summary The in vitro absorption of calcium from the duodenum was significantly less in a group of rats fed on a wheat diet than in a group fed a wheat and Bengal gram (7030) diet.     

Effect of the synthetic cannabinoid nabilone on spermatogenesis in mice

Summary Chronic treatment of mice with the synthetic cannabinoid nabilone (50 mg/kg, 3 times per week) reduced the number of pachytene spermatocytes. Nabilone did not affect other cell types in the testis or the sex organ weights. Nabilone tended to increase the number of abnormal spermatozoa, but this did not reach statistical significance. It is concluded that nabilone causes less testicular toxicity than the natural cannabinoids.PBP was supported by an ORS award and David Livingstone Bursary from the U.K.     

Influence of diet on plasma tryptophan and brain serotonin levels in mice

Groups of mice were maintained for up to 78 weeks on tryptophan restricted, protein restricted and control diets. Plasma tryptophan levels were significantly reduced by both forms of dietary restriction. Brain serotonin levels were significantly reduced only in mice on the tryptophan restricted diet, but not for mice on the protein restricted diet. The protein-restricted diet contains less of the large neutral amino acids which compete with tryptophan to enter the brain. It is known that protein restriction and tryptophan restriction extend lifespan. The results presented here suggest that extension of lifespan and lowering of brain serotonin are not related.     

Influence of diet on plasma tryptophan and brain serotonin levels in mice

Summary Groups of mice were maintained for up to 78 weeks on tryptophan restricted, protein restricted and control diets. Plasma tryptophan levels were significantly reduced by both forms of dietary restriction. Brain serotonin levels were significantly reduced only in mice on the tryptophan restricted diet, but not for mice on the protein restricted diet. The protein-restricted diet contains less of the large neutral amino acids which compete with tryptophan to enter the brain. It is known that protein restriction and tryptophan restriction extend lifespan. The results presented here suggest that extension of lifespan and lowering of brain serotonin are not related.     

Inter-organ regulation of adipose tissue browning

Adaptive thermogenesis is an important component of energy expenditure. Brown adipocytes are best known for their ability to convert chemical energy into heat. Beige cells are brown-like adipocytes that arise in white adipose tissue in response to certain environmental cues to dissipate heat and improve metabolic homeostasis. A large body of intrinsic factors and external signals are critical for the function of beige adipocytes. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of neuronal, hormonal, and metabolic regulation of the development and activation of beige adipocytes, with a focus on the regulation of beige adipocytes by other organs, tissues, and cells. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of inter-organ regulation of adipose tissue browning may provide an avenue for combating obesity and associated diseases.     

The diet and gut microflora influence the distribution of enteroendocrine cells in the rat intestine

Several functions of the gut are locally influenced by peptides and biogenic amines released from enteroendocrine cells. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the luminal stimulus of diet or microbial flora or diet-microbial interactions have an influence on the distribution of enteroendocrine cells along the crypt-surface axes of the small and large intestine. The effects of diet and indigenous flora were investigated by comparing the numbers of argyrophil and serotonin immunoreactive cells in the jejunum and colon of germ free and conventional rats fed either a purified diet containing fine ingredients or a commercial diet containing crude fibre of cereal origin. The effects of human flora were analysed in germ-free rats inoculated with human faecal organisms. 1. Feeding the commercial diet reduced the number of argyrophil endocrine cells in the jejunum and serotonin immunoreactive cells in the colon of gern-free animals but increased the serotonin immunoreactive cells in the colon of conventional animals. 2. The rat flora increased the serotonin immunoreactive cells in the colon of animals fed a commercial diet and decreased in those fed a purified diet. 3. Inculation of human flora increased the numbers of serotonin immunoreactive cells both in the jejunum and colon. The results provide evidence that the dietary changes and diet-microbial interactions can affect the regional number of enteroendocrine cells.     

Effect of niacin/nicotinamide deficiency on the diabetogenic effect of streptozotocin

Summary Weanling CD-1 mice were fed either a control diet or a diet deficient in niacin/nicotinamide for one month and then injected i.v. with 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, or 160 mg/kg streptozotocin. Mice on the deficient diet developed a higher incidence of diabetes and more severe hyperglycemia than those on the control diet.     

The expression of Sam68, a protein involved in insulin signal transduction,is enhanced by insulin stimulation

The role of Sam68, an RNA binding protein and putative substrate of the insulin receptor (IR) in insulin signaling was studied using CHO wild type (WT) cells, CHO cells overexpressing IR, and rat white adipocytes as a physiological system. In CHO-IR cells and adipocytes, Sam68 was tyrosine phosphorylated in response to insulin, and then associated with p85 phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase along with IRS-1. Sam68 was localized mainly in the nucleus of CHO-WT, and both in the nucleus and cytoplasm of CHO-IR cells, but only in the cytoplasm of rat white adipocytes. Insulin stimulation for 16 h enhanced the expression of Sam68 in rat adipocytes and CHO-IR cells. Moreover, CHO-IR cells expressed more Sam68 than CHO-WT, suggesting that overexpression of the IR is enough to induce the expression of Sam68. In summary, these results demonstrate that Sam68 works as a cytoplasmic docking protein which is recruited by IR signaling and whose expression is induced by insulin stimulation, suggesting a putative role for Sam68 in insulin signal transduction.     

Effect of niacin/nicotinamide deficiency on the diabetogenic effect of streptozotocin

Weanling CD-1 mice were fed either a control diet or a diet deficient in niacin/nicotinamide for one month and then injected i.v. with 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, or 160 mg/kg streptozotocin. Mice on the deficient diet developed a higher incidence of diabetes and more severe hyperglycemia than those on the control diet.     

Opposite actions of testosterone and progesterone on UCP1 mRNA expression in cultured brown adipocytes

The brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenic response to diet-induced obesity and cold has been found to be gender dependent. In the present work, we aimed to investigate the effects of the main physiological male and female sex hormones, i.e. testosterone, progesterone and 17-β-estradiol, on the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) – the main mediator of BAT thermogenesis – and on UCP2 and lipid accumulation in rodent brown adipocytes differentiated in culture. Testosterone-treated cells showed fewer and smaller lipid droplets than control cells and a dose-dependent inhibition of UCP1 mRNA expression, under adrenergic stimulation by norepinephrine (NE). These effects were reverted by the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide, suggesting they are dependent, at least in part, on the androgen receptor. Progesterone- and 17-β-estradiol-treated cells showed more and larger lipid droplets and progesterone stimulated NE-induced UCP1 mRNA expression at the lower concentration tested, but not at higher concentrations, suggesting that for brown adipocytes, this hormone is dose dependent. 17-β-Estradiol did not have any remarkable effect either on UCP1 or UCP2 mRNA expression. Interestingly, the specific progesterone receptor antagonist RU486 induced UCP1 and UCP2 mRNAs, including UCP1 mRNA expression in non-NE-treated brown adipocytes, suggesting a profound effect of this anti-progestagen on brown adipocyte thermogenic capacity. Thus, are conclude that testosterone, 17-β-estradiol, progesterone and RU486 have distinct actions on brown adipocytes, thus modulating UCP1 and UCP2 mRNA expression and/or lipid accumulation, and that sex hormones are factors that may explain in part the gender-dependent BAT thermogenic response. Received 24 June 2002; received after revision 20 August 2002; accepted 26 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author.     

The interrelationship between bone and fat: from cellular see-saw to endocrine reciprocity

The number of mature osteoblasts and marrow adipocytes in bone is influenced by the differentiation of the common mesenchymal progenitor cell towards one phenotype and away from the other. Consequently, factors which promote adipogenesis not only lead to fatty marrow but also inhibit osteoblastogenesis, resulting in decreased osteoblast numbers, diminished bone formation and, potentially, inadequate bone mass and osteoporosis. In addition to osteoblast and bone adipocyte numbers being influenced by this skewing of progenitor cell differentiation towards one phenotype, mature osteoblasts and adipocytes secrete factors which may evoke changes in the cell fate and function of each other. This review examines the endogenous factors, such as PPAR-γ2, Wnt, IGF-1, GH, FGF-2, oestrogen, the GP130 signalling cytokines, vitamin D and glucocorticoids, which regulate the selection between osteoblastogenesis and adipogenesis and the interrelationship between fat and bone. The role of adipokines on bone, such as adiponectin and leptin, as well as adipose-derived oestrogen, is reviewed and the role of bone as an energy regulating endocrine organ is discussed.     

A morphometric study of spermatogenesis in the testes of mice of a senescence accelerated strain

The morphometric parameters of spermatogenic cells in a mouse strain prone to accelerated senescence (SAM-P), a novel murine model of spontaneously promoted aging, were compared with those of a SAM resistant strain (SAM-R) after birth until 40 weeks (mean life span of SAM-P). A mixture of gonocytes and spermatogonia were present in the testis in 1-week-old mice, and no gonocytes were observed in 2-week-old mice. At 6 weeks of age, the absolute number of spermatogonia in SAM-P was 27% greater than that in SAM-R, whereas the cell number in 40-week-old SAM-P was 17% less than in SAM-R. Primary spermatocytes were first observed in 3-week-old animals, and the cell numbers in SAM-P at 3, 5 and 6 weeks were 78%, 31% and 25%, respectively, greater than in SAM-R, whereas the cell number in SAM-P at 40 weeks was 30% less than SAM-R. Round spermatids were first observed in all SAM-P at 4 weeks old, but 20% of SAM-r had no spermatids and the rest had only a few. At 5 and 6 weeks old, the absolute numbers of round spermatids in SAM-P was about 34% and 41%, respectively, greater than in SAM-R, whereas the cell number in 40-week-old SAM-P was about 34% less than SAM-R. These results indicate that testicular maturation begins at an earlier age in SAM-P than SAM-R. Furthermore, at the age of 40 weeks signs of testicular deterioration are evident in SAM-P mice only