Rapid enhancement of acyl-coa synthetase, lpl and glut 4 mrnas in
adipose tissues of vmh rats.
Shimomura, Iichiro, Masahiko Takahashi, Katsuto Tokunaga, Yoshiaki
Keno, Tadashi Nakamura, Shizuya Yamashita, Kaoru Takemura, Tokuo
Yamamoto, Tohru Funahashi, and Yuji Matsuzawa.
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka University Medical
School, Suita, Osaka 565, Japan, Gene Research Center, Tohoku
University, Sendai, Miyagi 981, Japan
APStracts 3:0039E, 1996.
Obesity is frequently accompanied by metabolic and cardiovascular
complications. The accumulation of intra-abdominal visceral fat has
been shown to be more closely related to various complications of
obesity than that of subcutaneous fat. To elucidate the metabolic
characteristics of visceral fat during fat accumulation, we examined
the changes of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) mRNA abundance and its
activity, glucose transporter (Glut) 4, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and
very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) receptor mRNA abundances in
mesenteric and subcutaneous fat in early stages of ventromedial
hypothalamus (VMH)-lesioned rats. ACS activity increased to 4.9-fold
in the mesenteric fat on the 1st day, remaining unchanged in the
subcutaneous fat. ACS, Glut 4, and LPL mRNA levels were all increased
in both fat tissues of VMH rats. The relative increase of mRNAs of
them in VMH Day 1 was greater in the mesenteric fat, suggesting the
mesenteric fat shows rapid response during fat accumulation. VLDL
-receptor mRNA levels showed no significant change in either fat
tissue. We conclude that ACS, Glut 4 and LPL may contribute to fat
accumulation at the gene expression level from a very early stage
during the development of obesity.
Received 14 August 1995; accepted in final form 5 January 1996.
APS Manuscript Number E391-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Endocrinol. Metab.).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 13 March 96