Identification of a possible role for atrial natriuretic peptide in MDMA-induced hyperthermia

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) induces thermogenesis in a mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3-dependent manner. There is evidence that this hyperthermia is mediated in part by the lipolytic release of free fatty acids, that subsequently activate uncoupling protein 3 in skeletal muscle mitochondria. We hypothesize that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a strong lipolytic mediator, may contribute to the induction and maintenance of MDMA-induced thermogenesis. The specific aims of this study were to (1) determine if ANP is released following MDMA administration, and (2) use the ANP receptor antagonist, Anantin, to ascertain the role of ANP in MDMA-induced hyperthermia. ANP levels were measured in plasma at baseline, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min following MDMA (40 mg/kg, sc) administration in 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats. A robust increase in ANP was seen within 10 min of MDMA administration. ANP levels returned to baseline at 20 min and then gradually rose over the 60 min monitoring period. The administration of Anantin (40 mg, ip), 15 min before and after MDMA, significantly attenuated the MDMA-induced hyperthermia. We conclude that ANP signaling contributes to the hyperthermia induced by MDMA.     

氩激光治疗中心性浆液性脉络膜视网膜病变疗效观察

目的：观察氩离子激光治疗中心性浆液性脉络膜视网膜病变的疗效。方法：对89例（93只眼）的中浆病人行氩激光治疗,根据眼底荧光造影检查,喷出型者36只眼,圆点扩大型者57只眼。结果：93只眼均达到临床治愈,其中激光一次治愈91只眼,二次治愈2只眼,无并发症发生。结论：氩激光是治疗中心性浆液性脉络膜视网膜病变安全有效的方法。     

Liver mitochondrial function and redox status in an experimental model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by monosodium L-glutamate in rats

The purpose of this work was to determine if mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Using a model of obesity induced by the neonatal treatment of rats with monosodium l-glutamate (MSG), several parameters of liver mitochondrial function and their impact on liver redox status were evaluated. Specifically, fatty acid β-oxidation, oxidative phosphorylation and Ca²⁺-induced mitochondrial permeability transition were assessed in isolated liver mitochondria, and reduced glutathione (GSH), linked thiol contents and the activities of several enzymes involved in the control of redox status were measured in the liver homogenate. Our results demonstrate that liver mitochondria from MSG-obese rats exhibit a higher β-oxidation capacity and an increased capacity for oxidising succinate, without loss in the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation. Also, liver mitochondria from obese rats were less susceptible to the permeability transition pore (PTP) opening induced by 1.0 μM CaCl₂. Cellular levels of GSH were unaffected in the livers from the MSG-obese rats, whereas reduced linked thiol contents were increased. The activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase were increased, while catalase activity was unaffected and superoxide dismutase activity was reduced in the livers from the MSG-obese rats. In this model of obesity, liver fat accumulation is not a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction. The enhanced glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity observed in the livers of MSG-obese rats could be associated with liver fat accumulation and likely plays a central role in the mitochondrial defence against oxidative stress.     

Abnormal face identity coding in the middle fusiform gyrus of two brain-damaged prosopagnosic patients

We report a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation study of two well-described patients, DF and PS, who present face identity recognition impairments (prosopagnosia) following brain-damage. Comparing faces to non-face objects elicited activation in all visual areas of the cortical face processing network that were spared subsequent to brain damage. The common brain lesion in the two patients was in the right inferior occipital cortex, in the territory of the right “occipital face area” (‘OFA’), which strengthens the critical role of this region in processing faces. Despite the lesion to the right ‘OFA’, there was normal range of sensitivity to faces in the right “fusiform face area” (‘FFA’) in both patients, supporting a non-hierarchical model of face processing at the cortical level. At the same time, however, sensitivity to individual face representations, as indicated by release from adaptation to identity, was abnormal in the right ‘FFA’ of both patients. This suggests that the right ‘OFA’ is necessary to individualize faces, perhaps through reentrant interactions with other cortical face sensitive areas. The lateral occipital area (LO) is damaged bilaterally in patient DF, who also shows visual object agnosia. However, in patient PS, in whom LO was spared, sensitivity to individual representations of non-face objects was still found in this region, as in the normal brain, consistent with her preserved object recognition abilities. Taken together, these observations, which fruitfully combine functional imaging and neuropsychology, place strong constraints on the possible functional organization of the cortical areas mediating face processing in the human brain.     

Free fatty acids have more potent effects on gastric emptying, gut hormones, and appetite than triacylglycerides

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The effects of fat on gastric emptying (GE), gut hormones, and energy intake are dependent on digestion to free fatty acids (FFAs). In animals, small intestinal oleic acid inhibits energy intake more potently than the triacylglyceride (TG) triolein, but there is limited information about the comparative effects of FFA and TG in human beings. We compared the effects of FFA and TG on GE, gut hormone secretion, appetite, and energy intake in healthy males. METHODS: Nine men (age, 23 +/- 2 y; body mass index, 22 +/- 1 kg/m(2)) were studied on 3 occasions to evaluate the effects of (1) 40 g oleic acid (FFA, 1830 kJ), (2) 40 g macadamia oil (TG, 1856 kJ; both 600-mL oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with 4% milk protein and labeled with 15 MBq (123)I), or (3) 600 mL 4% milk protein (control, 352 kJ), administered intragastrically, on GE, plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) and peptide-YY (PYY) levels, appetite perceptions, and subsequent energy intake. RESULTS: GE of FFA was much slower than that of TG (P < .05), with greater retention of FFA, than TG, in the proximal stomach (P < .001). Hunger was less (P < .05), and fullness was greater (P < .05), after FFA when compared with control and TG. Increases in plasma CCK and PYY levels were greater after FFA than TG or control (P < .05). Energy intake tended to be less after FFA compared with TG (control, 4754 +/- 610 kJ; TG, 5463 +/- 662 kJ; FFA, 4199 +/- 410 kJ). CONCLUSIONS: FFAs empty from the stomach more slowly, but stimulate CCK and PYY and suppress appetite more potently than TG in healthy human beings.     

老龄大鼠肝脏和骨骼肌胰岛素受体底物-1及磷酸化蛋白激酶B的表达

目的 探讨老龄对胰岛素受体底物-1(IRS-1)/磷脂酰肌醇3激酶(PI3K)/蛋白激酶B (PKB, p-Akt)在肝脏和骨骼肌中表达的影响,为老年糖尿病早期干预方法提供实验依据. 方法 3种不同月龄SD大鼠(6、12、20～24月龄),腹腔麻醉后抽心血查血糖、血脂、游离脂肪酸(FFA);分离肝脏、骨骼肌,免疫组化观察IRS-1与p-Akt在不同月龄大鼠肝脏和骨骼肌中的表达. 结果 20～24月龄鼠血浆中FFA水平高于6月龄大鼠[(419.94±93.93) vs (256.22±73.93 ) mmol/L, P<0.05];但空腹血糖及血脂水平与其它月龄大鼠相当;在肝脏或骨骼肌均未发现IRS-1表达水平的显著变化(P>0.05);p-Akt在肝细胞中的表达减少,与6月龄和12月龄组相比差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);而在骨骼肌细胞中,3组动物p-Akt表达无明显差异. 结论 FFA水平增高是自然衰老大鼠胰岛素抵抗的显著特征,与此相关的PI3K/Akt信号通路障碍早于血糖异常出现;Akt 的磷酸化障碍可能是早期干预的靶点.Akt 的磷酸化障碍主要在肝细胞中发现,肝脏可能是衰老相关胰岛素信号通路异常的主要部位.     

Voluntary and involuntary attention affect face discrimination differently

Do voluntary (endogenous) and involuntary (exogenous) attention have the same perceptual consequences? Here we used fMRI to examine activity in the fusiform face area (FFA--a region in ventral visual cortex responsive to faces) and frontal-parietal areas (dorsal regions involved in spatial attention) under voluntary and involuntary spatial cueing conditions. The trial and stimulus parameters were identical for both cueing conditions. However, the cue predicted the location of an upcoming target face in the voluntary condition but was nonpredictive in the involuntary condition. The predictable cue condition led to increased activity in the FFA compared to the nonpredictable cue condition. These results show that voluntary attention leads to more activity in areas of the brain associated with face processing than involuntary attention, and they are consistent with differential behavioral effects of attention on recognition-related processes.     

Chitooligosaccharide ameliorates diet-induced obesity in mice and affects adipose gene expression involved in adipogenesis and inflammation

Chitooligosaccharide (CO) has been reported to have potential antiobestic effects in a few studies, but the antiobesity properties of CO and its related mechanisms in models of dietary obesity remain unclear. We investigated the effect of CO on body weight gain, size of adipocytes, adipokines, and lipid profiles in high-fat (HF) diet-induced obese mice and on the gene expression in adipose tissue using a complementary DNA microarray approach to test the hypothesis that CO supplementation would alleviate HF diet-induced obesity by the alteration of adipose tissue-specific gene expression. Male C57BL/6N mice were fed a normal diet (control), HF diet, or CO-supplemented HF diet (1% or 3%) for 5 months. Compared with the HF diet mice, mice fed the 3% CO-supplemented diet gained 15% less weight but did not display any change in food and energy intake. Chitooligosaccharide supplementation markedly improved serum and hepatic lipid profiles. Histologic examination showed that epididymal adipocyte size was smaller in mice fed the HF + 3% CO. Microarray analysis showed that dietary CO supplementation modulated adipogenesis-related genes such as matrix metallopeptidases 3, 12, 13, and 14; tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1; and cathepsin k in the adipose tissues. Twenty-five percent of the CO-responsive genes identified are involved in immune responses including the inflammatory response and cytokine production. These results suggest that CO supplementation may help ameliorate HF diet-induced weight gain and improve serum and liver lipid profile abnormalities, which are associated, at least in part, with altered adipose tissue gene expression involved in adipogenesis and inflammation.