The Journal of nutrition
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The Journal of nutrition · Nov 2002
Adaptive changes in adipocyte gene expression differ in AKR/J and SWR/J mice during diet-induced obesity.
Obesity-prone (AKR/J) and obesity-resistant (SWR/J) mice were weaned onto low (LF) or high fat (HF) diets to identify adaptive changes in adipocyte gene expression that are associated with differences between the strains in fat deposition. Food consumption was monitored at weekly intervals and all mice were evaluated after consuming their respective diets for 4 wk for analysis of mRNA levels of selected metabolic genes. Despite similar food consumption, body weight and fat deposition were significantly greater in AKR/J than in SWR/J mice, and this difference was greatly accentuated by the HF diet. ⋯ UCP2 mRNA was fourfold higher in WAT from AKR/J compared with SWR/J mice and increased by an additional twofold in WAT from AKR/J mice fed the HF diet. UCP2 was unaffected by diet in SWR/J mice. These studies show that the diet-induced obesity of AKR/J mice is characterized by increased metabolic efficiency and is associated with changes in adipocyte gene expression that limit the adaptive thermogenic response to increased energy density.
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The Journal of nutrition · Nov 2002
Glyceride stearic acid content and structure affect the energy available to growing rats.
To better understand the relative absorption of 18:0, specific structured triglycerides (STG) with varied ratios of 18:0 and short-chain organic acids (2:0, 3:0, 4:0) were compared with naturally occurring 18:0 in cocoa butter and to other mono- and diglycerides (DGs) containing 18:0. A bioassay for available fat energy was developed for growing Sprague-Dawley rats fed reduced energy from a control diet containing an American Heart Association (AHA) fat blend to generate 60 or 80% normal growth. The resulting standard growth curve was applied to the test fats, including cocoa butter and six glycerides, which were blended 3:1 with the AHA blend (to ensure EFA sufficiency) and pair-fed to match intake of control rats (AHA diet, 80% normal growth). ⋯ Compared with monoglyceride-18:0, available energy was increased or decreased when short-chain organic acids (SCOA) were added to form triglycerides, depending on the addition of butyrate or acetate, respectively. The different fat sources altered the available energy without apparent changes in lipoproteins or body composition. Thus, the reduced energy available from a glyceride containing 18:0 is determined by its total 18:0 and reflects the mono- or dilong chain character of the glyceride, its content of SCOA and triglyceride structure or organization per se.