Lipid Metabolism with Obesity
Grant
Overview
abstract
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Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, the prevalence of obesity is increasing at epidemic rates. Therefore, it is important to determine the underlining causes of obesity and determine appropriate interventions. Skeletal muscle from morbidly obese (MO) individuals is characterized by the preferential partitioning of lipids towards storage rather than oxidation. An accumulation of intramuscular lipids has been reported with obesity and linked with insulin resistance. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the mechanism of altered lipid partitioning in skeletal muscle of MO individuals. The peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PP AR) family of transcription factors have been identified as regulators of fuel partitioning. Recent evidence indicates PP AR may be the primary regulator of lipid oxidation in human skeletal muscle. In response to increased fatty acid availability )i.e., high in fat feeding) the "normal" response for skeletal muscle is to increase fatty acid oxidation and gene expression of various metabolic genes responsible or lipid metabolism. However, this response is blunted in muscle from MO individuals. This investigation will examine if decreased activation of PP AR contributes to lipid accumulation and reduced fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle of MO subjects.
date/time interval
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October 2005 - September 2006
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