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Len Storlien

Publications and source records attributed to Len Storlien.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Dietary (n-3) fatty acids reduce plasma F2-isoprostanes but not prostaglandin F2alpha in healthy humans.

(n-3) Fatty acids are unsaturated and are therefore easily subject to oxidization; however, they have several beneficial health effects, which include protection against cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether (n-3) fatty acids, with a controlled fat quality in the background diet, affect nonenzymatic and enzymatic lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in humans. A total of 162 men and women in a multicenter study (The KANWU study) were randomly assigned to a diet containing a high proportion of saturated fatty acids or monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) for 3 mo. Within each diet group, there was a second random assignment to supplementation with fish-oil capsules [3.6 g (n-3) fatty acids/d] or placebo. Biomarkers of nonenzymatic and enzymatic lipid peroxidation in vivo were determined by measuring 8-iso-prostaglandin F(2alpha) (8-iso-PGF(2alpha)) and prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)) concentrations in plasma at baseline and after 3 mo. Antioxidant status was determined by measuring plasma antioxidant capacity with an enhanced chemiluminescence assay. The plasma 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) concentration was significantly decreased after 3 mo of supplementation with (n-3) fatty acids (P = 0.015), whereas the PGF(2alpha) concentration was not affected. The antioxidant status was not affected by supplementation of (n-3) fatty acids, but was improved by the background diet with a high proportion of MUFA. We conclude that supplementation with (n-3) fatty acids decreases nonenzymatic free radical-catalyzed isoprostane formation, but does not affect cyclooxygenase-mediated prostaglandin formation.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

Differential expression of dopamine D2 and D4 receptor and tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in mice prone, or resistant, to chronic high-fat diet-induced obesity.

The present study examined brain dopamine D2 and D4 receptor and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA expression in chronic high-fat diet-induced obese (cDIO) and obese-resistant (cDR) mice. Twenty-eight mice were fed a high-fat diet (HF: 40% of calories from fat) for 6 weeks and then classified as cDIO (n = 8) or cDR (n = 8) mice according to the highest and lowest body weight gainers, respectively. Seven mice were fed a low-fat diet (LF: 10% of calories from fat) and used as controls. After 20 weeks of feeding, visceral fat per gram of initial body weight was significantly higher in the cDIO group (ratio: 0.25, 0.09, and 0.04; P < 0.01 cDIO vs. cDR and LF, respectively). Using quantitative in situ hybridization techniques, the levels of D2 and D4 receptor and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNAs were measured in multiple brain sections. The cDIO mice had a significantly higher level of D2 receptor mRNA expression in the core of the nucleus accumbens (AcbC, +16%) and ventral parts of caudate putamen (CPu, 21% and 24%) compared to the cDR and LF mice. The levels of D2 receptor mRNA expression in the AcbC and ventromedial part of the CPu were positively related to the final body weight. This study is the first to systematically examine the D4 mRNA expression in the mouse brain using in situ hybridization method. D4 receptor mRNA expression in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and the ventral part of the lateral septal nucleus were also significantly higher in the cDIO mice compared to the cDR and LF mice (+31% and +60%; P < 0.05). TH mRNA expression was significantly higher in the ventral tegmental area (+17%, P </= 0.05) and locus caeruleus (+15%, P </= 0.05) of the cDIO mice compared to cDR mice. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated differentially regulated levels of D2 and D4 receptor and TH mRNA expression in specific brain regions of cDIO and cDR mice. It provides evidence that D4 receptors may play an important role influencing satiety via the mesohypothalamic pathway while the D2 receptor may regulate reward and motor centers via mesolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways. These findings contribute to the understanding of the role of these receptors in susceptibility, or resistance, to diet-induced obesity.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2004

5-HT2A/2C receptor and 5-HT transporter densities in mice prone or resistant to chronic high-fat diet-induced obesity: a quantitative autoradiography study.

The present study examined the density of 5-HT2A/2C receptors and 5-HT transporters in the brains of chronic high-fat diet-induced obese (cDIO) and obese-resistant (cDR) mice. Thirty-five male mice were used in this study. Twenty-eight mice were fed with a high-fat diet (40% of calories from fat) for 6 weeks and then classified as the cDIO (n=8) or cDR (n=8) mice according to the highest and lowest body weight gainers. Seven mice were placed on a low-fat diet (LF: 10% of calories from fat) and were used as controls. After 20 weeks of feeding, the sum of epididymal, perirenal, omental and inguinal fat masses was 9.3+/-0.3 g in the cDIO group versus 3.1+/-0.5 g in the cDR (p<0.005) and 1.5+/-0.1 g in the LF (p<0.001) groups. Using quantitative autoradiography techniques, the binding site densities of 5-HT2A/2C receptors and 5-HT transporters were measured in multiple brain sections of mice from the three groups. Most regions did not differ between groups but, importantly, the cDIO mice had a significantly higher 5-HT2A/2C binding density in the anterior olfactory nucleus and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) compared to the cDR and LF mice (+39% and +47%, p=0.003 and 0.045, respectively), whereas the latter two groups did not differ. The density of 5-HT2A/2C receptors in the VMH was associated with total amount of fat mass (r=0.617, p=0.032). On the other hand, the cDR mice had significantly lower 5-HT transporter binding than the cDIO and LF mice, respectively, in the nucleus accumbens (-44%, -38%, both p<0.02), central nucleus of the amygdaloid nucleus (-40%, -44%, p=0.003 and 0.009), and olfactory tubercle nucleus (-42%, -42%, both p=0.03). In conclusion, this study has demonstrated differentially regulated levels of the 5-HT2A/2C receptor and 5-HT transporter in specific brain regions of the cDIO and cDR mice. It provides neural anatomical bases by which genetic variability in 5-HT2A/2C receptors and 5-HT transporter may influence satiety and sensory aspects of energy balance.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2004

Metabolic flexibility.

Human physiology needs to be well adapted to cope with major discontinuities in both the supply of and demand for energy. This adaptability requires 'a clear capacity to utilize lipid and carbohydrate fuels and to transition between them' (Kelley et al. 2002b). Such capacities characterize the healthy state and can be termed 'metabolic flexibility'. However, increasing evidence points to metabolic inflexibility as a key dysfunction of the cluster of disease states encompassed by the term 'metabolic syndrome'. In obese and diabetic individuals this inflexibility is manifest in a range of metabolic pathways and tissues including: (1) failure of cephalic-phase insulin secretion (impaired early-phase prandial insulin secretion concomitant with failure to suppress hepatic glucose production and NEFA efflux from adipose tissue); (2) failure of skeletal muscle to appropriately move between use of lipid in the fasting state and use of carbohydrate in the insulin-stimulated prandial state; (3) impaired transition from fatty acid efflux to storage in response to a meal. Finally, it is increasingly clear that reduced capacity for fuel usage in, for example, skeletal muscle, as indicated by reduced mitochondrial size and density, is characteristic of the metabolic syndrome state and a fundamental component of metabolic inflexibility. Key questions that remain are how metabolic flexibility is lost in obese and diabetic individuals and by what means it may be regained.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2003

Altered levels of POMC, AgRP and MC4-R mRNA expression in the hypothalamus and other parts of the limbic system of mice prone or resistant to chronic high-energy diet-induced obesity.

The melanocortinergic system plays an important role in promoting negative energy balance and preventing excessive fat deposition. This study has investigated the levels of mRNA expression of proopiomelanocortin (POMC), agouti-related protein (AgRP) and the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4-R) in diet-induced obese (DIO) and diet-resistant (DR) mice. Thirty C57 mice were used in this study. Twenty-four mice were fed with a high-fat diet (HF: 40% of calories from fat, 20% from saturated fat) for 4 weeks and then classified as DIO and DR according to their body weight gain. Six mice were placed on a low-fat diet (LF: 10% of calories from fat, 1% from saturated fat) and were used as controls. After 22 weeks of feeding, visceral fat deposits were more than twice as heavy in the DIO mice as in the DR and LF mice, while the latter two groups had no significant difference. Using quantitative in situ hybridization techniques, this study found that the DIO mice had a significantly lower level of Arc POMC (-29%) and AgRP (-31%) mRNA expression than the DR and LF mice, respectively. The mice on high-fat diets had higher levels of AgRP mRNA expression in the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BST), and ventral part of the lateral septal nucleus (LSV) than the LF mice. Furthermore, the DIO mice had a 40% higher level of MC4-R mRNA expression in the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) and posterodorsal part of the medial amygdaloid nucleus (MePD) than the LF mice. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that differential expression of POMC, AgRP and MC4-R mRNA levels exists in DIO, DR and LF mice. These differences were shown to occur in the specific nuclei of the hypothalamus and other parts of the limbic system. These findings may assist in understanding the involvement of the melanocortinergic system in the regulation of body weight via the autonomic and limbic systems.

Agouti-Related Protein↗
PubMed2003

Impact of the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the PPAR-gamma2 gene on serum triacylglycerol response to n-3 fatty acid supplementation.

Serum lipid responses to dietary modification are partly determined by genetic factors. The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma2 (PPAR-gamma2) gene on serum lipid and lipoprotein responses to n-3 fatty acid supplementation. A total of 76 men and 74 women (age 49+/-8 years, body mass index 26.5+/-3.0 kg/m(2)) participated in a controlled multi-center study. Subjects were randomly assigned to consume either fish oil supplements (3.6g n-3 fatty acids/day containing 2.4 g of EPA and DHA) or placebo capsules containing olive oil for 3 months. At baseline, the Pro12Ala polymorphism was not associated with serum total and lipoprotein lipid concentrations or lipoprotein lipase activity in the fasting state. After the 3-month study period, carriers of the Ala12 allele presented a greater decrease in serum triacylglycerol concentration in response to n-3 fatty acid supplementation than did subjects with the Pro12Pro genotype when the total dietary fat intake was below 37 E% (p=0.003) or the intake of saturated fatty acids was below 10 E% (p=0.006). Changes in serum total cholesterol, serum LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol concentrations were similar among the genotypes in the n-3 fatty acid supplementation group and in the placebo group. In conclusion, the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the PPAR-gamma2 gene may modify the inter-individual variability in serum triacylglycerol response to n-3 fatty acid supplementation.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Muscle triglyceride and insulin resistance.

Skeletal muscle contains the majority of the body's glycogen stores and a similar amount of readily accessible energy as intramyocellular triglyceride (imTG). While a number of factors have been considered to contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance (IR) in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), this review will focus on the potential role of skeletal muscle triglyceride content. In obesity and type 2 DM, there is an increased content of lipid within and around muscle fibers. Changes in muscle in fuel partitioning of lipid, between oxidation and storage of fat calories, almost certainly contribute to accumulation of imTG and to the pathogenesis of both obesity and type 2 DM. In metabolic health, skeletal muscle physiology is characterized by the capacity to utilize either lipid or carbohydrate fuels, and to effectively transition between these fuels. We will review recent findings that indicate that in type 2 DM and obesity, skeletal muscle manifests inflexibility in the transition between lipid and carbohydrate fuels. This inflexibility in fuel selection by skeletal muscle appears to be related to the accumulation of imTG and is an important aspect of IR of skeletal muscle in obesity and type 2 DM.

Adipose Tissue↗