Recent items - Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care
Gut-brain cross-talk in appetite regulation
18/08/2010 14:15
Purpose of review: To review the role of gut hormones involved in appetite regulation and their potential in the treatment of obesity. Recent findings: The medical treatment of obesity has been fraught with challenges. With two centrally acting agents having been recently withdrawn from the market, new therapies are required. The gut hormones are especially promising therapeutic targets. This article looks at the interplay between gut and brain which mediates the regulation of appetite and energ [...]
18/08/2010 14:15
Purpose of review: To review the role of gut hormones involved in appetite regulation and their potential in the treatment of obesity. Recent findings: The medical treatment of obesity has been fraught with challenges. With two centrally acting agents having been recently withdrawn from the market, new therapies are required. The gut hormones are especially promising therapeutic targets. This article looks at the interplay between gut and brain which mediates the regulation of appetite and energ [...]
Measuring protein breakdown rate in individual proteins in vivo
18/08/2010 14:15
Purpose of review: To outline different approaches of how protein breakdown can be quantified and to present a new approach to determine the fractional breakdown rate of individual slow turnover proteins in vivo. Recent findings: None of the available methods for determining protein breakdown can be used to determine the breakdown rate of specific proteins and, therefore, do not keep up to the preceding methodological demands in physiological research. A newly developed approach to determine the [...]
18/08/2010 14:15
Purpose of review: To outline different approaches of how protein breakdown can be quantified and to present a new approach to determine the fractional breakdown rate of individual slow turnover proteins in vivo. Recent findings: None of the available methods for determining protein breakdown can be used to determine the breakdown rate of specific proteins and, therefore, do not keep up to the preceding methodological demands in physiological research. A newly developed approach to determine the [...]
Glucose metabolism in cancer cells
09/12/2009 10:09
Purpose of review: Cancer cells alter their metabolism in order to support their rapid proliferation and expansion across the body. In particular, tumor cells, rather than fueling glucose in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, generally use glucose for aerobic glycolysis. In this review, we discuss some of the mechanisms thought to be responsible for the acquisition of a glycolytic phenotype in cancer cells and how the switch towards glycolysis represents a selective growth advantage. Recent [...]
09/12/2009 10:09
Purpose of review: Cancer cells alter their metabolism in order to support their rapid proliferation and expansion across the body. In particular, tumor cells, rather than fueling glucose in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, generally use glucose for aerobic glycolysis. In this review, we discuss some of the mechanisms thought to be responsible for the acquisition of a glycolytic phenotype in cancer cells and how the switch towards glycolysis represents a selective growth advantage. Recent [...]
Antioxidants and glucose metabolism disorders
09/12/2009 10:09
Purpose of review: Recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress is a cornerstone of the metabolic mechanisms by which overfeeding leads to insulin resistance. This review is an update of the most recent arguments in favor of this theory and of the possible role of antioxidants. Recent findings: Reactive oxidative species (ROS) are produced by multiple pathways within the cell and are essential for many cellular functions. ROS production is balanced by enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant sys [...]
09/12/2009 10:09
Purpose of review: Recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress is a cornerstone of the metabolic mechanisms by which overfeeding leads to insulin resistance. This review is an update of the most recent arguments in favor of this theory and of the possible role of antioxidants. Recent findings: Reactive oxidative species (ROS) are produced by multiple pathways within the cell and are essential for many cellular functions. ROS production is balanced by enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant sys [...]
Corticosteroids and muscle wasting: role of transcription factors, nuclear cofactors, and hyperacetylation
12/08/2009 08:33
Purpose of review: The purpose of this review is to discuss novel insight into mechanisms of glucocorticoid-regulated muscle wasting, in particular the role of transcription factors and nuclear cofactors. In addition, novel strategies that may become useful in the treatment or prevention of glucocorticoid-induced muscle wasting are reviewed. Recent findings: Studies suggest that glucocorticoid-induced upregulation of the transcription factors Forkhead box O 1 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein [ [...]
12/08/2009 08:33
Purpose of review: The purpose of this review is to discuss novel insight into mechanisms of glucocorticoid-regulated muscle wasting, in particular the role of transcription factors and nuclear cofactors. In addition, novel strategies that may become useful in the treatment or prevention of glucocorticoid-induced muscle wasting are reviewed. Recent findings: Studies suggest that glucocorticoid-induced upregulation of the transcription factors Forkhead box O 1 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein [ [...]
Muscle insulin resistance: assault by lipids, cytokines and local macrophages
12/08/2009 08:33
Purpose of review: The present review outlines possible mechanisms by which high fatty acids, associated with high-fat diet and obesity, impose insulin resistance on glucose uptake into skeletal muscle. Recent findings: It is well established that muscle insulin resistance arises in conditions of high-fatty acid availability, and correlates with accumulation of triglycerides within skeletal muscle fibres. However, it is debated whether triglycerides or other lipid metabolites such as diacylglyce [...]
12/08/2009 08:33
Purpose of review: The present review outlines possible mechanisms by which high fatty acids, associated with high-fat diet and obesity, impose insulin resistance on glucose uptake into skeletal muscle. Recent findings: It is well established that muscle insulin resistance arises in conditions of high-fatty acid availability, and correlates with accumulation of triglycerides within skeletal muscle fibres. However, it is debated whether triglycerides or other lipid metabolites such as diacylglyce [...]