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Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 8086

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Prof. Dr. Melania Manco

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Unit of Endocrinology, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: obesity; insulin resistance and secretion; type 2 diabetes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High-caloric diets and sedentary lifestyles have been identified as the main causes of epidemic obesity.

Excess weight represents a condition of meta-inflammation that boosts the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities that are linked to obesity. Dyslipidemia, metabolic fatty liver disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis are among the main abnormalities. Obesity, very importantly, is associated with impaired immune response, altered hormonal milieu, and sensitivity to hormone action at different tissue and body levels. Functional foods and bioactive compounds, from traditional and not traditional diets, may contribute to weight management and obesity prevention through a number of different molecular mechanisms and physiological pathways, but more importantly, they can powerfully reduce the burden of associated morbidities. We welcome studies in humans investigating possible mechanisms of action of single and identifiable bioactive compounds and functional foods. We are especially interested in compounds that are available from traditional diets and may have effects on satiety and energy expenditure, lipid absorption, fatty acids beta oxidation, liver metabolism, stimulation of thermogenesis, gut microbiota and permeability, immune system boosting, and hormone action. Studies investigating the interaction of compounds and genetics in relation to obesity and associated morbidities are also welcome.

This Special Issue aims to collect robust scientific evidence to support the use of identified bioactive compounds and functional foods in clinical practice to prevent and reduce the burden of overweight and associated morbidities. Both original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Melania Manco
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

functional food
bioactive compound
obesity
cardiovascular disease
metabolic syndrome
dyslipidemia
fatty liver
precision nutrition
traditional foods
nutraceuticals

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3520 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hepatocyte-Specific Fads1 Overexpression Attenuates Western Diet-Induced Metabolic Phenotypes in a Rat Model

by Dushan T. Ghooray, Manman Xu, Hongxue Shi, Craig J. McClain and Ming Song

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4836; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms25094836 - 29 Apr 2024

Viewed by 166

Abstract

Fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) is a rate-limiting enzyme in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) synthesis. Reduced activity of FADS1 was observed in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). The aim of this study was to determine whether adeno-associated virus serotype 8 (AAV8) mediated hepatocyte-specific overexpression of Fads1 (AAV8-Fads1) attenuates western diet-induced metabolic phenotypes in a rat model. Male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a chow diet, or low-fat high-fructose (LFHFr) or high-fat high-fructose diet (HFHFr) ad libitum for 8 weeks. Metabolic phenotypes were evaluated at the endpoint. AAV8-Fads1 injection restored hepatic FADS1 protein levels in both LFHFr and HFHFr-fed rats. While AAV8-Fads1 injection led to improved glucose tolerance and insulin signaling in LFHFr-fed rats, it significantly reduced plasma triglyceride (by ~50%) and hepatic cholesterol levels (by ~25%) in HFHFr-fed rats. Hepatic lipidomics analysis showed that FADS1 activity was rescued by AAV8-FADS1 in HFHFr-fed rats, as shown by the restored arachidonic acid (AA)/dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA) ratio, and that was associated with reduced monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA). Our data suggest that the beneficial role of AAV8-Fads1 is likely mediated by the inhibition of fatty acid re-esterification. FADS1 is a promising therapeutic target for MASLD in a diet-dependent manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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13 pages, 2612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

AGER-1 Long Non-Coding RNA Levels Correlate with the Expression of the Advanced Glycosylation End-Product Receptor, a Regulator of the Inflammatory Response in Visceral Adipose Tissue of Women with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

by Klaudia Gutowska, Krzysztof Koźniewski, Michał Wąsowski, Marta Izabela Jonas, Zbigniew Bartoszewicz, Wojciech Lisik, Maurycy Jonas, Artur Binda, Paweł Jaworski, Wiesław Tarnowski, Bartłomiej Noszczyk, Monika Puzianowska-Kuźnicka, Krzysztof Czajkowski and Alina Kuryłowicz

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(24), 17447; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms242417447 - 13 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1027

Abstract

The advanced glycosylation end-product receptor (AGER) is involved in the development of metabolic inflammation and related complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Tissue expression of the AGER gene (AGER) is regulated by epigenetic mediators, including a long non-coding RNA AGER-1 (lncAGER-1). This study aimed to investigate whether human obesity and T2DM are associated with an altered expression of AGER and lncAGER-1 in adipose tissue and, if so, whether these changes affect the local inflammatory milieu. The expression of genes encoding AGER, selected adipokines, and lncAGER-1 was assessed using real-time PCR in visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue. VAT and SAT samples were obtained from 62 obese (BMI > 40 kg/m²; N = 24 diabetic) and 20 normal weight (BMI = 20–24.9 kg/m²) women, while a further 15 SAT samples were obtained from patients who were 18 to 24 months post-bariatric surgery. Tissue concentrations of adipokines were measured at the protein level using an ELISA-based method. Obesity was associated with increased AGER mRNA levels in SAT compared to normal weight status (p = 0.04) and surgical weight loss led to their significant decrease compared to pre-surgery levels (p = 0.01). Stratification by diabetic status revealed that AGER mRNA levels in VAT were higher in diabetic compared to non-diabetic women (p = 0.018). Elevated AGER mRNA levels in VAT of obese diabetic patients correlated with lncAGER-1 (p = 0.04, r_s = 0.487) and with interleukin 1β (p = 0.008, r_s = 0.525) and resistin (p = 0.004, r_s = 0.6) mRNA concentrations. In conclusion, obesity in women is associated with increased expression of AGER in SAT, while T2DM is associated with increased AGER mRNA levels and pro-inflammatory adipokines in VAT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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14 pages, 1422 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low Levels of Serum Total Vitamin B12 Are Associated with Worse Metabolic Phenotype in a Large Population of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults, from Underweight to Severe Obesity

by Alessia Aureli, Rosanna Recupero, Michela Mariani, Melania Manco, Francesco Carlomagno, Sarah Bocchini, Mirella Nicodemo, Maria Rosaria Marchili, Stefano Cianfarani, Marco Cappa and Danilo Fintini

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(23), 16588; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms242316588 - 22 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 945

Abstract

Vitamin B12 (or cobalamin) is an essential vitamin for DNA synthesis, fatty acid and protein metabolism as well as other metabolic pathways fundamental to the integrity of cells and tissues in humans. It is derived from the diet and mostly stored in the liver. Its deficiency has been associated with metabolic derangements, i.e., obesity, glucose intolerance, increased lipogenesis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and steatohepatitis (MASH). However, data with regard to body weight across the whole spectrum (from underweight to severe obesity) in children and young individuals are scarce. The present study aims to describe the association between serum total vitamin B12 and body mass index (BMI) ranging from underweight to severe obesity in a large population of children, adolescents and young adults. This study also investigates associations with visceral adiposity, glucose and lipid metabolism and liver dysfunction. A cross-sectional, single-centre study was conducted at the Paediatrics and Endocrinology units of the ”Bambino Gesù Children Hospital”, a tertiary referral institution for eating disorders. Clinical charts were reviewed and 601 patients aged from 5 to 25 years were enrolled in order to analyse anthropometric, auxological, clinical, biochemical and liver ultrasound data using robust statistical approaches. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders. A reduction in serum total B12 levels was associated with a linear increase in body weight, as expressed by WHO BMI SDS (r = −0.31, p < 0.001, BCa 95% −0.38, −0.24). Lower B12 levels were associated with higher waist circumference but only in pubertal girls (r = −0.33, p = 0.008, BCa 95% −0.53, −0.11). Hepatic insulin resistance was higher in males with lower B12 levels (B = −0.003 (−0.007, −0.0001), p = 0.039), but not in females, whereas whole-body insulin resistance was unaffected. Serum lipid profiles (total, HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides) were not influenced by serum cobalamin levels. However, lower cobalamin levels were associated with higher grading of ultrasound-scored hepatic steatosis (p_trend = 0.035). Lastly, both AST and ALT showed a significant and direct correlation with total B12 levels in underweight (r = 0.22 and 0.24, p = 0.002 and <0.001, respectively) and severely obese subjects (r = 0.24 and 0.32, p = 0.002 and <0.001). In conclusion lower vitamin B12 levels are associated with higher body weight, adiposity and with worse metabolic health in a large population of children, adolescents and young adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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13 pages, 2560 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Omega-3 Rich High-Fat Diet on Markers of Tissue Lipid Metabolism in Glucocorticoid-Treated Mice

by Wangkuk Son, Katie Brown, Aaron Persinger, Ashley Pryke, Jason Lin, Zereque Powell, Noah Wallace, Marie van der Merwe and Melissa Puppa

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(14), 11492; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms241411492 - 15 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1129

Abstract

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are some of the most widely prescribed therapies for treating numerous inflammatory diseases and multiple cancer types. With chronic use, GCs’ therapeutic benefits are concurrent with deleterious metabolic side effects, which worsen when combined with a high-fat diet (HFD). One characteristic of the common Western HFD is the presence of high omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and a deficiency in omega-3 PUFAs. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether fat composition resulting from HFD affects glucocorticoid-induced alterations in lipid-handling by the liver and skeletal muscle. Male wild-type C57BL/6 mice were randomized into two groups: n-6 (45% fat 177.5 g lard) and n-3 (45% fat 177.5 g Menhaden oil). After 4 weeks on their diets, groups were divided to receive either daily injections of dexamethasone (3 mg/kg/day) or sterile PBS for 1 week while continuing diets. The n-3 HFD diet attenuated adipose and hepatic fatty accumulation and prevented GC-induced increases in liver lipid metabolism markers Cd36 and Fabp. N-3 HFD had little effect on markers of lipid metabolism in oxidative and glycolytic skeletal muscle and was unable to attenuate GC-induced gene expression in the muscle. The present study’s result demonstrated that the change of fat composition in HFD could beneficially alter the fatty acid accumulation and associated lipid metabolism markers in mice treated with dexamethasone. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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19 pages, 1739 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Modulation of Inflammation and Physical Function by Combined Probiotics, Omega-3 Supplementation and Vitamin D Supplementation in Overweight/Obese Patients with Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

by Lena Kopp, Anna Schweinlin, Lina Tingö, Ashley N. Hutchinson, Viktoria Feit, Tabea Jähnichen, Katja Lehnert, Walter Vetter, Andreas Rings, Morten G. Jensen, Robert J. Brummer and Stephan C. Bischoff

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8567; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24108567 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2464

Abstract

Obesity is characterized by low-grade inflammation and increased gut permeability. Here, we aim to evaluate the effect of a nutritional supplement on these parameters in subjects with overweight and obesity. A double-blinded, randomized clinical trial was conducted in 76 adults with overweight or obesity (BMI 28 to 40) and low-grade inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) between 2 and 10 mg/L). The intervention consisted of a daily intake of a multi-strain probiotic of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, 640 mg of omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs), and 200 IU of vitamin D (n = 37) or placebo (n = 39), administered for 8 weeks. hs-CRP levels did not change post-intervention, other than an unexpected slight increase observed in the treatment group. Interleukin (IL)-6 levels decreased in the treatment group (p = 0.018). The plasma fatty acid (FA) levels of the arachidonic acid (AA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio and n-6/n-3 ratio (p < 0.001) decreased, and physical function and mobility improved in the treatment group (p = 0.006). The results suggest that hs-CRP may not be the most useful inflammatory marker, but probiotics, n-3 FAs, and vitamin D, as non-pharmaceutical supplements, may exert modest effects on inflammation, plasma FA levels, and physical function in patients with overweight and obesity and associated low-grade inflammation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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Review

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32 pages, 3555 KiB

Open AccessReview

Unveiling the MUFA–Cancer Connection: Insights from Endogenous and Exogenous Perspectives

by Zhiqiang Guo, Karl-Frédérik Bergeron, Marine Lingrand and Catherine Mounier

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(12), 9921; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms24129921 - 08 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1742

Abstract

Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) have been the subject of extensive research in the field of cancer due to their potential role in its prevention and treatment. MUFAs can be consumed through the diet or endogenously biosynthesized. Stearoyl-CoA desaturases (SCDs) are key enzymes involved in the endogenous synthesis of MUFAs, and their expression and activity have been found to be increased in various types of cancer. In addition, diets rich in MUFAs have been associated with cancer risk in epidemiological studies for certain types of carcinomas. This review provides an overview of the state-of-the-art literature on the associations between MUFA metabolism and cancer development and progression from human, animal, and cellular studies. We discuss the impact of MUFAs on cancer development, including their effects on cancer cell growth, migration, survival, and cell signaling pathways, to provide new insights on the role of MUFAs in cancer biology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome)

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