Combination therapy with PPARgamma and PPARalpha agonists increases glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in db/db mice.
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Although peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma agonists ameliorate insulin resistance, they sometimes cause body weight gain, and the effect of PPAR agonists on insulin secretion is unclear. We evaluated the effects of combination therapy with a PPARgamma agonist, pioglitazone, and a PPARalpha agonist, bezafibrate, and a dual agonist, KRP-297, for 4 wk in male C57BL/6J mice and db/db mice, and we investigated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) by in situ pancreatic perfusion. Body weight gain in db/db mice was less with KRP-297 treatment than with pioglitazone or pioglitazone + bezafibrate treatment. Plasma glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and nonesterified fatty acid levels were elevated in untreated db/db mice compared with untreated C57BL/6J mice, and these parameters were significantly ameliorated in the PPARgamma agonist-treated groups. Also, PPARgamma agonists ameliorated the diminished GSIS and insulin content, and they preserved insulin and GLUT2 staining in db/db mice. GSIS was further increased by PPARgamma and -alpha agonists. We conclude that combination therapy with PPARgamma and PPARalpha agonists may be more useful with respect to body weight and pancreatic GSIS in type 2 diabetes with obesity. (+info)
LPS-induced neutrophilic inflammation and Bcl-2 expression in metaplastic mucous cells.
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Our previous studies show that Bcl-2, a regulator of apoptosis, may be involved in the reduction of mucous cell metaplasia (MCM) during recovery from inflammatory responses. The present study was to determine whether neutrophilic inflammation mediates Bcl-2 expression in mucous cells. Rats were intratracheally instilled with 50-1000 microg of LPS. The number of neutrophils recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) increased with the dose of LPS, and the percentage of Bcl-2-expressing cells increased with the numbers of neutrophils in the BAL. Depletion of neutrophils did not reduce MCM, but the percentage of Bcl-2-positive cells increased 1.8-fold in neutrophil-depleted compared with controls. Injection of rats with bezafibrate, an inducer of cytochrome P-450, doubled the number of neutrophils in the BAL, decreased MCM twofold compared with vehicle-injected controls, and reduced Bcl-2 expression. Bcl-2 mRNA levels decreased in a tracheal epithelial cell line treated with bezafibrate. These data demonstrate that Bcl-2 expression is independent of the number of neutrophils in the BAL and that bezafibrate may directly reduce Bcl-2 expression in epithelial cells. (+info)
Bezafibrate improves hypertension and insulin sensitivity in humans.
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We examined cellular membrane fatty acid composition and insulin sensitivity in patients with mild essential hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and investigated whether bezafibrate, a lipid-lowering drug, could improve elevated blood pressure and insulin sensitivity in these subjects by ameliorating cellular membrane fatty acid composition. Twenty-seven subjects were recruited. Twelve men with mild essential hypertension [systolic blood pressure (SBP) between 140 mmHg and 160 mmHg] and hypertriglyceridemia (plasma triglyceride concentration over 150 mg/dl) were designated the HL group. Fifteen men with mild essential hypertension and normotriglyceridemia (plasma triglyceride concentration below 150 mg/dl) were designated the NL group. Subjects in the HL group were given bezafibrate 400 mg/dl and those in the NL group were given placebo for 3 months. Bezafibrate significantly reduced SBP (140 +/- 2.6 to 131.8 +/- 2.6 mmHg, mean +/- SEM), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (87.8 +/- 2.0 to 82.8 +/- 2.6 mmHg), fasting plasma triglyceride concentration (225.5 +/- 23.5 to 102.9 +/- 10.9 mg/dl), fasting plasma insulin concentration (9.6 +/- 0.8 to 7.1 +/- 0.8 microU/ml), and homeostasis model assessment scores (HOMA-R, 2.4 +/- 0.2 to 1.7 +/- 0.2), and significantly improved the insulin sensitivity index (56.0 +/- 3.0 to 70.7 +/- 4.8 mg x l2/mmol x mU x min) in the HL group. Regarding erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition, bezafibrate reduced the percentages of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and increased the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Plasma triglyceride concentrations were positively correlated with HOMA-R (r = 0.50, p < 0.01) and SFA (r = 0.39, p < 0.05), and negatively correlated with PUFA (r = -0.45, p < 0.05) before administration of placebo or bezafibrate. In conclusion, an improvement of hyperlipidemia by bezafibrate may be attributed to reduction of blood pressure and amelioration of insulin sensitivity. Abnormalities in membrane lipid composition may play an important role in these metabolic disorders. (+info)
Decreased PLTP mass but elevated PLTP activity linked to insulin resistance in HTG: effects of bezafibrate therapy.
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Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is associated with insulin resistance, increased cholesteryl ester transfer (CET), and low HDL cholesterol. Phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) may be involved in these relationships. Associations between CET, lipids, insulin resistance, CETP and PLTP activities, and PLTP mass were investigated in 18 HTG patients and 20 controls. Effects of 6 weeks of bezafibrate treatment were studied in HTG patients. HTG patients had higher serum triglycerides, insulin resistance, free fatty acid (FFA), and CET, lower levels of HDL cholesterol (-44%) and PLTP mass (-54%), and higher CETP (+20%) and PLTP activity (+48%) than controls. Bezafibrate reduced triglycerides, CET (-37%), insulin resistance (-53%), FFA (-48%), CETP activity (-12%), PLTP activity (-8%), and increased HDL cholesterol (+27%), whereas PLTP mass remained unchanged. Regression analysis showed a positive contribution of PLTP mass (P = 0.001) but not of PLTP activity to HDL cholesterol, whereas insulin resistance positively contributed to PLTP activity (P < 0.01). Bezafibrate-induced change in CET and HDL cholesterol correlated with changes in CETP activity and FFAs, but not with change in PLTP activity. Bezafibrate-induced change in PLTP activity correlated with change in FFAs (r = 0.455, P = 0.058). We propose that elevated PLTP activity in HTG is related to insulin resistance and not to increased PLTP mass. Bezafibrate-induced diminished insulin resistance is associated with a reduction of CET and PLTP activity. (+info)
Bezafibrate is a dual ligand for PPARalpha and PPARbeta: studies using null mice.
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Bezafibrate is a known activator of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) that can activate both PPARalpha and PPARbeta. To determine the role(s) of these receptors in mediating the biological effects of this chemical, the effect of bezafibrate was examined in PPARalpha-null and PPARbeta-null mice. Wild-type, PPARalpha-null, or PPARbeta-null mice were fed either a control diet or one containing 0.5% bezafibrate for 10 days. Bezafibrate feeding caused a significant increase in liver weight in wild-type and PPARbeta-null mice compared to controls, while liver weight was unchanged in bezafibrate-fed PPARalpha-null mice. Gonadal adipose stores were significantly smaller in wild-type and PPARbeta-null mice fed bezafibrate than in controls, and this effect was not found in similarly fed PPARalpha-null mice. Analysis of liver, white adipose tissue, and intestinal mRNAs showed that bezafibrate caused similar changes of mRNAs encoding lipid metabolizing enzymes in wild-type and PPARbeta-null mice compared to controls. Interestingly, in PPARalpha-null mice, bezafibrate also induced several mRNAs previously thought to be solely controlled by PPARalpha, showing that the effects of this drug are not exclusively modulated by this PPAR isoform. Western blot analysis of liver protein was consistent with changes in mRNA expression showing that the alterations in mRNA expression correlate with protein expression in this tissue. Results from these studies demonstrate that the effect of bezafibrate is mediated in large part by PPARalpha, although some changes in gene expression are dependent on PPARbeta. In contrast to other PPARalpha ligands such as WY-14,643, induction of some target genes by bezafibrate can also be modulated in the absence of a functional PPARalpha. (+info)
Fibrates and statins rapidly and synergistically induce pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 mRNA in the liver and muscles of mice.
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We previously identified pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) mRNA as a most rapidly induced mRNA by fibrates and suggested the possibility that the coupled induction of PDK4 and reduction of serum triglyceride and fatty acid levels can cause protein degradation in muscles. To investigate whether the drugs that are known to have a risk of rhabdomyolysis induce PDK4 mRNA in skeletal muscle, the effects of statins and new quinolon anti-bacterial drugs on the expression levels of the mRNA were examined using mice and cultured cells. Several statins and new quinolon anti-bacterial drugs solely induced PDK4 mRNA in the muscle as efficiently as fibrates and at least some combinations were synergistic. The present results suggest that induction of PDK4 mRNA is involved in the drug induced acute rhabdomyolysis when the muscle is restricted to use fatty acids as a major energy source. (+info)
Relationship between peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR alpha and PPAR gamma) and endothelium-dependent relaxation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
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(1) The aim of the present study was to investigate the causal relationship between peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and endothelium-dependent relaxation in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. (2) Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation was significantly weaker in diabetic rats than in age-matched controls. The decreased relaxation in diabetes was improved by the chronic administration of bezafibrate (30 mg kg-1, p.o., 4 weeks). (3) The expressions of the mRNAs for PPARalpha and PPARgamma were significantly decreased in STZ-induced diabetic rats (compared with the controls) and this decrease was restored partially, but not completely, by the chronic administration of bezafibrate. (4) Superoxide dismutase activity in the aorta was not significantly different between diabetic rats and bezafibrate-treated diabetic rats. (5) The expression of the mRNA for the p22phox subunit of NAD(P)H oxidase was significantly higher in diabetics than in controls, but it was lower in bezafibrate-treated diabetic rats than in nontreated diabetic rats. Although the expression of the mRNA for prepro ET-1 (ppET-1) was markedly increased in diabetic rats (compared with controls), this increase was prevented to a significant extent by the chronic administration of bezafibrate. (6) These results suggest that downregulations of PPARalpha and PPARgamma may lead to an increased expression of ppET-1 mRNA in diabetic states and this increment may trigger endothelial dysfunction. (+info)
Concomitant suppression of hyperlipidemia and intestinal polyp formation in Apc-deficient mice by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ligands.
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Epidemiological studies have shown a positive association of colon cancer with hyperlipidemia. Furthermore, signaling generated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha and gamma ligands, suggested to be candidate tumor preventive agents, has been shown to lower serum triglyceride levels. In the present study, we assessed hyperlipidemia in Apc-deficient mice, model animals for human familial adenomatous polyposis, and examined the effects of pioglitazone and bezafibrate, respectively, PPARgamma and PPARalpha agonists, on both hyperlipidemia and intestinal polyposis. Serum lipid levels in Apc(1309) mice and Min mice from 6 to 15 weeks of age were measured. Although serum levels of triglyceride and cholesterol were low in both Apc(1309) and wild-type mice at 6 weeks, triglycerides were elevated 10-fold in Apc(1309) mice by the age of 12 weeks but not in their wild-type counterparts. Cholesterol was also increased significantly, and marked centrilobular-restricted steatosis was observed in the livers of aged Apc(1309) mice. Similar findings were observed for Min mice at 15 weeks of age. Moreover, lipoprotein lipase mRNA levels in the liver and small intestine of Apc(1309) and Min mice were demonstrated to be lower than those in wild-type mice. Treatment of Apc(1309) mice with 100 and 200 ppm pioglitazone or bezafibrate for 6 weeks from 6 weeks of age caused dose-dependent reduction in serum triglycerides and cholesterol, along with reduction in the numbers of intestinal polyps to 67% of the control value. The present study clearly demonstrated a hyperlipidemic state in Apc gene-deficient mice and a potential of PPARalpha and PPARgamma ligands to suppress both hyperlipidemia and polyp formation. Hyperlipidemia in these mice may thus be associated with their intestinal lesion development. (+info)