Study shows direct link between leptin and obesity-related cardiovascular diseaseNovember 11, 2008Obese people who don't have high cholesterol or diabetes might think they're healthy - despite the extra pounds. But new Ohio University research suggests that obesity raises levels of the hormone leptin, which can be as big a threat to the cardiovascular system as cholesterol. Tadeusz Malinski and colleagues have published the first study to directly observe how high levels of leptin can create a cascade of harmful biochemical changes in the body. Leptin, a peptide hormone produced by fat cells, helps regulate body weight by acting on the hypothalamus to suppress appetite and burn stored fat. But an excess of fat in the body can produce too much of the hormone, which, in turn, can lower levels of bioavailable nitric oxide. Nitric oxide, produced by the endothelial cells, supports healthy cardiovascular function by relaxing blood vessels and maintaining good blood flow, explained Malinski, who has developed special nanosensors that can detect levels of the substance. In addition, Malinski found that the high levels of leptin stimulate greater production of superoxide. It reacts with nitric oxide to create peroxynitrite, a very toxic molecule that can impact DNA replication and damage endothelial cells in the vascular system. "The nanosensors provide a more direct method of determining what processes are occurring in the body. Previously, researchers didn't have a clear idea of how this works," said Malinski, the Marvin and Ann Dilley White Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University. The study, which examined the process in single human cells and also obese mice models, was published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology. Though obesity is closely associated with heart failure, scientists haven't fully understood the relationship, Malinski noted. The new study suggests that increased levels of leptin alone can cause long-term cardiovascular damage similar to hypertension, arthrosclerosis, diabetes and other disorders. "Now that we know the exact molecules responsible for the damage, we can design a method to mollify the effect of obesity on the cardiovascular system," Malinski said. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Marvin White Endowment and the Biomimetic Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Program at Ohio University. Co-authors on the study were Mykhaylo Korda and Ruslan Kubant, both research associates in the Malinski lab at Ohio University. Ohio University |
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| Related Leptin Current Events and Leptin News Articles Scientists find obesity alone does not cause arthritis in animals The link between obesity and osteoarthritis may be more than just the wear and tear on the skeleton caused by added weight. Researchers identify new brain pathway for regulating weight and bone mass Contrary to the prevailing view, the hormone leptin, which is critical for normal food intake and metabolism, appears to regulate bone mass and suppress appetite by acting mainly through serotonin pathways in the brain. Fish fend off invading germs with an initial response similar to the one found in people Since the human response to infection is highly complex, research to understand how people fight infection is facilitated by studying how similar processes occur in simpler organisms. Ice cream may target the brain before your hips, UT Southwestern study suggests Blame your brain for sabotaging your efforts to get back on track after splurging on an extra scoop of ice cream or that second burger during Friday night's football game. New information about how fat increases blood pressure could help identify those at risk Some of the first information about how fat causes hypertension have been identified by researchers who say the findings should one day help identify which obese people - and maybe some thin ones too - are at risk for hypertension and which drugs would work best for them. Caltech researchers pinpoint neurons that control obesity in fruit flies A team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have pinpointed two groups of neurons in fruit fly brains that have the ability to sense and manipulate the fly's fat stores in much the same way as do neurons in the mammalian brain. Scarring key to link between obesity and diabetes The team, in collaboration with University Hospital Aintree, the University of Warwick and researchers in Sweden, found that people classified as obese and those with pre-diabetes have raised levels of a protein called SPARC, that can cause tissue scarring. Obesity increases risk of prostate cancer recurrence for both blacks and whites A new look at a large database of prostate cancer patients shows that obesity plays no favorites when it comes to increasing the risk of recurrence after surgery: Being way overweight is equally bad for blacks and whites, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Study further expands understanding of leptin's role in brain neurocircuitry In investigating the complex neurocircuitry behind weight gain and glucose control, scientists have known that the hormone leptin plays a key role in the process. Sleep may be factor in weight control Could sleep be a critical component to maintaining a healthy body weight? More Leptin Current Events and Leptin News Articles |
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