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Effects of obesity and weight loss on the expression of proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism in human adipose tissue

International Journal of Obesity volume 26, pages 1379–1385 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Disturbances in adipocyte lipolysis in obesity may contribute to elevated circulating non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations and insulin resistance. In experimental models, NEFA metabolism is influenced by adipocyte proteins such as adipocyte and keratinocyte lipid binding proteins (aP2/ALBP and mal1/KLBP) and fatty acid translocase (CD36). We investigated the effect of obesity and weight loss on the expression of these proteins in human subcutaneous adipose tissue.

STUDY DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Subcutaneous adipose tissue was obtained from 12 obese (body mass index (BMI) 42.4±1.6 kg/m2) and 12 lean (23.4±0.6 kg/m2) subjects. The obese subjects underwent gastric banding and biopsies were taken again after 2 y following a significant weight reduction (BMI 32.8±1.4 kg/m2). Adipose tissue proteins were quantified by Western blotting.

RESULTS: Differential expression of ALBP, KLBP and CD36 was observed in lean and weight-reduced subjects compared with obese individuals. This resulted in a significantly lower ALBP/KLBP ratio in lean and weight-reduced individuals compared to obese subjects. Furthermore there was a significant influence of gender on this ratio. Moreover, the commonly used internal standard protein actin was expressed significantly higher in lean compared to obese individuals.

CONCLUSION: The relative content of ALBP and KLBP in human adipose tissue changes with obesity, weight loss and gender indicating differential regulation. Differing responses in the expression patterns of adipose tissue proteins capable of binding NEFAs in response to weight changes suggest a potential importance in the development of obesity-associated complications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Swedish National Network and Graduate School for Cardiovascular Research, the Swedish Medical Research Council (projects 8691 and 1034), the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, the Professor Nanna Svartz Foundation, the A˚ke Wiberg Foundation, the Tore Nilsson Foundation, the Nilsson-Ehle Foundation, the Fredrik and Ingrid Thuring Foundation, the Gamla Tja¨narinnor Foundation, the So¨derberg Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Swedish Diabetes Association, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, the Stiftelsen fo¨r Vetenskapligt Arbete inom Diabetologi and Svenska La¨karsa¨llskapet. GSH is supported by grants from NIH and Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atherosclerosis Research Unit, King Gustaf V Research Institute, Karolinska Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    RM Fisher

  2. Department of Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    J Hoffstedt & M Rydén

  3. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    GS Hotamisligil

  4. Department of Surgery, Huddinge University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    A Thörne

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Correspondence to RM Fisher.

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Fisher, R., Hoffstedt, J., Hotamisligil, G. et al. Effects of obesity and weight loss on the expression of proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism in human adipose tissue. Int J Obes 26, 1379–1385 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802110

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