title: Moderate caloric restriction, but not physiological hyperleptinemia per se, enhances mitochondrial oxidative capacity in rat liver and skeletal muscle--tissue-specific impact on tissue triglyceride content and AKT activation.
abstract: The study aimed at determining, in lean tissues from nonobese rats, whether physiological hyperleptinemia with leptin-induced reduced caloric intake and/or calorie restriction (CR) per se: 1) enhance mitochondrial-energy metabolism gene transcript levels and oxidative capacity; and 2) reduce triglyceride content. Liver and skeletal muscles were collected from 6-month-old Fischer 344 rats after 1-wk leptin sc infusion (0.4 mg/kg . d: leptin + approximately 3-fold leptinemia vs. ad libitum-fed control) or moderate CR (-26% of those fed ad libitum) in pair-fed animals (CR). After 1 wk: 1) leptin and CR comparably enhanced transcriptional expression of mixed muscle mitochondrial genes (P < 0.05 vs. control); 2) CR independently increased (P < 0.05 vs. leptin-control) hepatic mitochondrial-lipooxidative gene expression and oxidative capacity; 3) hepatic but not muscle mitochondrial effects of CR were associated (P < 0.01) with increased activated insulin signaling at AKT level (P < 0.05 vs. leptin-control); 4) liver and muscle triglyceride content were comparable in all groups. In additional experiments, assessing time course of posttranscriptional CR effects, 3-wk superimposable CR (P < 0.05): 1) increased both liver and muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity; and 2) selectively reduced muscle triglyceride content. Thus, in nonobese adult rat: 1) moderate CR induces early increments of mitochondrial-lipooxidative gene expression and time-dependent increments of oxidative capacity in liver and mixed muscle; 2) sustained moderate CR alters tissue lipid distribution reducing muscle but not liver triglycerides; 3) mitochondrial-lipid metabolism changes are tissue-specifically associated with hepatic AKT activation; 4) short-term physiological hyperleptinemia has no independent stimulatory effects on muscle and liver mitochondrial-lipooxidative gene expression. Increased lean tissue oxidative capacity could favor substrate oxidation over storage during reduced nutrient availability.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Medica, University of Trieste, Ospedale Cattinara, Strada di Fiume 447, 34100 Trieste, Italy. barazzon@units.it
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barazzoni
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanetti
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bosutti
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biolo
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vitali-Serdoz
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stebel
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guarnieri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D004435:Eating; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008931:Mitochondria, Muscle / Q000378:metabolism*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D014280:Triglycerides; C494920:Akt1 protein, rat; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt