title: Altered pattern of cannabinoid type 1 receptor expression in adipose tissue of dysmetabolic and overweight patients.
abstract: In overweight patients (OW), the increased peripheral activity of the endocannabinoid system in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) may be mediated by cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor expression. We determined whether CB1 receptor splice variants and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in perirenal and subcutaneous adipose tissues are associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Gene expression with multiple-primers real-time polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan; Applied Biosystem, Weiterstadt, Germany) was performed to study VAT and paired subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) mRNA from 36 consecutive patients undergoing nephrectomy. Cannabinoid type 1A and CB1E mRNAs variants with the longer version of exon 4 were expressed. The CB1 expression in perirenal VAT significantly correlated with body mass index (BMI). Paired subcutaneous/perirenal samples from normal-weight patients (BMI < 25 kg/m(2)) showed higher CB1 expression in SAT (P = .002), whereas in OW (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2)), the higher CB1 expression was in VAT (P = .038). In unpaired samples, SAT of normal-weight patients had significantly higher CB1 mRNA levels compared with SAT of OW, whereas higher CB1 expression (P = .009) was found in VAT of OW (n = 25). Overweight patients with increased visceral CB1 expression had higher waist circumference (P < .01), insulin (P < .01), and homeostasis model assessment index (P < .01). In addition, patients with the MetS (n = 22) showed higher CB1 expression in perirenal adipose tissues (P = .007). Visceral adipose CB1 expression correlated with BMI. Overweight patients and those with MetS showed a CB1 expression pattern supporting a CB1-mediated overactivity of the endocannabinoid system in human VAT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ancona, Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy. r.sarzani@univpm.it
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarzani
authors.forename: Marica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bordicchia
authors.forename: Pierfrancesco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marcucci
authors.forename: Samuele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bedetta
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giovagnoli
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scappini
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Minardi
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Muzzonigro
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dessì-Fulgheri
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rappelli
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics; D050177:Overweight / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1