title: Central vaspin administration acutely reduces food intake and has sustained blood glucose-lowering effects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vaspin (visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin) was first identified as an adipokine in a rat model of type 2 diabetes, in which it is predominantly secreted from visceral adipose tissue. Serum concentrations of vaspin show a food intake-related diurnal variation. We therefore tested the hypothesis that vaspin plays a role in the regulation of food intake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vaspin levels in the hypothalamus and human stomach were determined by western blotting. The cerebrospinal fluid concentration of vaspin was measured in five healthy volunteers using an ELISA. Fed 11-week-old female db/db mice were given intraperitoneal injections of 1 mg/kg body weight of vaspin (n = 6) or saline (n = 6) on experimental days 1, 3 and 4. Changes in food intake and fed plasma glucose concentrations were determined after one intracerebroventricular administration of either 1 μg vaspin or artificial cerebrospinal fluid into 11-week-old female db/db (n = 8) and C57BL/6 mice (n = 8) up to 6 days after injection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We detected vaspin in the hypothalamus of db/db and C57BL/6 mice and in the cerebrospinal fluid of healthy individuals. Both peripheral and central vaspin administration decrease food intake in obese db/db and lean C57BL/6 mice. In db/db mice, vaspin treatment is associated with sustained glucose-lowering effects for at least 6 days after injection. In addition, we demonstrated expression of the gene encoding vaspin in the gastric mucosa in humans, and found that this was subject to regional variations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest a previously unrecognised role of vaspin in the regulation of food intake. We postulate that vaspin inhibits a protease that degrades an anti-orexigenic factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Liebigstr. 20, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Klöting
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Heiker
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fasshauer
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Schön
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stumvoll
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Beck-Sickinger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blüher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015843:Serpins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; C507339:SERPINA12 protein, human; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; D015843:Serpins