title: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a potential source of biomarkers to test the efficacy of weight-loss strategies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) constitute an easily obtainable blood cell fraction useful in nutrition and obesity studies. Our aim was to study the potential use of PBMC to reflect metabolic recovery associated with weight loss in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  By real-time PCR, the fasting response of key energy homeostatic genes in PBMC samples of control and cafeteria-obese rats and of rats fed a control diet after the intake of a cafeteria diet (post-cafeteria model) was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fasting caused decreased mRNA expression of lipogenic (Fasn and Srebp1a) and adipogenic (Pparγ) genes in PBMC, whereas it increased the expression of the key beta-oxidation gene Cpt1a and the orexigenic gene Npy. Fasting response of the genes studied was impaired in cafeteria-obese animals but was recovered in post-cafeteria rats, which showed a significant body weight decrease and normalization of adipose and metabolic parameters. Npy expression analyzed in PBMC has been revealed to be especially useful as a marker of fasting sensitivity, as its fasting response is not affected by the age of the animals and it is recovered even after shorter time of exposure to a balanced diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PBMC reflect homeostatic balance recovery associated with weight loss in obese animals, when reverting from a hyperlipidic to a control balanced diet.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Nutrition and Biotechnology (LBNB), Universitat de les Illes Balears and CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Bàrbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reynés
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Díaz-Rúa
authors.forename: Margalida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cifre
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: Andreu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palou
mesh_terms: D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D050154:Adiposity / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D050155:Lipogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000235:genetics; D061217:Weight Reduction Programs
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D047495:PPAR gamma; D051780:Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1