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Endocrine
Published in: Endocrine 3/2017

01-03-2017 | Original Article

AT1 receptor antagonist induces thermogenic beige adipocytes in the inguinal white adipose tissue of obese mice

Authors: Francielle Graus-Nunes, Tamiris Lima Rachid, Felipe de Oliveira Santos, Sandra Barbosa-da-Silva, Vanessa Souza-Mello

Published in: Endocrine | Issue 3/2017

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate whether losartan is able to induce beige adipocytes formation, focusing on the thermogenic gene expression and adipocyte remodeling in the subcutaneous white adipose tissue of diet-induced obese mice.

Methods

Male C57BL/6 mice received a control diet (10% energy as lipids) or a high-fat diet (50% energy as lipids) for 10 weeks, followed by a 5-week treatment with losartan: control group, control-losartan group (10 mg/Kg/day), high-fat group and high-fat-losartan group (10 mg/Kg/day). Biochemical, morphometrical, stereological and molecular approaches were used to evaluate the outcomes.

Results

The high-fat diet elicited overweight, insulin resistance and adipocyte hypertrophy in the high-fat group, all of which losartan rescued in the high-fat-losartan group. These effects comply with the induction of beige adipocytes within the inguinal fat pads in high-fat-losartan group as they exhibited the greatest energy expenditure among the groups along with the presence uncoupling protein 1 positive multilocular adipocytes with enhanced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha and PR domain containing 16 mRNA levels, indicating a significant potential for mitochondrial biogenesis and adaptive thermogenesis.

Conclusions

Our results show compelling evidence that losartan countered diet-induced obesity in mice by enhancing energy expenditure through beige adipocytes induction. Reduced body mass, increased insulin sensitivity, decreased adipocyte size and marked expression of uncoupling protein 1 by ectopic multilocular adipocytes support these findings. The use of losartan as a coadjutant medicine to tackle obesity and its related disorders merits further investigation.
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Metadata
Title
AT1 receptor antagonist induces thermogenic beige adipocytes in the inguinal white adipose tissue of obese mice
Authors
Francielle Graus-Nunes
Tamiris Lima Rachid
Felipe de Oliveira Santos
Sandra Barbosa-da-Silva
Vanessa Souza-Mello
Publication date
01-03-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Endocrine / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 1355-008X
Electronic ISSN: 1559-0100
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-016-1213-1

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