Abstract
Background
Lipoic acid (LA) is an antioxidant with antiobesity and antidiabetic properties. Adiponectin is an adipokine with potent anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing properties. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key enzyme involved in cellular energy homeostasis. Activation of AMPK has been considered as a target to reverse the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Aim of the study
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of LA on AMPK phosphorylation and adiponectin production in adipose tissue of low-fat (control diet) and high-fat diet-fed rats.
Results
Dietary supplementation with LA reduced body weight and adiposity in control and high-fat-fed rats. LA also reduced basal hyperinsulinemia as well as the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) levels, an index of insulin resistance, in high-fat-fed rats, which was in part independent of their food intake lowering actions. Furthermore, AMPK phosphorylation was increased in white adipose tissue (WAT) from LA-treated rats as compared with pair-fed animals. Dietary supplementation with LA also upregulated adiponectin gene expression in WAT, while a negative correlation between adiposity-corrected adiponectin levels and HOMA index was found. Our present data suggest that the ability of LA supplementation to prevent insulin resistance in high-fat diet-fed rats might be related in part to the stimulation of AMPK and adiponectin in WAT.
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Abbreviations
- AMPK:
-
AMP-activated protein kinase
- HOMA:
-
Homeostasis model assessment
- LA:
-
Lipoic acid
- LASY:
-
Lipoic acid synthase
- TZDs:
-
Thiazolidinediones
- WAT:
-
White adipose tissue
- BAT:
-
Brown adipose tissue
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Acknowledgments
This work has been supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain (AGL 2009-10873/ALI and AGL 2006-04716/ALI) and by Línea Especial: “Nutrición, Obesidad y Salud” (University of Navarra). PL Prieto-Hontoria was supported by a research grant by Danone Institute, Spain.
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Prieto-Hontoria, P.L., Pérez-Matute, P., Fernández-Galilea, M. et al. Effects of lipoic acid on AMPK and adiponectin in adipose tissue of low- and high-fat-fed rats. Eur J Nutr 52, 779–787 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0384-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0384-7