Circadian Integration of Hepatic de Novo Lipogenesis and Peripheral Energy Substrates Utilization


Book Description

The liver maintains energy substrate homeostasis by synchronizing circadian or diurnal expression of metabolic genes with the feeding/fasting state. The activities of hepatic de novo lipogenic gene products peak during feeding, converting carbohydrates into fats that provide vital energy sources for peripheral tissues. Conversely, deregulated hepatic lipid synthesis leads to systemic metabolic dysfunction, establishing the importance of temporal regulation of fat synthesis/usage in metabolic homeostasis. Pharmacological activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [delta]/[beta] (PPAR[delta]/[beta]) improves glucose handling and systemic insulin sensitivity. However, the mechanisms of hepatic PPAR[delta] actions and the molecular pathways through which it is able to modulate global metabolic homeostasis remain unclear. Here we show that hepatic PPAR[delta] controls the diurnal expression of lipogenic genes in the dark/feeding cycle. Adenovirus mediated liver restricted activation of PPAR[delta] promotes glucose utilization in the liver and fat utilization in the muscle. Liver specific deletion of either PPAR[delta] or the PPAR[delta]-regulated lipogenic gene acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) reduces muscle fatty acid uptake. Unbiased metabolite profiling identifies 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (SOPC) as a serum lipid derived from the hepatic PPAR[delta]-ACC1 activity that reduces postprandial lipid levels and increases muscle fatty acid uptake. These findings reveal a regulatory mechanism that coordinates lipid synthesis and utilization in the liver-muscle axis, providing mechanistic insights into the hepatic regulation of systemic energy substrates homeostasis.




Innovative Medicine


Book Description

This book is devoted to innovative medicine, comprising the proceedings of the Uehara Memorial Foundation Symposium 2014. It remains extremely rare for the findings of basic research to be developed into clinical applications, and it takes a long time for the process to be achieved. The task of advancing the development of basic research into clinical reality lies with translational science, yet the field seems to struggle to find a way to move forward. To create innovative medical technology, many steps need to be taken: development and analysis of optimal animal models of human diseases, elucidation of genomic and epidemiological data, and establishment of “proof of concept”. There is also considerable demand for progress in drug research, new surgical procedures, and new clinical devices and equipment. While the original research target may be rare diseases, it is also important to apply those findings more broadly to common diseases. The book covers a wide range of topics and is organized into three complementary parts. The first part is basic research for innovative medicine, the second is translational research for innovative medicine, and the third is new technology for innovative medicine. This book helps to understand innovative medicine and to make progress in its realization.




Mechanisms of Insulin Action


Book Description

More than 18 million people in the United States have diabetes mellitus, and about 90% of these have the type 2 form of the disease. This book attempts to dissect the complexity of the molecular mechanisms of insulin action with a special emphasis on those features of the system that are subject to alteration in type 2 diabetes and other insulin resistant states. It explores insulin action at the most basic levels, through complex systems.




The Circadian Code


Book Description

When we eat may be as important as what we eat. Like most people, you probably wake up, get hungry for meals and doze off in bed around the same time every day. If you’ve ever experienced jet lag or pulled an all-nighter, you know that this schedule can easily be thrown off kilter. But for some people, that imbalance—difficulty sleeping at night, hunger at odd times, or sudden fatigue at noon—is a constant. If you're one of those people, Dr. Satchin Panda, one of the leading researchers on circadian rhythms, has a plan to reset your body clock. Beginning with an in-depth explanation of the circadian clock—why it’s important, how it works, and how to know it isn’t working—The Circadian Code outlines lifestyle changes to make to get back on track. It's a concrete plan to enhance weight loss, improve sleep, optimize exercise, and manage technology so that it doesn’t interfere with your body’s natural rhythm. Dr. Panda’s life-changing methods show you how to prevent and reverse ailments like diabetes, cancer, and dementia, as well as microbiome conditions like acid reflux, heartburn, and irritable bowel disease.







Sensing the Environment: Regulation of Local and Global Homeostasis by the Skin's Neuroendocrine System


Book Description

The skin, the body’s largest organ, is strategically located at the interface with the external environment where it detects, integrates and responds to a diverse range of stressors, including solar radiation. It has already been established that the skin is an important peripheral neuroendocrine-immune organ that is closely networked with central regulatory systems. These capabilities contribute to the maintenance of peripheral homeostasis. Specifically, epidermal and dermal cells produce and respond to classical stress neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and hormones, production which is stimulated by ultraviolet radiation (UVR), biological factors (infectious and non-infectious) and other physical and chemical agents. Examples of local biologically active products are cytokines, biogenic amines (catecholamines, histamine, serotonin and N-acetyl-serotonin), melatonin, acetylocholine, neuropeptides including pituitary (proopiomelanocortin-derived ACTH, b-endorphin or MSH peptides, thyroid stimulating hormone) and hypothalamic (corticotropin-releasing factor and related urocortins, thyroid-releasing hormone) hormones, as well as enkephalins and dynorphins, thyroid hormones, steroids (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, sex hormones, 7-δ steroids), secosteroids, opioids and endocannabinoids. The production of these molecules is hierarchical, organized along the algorithms of classical neuroendocrine axes such as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA), hypothalamic-thyroid axis (HPT), serotoninergic, melatoninergic, catecholaminergic, cholinergic, steroid/secosteroidogenic, opioid and endocannabinoid systems. Disruptions of these axes or of communication between them may lead to skin and/or systemic diseases. These local neuroendocrine networks also serve to limit the effect of noxious environmental agents to preserve local and consequently global homeostasis. Moreover, the skin-derived factors/systems can also activate cutaneous nerve endings to alert the brain to changes in the epidermal or dermal environments, or alternatively to activate other coordinating centers by direct (spinal cord) neurotransmission without brain involvement. Furthermore, rapid and reciprocal communications between epidermal and dermal and adnexal compartments are also mediated by neurotransmission including antidromic modes of conduction. Lastly, skin cells and the skin as an organ coordinate and/or regulate not only peripheral but also global homeostasis.




Pediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation


Book Description

This book is the first to provide balanced examination of both pediatric liver disease and liver transplantation – two topics that are inherently related, given that most chronic liver disorders eventually require organ replacement. The different forms of liver disease encountered in the pediatric age group are first discussed in a series of disease-specific chapters that have a reader-friendly, uniform structure covering pathophysiology, diagnostic and treatment algorithms, clinical cases, and transition to adult care. Key topics in the field of liver transplantation are then addressed. Examples include indications and contraindications, surgical techniques and complications, immunosuppression, in pediatric liver transplantation, acute and chronic rejection and allograft dysfunction, and CMV and EBV infection in transplant recipients, long-term graft injury and tolerance. A section on pediatric hepatology across the world includes chapters presenting the features and management of pediatric liver disease in South-America, Africa and Asia. A closing section considers what the future holds for pediatric liver disease and its management, including novel genetic testing, cell therapy and gene therapy. Pediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation will be of value for a range of practitioners, from residents making their first approach to pediatric liver disease through to specialists working in transplantation centers.




Liver Disease in Children


Book Description

Completely revised new edition of the premier reference on pediatric liver disease. Liver Disease in Children, 3rd Edition provides authoritative coverage of every aspect of liver disease affecting infants, children, and adolescents. The book offers an integrated approach to the science and clinical practice of pediatric hepatology and charts the substantial progress in understanding and treating these diseases. Chapters are written by international experts and address the unique pathophysiology, manifestations, and management of these disorders in the pediatric population. The third edition has been thoroughly updated and features new contributions on liver development, cholestatic and autoimmune disorders, fatty liver disease, and inborn errors of metabolism. With the continued evolution of pediatric hepatology as a discipline, this text remains an essential reference for all physicians involved in the care of children with liver disease.




Metabolism and Metabolomics of Liver in Health and Disease


Book Description

Women and men have probably never been concerned as much by their health as during this COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, lifestyle habits continue to be promoted as allies for daily prevention against diseases. This is valid also for metabolic diseases, among which many affect the liver and are risk factors for aggravating the disease course of COVID-19. In fact, liver diseases are currently a major global health problem. There is a huge range of liver diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic hepatic condition, which in some patients progresses to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, substantial efforts are being made to better understand NAFLD, especially, because there is no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmacological therapy. To explore this disease, metabolomics is the most recently developed omics technology after genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. Metabolomics is the large-scale analysis of molecules, known as metabolites that are intermediate or end products of metabolism found within cells, tissues, and biofluids. This technology has a very high potential to identify biomarker candidates for the future development of new therapeutics. The book features articles that address metabolomics technology and its use to document different liver functions and dysfunctions, with a major focus on NAFLD.




Jessica Antola


Book Description

Jessica Antola's first monograph is a vibrant journey through Sub-Saharan Africa. Traveling mostly by car, she captures the distinctive style and beauty of everyday life in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Togo. Her striking portraits, landscapes, and vignettes offer an intimate view of life lived in rural villages, big cities, and along the remote roadways between the two. Men dressed head to toe in elaborate African wax textiles share a motorcycle, ancestral spirits bridge earthly and supernatural worlds in masked dances, the rich red soil dusts the lush tropical jungle, a girl in an oversized straw hat steers her boat with a boldly patterned patchwork sail, and a gold jewelry-clad Kumasi King performs a warrior dance. Just as Antola is captivated by how people around the world express themselves in relation to their environments, so do these images reflect this: the astonishing variety of ways people create and define themselves daily, over and over again, through dress and ritual, work and play.