scholarly journals The Role of Spermidine Synthase (SpdS) and Spermine Synthase (Sms) in Regulating Triglyceride Storage in Drosophila

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Tahj S. Morales ◽  
Erik C. Avis ◽  
Elise K. Paskowski ◽  
Hamza Shabar ◽  
Shannon L. Nowotarski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Metabolic Effects ◽  
Polyamine Metabolism ◽  
Spermidine Synthase ◽  
Spermine Synthase ◽  
Body Tissues ◽  
Fat Bodies

Polyamines are small organic cations that are important for several biological processes such as cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. The dysregulation of intracellular polyamines is often associated with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and developmental disorders. Although polyamine metabolism has been well studied, the effects of key enzymes in the polyamine pathway on lipid metabolism are not well understood. Here, we determined metabolic effects resulting from the absence of spermidine synthase (SpdS) and spermine synthase (Sms) in Drosophila. While SpdS mutants developed normally and accumulated triglycerides, Sms mutants had reduced viability and stored less triglyceride than the controls. Interestingly, when decreasing SpdS and Sms, specifically in the fat body, triglyceride storage increased. While there was no difference in triglycerides stored in heads, thoraxes and abdomen fat bodies, abdomen fat body DNA content increased, and protein/DNA decreased in both SpdS- and Sms-RNAi flies, suggesting that fat body-specific knockdown of SpdS and Sms causes the production of smaller fat body cells and triglycerides to accumulate in non-fat body tissues of the abdomen. Together, these data provide support for the role that polyamines play in the regulation of metabolism and can help enhance our understanding of polyamine function in metabolic diseases.

scholarly journals SMOX and SMS Responsible for Polyamine Metabolism Enhanced Adipogenesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Yi ◽  
Ping Wu ◽  
Jianyun Liu ◽  
Ying Gong ◽  
Xiaoyuan Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Metabolism ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Adipocyte Differentiation ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Polyamine Metabolism ◽  
Spermine Synthase ◽  
Oxidation Reduction

Abstract Adipose tissue regulating carbohydrate and lipid metabolism had been extensively focused. However, the regulation of amino acid metabolism during adipocyte differentiation remained detailed. Here we applied RNA-Seq technique to establish the transcriptional landscapes of amino acid metabolism during adipogenesis. We totally screened 17 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for amino acid metabolism at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days during adipogenesis from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), especially with 13 up-regulated genes most prevalent in our adipogenic anecdote. Small molecule metabolic process was the most enriched biological process following by oxidation-reduction process. Interestingly, the enforced expression of SMOX (spermine oxidase) responsible for polyamine metabolism in arginine and proline metabolism pathway facilitated adipogenesis more than SMS (spermine synthase) using RNA interference (RNAi). The established potential regulatory network further suggested that adipocyte differentiation tightly related with the basal metabolism of amino acid metabolism with the partially confirmed SMS-SMOX-PPARG signaling pathway. It would highlight the effect of adipogenesis on amino acid metabolism in adipocyte biology and provide the potential treatment strategy for the study of fat metabolic diseases.

scholarly journals Extreme longevity of highly fecund termite queens achieved by mitochondrial and insulin upregulation without harmful lipid signatures or accumulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Séité ◽  
Mark C Harrison ◽  
David Sillam-Dussés ◽  
Roland Lupoli ◽  
Tom J. M. Van Dooren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Stability ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Reproductive Life ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Extreme Longevity ◽  
Specific Lipid

Eusocial termite queens achieve nearly maximal fertility throughout their extremely long life without apparent signs of aging. Termites represent, therefore, an ideal model for aging research. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying their long reproductive life, we carried out transcriptomic, lipidomic and metabolomic analyses on fat bodies of sterile short lived workers, long-lived kings and five stages spanning twenty years of adult queen maturation. In mature reproductives, genes supporting a robust mitochondrial functioning or associated with genome stability were upregulated. In most organisms, insulin signaling increases fertility but decreases lifespan, often accompanied by harmful lipid signatures. Our findings suggest that an upregulation of insulin-like peptide (Ilp9) in the fat body of termite queens is accompanied by a specific lipid metabolism, limiting fat storage, thus sustaining both high fertility and maintaining extreme lifespan. Our results highlight potential molecular targets for research into aging-related metabolic diseases linked to the accumulation of excess fat.

‘I saw a knock-out’: Fatness, (In)visibility, and Desire in Shallow Hal

Somatechnics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Wykes
Keyword(s):  
Female Body ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Western Culture ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Dominant Meaning ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Sexual Body

When the Farrelly brothers' movie Shallow Hal (2001) was released, one reviewer suggested that the film ‘might have been more honest if [it] had simply made Hal have a thing about fat women’ ( Kerr 2002 : 44). In this paper, I argue that Kerr hits the mark but misses the point. While the film's treatment of fat is undoubtedly problematic, I propose a ‘queer’ reading of the film, borrowing the idea of ‘double coding’ to show a text about desire for fat (female) bodies. I am not, however, seeking to position Shallow Hal as a fat-positive text; rather, I use it as a starting point to explore the legibility of the fat female body as a sexual body. In contemporary mainstream Western culture, fat is regarded as the antithesis of desire. This meaning is so deeply ingrained that representations of fat women as sexual are typically framed as a joke because desire for fat bodies is unimaginable; this is the logic by which Shallow Hal operates. The dominant meaning of fatness precludes recognition of the fat body as a sexual body. What is at issue is therefore not simply the lack of certain images, but a question of intelligibility: if the meaning of fat is antithetical to desire, how can the desire for – and of – fat bodies be intelligible as desire? This question goes beyond the realm of representation and into the embodied experience of fat sexuality.

Glycogen Phosphorylase in the Fat Body of Two Cockroach Species, Periplaneta americana and Nauphoeta cinerea: Isolation, Partial Characterization of Three Forms and Activation by Hypertrehalosaemic Hormones

1991 ◽  
Vol 46 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Gäde
Keyword(s):  
Anion Exchange ◽  
Glycogen Phosphorylase ◽  
Periplaneta Americana ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Phosphorylase Kinase ◽  
Phosphorylase Activity ◽  
Strong Inhibitor ◽  
Nauphoeta Cinerea ◽  
Crude Extracts ◽  
Fat Bodies

The presence of endogenous phosphorylase kinase and phosphorylase phosphatase in crude extracts of fat bodies from the cockroaches Nauphoeta cinerea and Periplaneta americana is demonstrated in vitro by activation/inactivation of glycogen phosphorylase under appropriate conditions. Fractionation of fat body extracts of both cockroach species on an anion-exchange medium results in the elution of three peaks with phosphorylase activity. According to their AMP dependency these activity peaks are designated as phosphorylase b (inactive without AMP), phosphorylase ab (active without AMP, but several stimulated with AMP) and phosphorylase a (active without AMP). It is shown chromatographically that incubating crude extracts of fat bodies from both cockroaches, under conditions where the phosphorylase kinase is active, results in all phosphorylase b being converted to the ab- or a-form , whereas under conditions where the phosphorylase phosphatase is active all phophorylase a is converted to the ab- or b-form . Endogenous phosphorylase kinase of N. cinerea crude fat body extract can convert vertebrate phosphorylase b into the a-form , and, conversely, vertebrate muscle p hosphorylase kinase and phosphorylase phosphatase, respectively, are able to convert partially purified N. cinerea phosphorylase aborb and the ab- und a-form , respectively. In resting cockroaches most of the phosphorylase activity resides in the b-form and only a small fraction (10% ) in the a-form , whereas between 26% (N . cinerea) and 35% (P. americana) occurs in the ab-form . Injection of endogenous hypertrehalosaemic peptides into N. cinerea (the decapeptide Bld-HrTH ) or P. americana (the two octapeptides Pea-CAH -I and II) causes interconversion of phosphorylase; after injection, mainly (60% ) phosphorylase a is present, while 25% and 15% exists in the ab- und b-form , respectively. Purification of the three phosphorylase forms from N. cinerea is achieved by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel followed by affinity chromatography on AMP-Sepharose. The final specific activities are 2.1, 6.9 and 27.2 U /mg protein for the a-, ab- und b-form . The molecular mass of the active molecules on gel filtration is between 173,000 and 177,000, and SDS gel electrophoresis reveals a subunit mass of 87,100, suggesting a homodimeric structure for all three form s. Kinetic studies show hyperbolic saturation curves for the substrates glycogen and Pi respectively, with Kᴍ-values of 0.021, 0.019 and 0.073% for glycogen and 8.3, 6.3 and 17.9 mᴍ for Pi (a-, ab- and b-form ). Phosphorylase a exhibits a more or less hyperbolic response to AMP and needs 70 |iM A M P for m axim al stim ulation. The kinetics for the ab- and b-form s are sigm oidal and maximal activities are displayed at about 3 mᴍ (half-maximum activation as calculated from Hill plots are 55 and 280 μᴍ for the ab- und b-form , respectively). Caffeine is a strong inhibitor of the b-form , but has only a slight inhibiting effect (10 -20 % ) on the ab- and a-form in the presence of AMP.

scholarly journals Mobilizing the Sense of “Fat”: A Phenomenological Materialist Approach

Human Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Slatman
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Conceptual Frame ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
The Way ◽  
Phenomenological Exploration

AbstractThis paper aims to mobilize the way we think and write about fat bodies while drawing on Jean-Luc Nancy’s philosophy of the body. I introduce Nancy’s approach to the body as an addition to contemporary new materialism. His philosophy, so I argue, offers a form of materialism that allows for a phenomenological exploration of the body. As such, it can help us to understand the lived experiences of fat embodiment. Additionally, Nancy’s idea of the body in terms of a “corpus”—a collection of pieces without a unity—together with his idea of corpus-writing—fragmentary writing, without head and tail—can help us to mobilize fixed meanings of fat. To apply Nancy’s conceptual frame to a concrete manifestation of fat embodiment, I provide a reading of Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger (2017). In my analysis, I identify how the materiality of fat engenders the meaning of embodiment, and how it shapes how a fat body can and cannot be a body. Moreover, I propose that Gay’s writing style—hesitating and circling – involves an example of corpus-writing. The corpus of corpulence that Gay has created gives voice to the precariousness of a fat body's materialization.

Hymenolepis diminuta: metacestode-induced reduction in the synthesis of the yolk protein, vitellogenin, in the fat body of Tenebrio molitor

Parasitology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Webb ◽  
H. Hurd
Keyword(s):  
Post Infection ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Potent Inhibitor ◽  
Tenebrio Molitor ◽  
Hymenolepis Diminuta ◽  
Vitellogenin Synthesis ◽  
Specific Stage ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Do So

SUMMARYVitellogenin synthesis by the fat body has been monitored using in vitro culture and immunoprecipitation. This system was found to be efficient for measuring vitellogenin production in both non-infected Tenebrio molitor and those infected with Hymenolepis diminuta. In fat bodies from infected beetles, vitellogenin production was decreased by up to 75% (day 24 post-infection) and, at all times investigated, vitellogenin synthesis was significantly below control levels (days 3–30 post-infection). Incubating fat bodies from control insects with isolated metacestodes indicated that this may be a direct effect by the parasite which is developmental stage-specific. Stage II, but not stage III–IV, nor heat-killed parasites could bring about this decrease in vitellogenin. In addition, these effects may be density dependent within the range of 2–20 parasites per fat body; only 2 metacestodes were necessary to cause a significant decrease. Since metacestodes do not take up vitellogenin, nor limit the amount of [14C] leucine available to the fat body for vitellogenin production, it is conceivable that the parasite produces a potent inhibitor of vitellogenin synthesis, or a molecule which induces cells within the fat body to do so.

scholarly journals A Healthy, Chubby Japanese Man (genki na debu chan)

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1138-1150
Author(s):  
Genaro Castro-Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Junior College ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Japanese Men ◽  
Obesity And Overweight ◽  
Embodied Subjectivity ◽  
University Degree ◽  
Interview Analysis

In light of official reports indicating a still prevalent tendency to masculinized obesity and overweight in Japan (Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, 2015), this article explores the experiences of 28 Japanese men grappling with bodyweight control. Aged between 24 and 67, 3 of the men were postgraduate or undergraduate students, 7 self-employed, 17 company workers and 1 retired. Fourteen hold a university degree, 1 completed senior high school and 10 finished 3-year junior college. Twelve were married and 16 were single. Ten of the participants have been requested to lose weight because of being at risk of developing metabolic diseases, the rest have been called “chubby” ( debu) and all of them have unsuccessfully tried to lose weight. A set of two, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant in Tokyo and Osaka in June and July 2015, 2016, and 2017. Grounded in symbolic interactionism, the interview analysis allows for a reading of the participants’ embodied subjectivity in line with three axes: autodidact self, gendered self, and emotional self. The article highlights how the feminization of care has an effect on the participant’s daily interactions. In conclusion, the article underscores the salience of “emotional attachment” to food (Lupton, 1998, p. 158), the “emotionalization” of food consumption and the emotionalization of the “fat body” in understanding their experiences dealing with corpulence in a country where slimness appears to be “ethnicized.”

Evolution de la masse corporelle et de la masse relative de quelques organes au cours du cycle annuel chez les mâles matures de Vipera aspis

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
H. Saint Girons ◽  
R. Duguy
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
Sexual Cycle ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Slow Decline ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
Fat Body Mass ◽  
Vipera Aspis

AbstractThe relative mass of fat bodies of 103 adult male Vipera aspis from western France appeared to be correlated with fasting and feeding periods. There was a slow decline in mass during wintering and a rapid decline during the occurrence of spring mating; a minimum fat body mass was at the first molting time in May. This was the only time when there was a significant decline in the relative mass of the liver; vipers are noticeably emaciated during this period. Changes in relative kidney mass were correlated with the volume of the sexual segment of the kidneys, the minimum being in July. The relative mass of the testes was also linked with the sexual cycle; the minimum appeared to be in July and there was little variation between September and May.

scholarly journals Effect of arginine, putrescine and spermidine on the polyamine, proline and chlorophyll content of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Ákos Mendel ◽  
László Kovács ◽  
Erzsébet Kiss
Keyword(s):  
Nicotiana Tabacum ◽  
Salt Tolerance ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Arginine Decarboxylase ◽  
Polyamine Metabolism ◽  
Spermine Synthase ◽  
Nicotiana Tabacum L ◽  
Exogenous Addition ◽  
Precursor Molecules

Polyamines, such as spermidine (Spd) spermine (Spm) and their direct precursor, the diamine putrescine (Put) are vital and essential aliphatic amines which are also present in plants. Although ethylene and polyamines are also involved in fruit ripening, the genes coding them must also take part in other biosynthetic pathways. In the ethylene and polyamines play an important role in development of salt stress tolerance, and in responses for biotic and abiotic stresses. Exogenous application of all three main polyamines (Put, Spd, Spm) increase salt tolerance of plants, but, accordingly to previous experiments, spermidine has the main effect on the enhancement of salt tolerance. Nicotiana tabacum L. plants were grown in vitro on MS medium, the treatments were as follows: arginine (150 mg l-1), putrescine (10 mg l-1), spermidine (10 mg l-1). Proline, chlorophyll a, b and polyamine contents were measured. The obtained results show that the arginine decarboxylase and the spermidine synthase genes involved in polyamine metabolism, cannot be enhanced by exogenous addition of their precursor molecules. On the contrary, the spermine synthase gene has a positive effect to the lower-class forms of polyamines.

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