Early onset inflammation in pre-insulin-resistant diet-induced obese rats does not affect the vasoreactivity of isolated small mesenteric arteries

Feeding and metabolic consequences of scheduled consumption of large, binge-type meals of high fat diet in the Sprague-Dawley rat

Providing rats and mice with access to palatable high fat diets for a short period each day induces the consumption of substantial binge-like meals. Temporal food intake structure (assessed using the TSE PhenoMaster/LabMaster system) and metabolic outcomes (oral glucose tolerance tests [oGTTs], and dark phase glucose and insulin profiles) were examined in Sprague–Dawley rats given access to 60% high fat diet on one of 3 different feeding regimes: ad libitum access (HF), daily 2 h-scheduled access from 6 to 8 h into the dark phase (2 h-HF), and twice daily 1 h-scheduled access from both 1–2 h and 10–11 h into the dark phase (2 × 1 h-HF). Control diet remained available during the scheduled access period. HF rats had the highest caloric intake, body weight gain, body fat mass and plasma insulin. Both schedule-fed groups rapidly adapted their feeding behaviour to scheduled access, showing large meal/bingeing behaviour with 44% or 53% of daily calories consumed from high fat diet during the 2 h or 2 × 1 h scheduled feed(s), respectively. Both schedule-fed groups had an intermediate caloric intake and body fat mass compared to HF and control (CON) groups. Temporal analysis of food intake indicated that schedule-fed rats consumed large binge-type high fat meals without a habitual decrease in preceding intake on control diet, suggesting that a relative hypocaloric state was not responsible or required for driving the binge episode, and substantiating previous indications that binge eating may not be driven by hypothalamic energy balance neuropeptides. In an oGTT, both schedule-fed groups had impaired glucose tolerance with higher glucose and insulin area under the curve, similar to the response in ad libitum HF fed rats, suggesting that palatable feeding schedules represent a potential metabolic threat. Scheduled feeding on high fat diet produces similar metabolic phenotypes to mandatory (no choice) high fat feeding and may be a more realistic platform for mechanistic study of diet-induced obesity.

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Rapid adaptation of feeding behaviour to scheduled palatable diet access

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No evidence of reduced feeding (hypophagia) prior to scheduled palatable meals

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Schedule-fed rats exhibit adverse metabolic symptoms.

Effects of the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate on high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction

Insulin resistance, a hallmark of metabolic disorders, is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Impairment of insulin responsiveness in vascular endothelium contributes to insulin resistance. The reciprocal relationship between insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction augments the pathophysiology of metabolism and cardiovascular functions. The most abundant green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been shown to have vasodilator action in vessels by activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). However, it is not known whether EGCG has a beneficial effect in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced endothelial dysfunction. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed either a normal chow diet (NCD) or HFD with or without EGCG supplement (50 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1)) for 10 wk. Mice fed a HFD with EGCG supplement gained less body weight and showed improved insulin sensitivity. In vehicle-treated HFD mice, endothelial function was impaired in response to insulin but not to acetylcholine, whereas the EGCG-treated HFD group showed improved insulin-stimulated vasodilation. Interestingly, EGCG intake reduced macrophage infiltration into aortic tissues in HFD mice. Treatment with EGCG restored the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of eNOS, insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), and protein kinase B (Akt), which was inhibited by palmitate (200 μM, 5 h) in primary bovine aortic endothelial cells. From these results, we conclude that supplementation of EGCG improves glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and endothelial function. The results suggest that EGCG may have beneficial health effects in glucose metabolism and endothelial function through modulating HFD-induced inflammatory response.