Farnesol, an isoprenoid, improves metabolic abnormalities in mice via both PPARα-dependent and -independent pathways

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) control energy homeostasis. In this study, we showed that farnesol, a naturally occurring ligand of PPARs, could ameliorate metabolic diseases. Obese KK-Ay mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) containing 0.5% farnesol showed significantly decreased serum glucose level, glucosuria incidence, and hepatic triglyceride contents. Farnesol-containing HFD upregulated the mRNA expressions of PPARα target genes involved in fatty acid oxidation in the liver. On the other hand, farnesol was not effective in upregulating the mRNA expressions of PPARγ target genes in white adipose tissues. Experiments using PPARα-deficient [(-/-)] mice revealed that the upregulation of fatty acid oxidation-related genes required PPARα function, but the suppression of hepatic triglyceride accumulation was partially PPARα-dependent. In hepatocytes isolated from the wild-type and PPARα (-/-) mice, farnesol suppressed triglyceride synthesis. In luciferase assay, farnesol activated both PPARα and the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) at similar concentrations. Moreover, farnesol increased the mRNA expression level of a small heterodimer partner known as one of the FXR target genes and decreased those of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c and fatty acid synthase in both the wild-type and PPARα (-/-) hepatocytes. These findings suggest that farnesol could improve metabolic abnormalities in mice via both PPARα-dependent and -independent pathways and that the activation of FXR by farnesol might contribute partially to the PPARα-independent hepatic triglyceride content-lowering effect. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the effect of the dual activators of PPARα and FXR on obesity-induced metabolic disorders.

A standard of AmpliType PM typing from aged evidentiary samples

In analyzing aged samples by the AmpliType PM PCR amplification and Typing kit, it was occasionally observed that color developed typing strips had dark allele dots on PM loci but no visible S dot. Since the S dot acts as a minimum dot intensity control to determine positive alleles on the PM loci, it is necessary to apply another control system. To achieve positive PM typing from a degraded DNA sample that is inferred to be derived from a single donor, a standard has been adopted wherein loci from which sufficient PCR products are observed on agarose gel can be typed. The objective determination of sufficient PCR was done by comparison between band peak height of each locus generated from a sample and that of the corresponding locus generated from two nanograms (recommended minimum quantity as template DNA) of the control DNA provided in the kit.

Multiplex PCR amplification of TH01, D9S304, and D3S1744 loci

A multiplex typing method of the tetrameric short tandem repeat (STR) loci TH11, D9S304, and D3S1744 was developed. The allelic ladder included alleles 6-11 (80-100bp) and 9.3 (95bp) for TH01, alleles 6-15 (125-161 bp) for D9S304, and alleles 13-22 (174-210bp) for D3S1744. The observed heterozygosity of D9S304 was 0.851. The combined discrimination power of the three loci was 0.991.

[Body composition, VO2 max and O2 debt max in elite senior high school male cyclists]

This study was performed to evaluate the physical resources for elite male cyclists of senior high school. Nine track cyclists (mean age, 17.4 years) and seven road cyclists (mean age, 17.3 years) were examined for body composition and cardiorespiratory function (VO2 max and O2 debt max), from 1988 to 1992. These measurements were compared with those of elite junior cyclists, and the progress of physiological function due to one-year training was examined for 7 cyclists. The results were as follows: 1. The mean parameters for track cyclists were recorded: percentage body fat (%Fat): 10.3%; lean body mass (LBM): 56.5kg; VO2 max: 3.93l/min, 62.5ml/kg.min; O2 debt max: 8.81l, 139.1ml/kg. 2. The mean parameters for road cyclists were recorded: %Fat: 10.9%; LBM: 54.9kg; VO2 max: 3.78l/min, 61.4ml/kg.min; O2 debt max: 7.89l, 128.4ml/kg. 3. The average %Fat, LBM, LBM/Ht, VO2 max and O2 debt max were not significantly different between track and road cyclists. 4. The average %Fat and VO2 max (ml/kg.min) of track and road cyclists were similar to those of elite junior cyclists. 5. By training for one year, the average VO2 max (ml/kg.min) and O2 debt max (ml/kg) showed a significant increase of approximately 13.6% and 22.6% respectively. These results indicated that through training 9 track and 7 road cyclists had achieved a superior body composition, aerobic work capacity and anaerobic work capacity, equal to those of elite junior cyclists.