Female rats are protected against fructose-induced changes in metabolism and blood pressure

2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (6) ◽  
pp. H2478-H2484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Galipeau ◽  
Subodh Verma ◽  
John H. McNeill

The objective of this study was to determine whether the effects of a fructose diet, which causes hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension in male rats, are dependent on sex. Blood pressure was measured via the tail-cuff method, and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed to assess insulin sensitivity. Blood pressure in female rats did not differ between fructose-fed and control rats at any time point (126 ± 5 and 125 ± 3 mmHg at week 9 for fructose-fed and control rats, respectively) nor was there a difference in any metabolic parameter measured. Furthermore, the vascular insulin resistance that is present in male fructose-fed rats was not observed. After ovariectomy, fructose caused a significant change in systolic blood pressure from baseline compared with fructose-fed ovary-intact rats (change of 21 ± 5 vs. −2 ± 4 mmHg). The results demonstrate that females do not develop hypertension or hyperinsulinemia upon fructose feeding except after ovariectomy, suggesting that female sex hormones may confer protection against the effects of a fructose diet.

2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (2) ◽  
pp. H562-H567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise M. Galipeau ◽  
Linfu Yao ◽  
John H. McNeill

Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance have been linked to hypertension; however, the influence of sex on this relationship has not been well studied. The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effects of chronic insulin treatment on insulin sensitivity and blood pressure in male and female rats. Male and female Wistar rats were treated with insulin (2 U/day) via subcutaneous sustained release implants for 5 wk. Systolic blood pressure was measured via the tail-cuff method before and after treatment, and insulin sensitivity was assessed with an oral glucose tolerance test. The insulin sensitivity of female rats was 4.5-fold greater than male rats. Chronic insulin treatment impaired insulin sensitivity in both sexes; however, this occurred to a greater degree in male rats. Blood pressure increased in male rats treated with insulin only. The results demonstrate that hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance are associated with hypertension in male rats only. Therefore, the link between these conditions appears to depend on sex.


2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (2) ◽  
pp. R121-R129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Analia S. Loria ◽  
Tatsuo Yamamoto ◽  
David M. Pollock ◽  
Jennifer S. Pollock

Maternal separation (MatSep) is a model of behavioral stress during early life. We reported that MatSep exacerbates ANG II-induced hypertension in adult male rats. The aims of this study were to determine whether exposure to MatSep in female rats sensitizes blood pressure to ANG II infusion similar to male MatSep rats and to elucidate renal mechanisms involved in the response in MatSep rats. Wistar Kyoto (WKY) pups were exposed to MatSep 3 h/day from days 2 to 14, while control rats remained with their mothers. ANG II-induced mean arterial pressure (MAP; telemetry) was enhanced in female MatSep rats compared with control female rats but delayed compared with male MatSep rats. Creatinine clearance (Ccr) was reduced in male MatSep rats compared with control rats at baseline and after ANG II infusion. ANG II infusion significantly increased T cells in the renal cortex and greater histological damage in the interstitial arteries of male MatSep rats compared with control male rats. Plasma testosterone was greater and estradiol was lower in male MatSep rats compared with control rats with ANG II infusion. ANG II infusion failed to increase blood pressure in orchidectomized male MatSep and control rats. Female MatSep and control rats had similar Ccr, histological renal analysis, and sex hormones at baseline and after ANG II infusion. These data indicate that during ANG II-induced hypertension, MatSep sensitizes the renal phenotype in male but not female rats.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (4) ◽  
pp. H1335-H1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish Vasudevan ◽  
Hong Xiang ◽  
John H. McNeill

Differences in gender are in part responsible for the development of insulin resistance (IR) and associated hypertension. Currently, it is unclear whether these differences are dictated by gender itself or by the relative changes in plasma estrogen and/or testosterone. We investigated the interrelationships between testosterone and estrogen in the progression of IR and hypertension in vivo in intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed male rats. Treatment with estrogen significantly reduced the testosterone levels in both normal chow-fed and fructose-fed rats. Interestingly, fructose feeding induced a relative increase in estradiol levels, which did not affect IR in both intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed rats. However, increasing the estrogen levels improved insulin sensitivity in both intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed rats. In intact males, fructose feeding increased the blood pressure (140 ± 2 mmHg), which was prevented by estrogen treatment. However, the blood pressure in the fructose-fed estrogen rats (125 ± 1 mmHg) was significantly higher than that of normal chow-fed (113 ± 1 mmHg) and fructose-fed gonadectomized rats. Estrogen treatment did not affect the blood pressure in gonadectomized fructose-fed rats (105 ± 2 mmHg). These data suggest the existence of a threshold value for estrogen below which insulin sensitivity is unaffected. The development of hypertension in this model is dictated solely by the presence or absence of testosterone. In summary, the development of IR and hypertension is governed not by gender per se but by the interactions of specific sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097275312110057
Author(s):  
Archana Gaur ◽  
G.K. Pal ◽  
Pravati Pal

Background: Obesity is because of excessive fat accumulation that affects health adversely in the form of various diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and many other disorders. Our Indian diet is rich in carbohydrates, and hence the sucrose-induced obesity is an apt model to mimic this. Ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is linked to the regulation of food intake in animals as well as humans. Purpose: To understand the role of VMHin sucrose-induced obesity on metabolic parameters. Methods: A total of 24 adult rats were made obese by feeding them on a 32% sucrose solution for 10 weeks. The VMH nucleus was ablated in the experimental group and sham lesions were made in the control group. Food intake, body weight, and biochemical parameters were compared before and after the lesion. Results: Male rats had a significant weight gain along with hyperphagia, whereas female rats did not have a significant weight gain inspite of hyperphagia. Insulin resistance and dyslipidemia were seen in both the experimental and control groups. Conclusion: A sucrose diet produces obesity which is similar to the metabolic syndrome with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, and a VMH lesion further exaggerates it. Males are more prone to this exaggeration.


Author(s):  
Theresa A. Lansdell ◽  
Anne M Dorrance

Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is a spectrum of cognitive deficits caused by cerebrovascular disease, for which insulin resistance is a major risk factor. A major cause of VCID is chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH). Under stress, sustained hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activation can result in insulin resistance. Little is known about the effects of CCH on the HPA axis. We hypothesized that CCH causes sustained HPA activation and insulin resistance. Male rats were subjected to bilateral carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) for 12 weeks to induce CCH and VCID. BCAS reduced cerebral blood flow and caused memory impairment. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone was increased in the BCAS rats (117.2 ± 9.6 vs. 88.29 ± 9.1 pg/mL, BCAS vs. sham, p = 0.0236), as was corticosterone (220 ± 21 vs. 146 ± 18 ng/g feces, BCAS vs. sham, p = 0.0083). BCAS rats were hypoglycemic (68.1 ± 6.1 vs. 76.5± 5.9 mg/dL, BCAS vs. sham, p = 0.0072), with increased fasting insulin (481.6 ± 242.6 vs. 97.94± 40.02 pmol/L, BCAS vs. sham, p = 0.0003) indicating BCAS rats were insulin resistant (HOMA-IR:11.71 ± 6.47 vs. 2.62 ± 0.93; BCAS vs. control, p = 0.0008). Glucose tolerance tests revealed that BCAS rats had lower blood glucose AUCs than controls (250 ± 12 vs. 326 ± 20 mg/dL/h, BCAS vs. sham, p = 0.0075). These studies indicate that CCH causes sustained activation of the HPA and results in insulin resistance, a condition that is expected to worsen VCID.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (2) ◽  
pp. F295-F302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mong-Heng Wang ◽  
Jishi Wang ◽  
Hsin-Hsin Chang ◽  
Barbara A. Zand ◽  
Miao Jiang ◽  
...  

20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), which promotes renal vasoconstriction, is formed in the rat kidney primarily by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4A isoforms (4A1, 4A2, 4A3, 4A8). Nitric oxide (NO) has been shown to bind to the heme moiety of the CYP4A2 protein and to inhibit 20-HETE synthesis in renal arterioles of male rats. However, it is not known whether NO interacts with and affects the activity of CYP4A1 and CYP4A3, the major renal CYP4A isoforms in female rats. Incubation of recombinant CYP4A1 and 4A3 proteins with sodium nitroprusside (SNP) shifted the absorbance at 440 nm, indicating the formation of a ferric-nitrosyl-CYP4A complex. The absorbance for CYP4A3 was about twofold higher than that of CYP4A1. Incubation of SNP or peroxynitrite (PN; 0.01–1 mM) with CYP4A recombinant membranes caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of 20-HETE synthesis, with both chemicals having a greater inhibitory effect on CYP4A3-catalyzed activity. Moreover, incubation of CYP4A1 and 4A3 proteins with PN (1 mM) resulted in nitration of tyrosine residues in both proteins. In addition, PN and SNP inhibited 20-HETE synthesis in renal microvessels from female rats by 65 and 59%, respectively. We previously showed that microvessel CYP4A1/CYP4A3 expression and 20-HETE synthesis are decreased in late pregnancy. Therefore, we investigated whether such a decrease is dependent on NO, the synthesis of which has been shown to increase in late pregnancy. Administration of NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) to pregnant rats for 6 days ( days 15- 20 of pregnancy) caused a significant increase in systolic blood pressure, which was prevented by concurrent treatment with the CYP4A inhibitor 1-aminobenzotriazole (ABT). Urinary NO2/NO3 excretion decreased by 40 and 52% in l-NAME- and l-NAME + ABT-treated groups, respectively. Interestingly, renal microvessel 20-HETE synthesis showed a marked increase following l-NAME treatment, and this increase was diminished with coadministration of ABT. These results demonstrate that NO interacts with CYP4A proteins in a distinct manner and it interferes with renal microvessel 20-HETE synthesis, which may play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and renal function during pregnancy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (1) ◽  
pp. R12-R21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hershel Raff ◽  
Brian Hoeynck ◽  
Mack Jablonski ◽  
Cole Leonovicz ◽  
Jonathan M. Phillips ◽  
...  

Care of premature infants often requires parental and caregiver separation, particularly during hypoxic and hypothermic episodes. We have established a neonatal rat model of human prematurity involving maternal-neonatal separation and hypoxia with spontaneous hypothermia prevented by external heat. Adults previously exposed to these neonatal stressors show a sex difference in the insulin and glucose response to arginine stimulation suggesting a state of insulin resistance. The current study used this cohort of adult rats to evaluate insulin resistance [homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)], plasma adipokines (reflecting insulin resistance states), and testosterone. The major findings were that daily maternal-neonatal separation led to an increase in body weight and HOMA-IR in adult male and female rats and increased plasma leptin in adult male rats only; neither prior neonatal hypoxia (without or with body temperature control) nor neonatal hypothermia altered subsequent adult HOMA-IR or plasma adiponectin. Adult male-female differences in plasma leptin were lost with prior exposure to neonatal hypoxia or hypothermia; male-female differences in resistin were lost in the adults that were exposed to hypoxia and spontaneous hypothermia as neonates. Exposure of neonates to daily hypoxia without spontaneous hypothermia led to a decrease in plasma testosterone in adult male rats. We conclude that neonatal stressors result in subsequent adult sex-dependent increases in insulin resistance and adipokines and that our rat model of prematurity with hypoxia without hypothermia alters adult testosterone dynamics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
P. Tayfur ◽  
K. Gökçe Tezel ◽  
Ö. Barutçu ◽  
S. Yılmaz ◽  
E. Ö. Özgür ◽  
...  

A fructose-rich diet has been known to cause metabolic syndrome effects such as body weight gain, increased blood pressure, blood lipids and glucose levels. The role of voluntary physical activity in these alterations is not known clearly. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible improving effects of voluntary physical activity in rats that were feeding with a fructose-rich diet. Spraque-Dawley female rats were separated as control (C;n=7), voluntary physical activity (A;n=7), fructose (F;n=7) and fructose+activity (F+A;n=7) groups. A and FA groups were kept in cages with running wheels during six weeks. F and FA groups were fed with adding 20% fructose in drinking water. Body weight was measured weekly and Lee Index was used to determine obesity. At the end of the feeding period serum glucose, insulin and lipid levels were measured by enzymatic method and blood pressure was determined with the tail-cuff method. Daily voluntary walking distance in F+A and A groups were similar during six weeks. Fructose intake induced to increase systolic blood pressure (p=0.001), diastolic blood pressure (p=0.002), glucose (p=0.041), insulin (p=0.001), cholesterol (p=0.001), triglyceride (p=0.001) and liver weight (p=0.035). The voluntary activity was found effective on the decrease of weight gain (p=0.018) however we did not observe a significant effect on blood pressure (p=0.917) and insulin resistance (p=0.565) following the fructose-rich diet. We conclude that voluntary activity has preventive effect on obesity but may not to be effective on increased blood pressure and insulin resistance in female rats which were feeding fructose-rich diet during six weeks.


Author(s):  
Clive J Petry ◽  
Keith A Burling ◽  
Peter Barker ◽  
Ieuan A Hughes ◽  
Ken K Ong ◽  
...  

Abstract Context DLK1 (delta like non-canonical notch ligand 1) is a paternally-expressed imprinted gene that encodes an epidermal growth factor repeat-containing transmembrane protein. A bioactive, truncated DLK1 protein is present in the circulation, and has roles in development and metabolism. Objective We sought to investigate links between maternal pregnancy circulating DLK1 concentrations and: (1) maternal and fetal DLK1 genotypes, (2) maternal insulin resistance and secretion and (3) offspring size at birth. Patients, design and setting We measured third trimester maternal serum DLK1 concentrations and examined their associations with parentally-transmitted fetal and maternal DLK1 genotypes, indices of maternal insulin resistance and secretion derived from 75g oral glucose tolerance tests performed around week 28 of pregnancy, and offspring size at birth in 613 pregnancies from the Cambridge Baby Growth Study. Results Maternal DLK1 concentrations were associated with the paternally-transmitted fetal DLK1 rs12147008 allele (p=7.8x10 -3) but not with maternal rs12147008 genotype (p=0.4). Maternal DLK1 concentrations were positively associated with maternal pre-pregnancy BMI (p=3.5x10 6), and (after adjustment for maternal BMI) with both maternal fasting insulin resistance (HOMA IR: p=0.01) and measures of maternal insulin secretion in response to oral glucose (insulinogenic index: p=1.2x10 -3; insulin disposition index: p=0.049). Further positive associations were found with offspring weight (p=0.02) and head circumference at birth (p=0.04). Conclusion These results are consistent with a partial paternal or placental origin for the maternal circulating DLK1 which may lead to increased maternal circulating DLK1 concentrations, stimulation of maternal insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia during pregnancy, and the promotion of fetal growth.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document