0000000000075887
AUTHOR
Flaminia Fanelli
The corticotrophin-releasing factor/urocortin system regulates white fat browning in mice through paracrine mechanisms.
Objectives:\ud The corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)/urocortin system is expressed in the adipose tissue of mammals, but its functional role in this tissue remains unknown.\ud \ud Methods:\ud Pharmacological manipulation of the activity of CRF receptors, CRF1 and CRF2, was performed in 3T3L1 white pre-adipocytes and T37i brown pre-adipocytes during in vitro differentiation. The expression of genes of the CRF/urocortin system and of markers of white and brown adipocytes was evaluated along with mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular oxygen consumption. Metabolic evaluation of corticosterone-deficient or supplemented Crhr1-null (Crhr1−/−) mice and their wild-type controls was performed alo…
CB(1) signaling in forebrain and sympathetic neurons is a key determinant of endocannabinoid actions on energy balance
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a critical role in obesity development. The pharmacological blockade of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB(1)) has been shown to reduce body weight and to alleviate obesity-related metabolic disorders. An unsolved question is at which anatomical level CB(1) modulates energy balance and the mechanisms involved in its action. Here, we demonstrate that CB(1) receptors expressed in forebrain and sympathetic neurons play a key role in the pathophysiological development of diet-induced obesity. Conditional mutant mice lacking CB(1) expression in neurons known to control energy balance, but not in nonneuronal peripheral organs, displayed a lean phenotype and res…
Centenarians' offspring as a model of healthy aging: a reappraisal of the data on Italian subjects and a comprehensive overview.
Within the scenario of an increasing life expectancy worldwide it is mandatory to identify determinants of healthy aging. Centenarian offspring (CO) is one of the most informative model to identify trajectories of healthy aging and their determinants (genetic and environmental), being representative of elderly in their 70th whose lifestyle can be still modified to attain a better health. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the health status of 267 CO (mean age: 70.2 years) and adopts the innovative approach of comparing CO with 107 age‐matched offspring of non‐long‐lived parents (hereafter indicated as NCO controls), recruited according to strict inclusion demographic cri…