We investigated the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in tissues from canines with an inherited anomaly that causes their erythrocytes to have high K+. Northern blot analysis revealed abundant AQP1 expression in lung and kidney, though little expression was found in spleen. Using anti-C-terminus for dog AQP1, abundant expression was shown in kidney, trachea, and eye, but little expression was shown in pancreas and cerebrum, indicating that AQP1 expression in canine tissues is similar to that noted in other mammals.
Animals ; Aquaporin 1/*metabolism ; Blotting, Northern ; Dogs ; Erythrocytes/*chemistry ; Immunoblotting ; Potassium/*analysis ; Viscera/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo probe into thinking and prospect of application of gene chip technique to research of the channel-viscera correlativity.

METHODSAdopt literature analytic method, review and analyze current state of application of gene chip in biology and medicine, and achievements in studies of channel-viscera correlativity.

RESULTSIn biological and medical fields, gene chip can be applied to high flux expression parallel analysis, large-scale gene discovery and gene analysis, gene polymorphous analysis, genome study, etc, especially, it has important application values in gene expression map; channel-viscera correlativity need stereo-crossing studies by multiple subjects, multiple systems, multiple directions and multiple levels, being more systematic and sequential, and gene chip technique is applicable to this requirement.

CONCLUSIONWide application of gene chip technique will comprehensively promote deep study of channel-viscera correlativity.

Gene Expression ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Viscera

Aquaporins are a group of membrane proteins, which are known as the passages of water molecules transforming through the biological membrane lipid bilayer and distributing in almost all of the organs and tissues of living creatures. Aquaporins play important roles in maintaining water balance and internal environment stability. As a new entry point, aquaporins are involved in the researches on water metabolism, physiological regulation and pathological essence in viscera-state more and more widely in recent years. The literature on traditional Chinese medical studies, which related to aquaporins and were published in the last decade, was reviewed and the progress on application of aquaporin in Chinese medicine was summarized in this paper.
Aquaporins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Kidney ; pathology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Syndrome ; Viscera ; pathology

Humans ; Lymphoid Tissue ; ultrastructure ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Pleura ; physiology ; ultrastructure ; Pleural Effusion ; metabolism ; Viscera

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between resting energy expenditure (REE) and patterns of obesity/regional fat parameters in Chinese adults.

METHODSBody mass index (BMI), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) were assessed in 109 Chinese adults (52 men and 57 women), and their abdominal visceral adipose tissue area (VA) and subcutaneous fat area (SA) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements. REE was measured with indirect calorimetry and compared with normal and obese subjects. Multivariate analysis was used to study the factors related to REE.

RESULTSThe resting energy expenditure per kilogram of body weight (REE/kg) was closely related with the area of abdominal visceral fat measured with MRI. REE/kg was significantly lower in overweight/obesity subjects than in normal-weighted subjects, and significantly lower in subjects with abdominal obesity (VA > or = 100 cm2) than in subjects with non-abdominal obesity (VA < 100 cm2, BMI > or = 25 kg/m2). In the stepwise regression analysis of REE/kg on regional fat parameters, VA in men and women and SA in women were independent factors reversely related to REE/kg.

CONCLUSIONREE/kg is associated with the visceral fat area and more prominent in men. REE/kg can be used as an index in the pathophysiology of intra-abdominal obesity.

Adipose Tissue ; metabolism ; Body Composition ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Energy Metabolism ; Fats ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; metabolism ; Rest ; physiology ; Viscera ; metabolism

Because obesity is frequently complicated by other cardiovascular risk factors, the impact of a reduction in visceral adiposity on vascular endothelial dysfunction (VED) in obese patients is difficult to determine. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of a reduction in visceral adiposity on VED in obese women. Thirty-six premenopausal obese women (BMI > or = 25 kg/m2) without complications were enrolled in the study. VED was evaluated by determining the augmentation index (AIx) from radial artery pulse waves obtained by applanation tonometry. Changes in AIx in response to nitroglycerin- induced endothelium-independent vasodilatation (delta AIx-NTG) and in response to salbutamol administration (delta AIx-Salb) were determined before and after weight reduction. After a 12-week weight reduction program, the average weight loss was 7.96 +/- 3.47 kg, with losses of 21.88 +/- 20.39 cm2 in visceral fat areas (p < 0.001). Pulse wave analysis combined with provocative pharmacological testing demonstrated preserved endothelium-independent vasodilation in healthy premenopausal obese women (delta AIx-NTG: 31.36 +/- 9.80% before weight reduction vs. 28.25 +/- 11.21% after weight reduction, p > 0.1) and an improvement in endothelial-dependent vasodilation following weight reduction (delta AIx-Salb: 10.03 +/- 6.49% before weight reduction vs. 19.33 +/- 9.28% after reduction, p < 0.001). A reduction in visceral adipose tissue was found to be most significantly related to an increase in delta AIx-Salb (beta=-0.57, p < 0.001). A reduction in visceral adiposity was significantly related to an improvement in VED. This finding suggests that reduction of visceral adiposity may be as important as the control of other major risk factors in the prevention of atherosclerosis in obese women.
Adipose Tissue/*metabolism ; Adult ; Endothelium, Vascular/*physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/*physiopathology ; *Pulse ; Radial Artery/*physiology ; Viscera ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVETo compare the regulatory effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) at acupoints Zusanli (ST36) and Hegu (LI4) on the visceral hyper-sensitivity in the rat model of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and to explore the acting targets and specialty of acupoints.

METHODSExcept 8 rats of the normal control group, the rest 32 rats were prepared to set up the IBS models. IBS animal model was prepared by enema with acetic acid. Model rats were divided into three groups. Except for rats in the model group for control, those in the other two groups were treated 20 min by EA on ST36 (EA-ST36) and LI4 (EA-LI4) respectively for 2 weeks to observe the effect on behavior response of viscera sensitivity. The changes of neuropeptide (NPY), the somatostatin (SS) levels in blood and tissues of brain and intestine were monitored as well.

RESULTSThe volume thresholds for abdomen uplifting and back hunching were obviously increased after EA-ST36 (P<0.05), but showed insignificant change after EA-LI4. NPY contents lowered and SS contents increased in model rats; both EA-ST36 and EA-LI4 could raise the level of thalamic NPY (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), but showed insignificant effects on NPY in colonic tissue. As for SS content, its colonic level could be reduced by EA-S36 and EA-LI4 (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), however, its blood level was affected only by EA-ST36 (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSEA-ST36 or EA-LI4 could regulate the NPY in thalamus and SS in colonic tissue, the former could affect blood level of SS as well. It is deemed that NPY and SS may be the key substances for regulating the action of acupuncture in the brain-intestinal axis; their different levels could be regarded as an indicator for the functional difference between the acupoints.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Brain ; metabolism ; Electroacupuncture ; methods ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Neuropeptide Y ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Somatostatin ; metabolism ; Viscera ; physiopathology

Central obesity with visceral fat accumulation and the amount of skeletal muscle mass may influence insulin sensitivity via its capacity for glucose load uptake. We investigated the relationships among the following metabolic variables: ratio of fat area to skeletal muscle area (VMR), percent ideal body weight, body mass index, waist-to-hip circumference (WHR) and visceral fat to subcutaneous fat ratio (VSR) in 114 nondiabetic middle-aged women. Anthropometric parameters, lipid profiles and sex hormone- binding globulin were measured. Visceral and subcutaneous fat areas at the umbilical level and the skeletal muscle area at the mid-thigh level were measured and computed. 75-gram OGTT tests were performed, along with measuring plasma glucose, insulin and free fatty acid levels, according to which area under the curve of glucose (Glu-AUC), insulin (Ins-AUC), free fatty acid (FFA-AUC) and glucose/insulin ratio (GIR=Glu- AUC/Ins-AUC), were calculated. 1) Triglyceride was more correlated with VSR than VMR. 2) The independent anthropometric parameters for each metabolic variable were In conclusion, VMR for Ins-AUC, WHR for Glu-AUC and total cholesterol, and VSR for triglyceride. 3) For subjects with higher VMR, age, Ins-AUC and triglyceride were significantly higher. 4) Subjects with higher VMR were older and showed higher Ins-AUC and lower GIR than the subjects with lower VMR. In conclusion, VMR is an anthropometric parameter that reflects insulin resistance concerning glucose metabolism, and VSR is thought to be a good parameter that that reflects the serum lipid levels. Further prospective studies are necessary to reevaluate the visceral fat vs. skeletal muscle relationship.
Adipose Tissue/*metabolism/*pathology ; Adult ; Body Constitution ; *Body Mass Index ; Female ; Human ; *Insulin Resistance ; Menopause ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal/*metabolism ; Obesity/metabolism/pathology ; Postmenopause ; Viscera

OBJECTIVETo detect superoxide anion (O(-)(2)) signals in the heart, liver, lung and kidney tissues after burns.

METHODSTwenty-four male rats were randomized into 4 groups. The rats of experimental groups were immersed in 100 degrees C water for 15 seconds and 25% third-degree burn was created. Thoracotomy or laparotomy was performed at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes after burn, and specimens of the heart, lung, liver kidney were obtained for burned rats. The specimens were then preserved in liquid nitrogen for cryo-preservation and detected immediately using EPR.

RESULTSThe signals of superoxide O radical appeared in the heart, lung, 1iver and kidney specimens 10-15 minutes after burn.

CONCLUSIONSThere is a direct evidence of oxygen free radicals (OFRs) injury to viscera of burned rats between 10-15 minutes after burn.

Animals ; Biomarkers ; analysis ; Burns ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy ; methods ; Free Radicals ; analysis ; metabolism ; Kidney ; metabolism ; Liver ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; Male ; Oxygen ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Viscera ; metabolism

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether chronic high-fat diet (HF) induces insulin resistance independently of obesity. We randomly divided 40 rats into two groups and fed them either with a HF or with a high-carbohydrate diet (HC) for 8 weeks. Whole body glucose disappearance rate (Rd) was measured using a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Firstly, we defined whether insulin resistance by HF was associated with obesity. Plasma glucose and triglyceride concentrations were significantly increased in HF. Rd was decreased (10.6+/-0.2 vs. 9.1+/-0.2 mg/kg/min in HC and HF, respectively) and the hepatic glucose output rate (HGO) was increased in HF (2.2+/-0.3 vs. 4.5+/-0.2 mg/kg/min in HC and HF, respectively). Rd was significantly correlated with %VF (p<0.01). These results implicate that visceral obesity is associated with insulin resistance induced by HF. In addition, to define whether dietary fat induces insulin resistance regardless of visceral obesity, we compared Rd and HGO between groups 1) after matching %VF in both groups and 2) using an ANCOVA to adjust for %VF. After matching %VF, Rd in HF was significantly decreased by 14% (p<0.001) and HGO was significantly increased by 110% (p<0.001). Furthermore, statistical analyses using an ANCOVA also showed Rd for HF was significantly decreased even after adjusting %VF. In conclusion, we suggest that dietary fat per se could induce insulin resistance in rats fed with chronic HF independently of obesity.
Adipose Tissue/*pathology ; Animal ; Dietary Carbohydrates/administration &age ; Dietary Fats/*administration &age ; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified/metabolism ; Female ; *Insulin Resistance ; Obesity/etiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Viscera