Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Additional advisors: Dale S. Feldman, Mary J. MacDougall, Laura Timares. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 4, 2008; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-40).

Freie Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 1999. / Nebent.: A sweet life at pH 1.

München, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2002.

Background, Consumption of marine-based oils high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is known to protect against obesity-related pathologies. It is less clear whether traditional vegetable oils with high omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n6PUFA) content exhibit similar therapeutic benefits. As such, this study examined the metabolic effects of a plant-based n3PUFA, stearidonic acid (SDA), in polygenic obese rodents. Methods, Lean (LZR) and obese Zucker (OZR) rats were provided either a standard westernized control diet (CON) with a high n6PUFA to n3PUFA ratio (i.e., 16.2/1.0) or experimental diet modified with flaxseed (FLAX), menhaden (FISH), or SDA oil that resulted in n6PUFA to n3PUFA ratios of 1.7/1.0, 1.3/1.0, and 1.0/0.8, respectively. Results, After 12 weeks, total adiposity, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis were all greater, whereas n3PUFA content in liver, adipose, and muscle was lower in OZR vs. LZR rats. Obese rodents fed modified FISH or SDA diets had lower serum lipids and hepatic fat content vs. CON. The omega-3 index (i.e., ÓEPA + DHA in erythrocyte membrane) was 4.0, 2.4, and 2.0-fold greater in rodents provided FISH, SDA, and FLAX vs. CON diet, irrespective of genotype. Total hepatic n3PUFA and DHA was highest in rats fed FISH, whereas both hepatic and extra-hepatic EPA was higher with FISH and SDA groups. Conclusions, these data indicate that SDA oil represents a viable plant-derived source of n3PUFA, which has therapeutic implications for several obesity-related pathologies.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemia contribute to sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation and cardiovascular dysfunction. SNS activation and increased norepinephrine levels downregulate cardiac β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR). The ADMIRE-HF trial identified reduced cardiac SNS innervation as an independent prognostic marker in heart failure. The β-AR antagonist [3H]-CGP12177 was used to quantify cardiac β-AR in ex vivo biodistribution studies in streptozotocin (STZ)-treated rats after 8 weeks of sustained hyperglycemia, and in the Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat model of type-2 diabetes at the onset of hyperglycemia (10 weeks of age) and after a sustained period of hyperglycemia (16 weeks of age). In some STZ rats, insulin was provided at the onset of hyperglycemia, or after a sustained period of hyperglycemia. Insulin treatment at both time points prevented reduced [3H]-CGP12177 binding (33-38% compared to controls) observed in STZ hyperglycemics. ZDF β-ARs were intact at 10 weeks but became reduced (16-25% relative to the Zucker leans) following 6 weeks of hyperglycemia. This work supports that cardiac β-AR are reduced in models of DM and that restoring insulin signalling to maintain glycemic control can normalize β-AR density whether provided early or after a period of sustained hyperglycemia.

No description available.

Introdução: A obesidade bem como um aumento da ativação do sistema renina angiotensina cardíaco estão profundamente envolvidos com o desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares. Por outro lado, o treinamento físico aeróbio, previne o desenvolvimento da obesidade e reduz o sistema renina angiotensina cardíaco em algumas patologias. Dessa forma, nosso objetivo foi de investigar se a obesidade e sua associação com o treinamento físico aeróbio alteram os componentes do sistema renina angiotensina sistêmico e cardíaco em ratos Zucker obesos. Métodos: Os ratos Zucker foram divididos da seguinte forma: grupo magro (GM), grupo obeso (GO), grupo magro treinado (GMTR) e grupo obeso treinado (GOTR). O Protocolo de treinamento aeróbio de natação foi realizado por um período de 10 semanas com 5 sessões semanais de 60 minutos de duração. A freqüência cardíaca, pressão arterial sistólica, hipertrofia e função cardíaca, bem como os alguns dos componentes do sistema renina angiotensina sistêmico e cardíaco foram avaliadas após o período de treinamento físico. Mensuramos também no final do protocolo de treinamento a glicose, triglicérides, colesterol total, bem como suas frações: lipoproteína de baixa densidade e lipoproteína de alta densidade. Resultados: Ambos os grupos obesos apresentaram um aumento significativo do peso corporal em relação aos grupos magros, entretanto, o grupo obeso treinado apresentou um ganho do peso corporal reduzido (-59%) comparado com o grupo obeso sedentário. Essas modificações foram acompanhadas por uma queda de (-12%) na frequência cardíaca de repouso, (-57%) dos triglicérides, (-61%) da lipoproteina de baixa densidade e aumentou a lipoproteina de alta densidade em (+42%) no grupo obeso quando comparado com o grupo obeso sedentário. Além do mais, nossos resultados demonstraram que o treinamento aeróbio reduziu o aumento da massa cardíaca (-13%), da atividade (-27%) e expressão (-63%) da enzima conversora de angiotensina, angiotensina II (-44%), e do receptor de angiotensina II do tipo 2 (-35%) no coração e melhorou a disfunção diastólica na obesidade. Ainda, o treinamento físico aeróbio independente da obesidade aumentou a enzima conversora de angiotensina do tipo 2 cardíaca em ambos os grupos magros. Conclusão: Nossos dados demonstraram que o treinamento físico aeróbio reverteu os prejuízos metabólicos e cardíacos causados pela obesidade / Introduction: Obesity and cardiac renin angiotensin system hyperactivity are profoundly involved in cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, aerobic exercise training can prevent obesity and reduce cardiac renin angiotensin system components in some models of cardiac pathology. Therefore, our hypotheses was to investigate if obesity and its association with aerobic exercise training alters the systemic and cardiac renin angiotensin system components in an obese Zucker rat strain. Methods: The rats were divided in the follow groups: Lean group (LG); lean group plus aerobic exercise training (LGTR); obese group (OG) and obese group plus aerobic exercise training (OGTR). Aerobic exercise training protocol consisted of 10 weeks swimming sessions of 60 min, 5 days/week. At the end of the protocol training we evaluated heart rate, systolic blood pressure, cardiac hypertrophy and function, local and system component of renin angiotensin system. We also measured systemic glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol such as their fractions: low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein. Results: Both obese groups showed a significant augment in body weight when compared with lean groups, however, the obese trained group had less weight gain (-59%) than obese untrained group. These alterations were accompanied by (-12%) less resting heart rate, (-57%) triglycerides, (-61%) low density lipoprotein and augmented (+42%) high density lipoprotein in the obese group when compared with untrained obese group. Moreover, our results showed that exercise training reduced the increased cardiac mass (-13%), cardiac angiotensin converting enzyme activity (-27%) and expression (-63%), angiotensin II (-44%), and type 2 angiotensin II receptor (-35%), and improve the loss of diastolic function caused by obesity. Furthermore, exercise augmented cardiac ACE2 in both training groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that the aerobic exercise training improved the metabolic and cardiac alterations caused by obesity

Introdução: A obesidade bem como um aumento da ativação do sistema renina angiotensina cardíaco estão profundamente envolvidos com o desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares. Por outro lado, o treinamento físico aeróbio, previne o desenvolvimento da obesidade e reduz o sistema renina angiotensina cardíaco em algumas patologias. Dessa forma, nosso objetivo foi de investigar se a obesidade e sua associação com o treinamento físico aeróbio alteram os componentes do sistema renina angiotensina sistêmico e cardíaco em ratos Zucker obesos. Métodos: Os ratos Zucker foram divididos da seguinte forma: grupo magro (GM), grupo obeso (GO), grupo magro treinado (GMTR) e grupo obeso treinado (GOTR). O Protocolo de treinamento aeróbio de natação foi realizado por um período de 10 semanas com 5 sessões semanais de 60 minutos de duração. A freqüência cardíaca, pressão arterial sistólica, hipertrofia e função cardíaca, bem como os alguns dos componentes do sistema renina angiotensina sistêmico e cardíaco foram avaliadas após o período de treinamento físico. Mensuramos também no final do protocolo de treinamento a glicose, triglicérides, colesterol total, bem como suas frações: lipoproteína de baixa densidade e lipoproteína de alta densidade. Resultados: Ambos os grupos obesos apresentaram um aumento significativo do peso corporal em relação aos grupos magros, entretanto, o grupo obeso treinado apresentou um ganho do peso corporal reduzido (-59%) comparado com o grupo obeso sedentário. Essas modificações foram acompanhadas por uma queda de (-12%) na frequência cardíaca de repouso, (-57%) dos triglicérides, (-61%) da lipoproteina de baixa densidade e aumentou a lipoproteina de alta densidade em (+42%) no grupo obeso quando comparado com o grupo obeso sedentário. Além do mais, nossos resultados demonstraram que o treinamento aeróbio reduziu o aumento da massa cardíaca (-13%), da atividade (-27%) e expressão (-63%) da enzima conversora de angiotensina, angiotensina II (-44%), e do receptor de angiotensina II do tipo 2 (-35%) no coração e melhorou a disfunção diastólica na obesidade. Ainda, o treinamento físico aeróbio independente da obesidade aumentou a enzima conversora de angiotensina do tipo 2 cardíaca em ambos os grupos magros. Conclusão: Nossos dados demonstraram que o treinamento físico aeróbio reverteu os prejuízos metabólicos e cardíacos causados pela obesidade / Introduction: Obesity and cardiac renin angiotensin system hyperactivity are profoundly involved in cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, aerobic exercise training can prevent obesity and reduce cardiac renin angiotensin system components in some models of cardiac pathology. Therefore, our hypotheses was to investigate if obesity and its association with aerobic exercise training alters the systemic and cardiac renin angiotensin system components in an obese Zucker rat strain. Methods: The rats were divided in the follow groups: Lean group (LG); lean group plus aerobic exercise training (LGTR); obese group (OG) and obese group plus aerobic exercise training (OGTR). Aerobic exercise training protocol consisted of 10 weeks swimming sessions of 60 min, 5 days/week. At the end of the protocol training we evaluated heart rate, systolic blood pressure, cardiac hypertrophy and function, local and system component of renin angiotensin system. We also measured systemic glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol such as their fractions: low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein. Results: Both obese groups showed a significant augment in body weight when compared with lean groups, however, the obese trained group had less weight gain (-59%) than obese untrained group. These alterations were accompanied by (-12%) less resting heart rate, (-57%) triglycerides, (-61%) low density lipoprotein and augmented (+42%) high density lipoprotein in the obese group when compared with untrained obese group. Moreover, our results showed that exercise training reduced the increased cardiac mass (-13%), cardiac angiotensin converting enzyme activity (-27%) and expression (-63%), angiotensin II (-44%), and type 2 angiotensin II receptor (-35%), and improve the loss of diastolic function caused by obesity. Furthermore, exercise augmented cardiac ACE2 in both training groups. Conclusion: Our results showed that the aerobic exercise training improved the metabolic and cardiac alterations caused by obesity

Glykane sind weitverbreitete Biomoleküle, die meist in Form von Glykokonjugaten, wie beispielsweise als Glykoproteine oder Glykolipide, vorliegen. Durch die Interaktion von Glykanen mit Glykan-bindenden Proteinen wird eine Vielzahl an biochemischen Prozessen ausgelöst, sowohl physiologischer, als auch pathologischer Art. Die Aufklärung der beteiligten Glykanstrukturen ist daher nicht nur wichtig für das Verständnis dieser Prozesse, sondern kann auch Hinweise auf verschiedene Erkrankungen geben. Die Identifizierung von Glykanstrukturen kann über verschiedene Wege erfolgen. In der instrumentellen Analytik spielt dabei vor allem die ESI- und MALDI Massenspektrometrie eine wichtige Rolle, da diese sowohl für Detektion, als auch Fragmentierung großer Biomoleküle geeignet sind. Um die Analyse von Zuckern mittels chromatographischer und massenspektrometrischer Methoden zu erleichtern, werden häufig Derivatisierungsreagenzien eingesetzt. Diese verringern die Polarität der Zucker und erleichtern die Detektion durch das Einbringen von Chromo- oder Fluorophoren. Zur Derivatisierung am reduzierenden Terminus von Glykanen und Zuckern eignen sich vor allem Aminierungsreagenzien oder Hydrazide. Hydrazide haben gegenüber anderen Derivatisierungsreagenzien den Vorteil einer einfachen, salzfreien Umsetzung, aus der ein stabiles Derivat mit geschlossenem terminalen Zuckerring hervorgeht. Für die vorliegende Arbeit wurde die Derivatisierung mit den neuen Hydrazid Reagenzien INH und BINH, sowie dem bereits von Dr. P. Kapková bearbeiteten BACH untersucht. Als Vergleich dienten die underivatisierten Kohlenhydrate, wie auch das standardmäßig eingesetzte Aminierungsreagenz 2-AB. Dabei sollte das Ver-halten verschiedener Zucker und Glykane in Bezug auf chromatographische Trennung, Signalintensität und Fragmentierung analysiert werden. Zunächst wurde die Umsetzung von Mono-, Di- und Trisacchariden mit den neuen Derivatisierungsreagenzien INH und BINH optimiert. Dadurch konnte bei beiden Substanzen die komplette Umsetzung der Zucker in ihre Derivate gewährleistet werden. Auch die Derivatisierung mit Hilfe der Mikrowelle konnte bei INH erfolgreich durchgeführt werden. Auf diese Weise ließ sich die Reaktionszeit, im Vergleich zu den im Thermo-mixer® benötigten 90 Minuten, auf 20 Minuten verkürzen. Aufgrund der großen Men-gen an Zucker und Derivatisierungsreagenz, die für die Umsetzung in der Mikrowelle nötig sind, war der Versuch jedoch nur für INH geeignet. Im nächsten Schritt wurde das Trennverhalten der verschiedenen Mono-, Di- und Tri-saccharid-Derivate auf RP-C18- und HILIC-Phasen untersucht. Bei den Monosaccha-riden konnte durch keines der Derivate eine vollständige Trennung auf einer der Pha-sen erreicht werden. Das beste Ergebnis wurde durch INH auf der HILIC-Säule erzielt, doch auch dort konnten die Epimere Glucose, Mannose und Galactose nicht vollstän-dig separiert werden. Die Trennung der Disaccharide Maltose, Cellobiose und Lactose konnte auf der HILIC-Phase mit allen Derivaten außer BACH erfolgreich durchgeführt werden, auf der RP-C18 erwies sich dagegen nur 2-AB als geeignet. Bei den Trisac-chariden 3'SLN und 6'SLN konnten sowohl underivatisierte Zucker, als auch sämtliche Derivate mittels HILIC getrennt werden. Auch auf der C18-Phase war eine Trennung der BINH, BACH und 2-AB-Derivate möglich. Des Weiteren konnte durch die Derivati-sierungen die Signalintensität gegenüber den underivatisierten Zuckern deutlich gesteigert werden. Nach ihrer Trennung lassen sich massegleiche Di- und Trisaccharide anhand des Fragmentierungsmusters unterscheiden. Während bei den underivatisierten Disaccha-riden Maltose, Cellobiose und Lactose die charakteristischen Fragmente nur schwach sichtbar waren, konnte mit Hilfe der Hydrazide INH, BINH und BACH die Differenzie-rung deutlich erleichtert werden. Die 2-AB-Derivatisierung zeigte dagegen keine Ver-besserung der Fragmentierungseigenschaften. Bei der Unterscheidung der Trisaccharide 3’SLN und 6’SLN waren ebenfalls sowohl underivatisierte, als auch Hydrazid-derivatisierte Zucker im Vorteil gegenüber den 2-AB-Derivaten. Die Derivatisierung der N-Glykane von Ribonuclease B und Ovalbumin führte bei der Analyse mittels MALDI-TOF zu einer deutlichen Steigerung der Sensitivität. Beispiels-weise ließen sich bei den Glykanen des Ovalbumins durch die Derivatisierungen drei zusätzliche Strukturen im Vergleich zu den nativen Glykanen detektieren. Auch das Fragmentierungsverhalten der Glykane am MALDI-TOF/TOF konnte mit Hilfe der Derivatisierungen erheblich verbessert werden. Besonders die Umsetzung mit BINH führte zu einer Vielzahl charakteristischer Ringfragmente, wodurch die Aufklärung der verschiedenen Glykanstrukturen deutlich vereinfacht wurde. Auch im Vergleich zu 2 AB zeigten die Hydrazid-Derivate sowohl bessere Fragmentierungseigenschaften, als auch eine einfachere Handhabung für die Messung mittels MALDI-MS. Eine weitere Möglichkeit zur Identifikation von Glykanstrukturen liegt in der spezifischen Bindung durch Lektine. Diese Untersuchung gibt des Weiteren auch einen Hinweis auf funktionelle Eigenschaften der Glykane. Dafür wird die hohe Affinität von Biotin-haltigen Derivatisierungsreagenzien zu Avidin und Streptavidin genutzt. Nach der auf diese Weise erfolgten Immobilisierung der Glykane können diese mittels spezifischer Lektine nachgewiesen werden. Die Eignung des neuen Derivatisierungsreagen-zes BINH für diese Zwecke wurde anhand eines Glykan-Arrays getestet. Dadurch ließ sich bestätigen, dass BINH-derivatisierte Glykane und Zucker sowohl in der Lage sind an Streptavidin zu binden, als auch durch Lektine nachgewiesen werden können. Daher kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass BINH grundsätzlich für den Einsatz in bio-chemischen Methoden geeignet ist. Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die Derivatisierung von Kohlenhydraten mit INH, BINH und BACH zu einer deutlichen Verbesserung der Trenn- und Fragmentierungseigenschaften führten. Dadurch konnten Identifizierung und Strukturanalyse sowohl von kleinen Zuckern, als auch von Glykanen erleichtert werden. Im Vergleich zu dem Standard-Derivatisierungsreagenz 2-AB zeigten die Hydrazide nicht nur im Bereich der Fragmentierungen, sondern auch durch die einfachere Derivatisierungsreaktion wesentliche Vorteile. / Glycans are widely spreaded biomolecules, which are commonly presented as gly-coconjugates, e.g. glycoproteins or glycolipids. The interaction of glycans with glycan-binding proteins triggers numerous physiological and pathological processes in bio-chemistry. Therefore the determination of the participating glycanstructures is of immens interest for the understanding of such processes. The structures of the involved glycans may even provide evidence on several diseases. Identification of glycan structures can be performed by means of various techniques. Favorable techniques in analytical chemistry are ESI- and MALDI- mass spectrometry, since they can be used for the detection, as well as for the fragmentation of large bio-molecules. To simplify the analysis of carbohydrates by means of chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods, different derivatization reagents are available. The chemical modification of the sugars leads to a decrease in polarity and to an enhanced detection by coupling to chromo- or fluorophores. Derivatization at the reducing end of saccharides and glycans can be performed through reductive amination, or coupling to hydrazide reagents. The advantage of hydrazides in comparison to other derivatization reagents lies in a simple, salt-free reaction and results in a stable derivative with closed terminal sugar ring, as the reduction step is not necessary. The present work concentrates on the derivatization of sugars and glycans using the newly developed hydrazides INH and BINH, in addition to BACH, which was already used by Dr. P. Kapková [99]. The derivatives of those reagents were compared to the underivatized carbohydrates, as well as to the commonly used derivatization reagent 2 AB, in order to observe the characteristics related to liquid chromatography, signal intensity and fragmentation behavior. In the first step, the derivatization reaction of mono, di- and trisaccharides with INH and BINH was optimized, in order to ensure a complete transformation of the carbohy-drates into their derivatized equivalents. The derivatization with INH was also per-formed via microwave. In this way, the reaction time was reduced from 90 minutes us-ing the thermomixer®, to 20 minutes. Since this method required a high amount of sample, it was only performed with INH. Next, the chromatographic behaviour of the different saccharide derivatives was ana-lyzed by reversed phase and HILIC high performance liquid chromatography. In case of the monosaccharides, none of the mixtures of derivatives could be separated com-pletely on either of these columns. For HILIC the best effect was achieved with INH, even though glucose and its epimers, mannose and galactose could not be separated completely. On reversed phase, derivatization with BACH and 2-AB showed the best results for the separation of the monomers, but here as well the epimers were not dis-solved. The separation of the INH, BINH and 2-AB derivatives of the disaccharides maltose, cellobiose and lactose was performed successfully on HILIC, with RP-C18 only 2-AB was proved to be suitable. For the trisaccharides 3’SLN and 6’SLN the na-tive forms, as well as all of the derivatives were separated using HILIC. Even by using reversed-phase, the separation of the BINH, BACH and 2-AB derivatives was possible. Furthermore the signal intensity of the derivatized carbohydrates was considerably en-hanced compared to the native saccharides. The chromatography of sugars on HILIC phase showed presence of isomers (very probably the anomers) of the analyzed sug-ars. If the appearance of these isomers is not desirable, separation on reversed-phase can be applied. After separation, di- and trisaccharides of the same mass can be distinguished, based on their fragmentation pattern. Whereas the native disaccharides maltose, cellobiose and lactose showed only slight differences in fragmentation, the derivatization with INH, BINH and BACH increased the number of characteristic fragments. In contrast, with 2-AB no improvement was achieved. The discrimination between 3’SLN and 6’SLN was also simplified by derivatization with the different hydrazides. In contrast to the 2-AB derivatives, the native trisaccharides showed a high content of characteristic fragments as well. For the glycans of ribonuclease B and ovalbumin, the sensitivity was clearly improved through derivatization. In the case of ovalbumin, three additional structures were detected, compared to the native glycans. Regarding the fragmentation by means of MALDI TOF/TOF, the fragmentation behaviour of the glycans was considerably better after derivatization. Especially the BINH derivatives generated a high amount of characteristic cross-ring fragmentations. This way, the elucidation of different isomeric glycan structures was enhanced. Again, 2-AB had worse characteristics in terms of fragmentation behaviour and application properties, compared to the hydrazide derivatives. Another option for the investigation of glycan structures is the specific recognition by lectins. This kind of study also provides information on the functional properties of gly-cans. Biotinylated derivatives possess a high affinity to avidin and streptavidin. This feature is used to immobilise glycans on (strept-)avidin coated surfaces, so they can be further analyzed by specific lectins. Due to this, the suitability of BINH for functional studies was tested. In initial studies BINH derivatized glycans and sugars were con-firmed to bind to streptavidin and were recognized by lectins as well. Hence, it can be assumed that BINH derivatives are suitable for this kind of biochemical analysis. In summary, the derivatization of carbohydrates using INH, BINH and BACH improved the behaviour of the analytes during liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric fragmentation. Hence, identification and structural analysis of small saccharides, as well as glycans were considerably simplified. Compared to common derivatization reagents like 2-AB, the hydrazides showed significant advantages, not only in terms of mass spectrometric fragmentation, but also because of their simple derivatization reaction.

Rosiglitazone (RSG) is an insulin-sensitizing drug used to treat Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Clinical trials show that women taking RSG experience more limb fractures than patients taking other T2DM drugs. The purpose of this study is to understand how RSG (3mg/kg/day and 10mg/kg/day) and the bisphosphonate alendronate (0.7mg/kg/week) alter bone quality in the male, female and female ovariectomized (OVX) Zucker fatty rat model over a 12 week period. Bone quality was evaluated by mechanical testing of cortical and trabecular bone. Microarchitecture, bone mineral density (BMD), cortical bone porosity, bone formation/resorption and mineralization were also measured. Female OVX RSG10mg/kg rats had significantly lower vertebral BMD and compromised trabecular architecture versus OVX controls. Increased cortical porosity and decreased mechanical properties occurred in these rats. ALN treatment prevented these negative effects in the OVX RSG model. Evidence of reduced bone formation and excess bone resorption was detected in female RSG-treated rats.