Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by excessive lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. The role of SENP3 in lipid metabolism, particularly NAFLD, is unclear. Our results showed that hepatic SENP3 was up-regulated in NAFLD patients and an animal model in vivo and after loading hepatocytes with free fatty acids (FFA) in vitro. Intracellular lipid accumulation was determined in...

Although Panax ginseng is a famous traditional Chinese medicine and has been widely used to treat a variety of metabolic diseases including hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hepatosteatosis, the effective mediators and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study we found that ginsenoside Rb2, one of the major ginsenosides in Panax ginseng, was able to prevent hepatic lipid accum...

Nutrient overload and genetic factors have led to a worldwide epidemic of obesity that is the underlying cause of diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we used macrolide drugs such as FK506, rapamycin, and macrolide derived, timcodar (VX-853), to determine their effects on lipid accumulation during adipogenesis. Rapamycin and FK506 bind to FK506-binding proteins ...

AIMS Aryl hydrocarbons (AHs), such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and benzo(a)pyrene (BP), are environmental contaminants promoting the development of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases. In order to identify molecular mechanisms involved in these effects, we have analysed AH-mediated regulation of the lipid trafficking Niemann-Pick type C1 protein (NPC1) and its cont...

In the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, de novo lipid synthesis and accumulation are induced under conditions of nitrogen limitation (or a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio). The regulatory pathway responsible for this induction has not been identified. Here we report that the SNF1 pathway plays a key role in the transition from the growth phase to the oleaginous phase in Y. lipolytica. Strain...

The use of microalgae as a biofuel feedstock is highly desired, but current methods to induce lipid accumulation cause severe stress responses that limit biomass and, thus oil yield. To address these issues, a high throughput screening (HTS) method was devised to identify chemical inducers of growth and lipid accumulation. Optimization was performed to determine the most effective cell density,...

Accumulation of storage lipids in the crustacean Daphnia magna can be altered by a number of exogenous and endogenous compounds, like 20-hydroxyecdysone (natural ligand of the ecdysone receptor, EcR), methyl farnesoate, pyrirproxyfen (agonists of the methyl farnesoate receptor, MfR), and tributyltin (agonist of the retinoid X acid receptor, RXR). This effect, analogous to the obesogenic disrupt...

High levels of saturated, branched-chain fatty acids are deleterious to cells and animals, resulting in lipid accumulation and cytotoxicity. Although fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs) are thought to be protective, this hypothesis has not previously been examined. Phytanic acid (branched chain, 16-carbon backbone) induced lipid accumulation in L cell fibroblasts similar to that observed with p...

Nitrogen deficiency promotes lipid formation in many microalgae, but also limits growth and lipid productivity. In spite of numerous studies, there is poor understanding of the interactions of growth and lipid content, the time course of lipid accumulation and the magnitude of nitrogen deficiency required to stimulate lipid formation. These relationships were investigated in six species of olea...