Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) includes conserved factors whose function is largely unexplored. To assess the role of CSF during embryonic development, CSF was repeatedly drained from embryonic zebrafish brain ventricles soon after their inflation. Removal of CSF increased cell death in the diencephalon, indicating a survival function. Factors within the CSF are required for neuroepithelial cell sur...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Pioglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activator, is clinically used to treat insulin resistance. However, the underlying mechanism of pioglitazone's action remains unclear. We investigated whether, and how, pioglitazone modulates serum level of retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), an adipocytokine associated with obesity and insulin resistance. METHODS Insu...

BACKGROUND Ovarian retinoid homeostasis plays an important role in the physiological function of the ovary. Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) acts as the mediator for the systemic and intercellular transport of retinol and is heavily involved in cellular retinol influx, efflux, and exchange. However, the expression patterns and regulatory mechanisms of Rbp4 in the ovary remain unclear. METHODS...

Insulin resistance occurs under conditions of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. It was found to be accompanied by down-regulation of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter GLUT4. Decreased adipocyte GLUT4 caused secretion by adipocytes of the serum retinol-binding protein RBP4. Enhanced levels of serum RBP4 appeared to be the signal for the development of systemic insulin re...

Retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4), a novel protein secreted mainly by adipose tissue, has been associated with insulin resistance in obese subjects and in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We examined the relationship between plasma RBP4 levels, expression of RBP4 in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, and insulin sensitivity in Mexican Americans with varying degrees of obesity a...

Abstract Context Data on the presence/quantification of neurotrophic adipokines retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4), clusterin, and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are scarce migration these across blood-brain barrier (BBB) is uncertain. Objective This work aimed to quantify RBP4, PEDF, clusterin paired serum CSF samples patients undergoing neurological ...

BACKGROUND Retinol Binding Protein 4 (RBP4) is an exciting new biomarker for the determination of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. It is known that circulating RBP4 resides in multiple variants which may provide enhanced clinical utility, but conventional immunoassay methods are blind to such differences. A Mass Spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) technology that can quantitate total RBP4 a...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Adipokines are involved in the etiopathology of obesity-related disorders. Since the role of adipokine retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4) in obesity remains uncertain and its relationship with other adipokines and inflammatory markers has not been examined in detail, we investigated the relationships of RBP4 mRNA expression and circulating protein levels with obesity, anthro...

The current study was designed to elucidate the mechanism of retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) in cleft palate induced by all‑trans retinoic acid (atRA). To establish a cleft palate model in C57BL/6J mice, pregnant mice were administered atRA (100 mg/kg) by gavage at the tenth embryonic stage (E10.0). Control groups were given the equivalent volume of corn oil. Pregnant mice were dissected at E1...

OBJECTIVE Serum concentrations of retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) are elevated in type 2 diabetes and associated with the severity of insulin resistance; however, there are few data about the relationship between urinary RBP4 levels and metabolic parameters. We assessed urinary RBP4 as a new biomarker by establishing its relationship with clinical parameters associated with insulin resistance ...