• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1012-1018
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to determine whether Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein (APP) is dysregulated in adipose tissues of C57BL/6 male mice by high-fat diet (HFD) induced obesity, aging, or streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. APP mRNA expression was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) in subcutaneous (SAT) and epididymal adipose tissues (EAT) from mice in 8 different condition groups. By combining conditions of age (16 weeks/26 weeks of age), diet (normal diet (ND)/high-fat diet), and induction of diabetes (non-diabetic/diabetic), 88 mice were divided into 8 different groups. QPCR demonstrated that APP expression in SAT was significantly increased by about two-fold in HFD-induced obese mice compared to both 16 week-old and 26 week-old mice in the ND group (16 weeks p=0.001; 26 weeks p<0.0001), but no changes in EAT was found. Particular effects of aging on APP gene expression were not observed in either adipose tissue depots. Significantly decreased APP expression was found in SAT in STZ-induced diabetic mice fed on ND or HFD at 16 weeks of age (ND p<0.05; HFD p<0.01). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that APP expression levels correlated with body weight in both the non-diabetic group (R=0.657, p<0.0001, n=39) and the diabetic group (R=0.508, p=<0.0001, n=49), but did not correlate with plasma glucose levels, which suggests that decreased APP expression in STZ-induced diabetic mice is most likely due to weight loss rather than hyperglycemia. These data confirm APP dysregulation by weight changes in humans and suggest a possible role linking midlife obesity with the later development of amyloidogenesis in the brain of older patients with Alzheimer's disease.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.642-655
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• 2022

Purpose: We examined the effects of the 8-week moderate-intensity Pilates exercise program on body composition, balance ability, metabolic parameters, arterial condition, and eating habits among overweight and obese women. Methods: From the general sample of overweight or obese Korean women (body mass index ≥ 23 kg/m² ), those who had not been diagnosed with any chronic degenerative diseases were enrolled in the study (n = 39). After 8 weeks of the Pilates exercise program, the participants were subdivided into adherence and non-adherence groups. Among the study participants, 24 women were matched for age and menopausal status to reduce the bias, and then finally included for the comparison (Pilates-adherence, n = 12; Pilates-non-adherence, n = 12). Results: The body balance measured by the Y-balance test, body mass index, and subcutaneous fat areas were significantly improved in both groups. However, the Pilate-sadherence group showed more positive changes in body balance and had significant improvement in body composition parameters such as waist size, visceral fat area, systolic blood pressure, arterial aging index, fasting blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin than the Pilates-non-adherence group. In addition, the nutrition quotient for Korean adults (balance, moderation, and behavior except diversity) were significantly improved in both groups after dietary education. However, the participants did not show dramatic improvement in the metabolic parameters, because all the study subjects were in relatively good health and did not have any diagnosed diseases. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that higher adherence to the Pilates exercise program together with a modification of eating habits may effectively improve body balance, body composition, and obesity-related parameters among overweight and obese women.