Effects of High-Fat High-Sucrose Feeding, Energy Restriction, and trans-10,cis-12 Conjugated Linoleic Acid on Visfatin and Apelin in Hamsters

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the effects of high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS) feeding, energy restriction, and trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on visfatin and apelin.

Design: A randomized dietary intervention study.

Setting: Free-living individuals studied in metabolic cages.

Subjects: Thirty-two male Syrian Golden hamsters (82.6 ± 1.4 g).

Interventions: Standard and HFHS feeding for 7 weeks. After that, some hamsters fed the HFHS diet were submitted for 3 weeks to a 25% energy restriction with or without trans-10,cis-12 CLA supplementation (0.5%).

Results: Feeding animals an HFHS diet resulted in increased body fat and reduced insulin sensitivity. No changes were observed in the expression and serum levels of visfatin and apelin, or in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ and Sirt1 expression. Energy restriction reduced body fat and normalized insulin sensitivity. Visfatin showed increased serum levels without changes in expression. No modifications were found as far as apelin was concerned. Sirt1 expression was increased, and PPARγ remained unchanged. With regard to trans-10,cis-12 CLA, no changes were induced by its addition to the restricted diet.

Conclusions: Insulin function impairment induced by HFHS feeding is not mediated by visfatin and apelin. However, visfatin can play a role in improving insulin sensitivity associated with energy restriction. These results suggest that visfatin may not have evolved as a molecule that reserves the action of insulin when food is widely available, but rather that its function seems to be associated with energy restriction adaptation. In general terms, trans-10,cis-12 CLA did not modify changes induced by energy restriction.

• high-fat high-sucrose feeding
• energy restriction
• conjugated linoleic acid
• visfatin
• apelin
• hamster

This study was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (AGL2005-02494, CYTED 208RT0343), Gobierno Vasco (IT-265-07), and University of País Vasco (GIU06/82). A. Lasa is a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Palm oil was a generous gift from Agra-Unilever Foods España S.A. (Leioa, Spain).