Abstract
Sterile inflammation occurs when inflammatory proteins are increased in blood and tissues by nonpathogenic states and is a double-edged sword depending on its cause (stress, injury, or disease), duration (transient versus chronic), and inflammatory milieu. Short-term fasting can exert a host of health benefits through unknown mechanisms. The following experiment tested if a 24 h fast would modulate basal and stress-evoked sterile inflammation in plasma and adipose. Adult male F344 rats were either randomized to ad libitum access to food or fasted for 24 h prior to 0 (control), 10, or 100, 1.5 mA-5 s intermittent, inescapable tail shocks (IS). Glucose, nonesterified free fatty acids (NEFAs), insulin, leptin, and corticosterone were measured in plasma and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α, interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, and IL-10 in plasma, and subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, and visceral compartments of white adipose tissue (WAT). In control rats, a 24 h fast reduced all measured basal cytokines in plasma and visceral WAT, IL-1β and IL-6 in subcutaneous WAT, and IL-6 in intraperitoneal WAT. In stressed rats (IS), fasting reduced visceral WAT TNF-α, subcutaneous WAT IL-1β, and plasma insulin and leptin. Short-term fasting may thus prove to be a useful dietary strategy for reducing peripheral inflammatory states associated with visceral obesity and chronic stress.
Highlights
Mammalian white adipose tissue (WAT) has been traditionally regarded as a passive energy storage organ but advances in adipose research have revealed that WAT functions as a highly active endocrine organ serving physiological functions that range from immunity to the regulation of appetite and reproduction [1]
Mean body weight prior to the onset of food removal was 294 g ± 1.4 for the group assigned to the fed condition and 300 g ± 1.9 for the group assigned to the fasted condition. 24 h later, the mean body weight of the fed rats increased to 294 g ± 1.4 whereas the weights of the fasted rats dropped to 278 g ± 1.9
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of a 24 h fast on basal cytokine expression and the sterile inflammatory response to acute tail-shock stress in the plasma and subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, and visceral WAT of normal weight rats
Summary
Mammalian white adipose tissue (WAT) has been traditionally regarded as a passive energy storage organ but advances in adipose research have revealed that WAT functions as a highly active endocrine organ serving physiological functions that range from immunity to the regulation of appetite and reproduction [1]. Rats exposed to 100 acute tail shocks, for example, demonstrate a 10-fold increase in the expression of interleukin- (IL-) 1β in the subcutaneous WAT compartment that does not occur in intraperitoneal (epididymal + retroperitoneal depots) or visceral (omental + mesenteric depots) WAT [4]. These findings substantiate the unique responsiveness of WAT relative to its anatomical location and the necessity of studying this
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