Up-regulation of PPAR-γ mRNA expression in the liver of obese patients: An additional reinforcing lipogenic mechanism to SREBP-1c induction

Abstract

Introduction: Triglyceride accumulation in the liver is an early feature in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) associated with human obesity, which is a multifactorial syndrome and whose underlying mechanisms are beginning to be understood. Objectives: Liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) mRNA expression was measured as a signaling mechanism related to steatosis in obese patients with NAFLD. Methods: Liver PPAR-γ and sterol receptor element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c)mRNA(real-time RT-PCR), serum total adiponectin (RIA), and high molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin (ELISA) levels, and insulin resistance (IR) evolution (homeostasis model assessment-IR) were determined in 22 obese NAFLD patients (16 with steatosis and six with steatohepatitis) who underwent subtotal gastrectomy with gastrojejunal anastomosis in Roux-en-Y and 16 nonobese subjects who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (controls). Results: Liver PPAR-γ mRNA levels were 1