Authors
Houseknecht KL. Vanden Heuvel JP. Moya-Camarena SY. Portocarrero CP. Peck
LW. Nickel KP. Belury MA.
Institution
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
47907, USA.
Title
Dietary conjugated linoleic
acid normalizes impaired glucose tolerance in the Zucker
diabetic fatty fa/fa rat.
Source
Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications. 244(3):678-82, 1998 Mar
27.
Abstract
Conjugated linoleic acid
(CLA) is a naturally occurring fatty acid which has
anti-carcinogenic and anti-atherogenic properties. CLA activates PPAR alpha
in liver, and shares functional similarities to ligands of PPAR gamma, the
thiazolidinediones, which are potent insulin sensitizers. We provide the
first evidence that CLA is able to normalize impaired glucose tolerance and
improve hyperinsulinemia in the pre-diabetic ZDF rat. Additionally, dietary
CLA increased steady state levels of aP2 mRNA in adipose tissue of fatty ZDF
rats compared to controls, consistent with activation of PPAR gamma. The
insulin sensitizing effects of CLA are due, at least in part, to activation
of PPAR gamma since increasing levels of CLA induced a dose-dependent
transactivation of PPAR gamma in CV-1 cells cotransfected with PPAR gamma and
PPRE X 3-luciferase reporter construct. CLA effects on glucose tolerance and
glucose homeostasis indicate that dietary CLA may prove to be an important
therapy for the prevention and treatment of NIDDM.