Open AccessEffects of cereal fiber on leptin resistance and sensitivity in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat/cholesterol diet
Author(s) -
Ru Zhang,
Jun Jiao,
Wei Zhang,
Zhihua Zheng,
Weiguo Zhang,
Qin Li,
Shu Fen Han
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
food and nutrition research/food and nutrition research. supplement
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1654-6628
pISSN - 1654-661X
DOI - 10.3402/fnr.v60.31690
Subject(s) - leptin , leptin receptor , medicine , endocrinology , insulin resistance , adipose tissue , socs3 , bran , biology , janus kinase 2 , insulin receptor , chemistry , obesity , signal transduction , receptor , stat3 , biochemistry , raw material , ecology
Background Cereal fiber is reported to be associated with obesity and metabolic diseases. However, whether cereal fiber improves leptin resistance and sensitivity remains unclear. Design For 24 weeks, 48 male C57BL/6J mice were randomly given a normal chow diet (Chow), high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFD), HFD with 0.8% oat fiber (H-oat) or HFD with 0.8% wheat bran fiber (H-wheat). At the end of feeding period, both the serum insulin and leptin levels were determined by ELISA kits. Western blotting was used to assess the protein expressions of the leptin receptor (LepR) and the leptin-signaling pathway in the adipose tissues. Results Our results suggested that mice fed oat or wheat bran fiber exhibited lower body weight, serum lipids, as well as insulin and leptin levels. The two cereal fibers potently increased the protein expressions of LepR in the adipose tissue. In addition, protein expressions of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and transcription 3 (STAT3) (induced by LepR), which enhances leptin signaling, were significantly higher and the expression of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3), which inhibits leptin signaling, was significantly lower in the two cereal fiber groups than in the HFD group. Conclusion Taken together, our findings suggest that cereal fiber can improve leptin resistance and sensitivity by the JAK2/STAT3 pathway in C57BL/6J mice fed a HFD; furthermore, oat fiber is more effective in the improvement of leptin sensitivity than wheat bran fiber, in this murine model.