Special Issue "Nutrition, Metabolism, and Obesity: Novel Strategies and Molecular Mechanisms—Future Perspectives"

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2023 | Viewed by 1736

Special Issue Editor

Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Gene Technology, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Karolinska Institute Science Park, SE-171 21 Solna, Sweden
Interests: lipid metabolism; lipidomic; sex differences; sex hormones; nutrition; metabolic syndrome
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Obesity is a significant public health concern due to its close link with metabolic comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, liver diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Evidence suggests that excessive or inappropriate nutrient intake triggers chronic inflammatory responses in tissues that regulate metabolic homeostasis, leading to altered metabolic pathways, insulin resistance, and systemic metabolic dysfunction. Nutritional interventions have emerged as effective strategies for managing obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

In this Special Issue, we aim to cover the molecular significance of both macro- and micro-nutrients, as well as the current dietary recommendations. We will explore the primary metabolic pathways and molecular mechanisms in which each nutrient plays a role, and their contribution to the development of obesity and/or metabolic diseases. Importantly, gut microbiota are crucial in regulating the metabolic response to nutrient intake. As such, we aim to gain a mechanistic understanding of how nutrients and the intestinal microbiota may contribute to the metabolic health of the human host. By doing so, we hope to shed light on the pathogenesis of various common metabolic disorders including, but not limited to, obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic liver disease, cardiometabolic diseases and malnutrition.

This Special Issue will focus on novel strategies and molecular mechanisms, as well as nutritional approaches to tackle obesity and its associated metabolic disturbances.

This Special Issue of the Biomolecules Journal, entitled “Nutrition, Metabolism, and Obesity: Novel Strategies and Molecular Mechanisms—Future Perspectives”, aims to solicit original research papers or review articles on the current state of research in this field, including both discovery and preclinical studies.

We look forward to your contributions to this research field.

Dr. Marion Korach-André
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • diet
  • nutrients
  • obesity
  • inflammation
  • fat
  • glucose intolerance
  • insulin resistance
  • fatty liver disease
  • metabolic syndrome

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 3180 KiB  
Article
Effect of Metformin Treatment on Serum Metabolic Profile Changes in Lean and Obese Zucker Rat Model for Fatty Liver Disease
Biomolecules 2023, 13(8), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13081234 - 10 Aug 2023
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Abstract
Excessive weight and obesity are the leading risk factors for the development of chronic diseases, including diabetes. Metformin is capable of significantly improving coexisting complications of diabetes. We used a metabolomics approach to examine the effects of metformin administration on lean and obese [...] Read more.
Excessive weight and obesity are the leading risk factors for the development of chronic diseases, including diabetes. Metformin is capable of significantly improving coexisting complications of diabetes. We used a metabolomics approach to examine the effects of metformin administration on lean and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats. After 1 week of acclimation, twenty-eight 5-week-old female lean and obese rats were randomly assigned to and maintained in the following four groups (seven rats/group) for 10 weeks: (1) lean control (LC); (2) obese control (OC); (3) lean metformin (LM); and (4) obese metformin (OM). At the end of 10 weeks, serum was collected and analyzed using HPLC with electrochemical detection, HPLC with UV detection, and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. We selected 50 metabolites’ peaks that were shared by all four groups of rats. Peak heights, as a defining factor, generally decreased in metformin-treated lean rats vs. untreated lean controls (3 LM:16 LC). Peak heights generally increased in metformin-treated obese rats vs. untreated obese controls (14 OM:5 OC). Overall, individual peaks were distributed as 11 that represented only lean rats, 11 that represented only obese rats, and 8 that were common among both lean and obese rats. In future studies, we will use a targeted metabolomics approach to identify those metabolites, map them to biochemical pathways and create a list of biomarkers. In summary, the current study contributed to a better understanding of the basic metabolic changes of lean and obese rats and demonstrated that both obesity and metformin make a significant impact on the metabolome of Zucker rats. Full article
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Review

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27 pages, 2508 KiB  
Review
Trace Amine-Associated Receptors and Monoamine-Mediated Regulation of Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic Islets
Biomolecules 2023, 13(11), 1618; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13111618 - 05 Nov 2023
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Abstract
Currently, metabolic syndrome treatment includes predominantly pharmacological symptom relief and complex lifestyle changes. Trace amines and their receptor systems modulate signaling pathways of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which are involved in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is expressed [...] Read more.
Currently, metabolic syndrome treatment includes predominantly pharmacological symptom relief and complex lifestyle changes. Trace amines and their receptor systems modulate signaling pathways of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which are involved in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is expressed in endocrine organs, and it was revealed that TAAR1 may regulate insulin secretion in pancreatic islet β-cells. For instance, accumulating data demonstrate the positive effect of TAAR1 agonists on the dynamics of metabolic syndrome progression and MetS-associated disease development. The role of other TAARs (TAAR2, TAAR5, TAAR6, TAAR8, and TAAR9) in the islet’s function is much less studied. In this review, we summarize the evidence of TAARs’ contribution to the metabolic syndrome pathogenesis and regulation of insulin secretion in pancreatic islets. Additionally, by the analysis of public transcriptomic data, we demonstrate that TAAR1 and other TAAR receptors are expressed in the pancreatic islets. We also explore associations between the expression of TAARs mRNA and other genes in studied samples and demonstrate the deregulation of TAARs’ functional associations in patients with metabolic diseases compared to healthy donors. Full article
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