Comparison of Anthropometry, Serum Lipid Levels and Nutrient Intakes of Two Groups Based on their Drinking, Smoking, Exercise, Menopause and Obesity Status: In Residents of Youngdong Area / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to compare the anthropometry, the serum lipid levels and the nutrient intakes of two groups according to their alcohol intake, smoking habits, regular exercise patterns, menopause status and obesity levels. The subjects consisted of 180 clinically normal adults (males 89, females 91) in the Youngdong area. There were significant differences in the triglyceride (TG) concentrations between the alcohol consumers (169.3 +/- 130.0 mg/dl) and the non-alcohol consumers (111.4 +/- 64.5 mg/dl), and the smokers (165.0 +/- 103.6 mg/dl) and the non-smokers (110.8 +/- 39.0 mg/dl). Although regular exercise did not affect the serum lipid levels, the dietary intakes of cholesterol, niacin and phosphate were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the male exercising group than in the male non-exercising group ; and female exercising group consumed more polyunsaturated fatty acids (p < 0.05) than the female non-exercising group. The waist/hip ratio, serum total cholesterol (198.4 +/- 36.3 mg/dl) and serum LDL-cholesterol (119.5 +/- 34.9 mg/dl) levels of the postmenopausal females were significantly higher than those of the premenopausal females (p < 0.01). The obese males showed higher serum cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, LDL/HDL, and relative cholesterol levels than those of the normal-weight males ; and the obese females showed higher serum TG levels than that of the normal-weight females (p < 0.01). These results suggested that drinking, smoking, menopause and obesity are risk factors for hyperlipidemia. Thus, moderation in alcohol consumption, non-smoking, regular exercise and the maintenance of normal weight are necessary to prevent hyperlipidemia in middle-aged people.

Characterization of regulatory elements on the promoter region of human ATP-citrate lyase

ATP-citrate lyase (ACL), an enzyme catalyzing the first step in biosynthesis of fatty acids, is induced during the lipogenesis and cholesterologenesis. We demonstrate that the region -213 to -128 of human ACL promoter is responsible for conferring glucose-mediated transcription. This region in the ACL promoter contains Sp1 binding sites determined by DNase I foot-printing assay. Gel retardation assay using oligonucleotides from -179 to -141 and -140 to -110 showed two specific DNA-protein complexes postulated to be formed by transcription factor Sp1. Competition gel shift and supershift assays have confirmed that these DNA-protein complexes were the result of induced Sp1 as well as another Sp1-related proteins. Western blot analysis also demonstrated that transcription factor Sp1 was slightly increased in the nuclear proteins extracted from Alexander cells following supplementation of glucose. In addition, expression of 110 kDa protein reacting with antibody against Sp3 was dramatically increased by glucose supplementation, while isoforms of Sp3, about 80 kDa in size was decreased in its amounts. Our results suggest that changes in the expression of Sp1 family proteins play an important role in activation of the ACL promoter by glucose.