SFEBES2021 Poster Presentations Metabolism, Obesity and Diabetes (78 abstracts)
The effects of caloric restriction on adipose tissue and metabolic health are sex- and age-dependent
Benjamin Thomas 1 , Karla Suckacki 1 , Claire Fyfe 2 , Adriana Tavares 1 , Richard Sulston 1 , Andrea Lovdel 1 , Holly Woodward 1 , Xuan Han 1 , Domenico Mattiucci 1 , Eleanor Brain 1 , Carlos Alcaide-Corral 1 , Gillian Gray 1 , Phillip Whitfield 3,4 , Roland Stimson 1 , Nicholas Morton 1 , Alexandra Johnstone 2 & William Cawthorn 1
1University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 2University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom; 3University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness, United Kingdom; 4University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Caloric restriction (CR) is a nutritional intervention that reduces the risk of age-related diseases in numerous species, including humans. CR’s metabolic effects, including decreased fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity, play an important role in its broader health benefits, yet many aspects of the CR response remain poorly understood. In particular, sex differences in metabolic function are increasingly well recognised, but the extent and basis of sex differences in CR’s health benefits have been largely ignored. Herein, we addressed this gap in knowledge. In young (3-month-old) male mice, CR decreased fat mass and fasting blood glucose and improved both glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity; however, in young female mice these effects were blunted or absent. Indirect calorimetry revealed that females’ resistance to fat and weight loss is not explained by decreased energy expenditure, positron emission tomography-computed tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose showed that altered peripheral glucose uptake does not account for the sex differences in glucose tolerance. Instead, the latter is associated with altered hepatic function, with CR decreasing gluconeogenesis and altering liver ceramide content in males but not females. To determine if oestrogen contributes to these sex differences, we next investigated the metabolic effects of CR initiated in aged mice (18-months old), when females are anoestrus. Strikingly, in these aged mice CR decreased fat mass and improved glucose homeostasis to a similar extent in both sexes. Finally, we found that CR-induced fat loss in humans is also sex- and age-dependent, with younger females resisting fat loss compared to younger males. Collectively, we identify age-dependent sex differences in the metabolic effects of CR and highlight adipose tissue, the liver and oestrogen as key determinants of CR’s metabolic benefits. This has important implications for understanding the interplay between diet and health, and for maximising the benefits of CR in humans.
Article tools
My recent searches
My recently viewed abstracts
Authors
Endocrine Abstracts
ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)
© Bioscientifica 2024 |
Privacy policy |
Cookie settings
BiosciAbstracts
Bioscientifica Abstracts is the gateway to a series of products that provide a permanent, citable record of abstracts for biomedical and life science conferences.
Find out more