fatemeh jalali moghim

In high-fat diet-induced obesity, the levels of cathepsin L (CTSL) and cathepsin B (CTSB) increase in adipocytes, resulting in insulin resistance in the adipose tissue. In this study, the preventive effect of endurance training on the gene expression of CTSL and CTSB was investigated in the adipose tissue of mice with a high-fat diet.

Twenty-one male mice (age: four weeks, weight: 12 g) were assigned to three groups, including control (n=7), high-fat diet (HFD) (n=7), and endurance training/high-fat diet (ET-HFD) (n=7). The mice of the HFD group were fed HFD (42% fat) for 12 weeks. The mice in the ET-HFD group, along with HFD feeding, were submitted to continuous endurance training on a treadmill for six weeks (five sessions per week), with a progressive increase in intensity and volume. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to assess the gene expression of CTSL and CTSB.

The HFD was fattening (P=0.001). The gene expression of CTSL did not significantly change in the groups (P=0.118). However, the gene expression of CTSB increased fivefold in the HFD group as compared to the control group (P=0.001). The increase in the level of CTSB was 50% lower in the ET-HFD group compared to the HFD group (P=0.013).

Endurance training could partially prevent the upregulation of CTSB induced by a high-fat diet. It seems that the preventive effect of endurance training against obesity-related complications is partly due to the inhibition of CTSB expression in the adipose tissue.

The country Iran is one of the most important centers for diversity of the genus Verbascum. This study was carried out to determinate intraspecific diversity of the V. speciosum populations collected from East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kordestan, Kermanshah and Hamedan provinces. With using the D.S.S. method seventeen special habitats were determined for V. speciosum and floristic-ecologic data collected from each special habitat. Seed storage proteins were subjected for electrophoresis studies. In the survey of all special stations, 109 plant species were distinguished as associated species. As the result of analysis of floristic data, as floristic marker, four groups were determined that this grouping is distinguished the existence of intraspecific diversity in V. speciosum. Analysis of ecologic data was also confirmed the above mentioned grouping. The analysis of seed storage protein banding pattern showed four quite obvious groups. In the survey of electrophoresis pattern, existence of differences regarding number and density of the protein bands indicating existence of intraspecific diversity in the populations of V. speciosum. Therefore in this species, the grouping that introduced with floristic marker, mostly confirmed also with ecological and electrophoresis markers. This means that floristic grouping can only be used as a cost-effective and efficient method for studying of intraspecific diversity.