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Partial prevention of hepatic lipid alterations in nude mice by neonatal thymulin gene therapy

  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

During adult life athymic (nude) male mice display not only a severe T-cell-related immunodeficiency but also endocrine imbalances and a moderate hyperglycemia. We studied the impact of congential athymia on hepatic lipid composition and also assessed the ability of neonatal thymulin gene therapy to prevent the effects of athymia. We constructed a recombinant adenoviral vector, RAd-metFTS, expression a synthetic DNA sequence encoding met-FTS, an analog of the thymic peptide facteur thymique sérique (FTS), whose Zn-bound biologically active form is known as thymulin. On postnatal day 1–2 homozygous (nu/nu) nude and heterozygous (nu/+) mice were injected with 108 pfu of RAd-metFTS or RAd-βgal (control vector) intramuscularly. The animals were processed at 52 d of age. Serum thymulin, glycemia, hepatic phospholipid FA compostion and free and esterified cholesterol were determined. Adult homozygous male nudes were significantly (P<0.01) hyperglycemic when compared with their heterozygous counterparts (2.04 vs. 1.40 g/L, respectively). The relative percentage of 16∶0, 18∶1n−9, and 18∶1n−7 FA was lower, whereas that of 18∶0, 20∶4n−6, and 22∶6n−3 FA was higher, in hepatic phospholipid (PL) of nu/nu animals as compared with their nu/+ counterparts. Some of these alterations, such as that in the relative content of 22∶6n−3 in liver PL and the unsaturation index, were completely or partially prevented by neonatal thymulin gene therapy. We conclude that the thymus influences lipid metabolism and that thymulin is involved in this modulatory activity.

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Abbreviations

FTS:

facteur thymique sérique

GH:

growth hormone

LH:

luteinizing hormone

pfu:

plaque-forming units

PL:

phospholipid

PRL:

prolactin

RAd:

recombinant adenovirus

TSH:

thyrotropin

Tx:

thymectomized

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INIBIOLP (Institute for Biochemical Research), Faculty of Medicine, University of La Plata, CC455, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Margarita M. García de Bravo, Mónica P. Polo, Paula C. Reggiani, Omar J. Rimoldi & Rodolfo G. Goya

  2. CNRS URA 8147, Université Paris V, Hôpital Necker, Paris, France

    Mireille Dardenne

Authors
  1. Margarita M. García de Bravo
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  2. Mónica P. Polo
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  3. Paula C. Reggiani
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  4. Omar J. Rimoldi
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  5. Mireille Dardenne
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  6. Rodolfo G. Goya
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Correspondence to Rodolfo G. Goya.

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García de Bravo, M.M., Polo, M.P., Reggiani, P.C. et al. Partial prevention of hepatic lipid alterations in nude mice by neonatal thymulin gene therapy. Lipids 41, 753–757 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-5027-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-5027-4

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