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Aim Adipose tissue has an important function in total energy homeostasis, and its dysregulation may contribute to lifestyle-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate genome-wide mRNA expression in adipose tissue in healthy men before and after an exercise intervention to identify genes or pathways that mediate the beneficial effect of regular exercise. We also investigated the difference in adipose tissue mRNA expression between individuals with or without a family history of type 2 diabetes. Methods The 6-month supervised exercise intervention was conducted in 47 healthy men (age 37.8 ± 4.3 years, BMI 28.5 ± 3.6 kg m−2) with a previous low level of physical activity. RNA was analysed using GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix) before and after the exercise. Results We identified 2,560 significant transcripts differentially expressed before vs. after exercise with a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.1%, including genes encoding the respiratory chain, histone subunits, small nucleolar RNAs and ribosomal proteins. Additionally, pathways enriched in response to exercise include the ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, proteasome and many metabolic pathways, whereas the WNT and MAPK signalling pathways were down-regulated (FDR < 5%) after exercise. There were no significant differences in m RNA expression between individuals with or without a family history of type 2 diabetes. Conclusion Exercise increased the expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, which is the opposite of what has been seen in adipose tissue from elderly or obese individuals with low physical fitness, and our study thereby demonstrates a mechanism for the beneficial effect of exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To compare the clinical characteristics of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) between immigrants from the Middle-East and Swedish patients. Methods The study group included 450 consecutive patients with T2DM, 379 Swedish-born aged 61 ± 12 years and 71 patients originally from the Middle-East aged 50 ± 11 years from the diabetes clinic of Malmo University Hospital. Results Onset of diabetes had occurred 12 years earlier in the Middle-East immigrants compared with the Swedish-born patients (43 ± 10 vs. 55 ± 12 years, P < 0.001). Immigrants had lower fasting serum C-peptide [0.7 (0.1–2.6) vs. 0.9 (0.1–4.0) nmol/l, P = 0.013], lower homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-β[1.7 (0.1–9.1) vs. 2.7 (0.1–59.0), P = 0.010], lower HOMA-IR [0.4 (0.02–1.19) vs. 0.4 (0.01–2.8), P = 0.005] than the Swedish group. A first-degree family history of diabetes was reported in 61% of immigrants, compared with 47% of Swedish-born ( P = 0.022). Conclusions Immigrants from the Middle-East have an earlier onset, stronger family history and more rapid decline of pancreatic B-cell function than Swedish patients, suggesting that they have a different form of T2DM compared with Swedish patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabet. Med. 29, e377-e381 (2012) Abstract Aims Skeletal muscle is a major metabolic organ and plays important roles in glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity and insulin action. Muscle telomere length reflects the myocyte's exposure to harmful environmental factors. Leukocyte telomere length is considered a marker of muscle telomere length and is used in epidemiologic studies to assess associations with ageing-related diseases where muscle physiology is important. However, the extent to which leucocyte and muscle telomere length are correlated is unknown, as are their relative correlations with glucose and insulin concentrations. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of these relationships. Methods Leucocyte and muscle telomere length were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in participants from the Malmö Exercise Intervention ( n = 27) and the Prevalence, Prediction and Prevention of Diabetes-Botnia studies ( n = 31). Participants in both studies were free from Type 2 diabetes. We assessed the association between leucocyte telomere length, muscle telomere length and metabolic traits using Spearmen correlations and multivariate linear regression. Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess agreement between leucocyte and muscle telomere length. Results In age-, study-, diabetes family history- and sex-adjusted models, leucocyte and muscle telomere length were positively correlated ( r = 0.39, 95% CI 0.15-0.59). Leucocyte telomere length was inversely associated with 2-h glucose concentrations ( r = −0.58, 95% CI −1.0 to −0.16), but there was no correlation between muscle telomere length and 2-h glucose concentrations ( r = 0.05, 95% CI −0.35 to 0.46) or between leucocyte or muscle telomere length with other metabolic traits. Conclusions In summary, the current study supports the use of leucocyte telomere length as a proxy for muscle telomere length in epidemiological studies of Type 2 diabetes aetiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]