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OBJECTIVE:To investigate in human adipose tissue a possible relationship between per oxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg) and retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARa) gene expression, two genes involved in the control of adipocyte differentiation. SUBJECTS: Ten lean control women (age 31 -60 y, body mass index (BMI) 18 -24.7 kg=m 2 ) and an obese group of 15 women (age 27 -62 y, BMI 30 -57.5 kg=m 2 ), of whom 10 subjects were in weight-gain phase and five were in weight-loss phase. MEASUREMENTS:We assessed the relative PPARg and RARa mRNA levels in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue using a realtime PCR method. RESULTS: PPARg mRNA level were significantly increased ( þ 91%; P < 0.01) in obese women compared to lean control women. In the obese group, we observed a PPARg mRNA level 42% lower in weight-loss obese than in weight-gain obese subjects. We obtained a positive correlation (r ¼ 0.56; P < 0.01) between PPARg mRNA level and the BMI of all subjects. Relative mRNA abundance level of RARa in subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese subjects is significantly lower than in control subjects ( 7 56%, P < 0.01), and a negative correlation was found between PPARg and RARa mRNA levels in subcutaneous adipose tissue of subjects study (r ¼ 7 0.75; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that obesity is associated with an inverse relationship between PPARg and RARa expressions in human subcutaneous adipose tissue. Modulations of nuclear receptor profile could be an important event in the body's early adaptive mechanisms promoting adipose tissue plasticity and leading to the onset of obesity.

Orlistat plus a mildly reduced-calorie diet produced clinically meaningful weight loss and improvements in risk factors in overweight and obese patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia.