ObeseFigure 3. L. gasseri BNR17 affects mRNA expression in white adipose tissue. C57BL/6J mice were given ND, HSD, or HSD containing BNR17 (109 or 1010 CFU) for 10 weeks. The white adipose tissue was then removed and mRNA expression was measured by real-time RT-PCR using b-actin as a housekeeping gene. Data represent the means 6 SD. Pairwise t-test: *P,0.05, **P,0.01 versus the ND group; #P,0.05 versus the HSD group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054617.gAnti-Obesity Effect of Lb. gasseri BNRFigure 4. L. gasseri BNR17 affects endocrine hormones. C57BL/6J mice were given 11967625 ND, HSD, or HSD containing BNR17 (109 or 1010 CFU) for 10 weeks. Serum was obtained by centrifugation of whole blood and analyzed. GIP, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide; GLP, glucagon-like peptide. Data represent the means 6 SD. Wilcoxon rank-sum test: *P,0.05, **P,0.01, ***P,0.001 versus the ND group; #P,0.05, ##P,0.01 versus the HSD group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054617.grates, the different time courses of the increases in plasma glucose, insulin, and triglycerides during the course of developing obesity suggest that some time- or tissue-dependent FGF-401 chemical information process is necessary to induce these metabolic abnormalities [22]. Some studies have reported that the feeding of a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet (6 protein and 74 carbohydrate) induced an increase in lipid content in the whole carcass, epididymal adipose tissue and retroperitoneal adipose tissue [23?25]. Long-term (16 weeks) feeding of a high-sucrose (65 ) diet to C57BL/6 mice induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance [26]. In Asian populations, including Koreans, Chinese and Japanese, the traditional diet is characterized as being high in carbohydrate rather than fat, thus the increasing prevalence of obesity is associated with a high carbohydrate intake. Among Korean adults, a high carbohydrate intake is inversely associated with HDL-cholesterol [27]. In the current study, significant increases in body weight and fat mass in HSD groups were induced for 10 weeks as compared to the normal diet (Figure 1 and Table 2), and increases in lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol) were induced by high-sucrose diet feeding. Because obesity results from low energy expenditure and increased fatty acid synthesis, we measured the mRNA expression levels of related genes in liver and white adipose tissues. In the liver, the administration of BNR17 significantly increased mRNA expression of ACO, CPT1, ANGPTL4, PPARa and PPARd, as compared to the HSD group (Figure 2). ACO and CPT1 are considered to be rate-limiting enzymes in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation [28] and ANGPTL4 is a circulating lipoprotein lipase (LPL) inhibitor that controls triglyceride deposition into adipocytes[29]. These genes are target genes of PPARs, which have essential roles in energy homeostasis and Forodesine (hydrochloride) site adipogenesis [30], and their expression is increased by the activation and elevation of PPARa and PPARd, resulting in anti-obesity effects. Excess adipose tissue mass is caused mainly by the differentiation of precursor cells into new adipocytes (adipogenesis). Several transcription factors including CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-a (C/EBPa), PPARc, SREBP-1c are involved in this process [31]. PPARc regulates the expression of adipocyte genes such as adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) [32], and SREBP-1c controls the expression of lipogenic genes such as FAS and ACC [33,34]. We observed tendencies for redu.ObeseFigure 3. L. gasseri BNR17 affects mRNA expression in white adipose tissue. C57BL/6J mice were given ND, HSD, or HSD containing BNR17 (109 or 1010 CFU) for 10 weeks. The white adipose tissue was then removed and mRNA expression was measured by real-time RT-PCR using b-actin as a housekeeping gene. Data represent the means 6 SD. Pairwise t-test: *P,0.05, **P,0.01 versus the ND group; #P,0.05 versus the HSD group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054617.gAnti-Obesity Effect of Lb. gasseri BNRFigure 4. L. gasseri BNR17 affects endocrine hormones. C57BL/6J mice were given 11967625 ND, HSD, or HSD containing BNR17 (109 or 1010 CFU) for 10 weeks. Serum was obtained by centrifugation of whole blood and analyzed. GIP, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide; GLP, glucagon-like peptide. Data represent the means 6 SD. Wilcoxon rank-sum test: *P,0.05, **P,0.01, ***P,0.001 versus the ND group; #P,0.05, ##P,0.01 versus the HSD group. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054617.grates, the different time courses of the increases in plasma glucose, insulin, and triglycerides during the course of developing obesity suggest that some time- or tissue-dependent process is necessary to induce these metabolic abnormalities [22]. Some studies have reported that the feeding of a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet (6 protein and 74 carbohydrate) induced an increase in lipid content in the whole carcass, epididymal adipose tissue and retroperitoneal adipose tissue [23?25]. Long-term (16 weeks) feeding of a high-sucrose (65 ) diet to C57BL/6 mice induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance [26]. In Asian populations, including Koreans, Chinese and Japanese, the traditional diet is characterized as being high in carbohydrate rather than fat, thus the increasing prevalence of obesity is associated with a high carbohydrate intake. Among Korean adults, a high carbohydrate intake is inversely associated with HDL-cholesterol [27]. In the current study, significant increases in body weight and fat mass in HSD groups were induced for 10 weeks as compared to the normal diet (Figure 1 and Table 2), and increases in lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol) were induced by high-sucrose diet feeding. Because obesity results from low energy expenditure and increased fatty acid synthesis, we measured the mRNA expression levels of related genes in liver and white adipose tissues. In the liver, the administration of BNR17 significantly increased mRNA expression of ACO, CPT1, ANGPTL4, PPARa and PPARd, as compared to the HSD group (Figure 2). ACO and CPT1 are considered to be rate-limiting enzymes in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation [28] and ANGPTL4 is a circulating lipoprotein lipase (LPL) inhibitor that controls triglyceride deposition into adipocytes[29]. These genes are target genes of PPARs, which have essential roles in energy homeostasis and adipogenesis [30], and their expression is increased by the activation and elevation of PPARa and PPARd, resulting in anti-obesity effects. Excess adipose tissue mass is caused mainly by the differentiation of precursor cells into new adipocytes (adipogenesis). Several transcription factors including CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-a (C/EBPa), PPARc, SREBP-1c are involved in this process [31]. PPARc regulates the expression of adipocyte genes such as adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) [32], and SREBP-1c controls the expression of lipogenic genes such as FAS and ACC [33,34]. We observed tendencies for redu.