Key result
High-fat diet feeding for 10 weeks decreased the podocalyxin-positive blood vessel area in the liver by 16.9% compared to chow-fed mice.
Why the study?
Obesity-induced changes in adipose vasculature are well documented, but systematic analyses in other tissues have not been as extensive.
Extends obesity vascular research beyond adipose tissue to multiple organs; leaves open their clinical impact after weight loss.[[1]](https://www.nature.
Obesity-induced changes in adipose vasculature are well documented, but systematic analyses in other tissues have not been as extensive. Here, we analyze the vessel-covered area and endothelial cell (EC) numbers in seven non-adipose organs (liver, heart, intestine, kidney, lung, ear skin, retina) in male mice after short-term high-fat diet (HFD) feeding (5 days or 5 weeks), long-term HFD feeding (10 weeks), and weight loss (5 weeks of HFD followed by 5 weeks of chow feeding). We show HFD-induced morphological changes in the liver, heart, kidney, and intestinal vasculatures, and a negative correlation between body weight and vessel density in most of the analyzed tissues. Interestingly, changes in vessel area do not always reflect alterations in EC numbers. Additionally, both the intestine and ear skin show preserved vessel perfusion in response to obesity. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of how different HFD feeding durations affect organotypic vasculature and reports that HFD feeding induces organ-specific vascular remodeling with distinct temporal dynamics in mice.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Pakarinen et al. (2026) studied Obesity-induced vascular remodeling (n=121). High-fat diet vs. Chow diet was evaluated on PDXL+ blood vessel area% in the liver. High-fat diet feeding for 10 weeks decreased the podocalyxin-positive blood vessel area in the liver by 16.9% compared to chow-fed mice.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: