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-Deficient Mice Have Reduced Food Intake, Increased Body Weight, and Improved Glucose Tolerance
Department of Pathology, Harbor-University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, California 90509
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, Ph.D., Department of Pathology, Harbor-University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, 1000 West Carson Street, Torrance, California 90509. E-mail: agarose{at}ucla.edu.
| Abstract |
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-deficient mice and wild-type mice were fed either a regular or a high-saturated-fat diet for 12 wk to study the functional role of hepatocyte RXR
in fatty acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Food intake was significantly reduced in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice when either diet was used. The amount of food intake was negatively associated with serum leptin level. Although mutant mice ate less, body weight and fat content were significantly higher in mutant than wild-type mice. Examination of the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-
target genes indicated that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-
-mediated pathway was compromised in the mutant mice, which, in turn, might affect fatty-acid metabolism and result in increased body weight and fat content. Although mutant mice were obese, they demonstrated the same degree of insulin sensitivity and the same level of serum insulin as the wild-type mice. However, these mutant mice have improved glucose tolerance. To explore a mechanism that may be responsible for the improved glucose tolerance, serum IGF-I level was examined. Serum IGF-1 level was significantly increased in mutant mice compared with wild-type mice. Taken together, hepatocyte RXR
deficiency increases leptin level and reduces food intake. Those mice also develop obesity, with an unexpected improvement of glucose tolerance. The result also suggests that an increase in serum IGF-I level might be one of the mechanisms leading to improved glucose tolerance in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice. | Introduction |
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Retinoid X receptor (RXR)
serves as an active partner of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and is involved in the control of various aspects of fatty-acid metabolism. Three PPAR isoforms have been identified, and they can be activated by fatty acids (for review, see Ref. 2). In addition, PPAR
can be activated by hypolipidemic drugs (3, 4), and PPAR
can be activated by the thiazolidinedione drugs used for type 2 diabetes therapy (5). PPAR
deficiency leads to elevated serum cholesterol levels in young adult mice and increased serum triglyceride levels and steatosis in aging mice. PPAR
deficiency also prevents the induction of fatty-acid-synthesizing enzymes and oxidizing enzymes by the hypolipidemic fibrate Wy14,643 (6, 7, 8). Disruption of the PPARß gene results in decreased gonadal adipose tissue in female mice (9). Targeted disruption of the PPAR
gene is embryonically lethal, in part because of placental dysfunction (10). A tetraploid-rescued mutant and PPAR
+/- chimeric mice demonstrate that PPAR
is required for adipose tissue development (10, 11). Heterozygous PPAR
-deficient mice have improved insulin sensitivity (12, 13). Under a high-fat diet, heterozygous PPAR
-deficient mice are protected from the development of insulin resistance (12). These data have established the role of PPARs in fatty acid and glucose homeostasis.
Similar to the PPAR
-deficient mice, hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have elevated serum cholesterol levels (14). Distinct from young PPAR
-deficient male mice, which have normal serum triglyceride and apolipoprotein CIII (apoCIII) mRNA levels, 2-month-old hepatocyte RXR
-deficient male mice demonstrate elevated serum triglyceride levels and increased apoCIII mRNA levels (14). These data define the unique role of hepatocyte RXR
in lipid metabolism. To further investigate the functional role of RXR
in fatty-acid and carbohydrate homeostasis in the liver, we performed metabolic studies in the hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice fed either a regular or a high-saturated-fat diet. We report that using either diet, hepatocyte RXR
deficiency causes an increase in leptin level, reduction of food intake, and obesity. However, these obese mice have normal insulin levels and insulin sensitivity. In addition, hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have improved glucose tolerance, which may be attributable to an increased IGF-I level.
| Materials and Methods |
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mutation in hepatocytes have been described elsewhere (15). Hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have a mixed genetic background of C57/Bl/6, 129/SvEvTac, and DBA-2 (15 and references therein). Animals used in the experiments were age-matched (13-wk-old) male mice housed in groups of two or three in plastic microisolator cages at 22 C with a 12-h light, 12-h dark cycle and had free access to food and water. Under normal conditions, mice were fed a standard lab chow containing about 12 energy percent (en%) fat. In the high-fat diet experiment, a high-saturated-fat diet (coconut oil based, 39 en% fat) (ICN Research Diets, Costa Mesa, CA) was used to feed mice for 12 wk.
Serum leptin level.
Serum leptin level was determined using a mouse Leptin RIA kit (Linco Research, Inc., St. Charles, MO).
Insulin tolerance tests.
Mice were injected ip (0.75 mU/g body weight) with human insulin (Sigma, St. Louis, MO). Blood samples were also collected at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 min after the insulin injection. Glucose levels were measured by the One Touch Fast Take Compact Blood Glucose Monitoring System (LifeScan, Inc., Milpitas, CA).
Serum insulin concentration and ip glucose tolerance test.
Mice were fasted overnight. Blood samples were collected before (time = 0) and after 30 and 60 min of glucose administration (1.5 mg glucose/g body weight, ip). Then, insulin levels were measured using an Insulin RIA kit (Linco Research, Inc.). Additional blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 150 min for the glucose tolerance test.
Northern blot hybridization.
Liver total RNA was extracted by the guanidinium isothiocyanate method (16). Twenty micrograms of total RNA per lane were resolved by electrophoresis on 1.2% agarose gels containing 2.2 M formaldehyde and then transferred to nylon membranes by capillary blotting. The genes probes used were cytochrome P450 4A1 (CYP4A1) (provided by Dr. F. Gonzalez), liver fatty-acid-binding protein (LFABP; provided by Dr. J. Gordon), and apoA1 and apoCIII (provided by Dr. J. Auwerx). cDNA fragments were labeled by random priming and hybridized to membranes in 7% (wt/vol) sodium dodecyl sulfate, 0.5 M sodium phosphate (pH 6.5), 1 mM EDTA, and 1 mg/ml BSA at 68 C overnight. The membranes were washed twice in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 50 mM NaCl, and 1 mM EDTA at 68 C for 15 min each and autoradiographed using intensifying screens. At least three animals from each group were studied for each gene. The amount of mRNA expressed was quantitated by densitometry and then normalized with the level of ß-actin to obtain means and SEMS.
IGF-1 level.
Serum IFG-1 was assayed using an IGF-1 RIA kit (Diagnostic Systems Laboratories, Inc., Webster, TX).
Statistical analysis.
Values shown represent the mean ± SEM. Values were compared by ANOVA and corrected by Student-Newman-Keuls test for differences between groups. P < 0.05 was considered significant.
| Results |
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-deficient mice have increased body weight, decreased food intake, and higher leptin level compared with wild-type mice
in fatty-acid homeostasis, regular and high-fat diet were used to feed wild-type and hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice for 12 wk. The high-fat diet used in the experiment was based on coconut oil, a saturated-fat diet containing about 40 en% fat, which was more than 3-fold higher than the regular diet. Food intake was monitored throughout the 12-wk period. Mutant mice ate less than wild-type mice did, regardless of the type of diet provided (Fig. 1
-deficient mice fall on the same line, suggesting that the leptin levels are at the level expected for the degree of adiposity (Fig. 3B
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/PPAR
-mediated pathways. To further investigate the underlying mechanism, the expression of PPAR
target genes was studied. Figure 4
-deficient mice, which, in turn, might lead to obesity of the mutant mice.
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-deficient mice have improved glucose tolerance
+/- mice, which have increased insulin sensitivity, hepatocyte RXR
deficiency did not alter insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in insulin levels, both at baseline and after glucose injection (Fig. 5B
-deficient mice than in wild-type mice using regular diet, and the difference became even greater when a high-fat diet was provided (Fig. 5C
deficiency results in an improved glucose tolerance without altering insulin level or insulin sensitivity.
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-deficient mice
-deficient mice, serum IGF-I was determined in wild-type and mutant mice, using RIA. As shown in Fig. 6
-deficient mice. Thus, improved glucose tolerance in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice is associated with increased serum IGF-I concentration.
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| Discussion |
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dimerizes with all three PPAR isoforms and many other nuclear receptor superfamily members, the hepatocyte RXR
knockout mouse provides a unique opportunity for analyzing the functional roles of RXR
as well as PPARs and other receptors in the liver. By comparing their phenotypes with other conventional knockout mice, such as PPAR
and
, the tissue-specific role of the receptor can be analyzed. PPAR
-null mice are obese and have elevated serum cholesterol and leptin level and increased apoAI mRNA expression (6, 17). The PPAR
+/- mice have very little body weight gain, compared with the wild-type mice, when they are fed a high-fat diet. The fat mass in PPAR
+/- mice is also less than that of the wild-type mice. The heterozygous PPAR
mutants have less food intake and increased serum leptin levels (12). Therefore, hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice possessed both PPAR
and PPAR
knockout-mice phenotypes. Like the PPAR
-null mice, hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice are obese, have a larger fat mass, and higher serum leptin level, compared with wild-type mice. In addition, serum cholesterol and liver apoAI mRNA levels are elevated in both PPAR
-null and hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice (13, 18). Similar to PPAR
+/- mice, hepatocyte-RXR
-deficient mice also have reduced food intake and increased serum leptin levels. These data indicate that hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice and other nuclear-receptor knockout mice have overlapping phenotypes. Because the PPAR
-null and PPAR
+/- mice are not hepatocyte-specific knockout mice, it would be important to further analyze which of the RXR
partners in the liver contributes to those hepatocyte RXR
-deficient phenotypes. Only male mice are included in the present study. Compared with male mutant mice, female hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have a different phenotype. Female mice are partially protected from RXR
deficiency (unpublished data). It would be interesting to further determine whether there is a sexual dimorphic difference in RXR
-mediated fatty-acid and carbohydrate metabolism.
It is well known that activation of PPAR
leads to amelioration of insulin resistance, because in vivo administration of thiazolidinedione has been shown to increase the insulin sensitivity in obese insulin-resistant humans and animals (19, 20). Therefore, it is very surprising that, with a high-fat diet, heterozygous deficiency of the PPAR
gene results in an increased insulin-sensitive phenotype, compared with wild-type mice (12). This unexpected finding was explained by the induction of leptin in the PPAR
+/- mice, which alters energy balance and results in increased insulin sensitivity. It is also surprising that the obese hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice are protected from high-fat diet-induced glucose intolerance. In fact, hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have improved glucose tolerance, even when the mice are on a regular diet. Obviously, the improved glucose tolerance in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice is neither caused by elevated insulin level nor caused by increased insulin sensitivity. What remains to be explained is why elevated serum leptin level in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice does not increase insulin sensitivity, similar to what occurred in the PPAR
+/- mice. One possible explanation is that the effect of leptin is compromised because of the obesity of hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice.
Similar to hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice, high-fat-fed PPAR
-null mice also demonstrate increased adiposity and elevated blood leptin level (18). However, the increase in adiposity is noncorrelated with insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet. PPAR
-null mice do not exhibit high-fat-diet-induced insulin resistance. In addition, similar to hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice, PPAR
-null mice also have increased glucose tolerance, compared with wild-type mice, when they are fed a high-fat diet (18). It would be worthwhile to examine whether PPAR
-null mice have elevated IFG-I. Therefore, in terms of glucose metabolism, PPAR
+/-, PPAR
-null, and hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice have overlapping and unique phenotypes.
IGF-I has an insulin-like activity. Although it has only about 510% of the hypoglycemic action of insulin on a molar basis (21), IGF-I circulates at about 1,000 times the concentration of insulin in plasma (22). The liver produces the majority of circulating IGF-I. The bioactivity of IGF-I is determined by its binding proteins (23). Our data showed that serum IGF-I level was significantly increased in the mutant mice. IGF-I has been demonstrated to be effective in improving glucose uptake both in human subjects and laboratory animals (24, 25, 26). IGF-I is a useful adjunct for the treatment of diabetes and may even be the drug of choice in some patients with extreme insulin resistance and metabolic emergencies (24). IGF-I can increase insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (25). Abrogating the normal function of IGF-I receptor would lead to insulin resistance (26). Therefore, increased IGF-I level might account for improved glucose tolerance in hepatocyte RXR
-deficient mice. It would be important to further characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying retinoid-mediated regulation of IGF-I.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Abbreviations: apoCIII, Apolipoprotein CIII; CYP4A1, cytochrome P450 4A1; en%, energy percent; LFABP, liver fatty-acid-binding protein; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor; RXR, retinoid X receptor.
Received September 25, 2002.
Accepted for publication October 11, 2002.
| References |
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and
. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:43124317
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isoform of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gene in mice results in abolishment of the pleiotropic effects of peroxisome proliferators. Mol Cell Biol 15:30123022[Abstract]
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is required for placental, cardiac, and adipose tissue development. Mol Cell 4:585595[CrossRef][Medline]
is required for the differentiation of adipose tissue in vivo and in vitro. Mol Cell 4:611617[CrossRef][Medline]
mediates high-fat diet-induced adipocyte hypertrophy and insulin resistance. Mol Cell Biol 4:597609
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as a heterodimeric integrator of multiple physiological processes in the liver. Mol Cell Biol 20:44364444
-isoform deficiency leads to progressive dyslipidemia with sexually dimorphic obesity and steatosis. J Biol Chem 273:2957729585
-null mice are protected from high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance. Diabetes 50:28092814
: adipogenic regulator and thiazolidinedione receptor. Diabetes 47:507514[Abstract]
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