Metabolic features of rats resistant to a high-fat diet

• Published in: Obesity research & clinical practice Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. e243 - e250
• Main Authors: Akieda-Asai, S, Koda, S, Sugiyama, M, Hasegawa, K, Furuya, M, Miyazato, M, Date, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.07.2013
• Subjects: Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase - genetics; Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase - metabolism; Adipocytes - metabolism; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Animals; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Body Weight; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Diet, High-Fat; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Energy Intake; Energy Metabolism; Fatty Acid Synthases - genetics; Fatty Acid Synthases - metabolism; Hyperinsulinism - blood; Insulin - blood; Insulin Resistance; Internal Medicine; Leptin - blood; Lipogenesis; Male; Obesity - blood; Obesity - metabolism; Oxygen Consumption; Rats; Rats, Wistar; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Triglycerides - blood; Energy metabolism; High-fat diet; Diet resistance
• ISSN: 1871-403X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2013.01.004

Summary Objective We assessed the metabolic characteristics of high-fat-diet-resistant (DR) rats. Methods Body weight, energy intake, locomotor activity, oxygen consumption, plasma leptin and lipid levels, size of visceral-fat adipocytes, and mRNA levels of genes related to lipid metabolism were measured in control rats fed standard chow and in obesity-prone (high-fat-diet-induced obesity, DIO) and DR rats fed a high-fat diet. Glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance tests were also performed. Results DIO rats gained weight more rapidly than did DR and control rats; DR rats gained less weight than did DIO rats despite similar energy intake. Energy expenditure did not differ among the three groups. The diameter of visceral-fat adipocytes was similar in DR and control rats. mRNA levels of genes involved in lipogenesis, such as fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase, tended to be lower in DR than in control and DIO rats, whereas those of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a, which is involved in fatty acid β-oxidation, were greater in DR rats than in the other groups. DIO rats showed hyperinsulinemia and glucose intolerance, whereas DR rats had high sensitivity to insulin. Conclusion DR rats show suppression of lipogenesis and acceleration of fatty acid β-oxidation in the visceral fat. These characteristics likely contribute to the anti-obesity phenotype of DR rats.