title: Insulin sensitivity of adipocytes from inbred mouse strains resistant or sensitive to diet-induced obesity.
abstract: We evaluated insulin sensitivity in epididymal adipocytes from two mouse strains shown to be either sensitive (AKR/J, n = 14) or resistant (SWR/J, n = 12) to the development of obesity when fed a high-fat diet. Half of each strain was fed a chow (CH) diet (12% fat), and half received a sweetened condensed milk (CM) diet (33% fat). After 1 wk, epididymal adipose depots were removed and digested with collagenase, and glucose transport was measured with labeled 2-deoxyglucose. Plasma glucose and insulin were slightly higher in AKR/J than SWR/J mice (glucose: 139.7 vs. 118.8 mg/dl, P < 0.06; insulin: 3.45 vs. 2.99 ng/ml, P < 0.04). One week of high-fat feeding increased adipose depot mass and carcass lipid in both strains to approximately the same extent. Adipocytes from AKR/J mice had greater insulin-stimulated glucose transport compared with SWR/J mice at both submaximal and maximal insulin levels (P < 0.0001). Short-term feeding of the high-fat diet increased AKR/J adipocyte insulin sensitivity but decreased the sensitivity of SWR/J adipocytes to insulin. The differences in adipocyte insulin sensitivity between strains were not explained by differences in adipocyte cell size. Access to the high-fat CM diet for 12 wk increased total dissected adipose depot size by 209% in the AKR/J mice and 82% in the SWR/J mice. These data clearly demonstrate that the two strains differ in adipocyte insulin sensitivity as well as sensitivity to dietary obesity. Increased adipocyte insulin sensitivity could contribute to a predisposition to increase adipose tissue lipid stores with diets high in fat content.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Eberhart
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Boozer
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Atkinson
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003847:Deoxyglucose / Q000378:metabolism; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004822:Epididymis; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009929:Organ Size; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats; D007328:Insulin; D003847:Deoxyglucose; D005947:Glucose