Metabolic features in disease-resistant as well as in spontaneously hypertensive rats and newly established obese Wistar Ottawa Karlsburg inbred rats.
OBJECTIVE
Studies, comparing several disease-prone and disease-resistant rat strains to elucidate the extent and severity of syndromes resembling human diseases are lacking. Therefore we studied the inbred rat strains BB/OK, BN/Crl, LEW/K and WKY/Crl in comparison with SHR/Mol and WOKW/K rats as models of metabolic syndrome.


METHODS
Body weight and body mass index (BMI) were measured in 12 males of each strain at 14 weeks. In addition blood glucose, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, insulin and leptin were determined at 12, 13 and 14 weeks of age.


RESULTS
In contrast to SHR animals, WOKW rats develop a severe metabolic syndrome including obesity, hyperleptinemia, hyperinsulinemia and dyslipidemia.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that; (i) the choice of disease-resistant inbred rat strains as 'healthy controls' for a disease-prone strain has to be carefully evaluated; (ii) in comparison with SHR, WOKW rats develop most if not all facets of the metabolic syndrome described in human and (iii) as with the human disease the syndrome in rats is polygenic.
van den Brandt
J
J
Department of Laboratory Animal Science, Institute of Pathophysiology, University of Greifswald, Karlsburg, Germany.
Kovács
P
P
Klöting
I
I
D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D018149:Glucose Intolerance; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000378:metabolism*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000378:metabolism*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D011786:Quality Control; D051381:Rats; D011913:Rats, Inbred BB; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol