title: Deletion of mouse Alkbh7 leads to obesity.
abstract: Mammals have nine homologues of the Escherichia coli AlkB repair protein: Alkbh1-8, and the fat mass and obesity associated protein FTO. In this report, we describe the first functional characterization of mouse Alkbh7. We show that the Alkbh7 protein is located in the mitochondrial matrix and that an Alkbh7 deletion dramatically increases body weight and body fat. Our data indicate that Alkbh7, directly or indirectly, facilitates the utilization of short-chain fatty acids, which we propose is the likely cause for the obesity phenotype observed in the Alkbh7(-/-) mice. Collectively, our data provide the first direct demonstration that murine Alkbh7 is a mitochondrial resident protein involved in fatty acid metabolism and the development of obesity.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Diagnostics and Intervention and Institute of Medical Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solberg
authors.forename: Adam B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Jan Magnus
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Aronsen
authors.forename: Øivind
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Rognmo
authors.forename: Ivar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sjaastad
authors.forename: Ulrik
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wisløff
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klungland
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins
keywords: AlkB; Alkbh7; fatty acid oxidation; mitochondria; obesity