title: Lack of cardiac and high-fat diet induced metabolic phenotypes in two independent strains of Vegf-b knockout mice.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor-B (VEGF-B) has been implicated to play a significant role in coronary vessel growth and endothelial uptake and transport of fatty acids in heart and skeletal muscle. Additionally, recent studies have shown that Vegf-b deficiency protects from high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetes and insulin resistance. We compared the cardiac function and the effects of HFD on body composition and glucose metabolism in two available Vegf-b knockout (Vegf-b(-/-) strains) mouse strains side by side with their respective littermate controls. We found no differences in HFD-induced weight gain, glucose tolerance or insulin resistance between the Vegf-b(-/-) strains and their littermate control mice. Furthermore, there was no difference in basal cardiac function and cardiac expression of genes involved in glucose or fatty acid metabolism between the Vegf-b(-/-) strains and their littermate control mice. We conclude that VEGF-B is dispensable for normal cardiac function under unstressed conditions and for HFD-induced metabolic changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland [2].
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pirinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huusko
authors.affiliation: Wihuri Research Institute and Translational Cancer Biology Program, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kivelä
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schenkwein
authors.affiliation: Wihuri Research Institute and Translational Cancer Biology Program, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alitalo
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O.Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland [2] Science Service Centre, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland [3] Gene Therapy Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ylä-Herttuala
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015870:Gene Expression; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010641:Phenotype; D059467:Transcriptome; D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D042561:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B; C467482:vascular endothelial growth factor B, mouse