Summary
C57BL/6J ob/ob mice are obese, hyperglycaemic and hyperinsulinaemic, and are relatively insensitive to the action of exogenously administered insulin. These animals convert more of an intravenous dose of radioactive glucose to lipids in both adipose tissue and liver than do control mice. The lipogenic capacities of the intestine, skin and remaining carcass however are not greatly different from those of lean mice. While lean mice respond to intravenous insulin with a marked increase in incorporation of labelled glucose into lipids in adipose tissue, obese mice do not.
Both lean and obese mice made diabetic with strepto-zotocin have a decreased plasma insulin and convert less glucose to fatty acids than do non-treated mice. This is particularly marked in the case of the adipose tissue of obese mice. Similarly, reduction of insulin levels by the injection of anti-insulin serum also caused a decreased lipogenesis which was particularly marked in the case of obese mice.
It is postulated that part of the increased lipogenesis seen in ob/ob mice may be due to the abnormally high circulating insulin levels in these mice.
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This work has been supported by Grant No. 3.552.71 of the Fonds National Suisse de la Recherche scientifique, Berne, Switzerland, and by a grant-in-aid of Zyma S.A., Nyon, Switzerland.
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Loten, E.G., Rabinovitch, A. & Jeanrenaud, B. In vivo studies on lipogenesis in obese hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) mice: Possible role of hyperinsulinaemia. Diabetologia 10, 45–52 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421413
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421413