Obesity resistant mechanisms in the Lean polygenic mouse model as indicated by liver transcriptome and expression of selected genes in skeletal muscle

Divergently selected Lean and Fat mouse lines represent unique models for a polygenic form of resistance and susceptibility to obesity development. Previous research on these lines focused mainly on obesity-susceptible factors in the Fat line.

This study aimed to examine the molecular basis of obesity-resistant mechanisms in the Lean line by analyzing various fat depots and organs, the liver transcriptome of selected metabolic pathways, plasma and lipid homeostasis and expression of selected skeletal muscle genes.

Results: Expression profiling using our custom Steroltalk v2 microarray demonstrated that Lean mice exhibit a higher hepatic expression of cholesterol biosynthesis genes compared to the Fat line...