Positional cloning of a type 2 diabetes quantitative trait locus; tomosyn-2, a negative regulator of insulin secretion.

We previously mapped a type 2 diabetes (T2D) locus on chromosome 16 (Chr 16) in an F2 intercross from the BTBR T (+) tf (BTBR) Lep(ob/ob) and C57BL/6 (B6) Lep(ob/ob) mouse strains. Introgression of BTBR Chr 16 into B6 mice resulted in a consomic mouse with reduced fasting plasma insulin and elevated glucose levels. We derived a panel of sub-congenic mice and narrowed the diabetes susceptibility locus to a 1.

Positional cloning of Sorcs1, a type 2 diabetes quantitative trait locus.

We previously mapped the type 2 diabetes mellitus-2 locus (T2dm2), which affects fasting insulin levels, to distal chromosome 19 in a leptin-deficient obese F2 intercross derived from C57BL/6 (B6) and BTBR T+ tf/J (BTBR) mice. Introgression of a 7-Mb segment of the B6 chromosome 19 into the BTBR background (strain 1339A) replicated the reduced insulin linked to T2dm2. The 1339A mice have markedly impaired insulin secretion in vivo and disrupted islet morphology.

Identification of major quantitative trait loci controlling body weight variation in ob/ob mice.

The adipocyte hormone leptin constitutes an important component of the regulation of energy homeostasis; leptin-deficient animals, such as obese mice, are strikingly overweight. The seemingly uninhibited weight gain in obese mice belies the fact that control of energy homeostasis remains under precise, heritably modifiable control. Herein, we report large, heritable differences in body weight and food intake between BTBR-ob/ob and B6-ob/ob mice.

Dimension reduction for mapping mRNA abundance as quantitative traits.

The advent of sophisticated genomic techniques for gene mapping and microarray analysis has provided opportunities to map mRNA abundance to quantitative trait loci (QTL) throughout the genome. Unfortunately, simple mapping of each individual mRNA trait on the scale of a typical microarray experiment is computationally intensive, subject to high sample variance, and therefore underpowered. However, this problem can be addressed by capitalizing on correlation among the large number of mRNA traits.

Gene expression profiles of nondiabetic and diabetic obese mice suggest a role of hepatic lipogenic capacity in diabetes susceptibility.

Obesity is a strong risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. We have previously reported that in adipose tissue of obese (ob/ob) mice, the expression of adipogenic genes is decreased. When made genetically obese, the BTBR mouse strain is diabetes susceptible and the C57BL/6J (B6) strain is diabetes resistant.

Relationship between stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity and plasma triglycerides in human and mouse hypertriglyceridemia.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is expressed at high levels in several human tissues and is required for the biosynthesis of oleate (18:1) and palmitoleate (16:1). These monounsaturated fatty acids are the major components of phospholipids, triglycerides, wax esters, and cholesterol esters. Mice with a targeted disruption of the SCD1 gene have very low levels of VLDL and impaired triglyceride and cholesterol ester biosynthesis.

Loss of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 function protects mice against adiposity.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is a central lipogenic enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleate (C18:1) and palmitoleate (C16:1), which are components of membrane phospholipids, triglycerides, wax esters, and cholesterol esters. Several SCD isoforms (SCD1-3) exist in the mouse. Here we show that mice with a targeted disruption of the SCD1 isoform have reduced body adiposity, increased insulin sensitivity, and are resistant to diet-induced weight gain.