adipose tissue
• at 27-34 weeks, mutants exhibited an increased amount of white adipose tissue mass
|
behavior/neurological
N |
• when placed in a cage, mutants did not display a reduction in activity compared to controls during the test period (1 hour)
• mutants showed normal activity levels both during light and dark periods over a 3-week observation period
|
• at 10-12 weeks, food intake was similar to that of wild-type, but water intake was reduced
|
polyphagia
(
J:44242
)
• at 20-24 weeks, while obesity progressed, mutants ingested ~9% more calories than wild-type
• in addition to hyperphagia, mutants exhibited increased feed efficiency: as a result, they displayed a slower rate of weight loss when food was restricted
|
cardiovascular system
• at 40 weeks of age, mutants showed increases of 13% and 27% in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively
|
growth/size/body
• beginning at ~16 weeks, mutants (F2 generation) showed a significantly greater weight gain relative to wild-type
• mild obesity was preceded by a reduced metabolic rate
|
homeostasis/metabolism
N |
• mutants showed no defects in body temperature regulation, and displayed normal non-shivering brown-fat thermogenesis
|
• the level of circulating leptin was elevated by 38% at 10 weeks; at 21-22 weeks it reached a concentration 5x higher than that measured in wild-type
|
• in mutants, the secretion of growth hormone was diminished by 46%; in contrast, blood contents of thyroid hormone and glucagon appeared unaffected
|
• at 6-7 weeks, mutants consumed 11% less oxygen than wild-type in the resting state
|
• following oral glucose administration, 26-week-old mutants showed higher levels of blood glucose and insulin relative to wild-type
• following insulin injection, mutants were unable to clear glucose as efficiently as wild-type
|
• following a 24 hr fasting period, the blood glucose, cholesterol and triacyl glycerol levels were normal; however, at 23 weeks, the insulin level was elevated significantly relative to wild-type
|
• mutants became obese despite the elevated plasma leptin level, suggesting reduced leptin sensitivity
|