Abstract 17023: Adipose Tissue Specific Temporal Deletion of
Ager
Induces Weight Loss in Diet Induced Obese Mice and Improves Glucose Homeostasis
Introduction: The incidence of obesity and its comorbidities is increasing at an alarming rate in US and around the globe. Our previous studies showed that the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and its ligands contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and insulin resistance (IR), as global Ager (gene encoding RAGE) and adipocyte-specific Ager- deleted mice fed a high fat diet (HFD) showed protection from weight gain and IR. However, the role of Ager deletion in mice with established obesity, switched to low fat diet has not been tested. We hypothesize that temporal adipocyte-specific deletion of Ager in obese mice could enhance weight loss and improves glucose homeostasis. Methods: Mice with conditional adipocyte-specific Ager deletion were generated by breeding Ager flox/flox mice with AdipoQ ERT2 Cre recombinase mice resulting in Ager flox/flox / AdipoQ ERT2 Cre (+) and Cre (-) animals. Mice were fed HFD (60% kcal/fat) for 20 weeks starting at 8 weeks of age to establish obesity and were then treated with tamoxifen (TAM) (75 mg/kg per day x 3 alternative days) to induce deletion of Ager . After 4 weeks of TAM treatment, mice were switched to standard chow for 7 weeks and body weight was monitored regularly. Fasting glucose, insulin and glucose tolerance was measured. Results: After 7 weeks of switching to standard chow following TAM, Cre (+) lost significantly more body weight whereas Cre (-) mice showed no significant weight loss over 7 weeks. Furthermore, Cre (+) mice exhibited significantly higher food intake, lower fasting glucose, lower epididymal and inguinal white adipose tissue weights, and improved glucose and insulin tolerance compared to Cre (-) mice. Conclusions: Temporal adipocyte-specific deletion of Ager in mice with established obesity promotes weight loss and improves glucose homeostasis. RAGE may act as a novel therapeutic target in obesity.