%0 Journal Article %J BMC Genomics %D 2014 %T The effect of dietary fat intake on hepatic gene expression in LG/J AND SM/J mice. %A Partridge, Charlyn G %A Fawcett, Gloria L %A Wang, Bing %A Semenkovich, Clay F %A Cheverud, James M %K Animals %K Diabetes Mellitus %K Diet, High-Fat %K Down-Regulation %K Female %K Liver %K Male %K Mice %K Mice, Inbred Strains %K Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease %K Obesity %K Quantitative Trait Loci %K Up-Regulation %X

BACKGROUND: The liver plays a major role in regulating metabolic homeostasis and is vital for nutrient metabolism. Identifying the genetic factors regulating these processes could lead to a greater understanding of how liver function responds to a high-fat diet and how that response may influence susceptibilities to obesity and metabolic syndrome. In this study we examine differences in hepatic gene expression between the LG/J and SM/J inbred mouse strains and how gene expression in these strains is affected by high-fat diet. LG/J and SM/J are known to differ in their responses to a high-fat diet for a variety of obesity- and diabetes-related traits, with the SM/J strain exhibiting a stronger phenotypic response to diet.

RESULTS: Dietary intake had a significant effect on gene expression in both inbred lines. Genes up-regulated by a high-fat diet were involved in biological processes such as lipid and carbohydrate metabolism; protein and amino acid metabolic processes were down regulated on a high-fat diet. A total of 259 unique transcripts exhibited a significant diet-by-strain interaction. These genes tended to be associated with immune function. In addition, genes involved in biochemical processes related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) manifested different responses to diet between the two strains. For most of these genes, SM/J had a stronger response to the high-fat diet than LG/J.

CONCLUSIONS: These data show that dietary fat impacts gene expression levels in SM/J relative to LG/J, with SM/J exhibiting a stronger response. This supports previous data showing that SM/J has a stronger phenotypic response to high-fat diet. Based upon these findings, we suggest that SM/J and its cross with the LG/J strain provide a good model for examining non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its role in metabolic syndrome.

%B BMC Genomics %V 15 %P 99 %8 2014 Feb 05 %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24499025?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1186/1471-2164-15-99