Deficiency of growth differentiation factor 3 protects against diet-induced obesity by selectively acting on white adipose.

Abstract

Growth differentiation factor 3 (GDF3) is a member of the TGFbeta superfamily. White adipose is one of the tissues in which Gdf3 is expressed, and it is the only tissue in which expression increases in response to high-fat diet. We generated Gdf3-/- mice, which were indistinguishable from wild-type mice and had normal weight curves on regular diet. However, on high-fat diet Gdf3-/- mice were resistant to the obesity that normally develops in wild-type mice. Herein we investigate the physiological and molecular mechanisms that underlie this protection from diet-induced obesity and demonstrate that GDF3 deficiency selectively affects white adipose through its influence on basal metabolic rates. Our results are consistent with a role for GDF3 in adipose tissue, with consequential effects on energy expenditure that ultimately impact adiposity.

• Authors: Joseph J Shen, Lihua Huang, Liunan Li, Carolina Jorgez, Martin M Matzuk, Chester W Brown
• Journal: Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.) (Mol Endocrinol) Vol. 23 Issue 1 Pg. 113-23 (Jan 2009) ISSN: 0888-8809 [Print] United States
• PMID: 19008465 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Dietary Fats
• Gdf3 protein, mouse
• Growth Differentiation Factor 3
• RNA, Messenger

Topics

• 3T3-L1 Cells
• Adipose Tissue, White (metabolism)
• Adiposity
• Animals
• Basal Metabolism
• Dietary Fats (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Energy Metabolism
• Female
• Gene Expression
• Growth Differentiation Factor 3 (deficiency, genetics, metabolism)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mice, Knockout
• Obesity (etiology, metabolism, prevention & control)
• RNA, Messenger (genetics, metabolism)