Differential Expression of Metabolism-related Genes in Liver of Diabetic Obese Rats.

The Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat, a model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes (T2D), develops hyperglycemic obesity with hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance after the age of 25 weeks, similar to patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DM). In the present study, we determined whether there are differences in the pattern of gene expression related to glucose and lipid metabolism between OLETF rats and their control counterparts, Long-Evans Tokushima (LETO) rats. The experiment was done using 35-week-old OLETF and LETO rats. At week 35 male OLETF rats showed overt T2D and increases in blood glucose, plasma insulin, plasma triglycerides (TG) and plasma total cholesterol (TC). Livers of diabetic OLETF and LETO rats also showed differences in expression of mRNA for glucose and lipid metabolism related genes. Among glucose metabolism related genes, GAPDH mRNA was significantly higher and FBPase and G6Pase mRNA were significantly lower in OLETF rats. For lipid metabolism related genes, HMGCR, SCD1 and HL mRNA were substantially higher in OLETF rats. These results indicate that gluconeogenesis in OLETF rats is lower and glycolysis is higher, which means that glucose metabolism might be compensated for by a lowering of the blood glucose level. However, lipid synthesis is increased in OLETF rats so diabetes may be aggravated. These differences between OLETF and LETO rats suggest mechanisms that could be targeted during the development of therapeutic agents for diabetes.