Transgenic mice with astrocyte-targeted production of interleukin-6 are resistant to high-fat diet-induced increases in body weight and body fat

Juan Hidalgo, Sergi Florit, Mercedes Giralt, Beatriz Ferrer, Charlotte Keller, Henriette Pilegaard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major cytokine involved in both normal physiological brain functions and underlying significant neuropathology. IL-6 has been suggested to play a role in the control of body weight but the results are somewhat controversial. In this study we have challenged transgenic mice with astrocyte-targeted IL-6 expression (GFAP-IL6 mice) with a high-fat diet (55% kcal from fat) versus a control diet (10%). The results demonstrate that the GFAP-IL6 mice are resistant to high-fat diet-induced increases in body weight and body fat, apparently without altering food intake and with no evidences of increased sympathetic tone. The high-fat diet-induced impaired responses to an insulin tolerance test (ITT), and to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in both genotypes. The GFAP-IL6 mice did not differ from littermate wild-type (WT) mice in ITT, but they were more glucose intolerant following the high-fat diet feeding. In summary, the present results demonstrate that brain-specific IL-6 controls body weight which may be a significant factor in physiological conditions and/or in diseases causing neuroinflammation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)119-126
Number of pages8
JournalBrain, Behavior, and Immunity
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Body weight
  • Brain
  • Fat diet
  • IL-6
  • ITT
  • Neuroinflammation
  • OGTT

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology
  • Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Transgenic mice with astrocyte-targeted production of interleukin-6 are resistant to high-fat diet-induced increases in body weight and body fat'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this