| First Author | Tung YC | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Endocrinology | Volume | 148 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 5331-8 |
| PubMed ID | 17717049 | Mgi Jnum | J:129980 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3770511 | Doi | 10.1210/en.2007-0797 |
| Citation | Tung YC, et al. (2007) Pro-opiomelanocortin modulates the thermogenic and physical activity responses to high-fat feeding and markedly influences dietary fat preference. Endocrinology 148(11):5331-8 |
| abstractText | Complete proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency causes a human syndrome of hypoadrenalism, altered skin and hair pigmentation, and severe hyperphagic obesity. Heterozygote carriers of nonsense mutations are strongly predisposed to obesity. Pomc(+/-) mice have normal body weight on a chow diet but increase food intake and become more obese than wild-type littermates when placed on a high-fat diet. To further explore the mechanisms whereby dietary fat interacts with Pomc genotype to produce obesity, we examined Pomc-null, Pomc(+/-), and wild-type mice for changes in the components of energy balance in response to provision of a high-fat diet and macronutrient preference when presented with a selection of dietary choices. In contrast to wild-type mice, Pomc null mice did not increase their resting energy expenditure or their spontaneous physical activity when given a high-fat diet. Pomc(+/-) mice increased resting energy expenditure similarly to wild types, but their increase in physical activity was significantly less than that seen in wild-type mice. In two independent experimental tests of macronutrient preference, Pomc genotype was a strong predictor of dietary fat preference with Pomc null animals choosing to eat approximately twice as much fat, but similar amounts of carbohydrate and protein, as wild-type animals. Pomc(+/-) mice showed an intermediate response. In summary, POMC-derived peptides have influences on multiple aspects of the organism's response to the presentation of high-fat diet. This includes a major influence, readily discernible even in heterozygote animals, on the dietary preference for fat. |
