Abstract
Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a major regulator of cell growth and proliferation through fuel sensing. Systemic inhibition of mTOR as well as manipulation of its downstream products prevent diet-induced obesity. The purpose of this study was to determine the consequences of intestine-targeted mTORC1 inhibition. To attenuate intestinal mTORC1 activity, Villin-CreER mice were crossed with Raptorflox/flox mice, creating an intestinal-specific Raptor null line (i-Raptor −/−). Mice were fed a high fat diet (HFD) and compositional changes as well as food intake levels were assessed. Over a five-week time course, i-Raptor −/− mice consistently gained less body weight on a HFD compared to wildtype (WT) mice secondary to significantly reduced food intake. Importantly, the i-Raptor −/− mice did not appear to be malnourished, demonstrated by their preservation of lean body mass. i-Raptor −/− mice also maintained a normal metabolic profile without significant changes in triglyceride or fasting glucose levels. Further investigation revealed that GDF-15 mRNA expression was significantly enhanced in i-Raptor −/− enterocytes when refed with HFD after overnight starvation. In summary, our study establishes that loss of intestinal specific-mTORC1 is protective of the development of diet-induced obesity by reducing food intake without altering the metabolic profile.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1174-1179 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 505 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 10 2018 |
Keywords
- GDF-15
- Obesity
- Raptor
- Small intestine
- mTOR