Preliminary characterization of a leptin receptor knockout rat created by CRISPR/Cas9 system

D Bao, Y Ma, X Zhang, F Guan, W Chen, K Gao… - Scientific reports, 2015 - nature.com
D Bao, Y Ma, X Zhang, F Guan, W Chen, K Gao, C Qin, L Zhang
Scientific reports, 2015nature.com
Leptin receptor, which is encoded by the diabetes (db) gene and is highly expressed in the
choroid plexus, regulatesenergy homeostasis, the balance between food intake and energy
expenditure, fertility and bone mass. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we created the
leptin receptor knockout rat. Homozygous leptin receptor null rats are characterized by
obesity, hyperphagia, hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia and
dyslipidemia. Due to long-term poor glycemic control, the leptin receptor knockout rats also …
Abstract
Leptin receptor, which is encoded by the diabetes (db) gene and is highly expressed in the choroid plexus, regulatesenergy homeostasis, the balance between food intake and energy expenditure, fertility and bone mass. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we created the leptin receptor knockout rat. Homozygous leptin receptor null rats are characterized by obesity, hyperphagia, hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia and dyslipidemia. Due to long-term poor glycemic control, the leptin receptor knockout rats also develop some diabetic complications such as pancreatic, hepatic and renal lesions. In addition, the leptin receptor knockout rats show a significant decrease in bone volume and bone mineral density of the femur compared with their wild-type littermates. Our model has rescued some deficiency of the existing rodent models, such as the transient hyperglycemia of db/db mice in the C57BL/6J genetic background and the delayed onset of glucose intolerance in the Zucker rats and it is proven to be a useful animal model for biomedical and pharmacological research on obesity and diabetes.
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