Significant obesity associated gene expression changes are in the stomach but not intestines in obese mice

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract can have significant impact on the regulation of the whole body metabolism and may contribute to the development of obesity and diabetes. To systemically elucidate the role of the GI tract in obesity, we performed a transcriptomic analyses in different parts of the GI tract of two obese mouse models: ob/ob and high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice. Compared to their lean controls, both obese mouse groups had significant amount of gene expression changes in the stomach (ob/ob: 959; HFD: 542), much more than the number of changes in the intestine. Despite the difference in genetic background, the two mouse models shared 296 similar gene expression changes in the stomach. Among those genes, some had known associations to obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance. In addition, the gene expression profile strongly suggested an increased gastric acid secretion in both obese mouse models, probably through an activation of the gastrin pathway. In conclusion, our data reveal a previously unknown dominant connection between the stomach and obesity.

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Chen J, Chen L, Sanseau P, Freudenberg JM, Rajpal DK