We characterized the insulin sensitivity and multi-tissue gene expression profiles of lean and insulin resistant, obese Zucker rats untreated or treated with one of four PPARγ ligands (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone, troglitazone, and AG035029).
More...We characterized the insulin sensitivity and multi-tissue gene expression profiles of lean and insulin resistant, obese Zucker rats untreated or treated with one of four PPARγ ligands (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone, troglitazone, and AG035029). We analyzed the transcriptional profiles of adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and liver from the rats and determined whether ligand insulin-sensitizing potency was related to ligand-induced alteration of functional pathways. Ligand treatments improved insulin sensitivity in obese rats, albeit to varying degrees.
Male Zucker fatty (fa/fa) and lean (fa/+) rats (Charles River, Wilmington, MA) were received at 6 weeks of age. Fatty rats were weight-matched upon arrival and randomly divided into one of five experimental groups. The fatty rat groups varied by the type of chow they were fed - normal chow alone or with a PPARγ ligand admixture: normal chow (fatty control, FC), rosiglitazone-treated (Rosi), pioglitazone-treated (Pio), troglitazone-treated (Tro), or AG035029-treated (AG). Lean control (LC) rats were all fed normal chow. Rats groups were maintained on the diets for 21 days.
Overall design: Adipose tissue (epididymal), skeletal muscle (gastrocnemius), and liver were harvested from lean (LC) and insulin resistant, obese Zucker rats untreated (FC) or treated with one of four PPARγ ligands (pioglitazone [Pio], rosiglitazone [Rosi], troglitazone [Tro], and AG035029 [AG]).
Less...