Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Transient increase in obese gene expression after food intake or insulin administration

Abstract

OBESITY is a disorder of energy balance, indicating a chronic disequilibrium between energy intake and expenditure1. Recently, the mouse ob gene2, and subsequently its human and rat homologues2-6, have been cloned. The ob gene product, leptin7, is expressed exclusively in adipose tissue, and appears to be a signalling factor regulating body-weight homeostasis and energy balance2,7-9. Because the level of ob gene expression might indicate the size of the adipose depot, we suggest that it is regulated by factors modulating adipose tissue size. Here we show that ob gene exhibits diurnal variation, increasing during the night, after rats start eating. This variation was linked to changes in food intake, as fasting prevented the cyclic variation and decreased ob messenger RNA. Furthermore, refeeding fasted rats restored ob mRNA within 4 hours to levels of fed animals. A single insulin injection in fasted animals increased ob mRNA to levels of fed controls. Experiments to control glucose and insulin independently in animals, and studies in primary adipocytes, showed that insulin regulates ob gene expression directly in rats, regardless of its glucose-lowering effects. Whereas the ob gene product, leptin, has been shown to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure7-9, our data demonstrate that ob gene expression is increased after food ingestion in rats, perhaps through a direct action of insulin on the adipocyte.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Purchase on Springer Link

Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Grundy, S. M. & Barnett, J. P. Disease-a-Month 36, 641–731 (1990).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhang, Y. et al. Nature 372, 425–432 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Masuzaki, H. et al. Diabetes 44, 855–858 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Geffroy, S. et al. Genomics 28, 603–604 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Murakami, T. & Shima, K. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 209, 944–952 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Funahashi, T. et al. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 211, 469–475 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Halaas, J. L. et al. Science 269, 543–546 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Pelleymounter, M. A. et al. Science 269, 540–543 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Campfield, L. A., Smith,, F. J., Guisez, Y., Devos, R. & Burn, P. Science 269, 546–549 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Maffei, M. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.SA. 92, 6957–6960 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Peret, J., Macaire, I. & Chanez, M. J. Nutrition 103, 866–874 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Jécquier, E. in Obesity (eds Bjorntorp. P. & Brodoff, B. N.) 130–135 (Lippincot, Philadelphia, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Gazdar, A. F. et al. Cancer Res. 50, 5488–5496 (1990).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. De Vos, P., Saladin, R., Auwerx, J. & Staels, B. J. biol. Chem. 270, 15958–15961 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cleveland, D. W. et al. Cell 20, 95–105 (1980).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Postic, C. et al. Diabetes 42, 922–929 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Hajduch, E. J., Guerre-Millo, M., Hainault, I. A., Guichard, C. M. & Lavau, M. M. J. cell. Biochem. 49, 251–258 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Saladin, R., De Vos, P., Guerre-Millot, M. et al. Transient increase in obese gene expression after food intake or insulin administration. Nature 377, 527–528 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377527a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/377527a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing