Transgenic mice overexpressing g-aminobutyric acid transporter subtype I develop obesity

MA Ying Hua¹, Jia Hua HU¹, Xiao Gang ZHOU¹, Ruo Wang ZENG¹, Zhen Tong MEI², Jian FEI^1,*, Li He GUO^1,*

¹Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200031, China
²Shanghai Institute of Physiology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200031, China

Transgenic mice ubiquitously overexpressing murine r-aminobutyric acid transporter subtype I were created. Unexpectedly, these mice markedly exhibited heritable obesity, which features significantly increased body weight and fat deposition. Behavioral examination revealed that transgenic mice have slightly reduced spontaneous locomotive capacity and altered feeding pattern. This preliminary finding indicates that the inappropriate level of g-aminobutyric acid transporters may be directly or indirectly involved in the pathogenic mechanism underlying certain types of obesity.

Key words: g -aminobutyric acid transporter subtype I, transgenic mouse, obesity.