Tumor progression locus 2 (Tpl2) deficiency does not protect against obesity-induced metabolic disease

• Published in: PloS one 2012-06, Vol.7 (6), p.e39100-e39100
• Main Authors: Lancaster, Graeme I, Kowalski, Greg M, Estevez, Emma, Kraakman, Michael J, Grigoriadis, George, Febbraio, Mark A, Gerondakis, Steve, Banerjee, Ashish
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue, White - metabolism; Animals; Biology; Biomarkers - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Body Composition - physiology; Development and progression; Diet; Diet, High-Fat; DNA Primers - genetics; Extracellular signal-regulated kinase; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Glucose; Glucose tolerance; High fat diet; Inflammation; Inflammation - etiology; Inflammation - physiopathology; Insulin; Insulin resistance; Insulin Resistance - physiology; Kinases; Loci; Macrophages; Male; MAP kinase; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases - deficiency; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases - genetics; Medicine; Metabolic disorders; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 - metabolism; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 - metabolism; Mitogens; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Protein kinase; Protein kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - deficiency; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Recruitment; Rodents; Serine; Signal Transduction - physiology; Threonine; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumors
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039100

Obesity is associated with a state of chronic low grade inflammation that plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance. Tumor progression locus 2 (Tpl2) is a serine/threonine mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAP3K) involved in regulating responses to specific inflammatory stimuli. Here we have used mice lacking Tpl2 to examine its role in obesity-associated insulin resistance. Wild type (wt) and tpl2(-/-) mice accumulated comparable amounts of fat and lean mass when fed either a standard chow diet or two different high fat (HF) diets containing either 42% or 59% of energy content derived from fat. No differences in glucose tolerance were observed between wt and tpl2(-/-) mice on any of these diets. Insulin tolerance was similar on both standard chow and 42% HF diets, but was slightly impaired in tpl2(-/-) mice fed the 59% HFD. While gene expression markers of macrophage recruitment and inflammation were increased in the white adipose tissue of HF fed mice compared with standard chow fed mice, no differences were observed between wt and tpl2(-/-) mice. Finally, a HF diet did not increase Tpl2 expression nor did it activate Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), the MAPK downstream of Tpl2. These findings argue that Tpl2 does not play a non-redundant role in obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction.