Diet-Induced Swine Model with Obesity/Leptin Resistance for the Study of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes

The objective of the present study was to determine the suitability of a swine breed with leptin resistance and predisposition to obesity (the Iberian pig) as model for studies on metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Thus, six Iberian sows had ad libitum access to food enriched with saturated fat (SFAD group; food consumption was estimated to be 4.5 kg/animal/day) whilst four females acted as controls and were fed with 2 kg/animal/day of a commercial maintenance diet. After three months of differential feeding, SFAD animals developed central obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance, and elevated blood pressure; the five parameters associated with the metabolic syndrome. Thus, the current study characterizes the Iberian pig as a robust, amenable, and reliable translational model for studies on nutrition-associated diseases.