Premium
Serotonin Transporter Deficiency Increases Abdominal Fat in Female, but Not Male Rats
Author(s) -
Homberg Judith R.,
Fleur Susanne E.,
Cuppen Edwin
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2009.139
Subject(s) - endocrinology , serotonin transporter , medicine , serotonin , type 2 diabetes , abdominal obesity , serotonin plasma membrane transport proteins , obesity , transporter , glucose transporter , diabetes mellitus , intra abdominal fat , insulin , biology , visceral fat , metabolic syndrome , insulin resistance , receptor , biochemistry , gene
Depression and abdominal obesity often co‐occur, predominantly in women, and are associated with an increased risk for the development of glucose intolerance and subsequently type 2 diabetes. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We found that female, but not male, depression‐prone serotonin transporter knockout (SERT −/− ) rats had a strong increase (54%) in abdominal fat, whereas no increases in plasma concentrations of glucose and insulin were observed. Surprisingly, application of a high‐fat, high‐sucrose (HFHS)‐choice diet, which results in increased abdominal fat deposition and increased plasma glucose levels in wild‐type rats, did not result in elevated plasma glucose levels in female SERT −/− rats. Our results show that serotonin transporter deficiency affects abdominal fat deposition in a sex‐dependent way, but protects against rises in glucose levels, and thereby potentially glucose intolerance. The increased abdominal fat formation could result from serotonin‐mediated developmental changes and provides heuristic value for understanding the effects of the depression‐associated serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism in humans.