【Animal Modeling】-Effect of Body Weight Fluctuation on Blood Glucose Levels in Mice

  OBJECTIVE: To observe the regular characteristics of changes in blood sugar levels affected by weight gain and loss.

  Methods: 8-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-calorie diet (60% fat calories) for 8 weeks to develop an obesity model, and were randomly divided into a weight intervention group (IT) and an obesity group (OB). The obese group was kept on high-calorie diet to the end point. The normal control group (CON) was fed with normal diet. Restriction of calorie intake first reduced the body weight of the IT group to the level of the CON group (P>0.05), and then resumed the high-calorie diet to induce body weight again. It was terminated when it rebounded to the level of the OB group (P>0.05). The intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test was used to reflect the glucose metabolism level, and the insulin resistance test was used to evaluate the insulin sensitivity. The morphological changes of pancreatic islets were observed by HE staining of pancreatic pathology.

  RESULTS: The weight gain in the IT group was 2.27 times higher than that before the intervention, and the fasting blood glucose was as high as 5.13 times. Compared with the OB group, the area under the blood glucose curve of the end-point glucose tolerance test was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the insulin sensitivity Significantly decreased (P < 0.05), increased visceral fat (P < 0.05), and significantly decreased islet area (P < 0.05).

  Conclusions: Weight fluctuations lead to increased visceral fat mass, decreased insulin sensitivity, and impaired glucose tolerance.