Homozygous staggerer (sg/sg) mice display improved insulin sensitivity and enhanced glucose uptake in skeletal muscle

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis: Homozygous staggerer (sg/sg) mice, which have decreased and dysfunctional Rorα (also known as Rora) expression in all tissues, display a lean and dyslipidaemic phenotype. They are also resistant to (high fat) diet-induced obesity. We explored whether retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor (ROR) α action in skeletal muscle was involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Methods: We used a three-armed genomic approach, including expression profiling, ingenuity analysis and quantitative PCR validation to identify the signalling pathway(s) in skeletal muscle that are perturbed in sg/sg mice. Moreover, western analysis, functional insulin and glucose tolerance tests..