Liver gene expression in chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice.

<p>(A) Expression of genes related to lipid metabolism in liver in chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice. Expression of LXRα and PPARγ was significantly lower in C57Bl/6 mice mice on HFD. (B) Expression of profibrogenic genes in liver in chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice. Expression of procollagen and TGF-β was significantly higher in C57Bl/6 mice on both diets. The results are shown as the means ± SEM of 9–10 animals per group. *p<0.05. The results are representative of two experiments.</p

Blood glucose levels and liver glycogen storage in chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice.

<p>(A) Fasting blood glucose levels were significantly higher in chow-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared with chow-fed BALB/c mice. Serum insulin levels did not differ, while HbA1c was significantly higher in chow-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared with chow-fed BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. (B) Fasting blood glucose levels were significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice. Serum insulin levels were significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice, with no difference in HbA1c at 32 weeks of age. (C) Representative images of PAS staining on paraffin-embedded liver tissue sections (original magnification x10, scale bar = 100μm). Glycogen stores were significantly higher in liver of HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. The results are shown as the means ± SEM for 9–10 animals per group. *p<0.05. The results are representative of two experiments.</p

Changes in body weight of chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice during 32 weeks of the experiment.

<p>(A) Body weights of chow-fed C57Bl/6 mice at 16, 24 and 32 weeks of age were significantly lower than that of BALB/c mice. Body weight gain and weight gain as a percentage of initial body weight were significantly lower in chow-fed C57Bl/6 mice. (B) Body weights of HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice at 24 and 32 weeks of age were significantly higher than that of BALB/c mice. Body weight gain and weight gain as a percentage of initial body weight were significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice. The results are shown as the means ± SEM of 9–10 animals per group. *p<0.05. The results are representative of two experiments.</p

Adipocyte size and phenotypic analysis of immune cells in VAT in chow and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice.

<p>(A) Representative images of hematoxylin-eosin staining (original magnification x40, scale bar = 50μm) of paraffin-embedded visceral adipose tissue sections. Mean adipocyte diameter was significantly higher in 8-weeks old chow-fed C57Bl/6 mice, while significantly lower in 32 weeks old chow and HFD-fed mice, compared with diet-matched BALB/c mice. (B) Number of CD11c⁺F4/80^- DCs in VAT is significantly higher in chow- and HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared with diet-matched BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. (C) Number of F4/80⁺ macrophages is significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. (D) Number of VAT associated CD3⁺ lymphocytes is significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. (E) Number of VAT associated CD3⁺CXCR3⁺ lymphocytes is significantly higher in HFD-fed C57Bl/6 mice compared to HFD-fed BALB/c mice at 32 weeks of age. Gating strategy and representative FACS plots of CD3⁺CXCR3⁺ cells in VAT of C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice on HFD. The results are shown as the means ± SEM of 9–10 animals per group. *p<0.05. The results are representative of two experiments.</p

Primers used for qRT-PCR analysis.

<p>Primers used for qRT-PCR analysis.</p