SUGITA, SATOSHI, YASUTOMI KAMEI, JUN-ICHIRO OKA, TAKAYOSHI SUGANAMI, AND YOSHIHIRO OGAWA. Macrophage-colony stimulating factor in obese adipose tissue: studies with heterozygous op/ϩ mice. Obesity. 2007;15:1988 -1995. Objective: We examined the gene expression of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) in mice with dietinduced obesity and in genetically obese mice. We also examined the effect of decreased M-CSF signaling on the susceptibility to obesity and macrophage recruitment into the adipose tissue of mice.
Research Methods and Procedures:The adipose tissue from mice with diet-induced obesity, obese KKA y mice, and ob/ob obese mice was used for RNA preparation. Production of M-CSF and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The op/ϩ heterozygous mice, with decreased functional M-CSF expression, were placed on a high-fat diet or crossed with KKA y mice to study the susceptibility to obesity. The gene expression of macrophage markers in adipose tissue was examined. Results: The expression of M-CSF was not significantly changed in mice on a high-fat diet or in either type of genetic obesity (KKA y or ob/ob mice). No change in the degree of obesity or macrophage-related gene expression (F4/80, CD68, and MCP-1) in the adipose tissue was observed in op/ϩ mice compared with ϩ/ϩ control mice, which were either treated with a high-fat diet or crossed with KKA y mice. Discussion: This study demonstrated that there was no significant change in the expression of M-CSF in the adipose tissue from obese mice and only a minor phenotypic change, such as macrophage infiltration, in the adipose tissue from op/ϩ mice, suggesting that M-CSF does not play a major role in macrophage recruitment in the adipose tissue of obese mice.