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Translational value of animal models of obesity-Focus on dogs and cats

Osto, Melania; Lutz, Thomas A (2015). Translational value of animal models of obesity-Focus on dogs and cats. European Journal of Pharmacology, 759:240-252.

Abstract

A prolonged imbalance between a relative increase in energy intake over a decrease in energy expenditure results in the development of obesity; extended periods of a positive energy balance eventually lead to the accumulation of abnormally high amounts of fat in adipose tissue but also in other organs. Obesity is considered a clinical state of impaired general heath in which the excessive increase in adipose tissue mass may be associated with metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. This review discusses briefly the use of animal models for the study of obesity and its comorbidities. Generally, most studies are performed with rodents, such as diet induced obesity and genetic models. Here, we focus specifically on two different species, namely dogs and cats. Obese dogs and cats show many features of human obesity. Interestingly, however, dogs and cats differ from each other in certain aspects because even though obese dogs may become insulin resistant, this does not result in the development of diabetes mellitus. In fact, diabetes in dogs is typically not associated with obesity because dogs present a type 1 diabetes-like syndrome. On the other hand, obese cats often develop diabetes mellitus which shares many features with human type 2 diabetes; feline and human diabetes are similar in respect to their pathophysiology, underlying risk factors and treatment strategies. Our review discusses genetic and endocrine factors in obesity, discusses obesity induced changes in lipid metabolism and includes some recent findings on the role of gut microbiota in obesity. Compared to research in rodent models, the array of available techniques and tools is unfortunately still rather limited in dogs and cats. Hence, even though physiological and pathophysiological phenomena are well described in dogs and cats, the underlying mechanisms are often not known and studies investigating causality specifically are scarce.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP)
05 Vetsuisse Faculty > Veterinärwissenschaftliches Institut > Institute of Veterinary Physiology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Laboratory Animal Science
05 Vetsuisse Faculty > Veterinärwissenschaftliches Institut > Institute of Laboratory Animal Science
Dewey Decimal Classification:570 Life sciences; biology
590 Animals (Zoology)
610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > Pharmacology
Language:English
Date:23 March 2015
Deposited On:15 Apr 2015 15:34
Last Modified:07 Nov 2024 04:39
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0014-2999
OA Status:Green
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.03.036
PubMed ID:25814247

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