Diet-induced obesity increases NF-kappaB signaling in reporter mice

The nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB is a primary regulator of inflammatory responses and may be linked to pathology associated with obesity. We investigated the progression of NF-kappaB activity during a 12-week feeding period on a high-fat diet (HFD) or a low-fat diet (LFD) using NF-kappaB luciferase reporter mice. In vivo imaging of luciferase activity showed that NF-kappaB activity was higher in the HFD mice compared with LFD-fed mice. Thorax region of HFD females displayed fourfold higher activity compared with LFD females, while no such increase was evident in males. In male HFD mice, abdominal NF-kappaB activity was increased twofold compared with the LFD males, while females had unchanged NF-kappaB activity in the abdomen by HFD. HFD males, but not females, exhibited evident glucose intolerance during the study. In conclusion, HFD increased NF-kappaB activity in both female and male mice. However, HFD differentially increased activity in males and females. The moderate increase in abdomen of male mice may be linked to glucose intolerance.