Strain- and tissue-dependent induction of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene expression in fasted mice

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the primary physiological inhibitor of plasminogen activators, is an important contributor to hypofibrinolysis in the presence of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity. The C57BLKS/J (BKS) inbred mouse strain is a popular animal model of type 2 diabetes. We previously described that food deprivation (FD) induces adipose PAI-1 expression in both lean BKS mice and BKS-db/db mice carrying a mutation in the leptin receptor gene. To evaluate the effects of the background of mouse strains, we examined FD-induced PAI-1 expression in the liver, heart and epididymal adipose tissues of BKS, C57BL/6J (B6), C3H/HeN and ICR mice. We found that PAI-1 expression is significantly induced in the heart and liver of fasted mice, although levels of expression in adipose tissues are strain-dependent. The effect of FD on plasma PAI-1 levels is also strain-dependent. Genetic background seems to be an important factor that should be considered when investigating thrombosis and fibrinolysis relative to metabolic changes in mice.