Obesogenic diets alter metabolism in mice

Area of Science:

• Metabolomics and Lipidomics
• Obesity and Metabolic Disease
• Respiratory Health

Background:

• Obesity negatively impacts lung health, but mechanisms are poorly understood.
• Obesity is linked to respiratory conditions like asthma and chronic bronchitis.
• Diet composition is a key factor in obesity and metabolic dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of obesogenic diets on lung metabolism in mice.
• To identify specific metabolic and lipid alterations in lung tissue due to diet.
• To compare lung metabolic changes with those in kidney and liver.

Main Methods:

• Mice were fed control, high-fat/sugar, or very high-fat diets for 150 days.
• Untargeted metabolomics (GC-TOFMS, HILIC-QTOFMS) and lipidomics (RPLC-QTOFMS) were employed.
• Analysis focused on global metabolic profiles of lung tissues.

Main Results:

• 91 out of 447 detected metabolites and lipids were significantly altered by diet.
• Changes included complex lipids, free fatty acids, energy metabolites, amino acids, and NAD pathway members.
• Lung metabolic alterations were largely organ-specific, distinct from kidney and liver.

Conclusions:

• Obesity and diet composition directly impact lung metabolome composition.
• Diet-induced metabolic changes in the lung may drive disease through lung-specific pathways.
• The lung functions as an independent metabolic organ in response to dietary challenges.