Pathophysiological studies were performed on the spontaneously obese mice (Sp obese mice), which were found among dd/S stock mice in the Animal Center in Kyoto University, and on the goldthioglucose-induced obese mice (GTG obese mice). The results of both obese mice were compared and the etiologies were discussed.
1. In GTG obese mice, there was a tendency of hyperphagia caused by the hypothalamic destruction.
2. In Sp obese mice, the existence of hereditary disposition was suggested. A hyperphagic tendency was not recognized in these mice.
3. GTG obese mice showed a temporal glucosuria for the first 2-3 days after GTG treatment. Though the glucosuria became negative soon, it appeared again when they have developed obesity. And some of GTG obese mice showed hyperglycemia. Sp obese mice showed in general a hyperglycemic tendency.
4. The hyperglycemia in both obese mice were not affected by growth hormone administration.
5. The insulin sensitivities in GTG and Sp obese mice were similar to that of control.
6. GTG obese mice showed lower temperature than the control mice. The lowered temperature and the degree of obesity were not parallel.
7. The heart, liver, spleen, testes were significantly heavier in both GTG and Sp obese mice than those of control mice. In Sp obese mice, the kidneys and adrenals were especially heavier than those of control and GTG obese mice. The increase of the heart weight was also prominent in Sp obese mice.
8. Among the basophilic cells in the pituitary of Sp obese mice, were scattered some vacuolated cells.
9. The histological picture of the thyroid of GTG obese mice suggests hypofunction, and that of Sp obese mice hyperfunction.
10. In Sp obese mice, the adrenal cortex was hypertrophied. 11. The pancreatic islets of Sp obese mice showed remarkable enlargement due to an increased number of β cells. Degeneration of β cells was found also in these obese animals.
12. Fatty liver was present in GTG obese mice but not in Sp obese mice. In Sp obese mice, fat emboli in the glomeruli were found. This finding suggests the existence of lipemia in these animals.
13. Sp obese mice showed a less amount of liver glycogen.
14. In histochemical studies of enzyme activities, GTG obese mice showed no significant changes.
On the other hand, Sp obese mice showed some abnormalities in activities and distributions of various enzymes. These were especially prominent in the liver. On the basis of above-mentioned findings, the etiologies of the development of obesity in GTG and Sp obese mice are supposed to be different. In GTG obese mice, the most important etiological factor is hyperphagia induced by the hypothalamic lesion. Several changes observed in these obese mice definitely suggest that they are secondary to the hypothalamic lesion or hyperphagia. On the other hand, in the case of Sp obese mice, the hereditary disposition, hypertrophies of the adrenal cortex and of the pancreatic islets and a less amount of liver glycogen are supposed to play important roles in developing obesity.
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