Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jan 25;81(1):147-154.
doi: 10.1292/jvms.18-0342. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Hatano rats are a suitable metabolic syndrome model for studying feeding behavior, blood pressure levels, and percent body fat

Anna Isobe  1 , Tsutomu Shimada  2   3 , Masaki Aburada  3 , Rie Yanagisawa  4 , Tomoyoshi Sakawa  5 , Takahiro Nakamura  5 , Toshiyuki Himi  3 , Ryo Ohta  6 , Maiko Kawaguchi  1   3
Affiliations

Hatano rats are a suitable metabolic syndrome model for studying feeding behavior, blood pressure levels, and percent body fat

Anna Isobe et al. J Vet Med Sci. .

Abstract

Currently, metabolic syndrome is a worldwide concern. Thus, it is imperative to understand the mechanism of metabolic syndrome by establishing various metabolic syndrome models. In this study, we used Hatano high-avoidance animals (HAA) and low-avoidance animals (LAA), both derived from Sprague-Dawley rats by selective breeding to determine high- or low-avoidance rates in shuttle-box active avoidance tests. HAA and LAA rats have some strain differences related to eating and appetite. Therefore, we determined whether Hatano rats could be used as a metabolic syndrome model. We compared food intake, body weights, blood pressure levels, plasma component levels, and fat contents between HAA and LAA rats. The HAA rats showed more active eating, higher blood pressure, higher percentage fat, and higher triglyceride levels than the LAA rats-these features correspond to some of the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome. Our study suggests that HAA rats can be considered as a metabolic syndrome model by focusing on their feeding behavior, blood pressure levels, and percent body fat.

Keywords: Hatano rat; blood pressure; feeding behavior; metabolic syndrome; model animal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Comparison of food intake and body weights between the HAA and LAA rats. Bars in the graphs are means ± standard error of the mean. * and ** indicate significant differences (*P<0.05, **P<0.01 versus LAA rats). (a) average daily food intake during the 2-day measurement period, HAA: n=5, LAA: n=7; (b) body weight at 9 weeks of age before entering individual cage, HAA: n=10, LAA: n=10; and (c) body weight after 12–14 days in the individual cages during food-intake measurement, HAA: n=10, LAA: n=10.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Representative CT scan of the HAA (a, c, e) and LAA (b, d, f) rats showing subcutaneous fat (yellow), visceral fat (pink), and muscle mass (blue). (a, b) Just below the ribs, (c, d) at the abdomen, and (e, f) in front of the pelvis.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Comparison of the amounts of abdominal fat and muscle mass between the HAA and LAA rats. Bars are means ± standard error of the mean. HAA: n=8, LAA: n=8. * indicates significant difference (*P<0.05 versus LAA rats). (a) Percent body fat, (b) amount of total fat, (c) amount of visceral fat, (d) amount of subcutaneous fat, and (e) muscle mass.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Akieda-Asai S., Ohta R., Shirota M., Jaroenporn S., Watanabe G., Taya K.2011. Endocrinological differences between Hatano high- and low-avoidance rats during early two-way avoidance acquisition. Exp. Anim. 60: 509–516. doi: 10.1538/expanim.60.509 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amin F., Gilani A. H.2013. Fiber-free white flour with fructose offers a better model of metabolic syndrome. Lipids Health Dis. 12: 44. doi: 10.1186/1476-511X-12-44 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arnold A. C., Diz D. I.2014. Endogenous leptin contributes to baroreflex suppression within the solitary tract nucleus of aged rats. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 307: H1539–H1546. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00282.2014 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asai S., Ohta R., Shirota M., Watanabe G., Taya K.2004. Differential responses of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis to acute restraint stress in Hatano high- and low-avoidance rats. J. Endocrinol. 181: 515–520. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.1810515 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Asai S., Ohta R., Fujikawa T., Sakai R. R., Shirota M., Ogata M., Watanabe G., Taya K.2006. Gastric ulceration and expression of prolactin receptor in the brain in Hatano high- and low-avoidance rats. Endocrine 30: 161–166. doi: 10.1385/ENDO:30:2:161 - DOI - PubMed