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AssigneesThe Regents of the University of California, The United States of America as represented by the Department of Veterans Affairs, The J. David Gladstone Institutes
InventorsRobert V. Farese, Jr., Hubert C. Chen, Steven J. Smith, Sylvaine Cases, Sandra K. Erickson
Estimating the term…
Methods and compositions for modulating carbohydrate metabolism in a host are provided. In the subject methods, diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) activity (specifically DGAT1 activity) is modulated, e.g., reduced or enhanced, to achieve a desired insulin and/or leptin sensitivity, thereby modulating carbohydrate metabolism, e.g., increasing or decreasing blood glucose levels, glucose uptake into cells and assimilation into glycogen. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions for practicing the subject methods. The subject methods and compositions find use in a variety of applications, including the treatment of hosts suffering conditions associated with abnormal carbohydrate metabolism, such as obesity or diabetes.
A genetically modified mouse that comprises in its genome a homozygous insertion of a heterologous nucleic acid into the endogenous diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 (DGAT-1) gene, resulting in a defect in the endogenous DGAT-1 gene, wherein the genetically modified mouse does not express DGAT-1 protein and wherein said genetically modified mouse has decreased DGAT activity levels and exhibits one or more of reduced triglyceride levels in white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, smaller adipocytes, increased insulin sensitivity, and increased leptin sensitivity compared to a wild-type control mouse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.