Calorie restriction and calorie dilution have different impacts on body fat, metabolism, behavior, and hypothalamic gene expression
Xue Liu,
Zengguang Jin,
Stephanie Summers,
Davina Derous,
Min Li,
Baoguo Li,
Li Li,
John R. Speakman
Affiliations
Xue Liu
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, PRC; Research Group Adipocytes and Metabolism, Institute for Diabetes and Obesity, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg 85764, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany; Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstraße 22, 81675 München, Germany
Zengguang Jin
School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK
Stephanie Summers
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, PRC
Davina Derous
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, PRC
Min Li
School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK
Baoguo Li
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC
Li Li
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PRC
John R. Speakman
School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Metabolic Health, Center for Energy Metabolism and Reproduction, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, PRC; CAS Center of Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Kunming, PRC; Corresponding author
Summary: Caloric restriction is a robust intervention to increase lifespan. Giving less food (calorie restriction [CR]) or allowing free access to a diluted diet with indigestible components (calorie dilution [CD]) are two methods to impose restriction. CD does not generate the same lifespan effect as CR. We compare responses of C57BL/6 mice with equivalent levels of CR and CD. The two groups have different responses in fat loss, circulating hormones, and metabolic rate. CR mice are hungrier, as assessed by behavioral assays. Although gene expression of Npy, Agrp, and Pomc do not differ between CR and CD groups, CR mice had a distinctive hypothalamic gene-expression profile with many genes related to starvation upregulated relative to CD. While both result in lower calorie intake, CR and CD are not equivalent procedures. Increased hunger under CR supports the hypothesis that hunger signaling is a key process mediating the benefits of CR.
