The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by obesity concomitant with other metabolic abnormalities such as hypertriglyceridemia, reduced high-density lipoprotein levels, elevated blood pressure and raised fasting glucose levels. The precise definition of MetS, the relationships of its metabolic features, and what initiates it, are debated. However, obesity is on the rise worldwide, and its association with these metabolic symptoms increases the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (among many other diseases). Research needs to determine the mechanisms by which obesity and MetS increase the risk of disease. In light of this growing epidemic, it is imperative to develop animal models of MetS. These models will help determine the pathophysiological basis for MetS and how MetS increases the risk for other diseases. Among the various animal models available to study MetS, mice are the most commonly used for several reasons. First, there are several spontaneously occurring obese mouse strains that have been used for decades and that are very well characterized. Second, high-fat feeding studies require only months to induce MetS. Third, it is relatively easy to study the effects of single genes by developing transgenic or gene knockouts to determine the influence of a gene on MetS. For these reasons, this review will focus on the benefits and caveats of the most common mouse models of MetS. It is our hope that the reader will be able to use this review as a guide for the selection of mouse models for their own studies.

Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons help regulate long-term energy stores. POMC neurons are also found in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), a region regulating satiety. We show here that mouse brainstem NTS POMC neurons are activated by cholecystokinin (CCK) and feeding-induced satiety and that activation of the neuronal melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4-R) is required for CCK-induced suppression of feeding; the melanocortin system thus provides a potential substrate for integration of long-term adipostatic and short-term satiety signals.

The organization of timing in mammalian circadian clocks optimally coordinates behavior and physiology with daily environmental cycles. Chronic consumption of a high-fat diet alters circadian rhythms, but the acute effects on circadian organization are unknown. To investigate the proximate effects of a high-fat diet on circadian physiology, we examined the phase relationship between central and peripheral clocks in mice fed a high-fat diet for 1 week. By 7 days, the phase of the liver rhythm was markedly advanced (by 5 h), whereas rhythms in other tissues were not affected. In addition, immediately upon consumption of a high-fat diet, the daily rhythm of eating behavior was altered. As the tissue rhythm of the suprachiasmatic nucleus was not affected by 1 week of high-fat diet consumption, the brain nuclei mediating the effect of a high-fat diet on eating behavior are likely to be downstream of the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

Summary The global obesity epidemic has heightened the need for an improved understanding of how body weight is controlled, and research using mouse models is critical to this effort. In this perspective, we provide a conceptual framework for investigation of feeding behavior in this species, with an emphasis on factors that influence study design, data interpretation, and relevance to feeding behavior in humans. Although we focus on the mouse, the principles presented can be applied to most other animal models. This document represents the current consensus view of investigators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Centers (MMPCs).

Peptide YY(3-36) (PYY(3-36)), a peptide released postprandially by the gut, has been demonstrated to inhibit food intake. Little is known about the mechanism by which PYY(3-36) inhibits food intake, although the peptide has been shown to increase hypothalamic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA in vivo and to activate POMC neurons in an electrophysiological slice preparation. Understanding the physiology of PYY(3-36) is further complicated by the fact that some laboratories have had difficulty demonstrating inhibition of feeding by the peptide in rodents. We demonstrate here that, like cholecystokinin, PYY(3-36) dose-dependently inhibits food intake by approximately 20-45% over a 3- to 4-h period post ip administration, with no effect on 12-h food intake. This short-lived satiety effect is not seen in animals that are not thoroughly acclimated to handling and ip injection, thus potentially explaining the difficulty in reproducing the effect. Surprisingly, PYY(3-36) was equally efficacious in inducing satiety in wild-type and melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4-R)-deficient mice and thus does not appear to be dependent on MC4-R signaling. The expression of c-Fos, an indirect marker of neuronal activation, was also examined in forebrain and brainstem neurons after ip treatment with a dose of PYY(3-36) shown to induce satiety. The peptide induced no significant neuronal activation in the brainstem by this assay, and only modest activation of hypothalamic POMC neurons. Thus, unlike cholecystokinin, PYY(3-36)-induced satiety is atypical, because it does not produce detectable activation of brainstem satiety centers and is not dependent on MC4-R signaling.