Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) is related to obesity in mice and humans

Aims: The C57BL/6J (B6J) mouse strain has been widely used as a control strain for the study of metabolic diseases. B6J mice carry a spontaneous deletion mutation in the nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (Nnt) gene eliminating exons 7–11, resulting in expression of a truncated form of Nnt, an enzyme that pumps protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. It has been proposed that this mutation in B6J mice is associated with epigonadal fat mass and altered sensitivity to diet induced obesity (DIO). Methods: To define the role of Nnt in the development of diet induced obesity, we generated first backcro…