Ifi202b overexpressing C57BL/6J females exhibit a healthy obese phenotype

Background: Obesity is a metabolic disease and a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. However, there is a subset of obese subjects that do not develop obesity-associated disorders and therefore referred to as metabolically healthy obese. Recently, we identified Ifi202b as an obesity gene by positional cloning. The interferon-activated gene is expressed in tissues of obese NZO but absent in lean B6 mice. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of Ifi202b in adipogenesis and metabolism in detail. Methods: Ifi202b was overexpressed in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to study its role in adipocyte d…